Floats & Flashers

[ihab]

Obviously I'm new at this.....

When & Why do you use floats.
I also see that some hunters connect their guns to Floats while hunting.

I hunt in shallow waters...mainly reefs & caves...will floats come in handy in any way.

Are Flashers necessary
Do spearos normaly use flashers in all their hunting....I've never used them but very tempted to do so.

Thanks:t

 

[Groupermadness]

Hi Ihab. To be honest the only necessary thing a spearo needs is a gun but to answer your Questions(and there are numerous threads covering this already) the floats are a base for shore entry spearo's (no need if you go in from a boat unless traffic is high,recomend one as a marker) so it is a platform/inflatable store for all you need on a days hunting, water,spare spears,spare tips,second and third guns, hook for getting prey out of holes, ETC.......... as for the flashers i only used them a while back on a night hunt to mark prey stuck in caves, but they were very annoying, lights on lights off , very confusing in the dark....

 

[miles]

Hiya

Floats. A float is one of the essential items a spearo should have. The majority of spearo's connect a 20-40m long float line, which is anything from 4-8mm rope, to the float and the other end to your gun. This makes losing your gun very difficult.

Secondly, floats are a place where you store your fish on. Assuming you're diving from shore and not from a boat. If you didin't have a float, you'd have to put the fish on a body stringer, which is NOT RECOMMENDED, or you'd have to swim out to shore each time you shot a fish.

Thirdly, but MOST importantly, a float shows other water user that there is a spearo in the water. With-out a float, boats, jet-ski's, paddleski's, ect can't see you and you could get seriously hurt/maimed or killed if a boat drives over you.

Flashers. Used primarily for attracting pelagic fish. They work for some reef fish, so it might be worth a try in your area. When hunting pelagics, you're often in very deep water, with absolutely no structure. By deploying a flasher, you're creating a attractant for these curious pelagic fish. They will come in to have a look at your flasher, which will hopefully give you an opportunity to spear them!!

Hope that helps!

Regards
miles

 

[ihab]

Thanks Miles & Groupermadness for your replies.

Would a Float be able to withstand a man's body weight of about 90 kg without sinking.

I'm not sure how this questions sounds....I'm trying to get a feeling of what a float would be capable of.

Thanks

Hiya

Floats. A float is one of the essential items a spearo should have. The majority of spearo's connect a 20-40m long float line, which is anything from 4-8mm rope, to the float and the other end to your gun. This makes losing your gun very difficult.

Secondly, floats are a place where you store your fish on. Assuming you're diving from shore and not from a boat. If you didin't have a float, you'd have to put the fish on a body stringer, which is NOT RECOMMENDED, or you'd have to swim out to shore each time you shot a fish.

Thirdly, but MOST importantly, a float shows other water user that there is a spearo in the water. With-out a float, boats, jet-ski's, paddleski's, ect can't see you and you could get seriously hurt/maimed or killed if a boat drives over you.

Flashers. Used primarily for attracting pelagic fish. They work for some reef fish, so it might be worth a try in your area. When hunting pelagics, you're often in very deep water, with absolutely no structure. By deploying a flasher, you're creating a attractant for these curious pelagic fish. They will come in to have a look at your flasher, which will hopefully give you an opportunity to spear them!!

Hope that helps!

Regards
miles

 

[Mr. X]

Another important aspect of using a float for me is that it makes you much more visible to boats, kayaks, ski-doos, etc..

Re. "...withstanding a man's body weight...", humans float more or less in the sea anyway...add a wetsuit and they float real well (add a weight belt & they usually loose a lot but not all of that benefit).

 

[seaman]

attach a whistle to your float to increased safety, and try to tag a flag pole on it if there is too much boat traffic ....

 

[poacher]

The float is definately a good thing for safety as said above it will show your location to boats and also to your buddy if you become seperated it is easy to find your mate in rough water if he has a float and flag whereas it is very difficult to spoy another diver from more than 20m or so in rough water.
The float is great to rest on if you are a bit overweighted as many people are when spearing in shallow water -being overweighted allows you to lie motionless in 1 or 2m of water very usefull for spearing some types of fish.
however if you get a cramp or just want to rest you can not float on the surface without kicking to stay up with a float you can just hold onto it and it will keep your head up. a float of 11 litres volume will give you approximately 11kgs of lift this is plenty for a diver even 3 kgs overweighted to rest on and 3kgs over weight is too much in my opinion.You can remove a weight or 2 from your belt and attach to the float to adjust your weight for safety if you want to dive deeper or rest.
if diving in ares that would tangle a float line you can secure the float line to the bottom and swim back to it after you finish diving in a cave or what ever.
Note I am not refering to you personal body weight when I say 3kgs over weight I mean 3kgs more lead on your belt than wat will allow you to just float on the surface.
Peter

 

[ihab]

Great info on this one.....how do you "secure the float line to the bottom"

I never used a float.:t

The float is definately a good thing for safety as said above it will show your location to boats and also to your buddy if you become seperated it is easy to find your mate in rough water if he has a float and flag whereas it is very difficult to spoy another diver from more than 20m or so in rough water.
The float is great to rest on if you are a bit overweighted as many people are when spearing in shallow water -being overweighted allows you to lie motionless in 1 or 2m of water very usefull for spearing some types of fish.
however if you get a cramp or just want to rest you can not float on the surface without kicking to stay up with a float you can just hold onto it and it will keep your head up. a float of 11 litres volume will give you approximately 11kgs of lift this is plenty for a diver even 3 kgs overweighted to rest on and 3kgs over weight is too much in my opinion.You can remove a weight or 2 from your belt and attach to the float to adjust your weight for safety if you want to dive deeper or rest.
if diving in ares that would tangle a float line you can secure the float line to the bottom and swim back to it after you finish diving in a cave or what ever.
Note I am not refering to you personal body weight when I say 3kgs over weight I mean 3kgs more lead on your belt than wat will allow you to just float on the surface.
Peter

 

[Groupermadness]

I have always had the problem here in Cyprus that when i use the bright orange torpedo float the jet ski'ers alway buzz around to look what it is(Tourists and Village idiots) so i dont use it anymore, i have a home made blue float and never had a visitor yet. Bliss.

 

[sickbugs]

problem may be that now, nobody can see your float.. ive had people buzzing my float allready (and almost killing me in the process) and i find that pointing my speargun at them is a good deterrent, if they were to complain to the police/coast guard about me pointing a weapon at them, im quite willing to take it to court if needed.

 

[poacher]

To anchor your float to the bottom you can use a special anchor -that is very small and light or a a looo of light wire or cord that you can tie around a rock or coral.
Sorry I can not give a better reply now just arrived home from a long day and night too sleepy at the moment
Peter