Fish stringer: bad loss!

[huntermark]

So you have a professional stringer! That's the best type indeed. Mine was just a piece of chord with a stainless steel nail. I bought it seven years ago in Sicily and was ok with it. Now I think I'll buy a full metal circular nail like yours.
I must say apart of that that I don't like to keep the stringer to the float cause I don't keep the float attached to my belt and I should swim back and forth to the float to attach the fish: I leave the float....afloat using a weight on the float line to keep it on position, while I swim and dive within a range of 50 meters from it.

HI ever since i lost a large bass on a stringer many years ago those sharp gill covers etc - I had one made kinda custom made at a yacht dealer using fairly heavy gage sprung stainless steel cable - which is also has a simple but clever fast way to string my fish - will have to post picture not sure how to do that but will have go soon - this stringer consists of a stainless steel barbecue skewer twisted in such a way onto a stainless eye to length of sprung heavy gage yachting cable - then fish tank plastic sleeving slipped over cable cut to right length then slide on plastic empty fishing line spool which acts as fish stop then stainless steel shackle which after made up you can string your fish through gill cover and mouth fish slide down to fish stop then simply clip shackle through eye at base of skewer
mark

 

[Mr. X]

I use a Rob Allen stringer, which has a big, long, stainless steel pin (something like the end of a spear), and a thick, plastic covered cable. The end loop has a loop with a large game swivel attached. Just a regular float stringer, although quite big and tough (like most RA gear), no doubt for the large SA fish. I attach it to my solid RA float with one of the stainless tuna/orca clips, or to my inflatible float with an old, anodized, Welsh, Clogg karabiner (originally designed for sea cliff climbing).

The sharp pointy end, I keep sheathed in silicone tubing (an off cut from Portland Oceaneering) which is tied to the float-end of the stringer. This stops the stringer dangling down too far & stops the point digging into the back of your leg as you walk out of the water!:martial (Thanks for that tip Miles). I also thread fish through the gill and mouth as Miles describes (the gills alone looks insecure).

Crawling about in shallow waters yesterday, Indian style - as OMD described - made me think about not using a float in such conditions (although the crab bag & stringer caused more problem than the super light float). A minor inconvenience rather than a big deal though. A fishing boat came by -- so even early morning in the shallows, you have to watch out.

Having a fish on a float or belt stringer probably helps attract fish (camo, blood, fish oil). There is a great picture in one of the spearo catalogues of a guy doing aspetto with a belt stringer full of fish half hiding him!
Belt stringer in action (video clips):

Omer - it's probably Spaghetti or one of his mates ]
Omer - incs. a 2fer1 shot.​

I used to think a belt stringer a bad idea - something else to snag/get caught underwater and, in more shark infested areas, draw in sharks. It doesn't seem to be much of an issue in the UK though. I suppose as long as you can cut it (i.e. mono or cord rather than steel), it could be quite useful. Float stringer seems a safe bet to start with though.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I used to think a belt stringer a bad idea - something else to snag/get caught underwater and, in more shark infested areas, draw in sharks. It doesn't seem to be much of an issue in the UK though. I suppose as long as you can cut it (i.e. mono or cord rather than steel), it could be quite useful. Float stringer seems a safe bet to start with though.

In general I agree with you about belt stringers, but it depends on how and where you dive. I'm always diving from a boat, and I almost never shoot a fish that is small enough so that I would want to keep diving while towing the fish around. Since I take every fish that I shoot back to the boat, in most cases I don't even use the stringer, but just grab the fish by the gills and swim back to the boat towing the gun behind me.

When I do use the stringer, its just to free up my hands to untangle line and shaft from kelp, etc., and then I'm off to the boat.

I don't worry about sharks grabbing my strung fish in Southern California because the one dangerous shark we have, the great white, is likely to be more interested in eating the mammal towing the fish than the fish itself. However, sea lions can be a problem. I read an account on spearboard of a big bull sea lion grabbing a fish strung on a belt and pulling the diver down to 70 feet.

 

[dave]

One tiny thing that could annoy me with the speed stringer, is that some fish (especially mullet) that i have brained withmy knife, still seem to flick around for a bit however much i waggle the knife around, and so a fish tugging on my gun could get irritating, but i guess this isn't much of an issue most of the time.

Huw.

Dont put mullet on a speed stringer, in fact never string mullet through the gills and mouth, they tear off really easily. String through the eyes or top of the head. Mullet are also the Terminator of the fish world, they just dont seem to know when they are supposed to be dead!
cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[land shark]

Im planning on using a soft cooler bungeed to my new yak

 

[deep thinker]

My stringer is always on my float. I have a torpedo shaped foam float with a spike stringer and double mono line that clips onto a tuna clip on the back of the float. When on a shore dive and swimming through kelp the stringer gets pushed into the float as to not snag in kelp. I find this works pretty well and lives up to my needs at the moment, will post a pic tomorrow

 

[IB Boyd]

I attach it to a loop of mono on a weight with a tuna clip.

I rig mine like that also. I however, lost mine the other day also. Was just raising my legs to dive when my trusty old marsailes(spelling) rubber weight belt gave up the ghost and failed after two years of service. To ad insult to injury, the whole thing slid down my back, smacked me a good one in the back of the head and shot to the bottom like a bat out of hell. I tried to make a grab for it, but was shooting back out of the water in reverse due to the sudden positve bouyancy. Missed it by inches. Last i saw it my stringer was flapping merrily as the lead propelled it to the bottom.:crutch I always carry a spare in the boat, so the day wasnt a total loss.

 

[covert]

I cant actually comment too much, im just posting to let you know im still alive and kicking

In our waters we generally never attach a stringer to the body, gun, or belt. Since we have some serious tax collectors swimming around always looking for a fish kebab, and sometimes the owner of the fish kebab. So mine is basically a tuna clip into a o-ring and a stainles steel cord with a spike at the end. Then I just string the fish and stab the spike into my float. (foam float might get messy if you have a air float )

 

[Mr. X]

... Then I just string the fish and stab the spike into my float. (foam float might get messy if you have a air float )

rofl(We have tax collectors here too...the biggest one is going to become PM soon)

 

[azapa]

...........
How and where (belt, float) do you secure your fish stringer?

Hi Spago,

I'm sure you have many more fishy tales and victories under your belt (pun intended) than I, but I though you may like to see how this beginner manages to keep the kiddies eating good food: http://forums.deeperblue.net/diy-homemade/71774-iki-spike-stringer-combo.html

hope some of it helps. Cheers

 

[spaghetti]

Thanks all, interesting debate going on.
I should also apologize to Miles now that' I've tried a gunhandle-spike-float attachement as he suggested: much less annoying than I thought. Quick, simple, effective.
I used a clear monoline with bits of silvery tape to make fish more curious than scared by it. Aspetto worked out fine. But still I think that a gun-to-float line is no good for the typical mediterranean agguato hunt in shallow rocky & weedy bottoms.

 

[Marwan]

guys, ive been using the speed stringer all last week, lt me say that ÏTS A DREAM!!!!, especially in the current, you dint have to go back to your float, just unclip it from your gun, pass it through the gills, the mouth and clip it to your gun once again, as you swim forward it makes its way all the way back to your float, no problemo... i go it from rob allen in south africa, great service, great guy...
cheers

 

[Mr. X]

Bass-Float

...I used a clear monoline with bits of silvery tape to make fish more curious than scared by it. ...

Fish seem to be far less intimidated when I have a fish in tow on the float-stringer. Perhaps we need spearo floats that look like bass (bass decoy?)! I give you...the Bass-Float (with strung fish added, it'll look like a shoal of bass!):

 

[azapa]

it would be fun until a seal came along, even more fun if the float and line was tied to you belt good hunting this weekend, dive safe.....

 

[Mr. X]

Dont put mullet on a speed stringer, in fact never string mullet through the gills and mouth, they tear off really easily. String through the eyes or top of the head. Mullet are also the Terminator of the fish world, they just dont seem to know when they are supposed to be dead!
cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

With a bigger fish, I usually thread the fish and then impale the spike in the head of the fish (where it was dispatched, if it wasn't stoned). It looks a little gruesome ("made sure he was dead!" was one comment I heard) but not much chance of loosing it.

By the way, those of you that don't use a float line, what do use for a wrist lanyard (assuming you use one)? I'm thinking of getting a shorter gun & might try using it detached from the float.

 

[azapa]

over simple answer here: I use both, and often unclip whilst under if I want to go under the kelp "canopy"

It works like this:
- I have a 8MM or so diameter hole drilled in the butt of the pistol grip of my gun, about 15mm from the base, to the left hand side.
- through that hole I have two things: 1. a stainless "keyring" type loop about 1" dia. 2. A 30Cm rubber band strap made from car innertube, its about an inch wide, basically a big elastic band.
- in normal use, my carabiner from the floatline is clipped onto the gun with the stainless "keyring"
- when I go under some kelp or rocks I unclipp the carabiner and place my wrist through the rubber band
- the carabiner is quite big and sits there, I later retrieve from pulling up from the top.

A PICTURE would say a million words. I;ll send one tonight if i remember.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: the wrist strap MUST break if anything gets snagged down there. Hence the rubber band. I guess you could dry test its breaking strain (I have not done)

Good fun eh!

 

[dave]

By the way, those of you that don't use a float line, what do use for a wrist lanyard (assuming you use one)? I'm thinking of getting a shorter gun & might try using it detached from the float.

Why would you want to use a wrist lanyard? What problem do you see it solving?

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[covert]

stringing fish is not a science people any which way if there is allot of rope involved it will get irritating thats just part of spearing, in SA 99% of spearo's just string directly on the float due to sharks. and you generally have to surface after the kill. So whats the problem in pulling your float closer and stringing the fish?

 

[Mr. X]

Why would you want to use a wrist lanyard? What problem do you see it solving?
cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

Interesting. I've seen wrist loops on images posted on the forum & thought it was normal practice to use a wrist-loop (as you would with a torch...or perhaps you wouldn't) for those not attaching their gun to the float-line (as I do currently).

As to the reason: to prevent accidental loss & to allow the shooting hand to be freed up - to, for example, pick-up a crab.

Presumably the counter argument is that you could get entangled (the main reason I am not currently attached to my gun or float line)?

stringing fish is not a science people any which way if there is allot of rope involved it will get irritating thats just part of spearing, in SA 99% of spearo's just string directly on the float due to sharks. and you generally have to surface after the kill. So whats the problem in pulling your float closer and stringing the fish?

Good point covert. I did recently sigh when I realised how far away my float had gotten by the time I came to string a fish (the tide was ripping through). I was tired and almost back to shore. Mind you, the thought of unclipping & re-clipping the Orca clip of a speed stringer might be equally unappealing. I don't shoot many fish and I'm trying to pare down the gear -- so maybe I'll forego the speed stringer for now. I usually use the stringer spike to dispatch fish anyway (unless the float is 20 or 30m away!).

 

[covert]

its a case of finding whatever works for you as an individual i guess. I personally just do the basic rig like most SA spearo's. I'm probably just use to it by now, but i find it works well, nothing fancy dont have to worry bout things breaking or unhooking etc. Im sure If we applied our minds to it there could be a more conveniant solution, though Mr X if I do shore dives im lucky enough to know exactly what my deepest dive will be and I have floatline ropes with the exact lengths for each shore dive. If we go by boat its generally not a problem since we throw the fish in the boat to avoid atracting sharks. To me its a case of not using a 30m rope on a 15m Max dive.

Since shorter harder ropes are easier to manage and you tangle less. and to pull in a 15m float line takes about 4 seconds