Dummies guide to Spearfishing - Part I

[foxfish]

I would never attach the gun to my body, if you plan to shoot fish big enough to pull you under then use a float attachment.
Your gun should float on its own accord without the spear in place so using a reel & lots of backing is pretty safe.

 

[Mr. X]

I have heard of spearos attaching a reel to their belt - it's unusual but I guess that at least gives an option of releasing the belt & reel if things "start to go wrong" - provided they don't get in the way of each other & tangle, which seems a strong possibility.

But why take that risk. As Foxfish said use a float. I would suggest that you attach your speargun to a float using a float-line (maybe 50-60ft if you plan to dive 30 ft? - I use about 12-15m but only rarely dive to 30ft) - simple, no need for a reel; that's what I do. That way if a fish drags and you let go, the fish and speargun are still attached to the float - which you can choose to hold onto or not, as you please. Other configurations are possible though (e.g. breakaway rigs, multi-float rigs for big fish).

One observation: although most spearguns float with the spear out, they often don't have a lot of buoyancy - so can end up floating mid-water or just under the surface. Also, they often don't float with the spear in. (Shiny spears are easier to find in weed ).

 

[NaturalHunter]

awesome thread man! thanks for all the info, i learned alot from the entire discussion! thanks everyone!

 

[ReefTroll]

Like it! I think there is some truth in what you say but I don't buy that it is the main reason for camo. At least not here, where visibility is often poor. I think the aim is to make yourself harder to see, to hide you and, if seen, to disrupt your size & shape so that apparent threat is diminished and unclear. You are right though, many fish are curious. It might be interesting to conduct some experiments to see if what you say is right though e.g. wear something unusual & easily seen but obviously not camoflage, perhaps a bright yellow wetsuit (although I hear sharks like "yummy yellow") or white (although sharks like that too - see portinfers shark-eaten white/red-head kayak picture - and the underside of fish is often white, presumably to act as camoflage against the surface/sky):hmm.

I try to hide when spearing. In a black wetsuit, at the surface or midwater I can be easily seen (black fishing plugs & eels are quite popular here now, as they provide an easy to see silhouette near the surface, esp. at dusk). I probably look like a large ungainly seal - which would be threatening to most fish. So I try to hide as much of me as I can in the weed or behind a rock and that does seem to be much more effective. Sometimes the fish do come into investigate but usually not when I am fully visible.

I am intrigued by the "macro" camo described on the Jersey spearfishing website & used on the Predator wetsuits used by Miles and other SA spearos. It doesn't hide the diver but breaks up their shape & outline. So you have a point. Apparently some continental spearos use unmatched tops & bottoms to achieve a similar affect. I would think wearing a different colour weight vest or a T-shirt over your wetsuit might achieve a similar effect, but perhaps straight lines are bad, perhaps camo/pattern would work better. It might also be better if the fish were more aware of your legs or torso than the firing arm pointing at them. BTW I have an Omer "mimetec" (camo mask) but its not really very camo, the flange is shiney so you can get very distinct straight high-lights on the nose & forehead, & the only camo part is the lens-frame & even that is picked out with a distinct black interior edge; an all matt black mask would probably be better.

An interesting moment last week : I had been out off the headland in my wetsuit with my brother in law, we then came in to wives and kids in the rockpools. I had my camo wetsuit on. As we stood in the pool I had a load of the small fish circling around my legs, and I mean a LOT. The bare legs had no fish near them.

 

[Mr. X]

So camo is a "fish magnetic" - excellent .

 

[ReefTroll]

Have to point out, it was only legs, unsure how they'd react to en entire body!!

 

[Scuba Buck]

I am a scuba diver that is starting to spearfish some and would like to know the pros and cons on spearfishing stringer types. I have seen the ones made out of stainless and are a large metal loop and the ones out of wire with a metal spike on one end and a loop on the other. What are the reasons for the preferences?

 

[foxfish]

Maybe a lot to do with personal preference, some folk shoot a fish then kill it with their knife & then thread it onto a fish ring. Others (like myself) prefer to kill the fish with the stringer spike through the head & thread it on in one operation.
Of course this choose is largely dependant on the size & type of fish too!

 

[Scuba Buck]

I appreciate your input, I just want some ideas on what might work best for me. Thanks.

 

[SpearPR]

Good thread. Thanx.

 

[Mr. X]

Re. stringers, I really like and recommend the Rob Allen cable stringers, which you attach to your float. The spike is extra long, strong & very sharp - an excellent spike for dispatching fish - and a thick, shiny plastic coated metal cable - very strong. They also have a robust swivel at the float end. But I think they would be better if they included a good quality clip (e.g. RA Orcas clip), I've fitted a key ring to the end (the swivel's loop is rather small, probably designed for big game angling) and the use an old anodized Clogg Wales climbing caribiner (which are rated for 2200kg - should be enough! ).

I sometimes use an Omer belt stringer too. I would recommend that beginners don't use these for various safety reasons. However, they can be convenient and strung fish really do arouse the curiosity of other fish & provide some camouflage/distraction. The belt stringer is made of stiff, heavy duty monofilament, which importantly can easily be cut in an emergency. The spike on the Omer stringer is by necessity rather short and not as sharp as the RA string, although it can be used to dispatch speared fish; I prefer to use my inexpensive but excellent Omersub American Mini-Laser spearo dagger (or a homemade iki-jimi spike) when using the belt stringer, it is designed for dispatching fish & works very well.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

Hi guys, new to spearing and to the forums, and had a couple of questions.

I've been using a hand spear on and off of a few months now and loving it, so recently I purchased a 95cm Picasso Cobra BW Camo (got an awesome bargain!) However as luck would have it the weather has been crap and I haven't had a chance to use it yet!

One major concern I had was that the spear is only attached to the gun with 1.8mm mono-filament of about 2m in length, giving me a max range of about 3m inc the spear. But the gun has a 19mm rubber. I was thinking that this is quite short for the power it will likely produce, or am I completely missing something here? I have the gun attached to a float line but no reel obviously.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[foxfish]

3m of running line would be better, most 90s come with two wraps of line under the barrel & one length that runs down the spear on top of the barrel.

 

[Branker]

Great post thanx for the info

 

[cydrosmil]

cheers bud, am new to spearfishing so good to get a list of stuff that i need to buy to get me started.....

 

[Brochman]

Shimmer,Shine,Shape,Silhouette,Shade and Shimmer was what i was taught in the military and now i am planning on spear fishing I am going to use those in the sea.

 

[Mr. X]

Shimmer,Shine,Shape,Silhouette,Shade and Shimmer was what i was taught in the military ...

https://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/Camouflage

 

[Brochman]

https://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/Camouflage

Its a good rule book for any hunting, fishing e.g. Stainless steel is a great product but shines and shimmers showing your position in the sea or on land.
On another note does any one know if i can fit dry-suit gloves to a semi-dry suit and is a dry-suit hood with bib compatible with a semi-dry suit? Thanks

 

[Mr. X]

Best to start a new thread for such questions

 

[Storm_Mckoy]

Very informative, thanks a lot for the tips as well.