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Fins for UK spearo

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
It would be handy to have a proper soled boot for gaining access in some places (Chesil & Newton's cove spring to mind).

As you may have discerned from above, I am wondering if a stiffer fin might also suit me me better. Although I don't plan to get anymore fins for another year or so!
 
Mr.X, I agree you shouldn't throw away the small english fins: they can be useful for difficult entries in water and for spearing in very low water. I'm still using my very old baby-blue plastic Cressi Rondine Freefrog: it's pair of snorkelling fins 5 or 6 inches shorter than my Omers. Rocky shores and sea urchins are no problem with the old baby cressis: they're my choice when i plan not to dive deep (and this happens pretty often: my eardrums are growing old much faster than the rest of my body :head ).
 
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Small fins v. long fins

This weekend, I managed to compare my small, bendy, 30 year old English fins & my new, stiffer Beuchat long fins.

LONG FINS:
Went out in 1m viz Sat. in relatively shallow water (actually mixed depth). Was generally tired, having got up early to drive down, I found the long fins were hard work as my calves were cramping (unusual for diving but often get them from driving) & with the mild chop it was not a great experience.

SHORT FINS:
I moved to Chesil beach (for shelter from the E. wind, 10+ft viz) later in the day & switched to my little fins - to give myself a break. This turned out to be suboptimal - but a good learning experience:

- the naturally higher kick cadence did indeed help loosen up my calves
- I saw a lot of fish (viz was much better but I think smaller fins may scare fish less too), most fish seem unphased by my presence & hung around (see trip report on Dorset 2006 thread). A garfish just kept circling me & pollock just ignored me.

However, Chesil is quite deep & finning down required an unusual flury of activity. Forget the graceful glide down facilitated by the big fins. Worse yet, finning up took a sustained flurry of leg kicks. However the kicks were small & frequent - which did not seem to disturb the fish much.

LONG FINS (again):
Switch back to long fins for Chesil the next day. Viz was down a bit,. perhaps due the northerly wind. The big fins were definitely better suited to this deep water. Getting up & down became a breeze again and the swim back (against current & wind) was strenuous but not overly so. Less fish about but saw several 2-4+lb - mainly (or entirely) wrasse.

CONCLUSION:
Horses for courses. The long fins offer clear advantages in deeper water when you need to get down & up. Also handy when swimming against the current/wind.

For shallow hunting, the smaller fins may offer some benefits: they seem less disturbing to fish, the higher kick rate keeps you warm & your legs get a chance to loosen up. Although I wonder if a medium size fin might offer a better compromise of features.

I plan to try my medium length, fairly stiff Speedo fins for comparison sometime this Summer.
 
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Camo painting fins

By the way, I painted my old fins: mainly greens, yellows & browns on the sole and white with blue on the tops - using acrylic artist paints, mixed & then applied with a 1" wide hake (cheap chinese) brush. I think it will be effective but the finish is...interesting! Will have to find a way to get a more professional finish before starting on the newer fins (I was impressed by the design on Glowworm's fins - Dorset 2006 thread - perhaps sponged on?).

By the way, this thread on spearo fins is good & relevant: http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?t=66457&highlight=spearo+fins
 
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Mr X, Glowworms fins are Picasso Black Team Camu fins and come prepainted (i think they are actually screen printed). They do look really good but i'm sure the effect could be easily recreated using a sponge and a bit of artistic flair (or a 3 year old child, they seem to be better at painting than me and seem pretty handy with a sponge!), although i've always wondered that if a fish is above and behind you how much chance is there of you seeing/shooting it even if it can't see you?
 
Hi Mr X,

Saw a pair of Picasso Fins (I think) in Portland oceaneering a couple of weeks back and these had the sponged on camoflauge look that you are on about, greens and browns smudged across them. Not sure what model fin they were though.

Jim
 
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