Follow-up starter questions

[j_c_w]

Hello ladies and gentlemen:

After 3 years free-diving, I'm finally ready to start out spearfishing in LA/OC. I've also just taken the brand-new FII spearfishing class, which was a big eye opener for me.

Having borrowed my buddies' gear thus far, it's time to buy my very first set of starter gear, so I have some questions that I hope you vets can contribute to. Please feel free to link me to previous postings if any of these questions have been answered earlier.

1. Is a mini speargun (< 50 cm) worth buying, or so under-powered that I should stick with pole spear or Hawaiian Sling instead?

2. Many guns are sold w/o reels. Is there are standard, conventional amount of mono line they come with? If so, what lengths are typical? I'm trying to find out if I really need to buy a separate reel or not if I'm just starting out.

3. To best preserve your catch, but avoid attracting sharks to your body, is it really enough to simply tie a stringer to any standard float, or keep them inside a long fish bag, maybe atop an inflatable mini-raft like the Beuchat Argo?

4. Any good glove recommendations? I don't have any feel in my 3mm, but nobody sells .5 mm anymore. Maybe Nitrile, Spectra, or Dyneema gloves from Home Depot?

5. Best ways to practice? Underwater fish decoys for target practice? Other ideas?

Looking forward to hearing from you!


Thanks,
Jon

 

[Mr. X]

Start simple. Don't over do the gear. You will soon figure what you need & what you don't.

You can get quite powerful 50cm spearguns (e.g. pneumatics & custom RA railguns) but they are typically intended for very poor viz and/or cave/wrecks. I would start with something more mainstream (for you location/conditions) until you figure out what you need.

2mm super-stretch gloves would probably work well for you but I find them a bit cold for UK waters.

 

[j_c_w]

Hi Mr X:

Thanks for replying. Riffe 36+ inchers seem to be the SoCal gun of choice, but I'm not ready to go there until I get more experience and $$$. Visibility is often less than 15 ft but I wanted something that could handle 14 inch (CA legal) fish of various species and weights. Do you think 70 cm aluminum euros, rails or americans could handle that?

So far, my main issues with my 3mm gloves are my fingertips getting caught between the wishbones and notches, and not enough friction when touching things on my palms and fingers. I do know warmth is necessary, but was hoping there might be other materials out there durable enough for ocean use that could reinforce my grip instead of feel slippery.


Your thoughts?
Jon