Guidelines for spearfishing along rocks, multiple people?

[Gab]

Hi all, I usually spearfish alone (I know, bad) and I will be taking a friend along with me. He has never spearfished. We will be hunting along a rocky coast, staying close to the rocks. We were wondering how we should be positioned for safety reasons, one in front of the other with enough distance were we can see each other, same alignment but with enough distance were we can't shoot each other (but this means we may not see each other), parallel to each other where we can see each other, etc?

I would like to be able to keep an eye on my friend so I was thinking having him in front of me as far as possible were I still see him, that way we can still both hunt along the rocks. Also sometimes in parallel so I can go deeper once he has the hang of it (we are going several days).

We will both have buoys.

Thanks,
Gabriel

 

[Apneaddict]

1 gun for 2 divers.

Only safe way to dive.

 

[cdavis]

For your situation, one up, one down is a near perfect solution. One gun makes it easy to enforce with new divers.

I used to think one up, one down was way too inefficient for my kind of spearing, but its not. In many ways it is more efficient, try it.

Connor

 

[Gab]

Ok, thanks guys!

 

[guanacaste]

Agreed. New divers should train in a pool and small reefs with a short gun that's easy to reload. New divers going out with an experienced diver should follow and watch. Accidents that can happen are always bad accidents when spear guns are involved. There's too much going on all at one for a new diver to be dealing with that makes it a liability to have two guns going at once.

Same applies to rifle and bow hunting "first trips".

 

[Insidethestorm]

I have taken quite a few noobs to the beach, and I think this seems to work well. I try to keep new divers within 25 feet of me, and they ALWAYS get a pole spear on the first trip. Most of the time, they are just trying to get their water legs, and don't end up diving much. I make sure to keep an eye on them, and really concentrate on teaching them to swim, not hunt. It's pretty un-natural to swim flat on top of the water, so they need a lot of time to figure it out. Positive reinforcement is key, and after an hour, most of them usually have it. Then, I'll have them start diving, like, 10-15 feet, and I tell them, "Bring me something from the sea floor." I usually get a sand dollar, or a rock. If they are comfortable, then we start hunting. The biggest fear they have is getting tangled in the kelp, so nobody ever goes into it. I'll show them how to move in the kelp, and how to use it to your advantage. No one I have ever gone with has taken a fish on the first trip, and only one person has not come back for more. I never get to hunt when I take noobs, but it's worth it to help someone discover what I think is the best thing on earth. Your job is to make sure they don't drown. If you're lucky, you might get a perch or something from the top, but if I wanted to kill fish, I would go with a spearo, or alone. Might think about taking a boogie board just so they have something to hold onto if they are having trouble. Hope this helps, good luck and bring a friend!