Fish stringer: bad loss!

[dave]

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

.

Apart from the entanglement issues, having the loaded gun dangling from your wrist pointing who knows where is not a terribly good idea
Wrist lanyards on guns are a very very bad thing. They dont solve any problems and they create several (potentially fatal) ones of their own

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

 

[Mr. X]

I appreciate the advice & insight Dave & Covert. I bought the shortest float line available at the time, which I think is 20m/66ft but I've picked up a few other lines since which I could try. I generally avoid diving deep, so 15m (or pos even 10 or 12m) will probably be enough. I should probably get some aquarium air tube, I imagine it would tangle less.

 

[covert]

Allot of people use the harder lines i prefer normal line and i guess i have adapted to a diving style that doesnt entagnle me around every peace of kelp i meet.

I also have a drop anchor that i use to mark good spots, but if i know i want to go into a thick kelp forest and do some serious bottom searching i detach the line from my gun, attach the 1kg drop anchor/weight in the center of my hunting grounds and I dive free through the kelp forest. with my buoy always close enough at hand. dont know if that will help you in your environment.

 

[covert]

you could probaly also use 15m of mono instead of trying hollow pvc tubing wich will be heavy and cumbersome.

 

[deep thinker]

Theres a few threads on here on how to make the clear pvc float line using the line and a mono through it, crimped and sealed at the ends. Looks to work quite well and also the line itself floats wich is a bonus.
I use 5m of bungee as a floatline when hunting in the kelp or in shallows with rough waters, you can easily dive to about 8m without to much strain from the bungee and if you hit a big one the bungee playes well. Also its pretty rigid and doesnt tangle easily. When we dive off a boat I have a line winder with 15m of rope line to the float and the 5m bungee going to the gun. If its not too kelpy it works a charm as you can roll off as much line as you like.
Back to the stringers, I either string to my float like Covert or I just made a bodyboard float with a stringer and net bag on top, fish gets strung and goes into the meh bag effectively keeping them from being eaten by gulls as well as keeping them out of the water

 

[azapa]

so many answers, so many styles, so many waters....

FLOATLINES: I have seen many people use ONLY the PVC tube, no mono or line in the middle. It works great. It will NOT hold a 20KG fish though. 10 yes. I personally use the cheapest nylon rope, about 1/4" dia., from my hardware store. It is so cheap, that it is stiff (does not knot up) and can be replaced once a year. I tie bowlins, and carefully put heatshrink tube over the knots to stop them coming undone (as I said, the cheap rope is stiff) don't heatshrink the ends of the sleeve so as not to heat and damage the rope.

WRIST STRAP: I use an 12" or so loop of rubber. My hand fits through it, but is not tied to it. The rubber would break with a firm tug. My gun sinks when loaded, and often I need to have a spare hand free. The strap is great then. Never tie yourself to your gun, I guess is what everyone is agreeing on. The strap I mention is useful and safe.

 

[Sarnian]

Hi

Just seen this thread as I'm re-thinking my stringer, having lost the actual spike off the line the other day. The strange thing was, the loop it was tied on was still intact ... I can only think that the hole had rusted through, but unlikely as the spike was a shop bought Beuchat stainless one.

I favour Old Man Dave's method, which he recommended to me, i.e. strong nylon cord tied around your back and the stringer passes through a metal shackle on the front of your belt. We don't have sharks here ( well ... not usually!) and I personally do a lot of stealthing through kelp beds for bass, often leaving my float anchored nearby ( I've got a weight attached to the line, near the point it clips on to another shackle at the back of my belt).

I haven't yet been in the fortunate position of having loads of big fish on my stringer but if I did, I also carry a catch bag strapped to my float which they could go in.

Any thoughts on how best to rig this with nylon thread, instead of mono, would be appreciated. The advantage of mono ( as with some stringers ready made you can buy, e.g. Omer) is that you can use crimps and loops, which I assume pass more easily through the fish than knots in nylon line - especially my knots as I'm crap at them!

 

[Pastor]

One of those threads where I've been wondering what the outcome was. Spaghetti, what did you do in the end?

 

[spaghetti]

One of those threads where I've been wondering what the outcome was. Spaghetti, what did you do in the end?

You're right Pasty, what was the outcome?
Well I finally went classic, or almost classic, and got the Omer Marco Bardi's stringer.
I'm happy with it huntingwise, but I made e nice cut on my buddy's RIB (rofl) while I was sitting on the side board as the sting was protruding too much downwards off its sheath. Following buddy's kind advice vangry) I fitted it to keep the sting "edge-up" and no problems since then. This is also a disclaimer, valid for all the guys going around on their buddies' RIBs with a Marco Bardi's stringer kit.

 

[Pastor]

roflroflroflroflrofl

That's a classic! rofl A great piece of advice that Omer should put on the packing rofl

 

[Mr. X]

Thanks for sharing that Spaghetti -- I am sure we'd all want to avoid piercing a host's RIB.

Hi

Just seen this thread as I'm re-thinking my stringer, having lost the actual spike off the line the other day. The strange thing was, the loop it was tied on was still intact ... I can only think that the hole had rusted through, but unlikely as the spike was a shop bought Beuchat stainless one
...

Any thoughts on how best to rig this with nylon thread, instead of mono, would be appreciated. The advantage of mono ( as with some stringers ready made you can buy, e.g. Omer) is that you can use crimps and loops, which I assume pass more easily through the fish than knots in nylon line - especially my knots as I'm crap at them!

How odd.

I would think OMD or Foxfish would be able to help you. What sort of nylon thread are you using. I was thinking of making one out of 2.5mm or 2mm strimmer line - perhaps that is too strong though? I don't yet have a crimper, so I would scar the ends to roughen them & then whip them & super glue them (as I currently do for my spearline). The whipping idea came from a Guernsey spearo - it has a low profile. Alt. perhaps braided nylon (e.g. chalk line or cord from blinds) could be used?

 

[carlo8989]

i found this on a website it shows like what a normal stringer is and it also explains what you will need to make one and how it works.


It would be inconvenient and time consuming to return to the shore each time a fish was caught. The usual way of overcoming these problems is to carry them on a fish keep attached to the diver, or better still, attached to the float. This is not an item that is readily available in the shops but fortunately it is easy to make up for yourself. The most popular type of fish keep consists of a length of strong cord (1 to lUm. in length) with a stainless steel or aluminium bar attached. The bar needs to be between 6-9 inches in length, sharpened at one end and with a hole drilled centrally. If a round bar is used, a diameter of 5 or 6mm. will prove sufficiently strong. The cord is threaded through the hole in the bar and knotted.
The free end of the cord is firmly attached to the float or the divers weight belt. The bar forms a 'T' shape when hanging loose on the end of the cord, preventing the loss of fish. When a fish has been caught, it is advisable to put it on the fish keep before removing the spear; many fish have been lost by using the reverse of this procedure! The usual method of securing the fish is to thread the sharpened end of the bar through the gills and out of the mouth.
A surprisingly large number of fish can be held on a single fish stringer.

 

[azapa]

carlo: this is my take, since improved replacing cord with mono + crimps http://forums.deeperblue.net/diy-homemade/71774-iki-spike-stringer-combo.html

 

[carlo8989]

thanks m8 this is good i was going to make other one which is complecated but this is less and more improved thanks alot and for reply

carlo: this is my take, since improved replacing cord with mono + crimps http://forums.deeperblue.net/diy-homemade/71774-iki-spike-stringer-combo.html

 

[settingsteel]

Excellrent thread !!!

 

[Mr. X]

As this thread has been revived...
I like the idea of speed-stringing fish onto my float line (although as Marwan said, it could get unpleasantly fishy) to avoid having to retrieve or return to my float. However, I don't like the idea of detaching my speargun from the floatline - especially when dealing with a fish. Also, I find those big game Orca clips awkward, sometimes painful, to open. I wonder if the basic speed-stringer set up could be improved upon?

Miles already suggested a lanyard that moves the spike up the floatline a way. I guess using a different type of clip/caribiner solve the Orca problem. Is there a way to spike the fish onto the float line without the gun ever being detached from the float-line?

Perhaps some kind of 2-point attachment system would be required. Also, I recall seeing, long ago, a device used on yachts that allowed a cable (a safety line to the yachtsman I think) to somehow pass over junctions in the main cable rail that went around the boat while the safety cable always stayed attached.

[Spaghetti, dinner tonight: fresh, grilled sardines to start, followed my meatballs & pasta. BTW most of our Baked Beans are Italian now -- surely Italians don't eat baked beans?]

 

[spaghetti]

hey...pssst! Mr X I don't know exactly what the English mean by the word baked (means "cooked" somehow, but how?) but there are lots of classic beans recipes in the italian traditional home cooking, especially Tuscan.
The most popular recipes are Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and beans, but is't basically a soup), and Fagioli all'uccelletto (curious name: translated in english it would sound as something like "watch-the-birdy beans", ha ha ha, true! It's a side dish to accompany meat courses).
recipes:
fagioli all'uccelletto (watch-the-birdy beans):
W4E: Fagioli all'Uccelletto Recipe (Italian white beans with tomato & sage) | Italy
pasta e fagioli:
Pasta and Bean Soup -- Pasta e Fagioli

 

[fleshy]

my stringer, is a stringer, that is tied around my waist. Ik its there, because its uncomfortable, and its also difficult to tie and untie, so its fairly safe.

 

[Mr. X]

hey...pssst! Mr X I don't know exactly what the English mean by the word baked (means "cooked" somehow, but how?) but there are lots of classic beans recipes in the italian traditional home cooking, especially Tuscan.
The most popular recipes are Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and beans, but is't basically a soup), and Fagioli all'uccelletto (curious name: translated in english it would sound as something like "watch-the-birdy beans", ha ha ha, true! It's a side dish to accompany meat courses).
recipes:
fagioli all'uccelletto (watch-the-birdy beans):
W4E: Fagioli all'Uccelletto Recipe (Italian white beans with tomato & sage) | Italy
pasta e fagioli:
Pasta and Bean Soup -- Pasta e Fagioli

Spaghetti, I think baked beans probably originated in the good ol' US of A, as cowboy food "a mess of beans" or as "pork and beans". You can still get cans of them in the US & some are very good (Bush's?). I believe they are/were navel beans in sweetened tomato sauce and they became very popular in the UK when Heinz sold and heavily advertised them ("Beanz Meanz Heinz"). "Beans on Toast" is the classic serving (for pretty much any meal) but beans are also often served with a "Full English Breakfast" or with chips (french fries) and usually something else like meat/egg/battered fish/sausage/pie/pastie. Best washed down with a mug of hot tea (not wine). You been missing out Spaghetti - time for a visit to Old Blightyrofl.

A good source of fibre, protein, sugar, salt &...wind (gas).

We get Pasta e Fagioli in cans too (and Italian white beans) and some very poor imitations of pizza. BTW have you every tried Chicago-style sausage pizza with a corn flour base?

 

[Marwan]

However, I don't like the idea of detaching my speargun from the floatline - especially when dealing with a fish. Also, I find those big game Orca clips awkward, sometimes painful, to open. I wonder if the basic speed-stringer set up could be improved upon?

Miles already suggested a lanyard that moves the spike up the floatline a way. I guess using a different type of clip/caribiner solve the Orca problem. Is there a way to spike the fish onto the float line without the gun ever being detached from the float-line?


[Spaghetti, dinner tonight: fresh, grilled sardines to start, followed my meatballs & pasta. BTW most of our Baked Beans are Italian now -- surely Italians don't eat baked beans?]

X dont worry about this , you typically kill the fish completely while the spear is still in, once its dead, take it off the spear and then detach the line to string it (thats a few seconds with a dead fish) no problems there..