Float attaches to gun or weightbelt?

[BarnacleBoy]

Hi,

Hope this isn't too daft a question...I've read the above thread, maybe missed something, but I need clarification on what lines are attached to what.

What is the float on the surface attached to? Is it your gun (so you can let go of it when you're sorting the shot fish out), or on a clip on your weight belt (so if you dump weights you don't loose them) or hand held in the non shooting hand? And as I understand it, a 'floatline' floats, so it doesn't get in your way (taking up the slack by floating)...but can this also be done using some type of reel that automatically winds up and unwinds as you dive and surface...and do people use them?

Are there any pictures of different set-ups? I've also heard of the float attached to an anchor, then a line attached to that (that can slide up and down the anchor line), so you can swim around a set radius, knowing that you're not drifting too far.

 

[azapa]

Hello there!

There are so many answers to that simple question. Why not use DeeperBlue to hook up with other UK spearos and go hunting with them. You'll learn more in 2 hours with an experienced spearo that 2 months on the interweb!

I have a 1kg weight on my float line and drop it to the bottom where I am hunting. My gun has a reel on it to avoid loss on fish that hole up or tangles. Its about the perfect solution for MY scenario.

Good luck

 

[hteas]

I attach the float line to a 2 lb weight in dirty water, and drop the weight where I find fish. That way I can find the site again. The dirty water gun has a reel for fighting fish.

In clear water I attach the float line to the gun, so I can handle fish from teh surface.
I the rare cases where I ahe been blue water hunting for larger fish, I attach teh shooting line to the float line. That way, even if I lose everything, I get to keep the gun ; )

 

[BarnacleBoy]

Thanks guys.

azapa - Yes, agree...I just don't want to be a pain to the first person I go out spearing with. As you say though, the first real trip will be where it all becomes clear.

 

[Anders]

I usually have the float line attached to the gun, then tie a small loop ~1.5m up the float line from the gun and attach the loop to a clip on my belt. Since the float line is only attached to the belt with a clip , I can detach it quickly if I spear a large fish, and the belt is attached to the line in case I need to dump it. Should I need to detach the line while I've shot a fish down deep, I'm also able to clip onto the line again while on the way to the surface and leave the line running through the clip. Then I'm still able to drop the belt without loosing it if necessary and will not be dragged down by the fish. If I hope to shoot really big fish I have the shooting line rigged break away directly to the float line without attaching it to myself.

 

[Broseidon]

I always attach the float line to the gun - personally, it shocks me that this is not a universal practice. Two simple reasons:

1) If you need free hands for any reason, you can just drop the gun with no worries

2) Why on earth would you want to attach a rope to your belt!?!? You massively increase your chances of getting snagged and for everyone who thinks it'll be super easy to just unclip their rope or belt in an emergency, I just pray that you never get into a tight situation 40ft down where your rope is snagged up, you're panicking and you're out of air. Yes, you'll probably be fine but why take an added risk?

 

[BarnacleBoy]

Thanks Broseidon - yes, I'm figuring floatline to gun is the way I'll go.

 

[Anders]

I always attach the float line to the gun - personally, it shocks me that this is not a universal practice. Two simple reasons:

1) If you need free hands for any reason, you can just drop the gun with no worries

2) Why on earth would you want to attach a rope to your belt!?!? You massively increase your chances of getting snagged and for everyone who thinks it'll be super easy to just unclip their rope or belt in an emergency, I just pray that you never get into a tight situation 40ft down where your rope is snagged up, you're panicking and you're out of air. Yes, you'll probably be fine but why take an added risk?

1) I agree completely. If you have a float, a line and a gun, it seems obvious to me to that the line should, in the end, be attached to the gun.

2) The major reason for attaching the line to the belt is to be able to retrieve the belt if I get myself into a critical situation and need to dump the belt. Hence, no need to struggle with unclipping the line (which takes quite a bit more effort than opening the belt buckle) if I'm in a critical situation.
Reason two: a float has a nasty tendency to tug on the line if it's windy or there's a fast current. If it tugs on your belt it's not much of a problem, but if it tugs on your gun it can be a problem.
The third reason is that if I should black out, have a heart attack or whatever, it greatly increases my buddy's chance of both finding me and getting me to the surface before I suffer brain damage or drown. This is especially important in low visibility water.

 

[Broseidon]

2) The major reason for attaching the line to the belt is to be able to retrieve the belt if I get myself into a critical situation and need to dump the belt. Hence, no need to struggle with unclipping the line (which takes quite a bit more effort than opening the belt buckle) if I'm in a critical situation.

I can see that, makes total sense. In all honesty though, if I were in a situation where I was in such danger I needed to dump my belt, I wouldn't really care that much if I lost it

Reason two: a float has a nasty tendency to tug on the line if it's windy or there's a fast current. If it tugs on your belt it's not much of a problem, but if it tugs on your gun it can be a problem.

You're not the first person to mention that although I have to say, I've never experienced it myself and I've fished a fair few hard currents. I think it's more of an imagined problem than an actual one, i.e. people who don't attach their line to their gun imagine that it will happen when in fact it doesn't or if it does, it's not really noticeable.

The third reason is that if I should black out, have a heart attack or whatever, it greatly increases my buddy's chance of both finding me and getting me to the surface before I suffer brain damage or drown. This is especially important in low visibility water.

Now unless you are diving strictly with a buddy doing one-up one down in clear water, I don't agree with this. If he's 40m away spearing on his own there is practically zero chance of him noticing you're in trouble. Zero.

After every dive I look about to see where my buddy is, he's normally 30 - 60m away, half the times I look for him he's under water the other half he's face down in the water breathing up. The only way I'd ever know he was in trouble is if I came up and he was screaming for help. It's sad but true.

If he were in trouble under-water, I'd never be able to help him. Both of us know this and we dive as safely as we can.

 

[octopus]

Although there are number of points regarding convinience of the float, the main reason for float is to mark one's position (at all times) so traffic can spot the diver.
I am not aware of UK having regulations regarding spearfishing gear details (apart from fish minimum landing sizes).
But in many other countries (for example Croatia), the buoy is to be attached strictly to a weight belt or a body of the diver.
I guess you can recognise why lawmakers (usually the legal team + health and safety experts + experienced spearos) wanted to mark the diver, not the gun.

 

[BarnacleBoy]

I've yet to buddy dive, but I assumed it happened on a one up one down basis (one resting on the surface whilst the other dives). If this isn't the case then surely the whole SWB thing isn't covered and then you're effectively diving alone?

 

[Anders]

I can see that, makes total sense. In all honesty though, if I were in a situation where I was in such danger I needed to dump my belt, I wouldn't really care that much if I lost it



You're not the first person to mention that although I have to say, I've never experienced it myself and I've fished a fair few hard currents. I think it's more of an imagined problem than an actual one, i.e. people who don't attach their line to their gun imagine that it will happen when in fact it doesn't or if it does, it's not really noticeable.




Now unless you are diving strictly with a buddy doing one-up one down in clear water, I don't agree with this. If he's 40m away spearing on his own there is practically zero chance of him noticing you're in trouble. Zero.

After every dive I look about to see where my buddy is, he's normally 30 - 60m away, half the times I look for him he's under water the other half he's face down in the water breathing up. The only way I'd ever know he was in trouble is if I came up and he was screaming for help. It's sad but true.

If he were in trouble under-water, I'd never be able to help him. Both of us know this and we dive as safely as we can.

I think most divers will hesitate, at least somewhat, to drop the weight belt when they know they're not going to retrieve it. At least I suspect that I would drop the belt on more occasions when I knew it was easy to retrieve it. That is the an easy selling point with me.

The "float tugging on gun" scenario is something I have experienced first hand a few times due to a too short bit of line between the gun and where I attach it to the belt. When the line is not sufficiently long that can happen even with this setup. It has only happened when I've been diving in a place where there's a fierce current on the surface, but almost no current down below. With a few fish on the stringer, the pull on the float can be substantial. However, it's probably not a very common problem since I've only ever experienced it in one particular spot.

I think the line being attached to the belt is an even better safety instrument in murky, as opposed to clear, water. Even if you apply the one up, one down buddy system it is very hard to keep track of each other when one man is below 30 feet in 10 feet visibility. The best way of doing that is keeping track of each other time wise, and knowing your buddy's average dive time. If I'm not up at the surface with "normal time", he can pull me up. Finding someone in murky water is very hard when you don't have a line to guide you. But, as you said, if your buddy is 40m away it's really not much help, but then you're not really practicing the buddy system either..

 

[manalive!]

I have always attached the float to the belt, but as a thought, how about attaching the float line to the gun via the belt? In this configuration the float pull would be absorbed buy you and the belt, and in the event of dropping the weight and/or gun then all is retrievable. The only down side is that there's more line to get snagged.

 

[spaghetti]

A floatline will always be an annoyment, either tied to the belt or to the gun. But of course I need a float because it's mandatory by law, and it's necessary to signal my position.
So what do I do? Belt or Gun? Neither of the too.
I ballast the end of the float line with a brick of lead: it will work as an anchor. I drop it to dive, hunt and explore within 50 meters around the anchored float.
When swimming to another spot, tuck the floatline and its ballast under the belt so to tow the float. When spot is reached, drop the ballast again and dive around. Repeat to every next spot.

 

[hteas]

Hawaii is another place where they require a dive flag. Legally you have to come up within 25 M of the flag, although they know how likely that is.

The reason for a reel and no float line, aside from entanglements, is obstructions. It's basically impossible to dive in a California kelp bed with a float line. The tangle with the kelp on your first dive could keep you there for the rest of the day. ; (

I have started using a reel because my best dive spots in Alaska are littered with boulders that may reach 5-6 m above the bottom. If I swim along the base of one of these I am likely to tangle the float line, severely limiting my manuverability.

 

[azapa]

exactly my Situation hteas. To be honest it may be depth related too. I found using the gun clipped to float easy-ish until I started doing deeper dives. It would be unthinkable for me now to try any dive deeper than 15m pulling a line behind me - just too much hard work on an already hard dive.

 

[BarnacleBoy]

...
The reason for a reel and no float line, aside from entanglements, is obstructions. It's basically impossible to dive in a California kelp bed with a float line. The tangle with the kelp on your first dive could keep you there for the rest of the day. ; (

So, does the reel automatically wind up the slack or is that done manually?

 

[hteas]

The reel is manual. All the yelling I do at it doesn't help at all. It just sits there on the gun and waits for me to do it all.

 

[BarnacleBoy]

Must be the water muffling your instructions...it can only be that....