First gun advice for Monterey Bay

[Jared2002]

I'm new to spearfishing and am trying to figure a good first gun.
I will be mostly diving in the the Monterey Bay in kelp and rock reefs. Halibut, Rock Cod, and Sea Bass is what I am hoping for.

I am looking for an affordable first gun, that is also sturdy and reliable . I've done some forum searching and the Omer Cayman HF2 in 100cm length might be the right one.
I was thinking of the JBL Woody series before I did more reading and seems like people aren't fans.
The other affordable line people that people on the forum seem to like is Cressi.
I just don't want to drop $500++ on my first gun.
Which would you recommend for those conditions or is there a better one to look at?

Thanks in advance,
Jared

 

[hteas]

My first choice would be a 90 cm or 100 cm Rob Allen (presonal preference)
Your shots in Monterey won't be long, so no need for a long gun.
Other good options would be a Marc Valentin or a Picasso Century
All can be ordered from Hana Paa Fishing.
Hanapa'a Fishing - Spearguns

 

[Mr. X]

I've been to Monterey but never dived there so cannot comment on length (visibility is the main factor when deciding which length to get) -- getting the optimum length helps a lot but as visibility varies from day to day, hour to hour & even within a dive, whatever you choose will be a compromise. Best bet is to talk to local experienced spearos and find out what length they use. I think shorter guns are more fun and easier to load for a beginner but the length needs to suit the conditions.

Rob Allens (and other SA-style railguns) are usually a good, sturdy choice and particularly good choices for big fish (20lb+). The Omer Cayman is also well regarded and unusually offers near constant trigger tension under varying loads. I have an RA 90 and a couple of the superlight Omer carbon XXVs (75 & 90) and think both are great guns - with completely different characters. I think you'll be happy with RA or Omer.

 

[cmburch]

Watch out buying too large a gun for NorCal. I first bought a gun that was only good for halibut and when the Vis was 20'+. A 90 cm may spend most of the time in your car and not in the water. My most used gun for Cabezon, Lingcod and Rockfish is an 18" pneumatic. Post on SpearBoard California section. The best advice may be from the MB Tritons or a Spearo of the Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey areas. Think about swimming and maneuvering through kelp, also the damage to your speartip when hunting groundfish.

 

[spaghetti]

The president of the Monterey Bay Tritons is a Deeperblue user. You may find him in the member list and send him a message. His nickname here is Twentytwomonk and he's definitely a great guy, very nice and generous sort of person.
He shoots an Omer Cayman 75 mostly, and 90'ish length sort of guns...

 

[cmburch]

If interested in WSB for SoCal and Channel Islands for WSB - King Croaker may require minimum 100cm with 2 bands.

 

[zerg]

I've been using 96cm Omer Master Comp and it's a great length for kelp in Monterey.
You can probably go for a shorter gun (75 cm ), since there is no fish here that requires long shots. 96cm probably a bit too long for lingcod in Sonoma, but definitely OK for rockfish.
For So Cal you'll need 120cm gun, so it 'll be your second gun (rob allen is a good choice)

 

[liberte]

I dive in monterey and carmel and all up the sonoma coast. i started off with a jbl woody, mahogany, i think its the 42" model. i used it for about six monthes then decided to get a euro gun. i ended up with a beuchat arka competition 75cm. it has been great so far. I have had it about a year now and have shot tons of rockfish and a bunch of lingcod with it. The biggest lingcod i've got with it was 38". the shaft is tough, the trigger mech is fine for me. i haven't put double bands on it because i've heard of damage to the trigger. it has a closed muzzle and loads quickly. i get about 3 meters of distance from the gun with plenty of power. that 3 meters is plenty for any fish around here. i think it cost me a whopping $75 and i have seen them for sale at a bunch of websites.
i'm headed to mexico for an extended vacation in the next year and am looking at a 120cm hammerhead gun for bigger fish down there.
good luck, i can send you some pics if you want.

 

[slingshaft]

Hey liberte, where in Mexico are you going?

 

[liberte]

well, my wife and i live on a sailboat in san rafael, have been for the past two years, at the end of this year we'll own it, then we're going to take about a year off of life and cruise. we haven't laid down too many plans yet, some time around cabo, some time heading down the coast, then some time in the sea of cortez. have you been down there?
did you check out any of the beuchat guns? i was checking this website out today. i got it off of another thread here, the 90 would probably be an awesome first gun, a little more than the arka but it probably worth it. what's your budget.
have you been out many places in montery yet? I have the next week off and am keeping an eye on the weather and hoping on diving.

 

[yakfisher]

How did you like the woody? Could you give a comparison?

 

[slingshaft]

Liberte, you lucky dog! I think that a 120cm gun is a good all around workhorse for Baja, it is quite manageable and long enough for open water. If you rig a snap on 'float line system' you can stick it to anything in the ocean. And Yakfisher, the big knock on JBL spearguns is that the trigger assembly is incredibly simplistic, (Hey, I do believe incredibly simplistic is an oxymoron!) :t It is not much more than two pieces of hardened metal. This arrangement exerts direct pressure on the actual trigger, and can lead to 'stacking' which will bind the mechanism.

 

[liberte]

The woody works great. I prefer to use it on lingcod and always take it when i am looking for halibut. I haven't found one yet though. It has a threaded shaft so i don't worry too much about banging the tips on rocks when shooting fish in holes or laying close to the bottom. If they get banged up i just take a file to them. It loads quickly and you can hear a nice kerchunk when the shaft seats itself in the trigger. it came rigged with a shooting line that was mostly a piece of line and very flexible. I have it rigged with mono right now but think i might go back to a soft shooting line. For that gun it just seemed to work better. I also changed the bands it came with to 5/8" rubber and made them about an inch shorter than what the 1/2" bands were. its got a ton of power now. When i bought the gun it was kinda underpowered with th 1/2" bands and a huge double floppwer tip, now i just use the little single flopper one.
In the water it seems easier to move the euro gun around than the woody. I'm a pretty adaptable guy, so the gun works great for what i se it for here in Ca. The quality of the materials of both guns are good, way better than JBL. as long as nothing is breaking or falling apart I am happy. both guns work great.

 

[ifishanyweather]

try a pole spear there great fun if ur going for Pollock flatfish mullet (smaller fish) and you can get a great one for below 60 pounds i would recomend fibre glass and a tridant tip.

 

[jeff1]

Hozit,
Just to add to the advise, a 90cm is good for hunting fish in/under reef structures and some out of reef hunting like 6-7 feet range. But if the fish your after
is thick bodyed and at some distance ( 8 or more feet away) out in the open, I would recommend a 100 cm or a 110 specifically because of the guns power and range. If you are basicaly going after big fishes at far range (6 lbs or more ) then I would suggest a 100 or 110 cm with 2 bands. As you get to know this gun better,
you will find out a number of reason why 2 bands is good to have.:friday

 

[jeff1]

If you really need penetrating power, a 3 band gun or wood gun with heavier shaft is the way to go.

 

[jeff1]

I would do extensive research on what makes a gun good. Buy the one you can afford that is good and learn how to modify it if neccessary.

 

[iPirate]

your going to be hunting mostly in low visiblity, targeting mostly Lingcod and cabezon.

i would advise using a small gun no more than 30-40in (70-100cm).

i use a 30in wood midhandle gun i built.