gun reels

[Daniel]

I'm rather new to diving outside and just bought a cressi-sub gun. My mate said to get a reel for it but i read somewhere that they can be a death trap for beguinners. can someone please tell me the cons and pros of reels. also at what size fish do you usually start to need a float?

 

[mackdiver]

I think a floater depends on where your diving and how long you stay out. When I go out with my friends they stay out a long time .....5-8 hours. So as well as using a float to fight fish ...I also use the float as a place to rest. I was also thinking of getting a reel, but will probably save it for when I get a boat / kayak. This is a good question, waiting to hear other responces to you question.

 

[papageo]

Hi there, my first post in this forum..

A gun reel is not really nesessary. It only depends on the kind of fish you hunt.
You said it could be a death trap. Unfortunately there have been only a few accidents because of a reel malfunction here in Greece over the past years. The reason was unpropper filling of the reel. The rope was comming so fast out of the reel that a single thread of rope ,which came out of the reel jammed the whole mechanism.

My opinion is that you get a reel but before you use it, try to figer out how it exactly works. Study every little piece of it. Master it out of the water and later,be prepared to use it safely in the water.

Cressi is knowned for the quality of the products. I assume you have an Apache speargun. I don't think there are many imitation reels for this type of speargun, because the gun has a certain position for the reel.
When you get the reel, do not overload it. I think the capacity is 50-60 meters. I think they are enough.

To tell you the truth I have used mine only one time, but if it wasn't for it, the 13kgr grupper (rofos) would still be swimming

I am open for any kind of questions you may have.

 

[Daniel]

Thanks for the info, i think that i'll get a bit more used to the gun before i get a reel ive been told that using an extra rubber on my Apache 90 could kink the barrel, is this likely. also my girlfriend is starting to dive and wants to come outside diving to look around and take some photos but she struggles with kicking co-ordination and can't get anywhere neer close enough to the bottom to take photos. she also tends to panic if she sees anything big which worries me. iv'e never seen anything like it!?! any suggestions??


Happy hunting :

 

[andrsn]

reel necessities

Daniel:

i've been spearfishing for quite some time in the florida keys. as a beginner, the reel was the cool thing to "add-on" to my gun. the float and line was too much of a pain at that time. as i got into the sport, i progressed through larger guns and finally became comfortable with a certain setup that gave me the range to hunt all the fish i wanted to cover. well, the reel became too much of a hassle and i soon realized how great the float setup was. not only did it give me an idea of how deep i was, it also let my buddies know where i was as well as oncoming boaters. also it became a place to clip my gun to and rest w/o having to swim back to the boat. some of my friends have even made float boards where they can temporarily store their catch.

i started w/ the ski rope, but then learned how a "float line" would keep the line up and out of the way of your business without interfering w/ bouyancy. i think the only reason to have a reel is if you have a small gun and you're going deep, or you're hunting around kelp or something that restricts the use of a float. otherwise, i'd pass on buying into a reel.

if you're really up for it, you can make a cheap float line. go to
Kitto's website. i've made all mine.

it all comes down to where and how you are hunting. if you're fishing 20 to 90' open reefs, the floatline works best, in my opinion. plus, you're able to fight the fish from the surface without too much technical "reeling".

good luck, and i hope this isn't too late of an entry...

anderson

 

[Jay Styron]

gun reel

Hi Daniel,
I personally like using a reel w/ my gun. I started serious freediving in the Fla. Keys and we were hunting some wrecks in 130 fsw, the structure would rise to 60-70 fsw. We started out w/ a float line attached to the gun and after shooting a few fish that headed towards to wreck and not being able to stop them we started having second thoughts. Its a bad feeling seeing your gun going off in the gloom not knowing if you'll see it again. I started clipping my float line to my belt and using a reel. If I shot a large fish and I couldn't stop him from tangling in the wreck at least I would still have my gun and just lose the shaft. I like the float a reel system so I can hunt awat from the boat, put my fish on a stringer under the float,and if I have to drop my belt for any reason at least my float will mark it. As for using the reel, I use it for line storage only. When the fish runs I let him have line and when I start pulling him in I let the gun and line trail behind me out of the way(most of the time). When the fish stops its run and you start pulling it in tighten the drag a little so it won't freespool. After the fish is on the stringer then I reel the line back on. Also when you originally load the reel besure to put the line on in the direction so that as it spools off it will loosen the drag not tighten it. The reel was a bit awkward at first but I really like mine and have one on just about all of my guns, I would rather take a chance losing my shaft than my gun/shaft. Thats just my personal opinion though. I'm sure you'll do great w/ either system. Take care.
Jay

 

[Daniel]

thanks for the info. im using a float at the moment, but i find that when im around bommies, etc. that stick out of the water it gets tangled, yet if i shorten it so that it doesnt i get to the end of my line. would a reel be better in this situation, or would it just waste time (i dont dive much over 40 ft)?

 

[Jay Styron]

Hi Daniel,
I personally think a reel would be a good investment. That would allow you to return to the surface w/ your gun even if the fish holes up. When hunting in the situation you described I would probably ditch the float too, although it does give you a place to put your fish. Again my way definately isn't the only way but I think it's worth a try. Someday I'd like to get down your way and try some hunting there myself, I hear its great. Take care and good hunting.
Jay

 

[Daniel]

hi.
the spearing is great hear! there are fish of all sizes, in all depths I don't even have to dive over 25 ft to shoot jew and king fish in one of my favorite secret locations. I can dive without interuption from others and feel safe on my own as its close to the headland cant go wrong! i'd like to go up that way one day but i hate sharks and have been told that there are alot up there, is this true


Happy spearing

 

[Jay Styron]

Hi Daniel,
It sounds like you have a spearing paradise there. One of these days I'll get down there to see it for myself. We have some pretty good shooting here at times, more opportunities from offshore than beach diving though. I've done good on the jetties around the inlets, w/ flounder,sheephead, bluefish, and jacks. Offshore I've gotten some good grouper,snapper and jacks. The sharks have been pretty thick this year but over all I don't believe they've been too much of a problem if you pay attention. Our viz. probably isn't as good as yours but usually w/ the near shore stuff if I can see them I can kill them. I don't get to go as much as I would like, but none of us do. I'm in Key Largo, Fla now on a job but hopefully I'll get a chance to get out here. It's probably more like you're used to here. Warm,clear water. Take care.
Jay

 

[andrsn]

hey jay....

i'm heading back home(florida) soon to get my NaClH20 fix. my two favorite spots are out Elliot Key and South Key Largo. i should be hunting Key Largo for 3 or 4 days and am interested in some new spots. i recall you talking about spearing around wrecks. are you referring to the Dwayne?

anderson

 

[Jay Styron]

Hi Anderson,
Yea, the Duane and Bibb are the ones we hunt. I've also hunted off Elliot Key, its nice up there. Off Key Largo we dive from Pickles reef down to Alligator Reef. We may be diving this weekend. I work w/ the program that has the underwater habitat @ Conch Reef. So while I'm here I get to ck. out the fish life. This week it's been 70-100' viz, light seas, 86 temp.,and no current. When are you coming down?
Jay

 

[andrsn]

i'm down the first week in october. pretty psyched since it's been over 4 months since i've been in the water. plus, my boat's in key largo and i know it's itchin to get out too. where's the other wreck you mentioned? and, do you know any spots for cobia?

also, last time i was out i got a true cubera snapper a little south of the research station in about 70'. what an interesting fish..... now i see how they can eat whole lobster!

if you have any more reports on the fish, please share... i'd appreciate it. i know you understand how different fish mean different hunting.

thanks for the response.


anderson

 

[Jay Styron]

Fla update

Hi Anderson,
The weather's been great since I've been down here. Today I went out w/ some of my friends and we hunted from S. of the research area to Crocker Reef. It was a great day to be on the water. Seas 1-2ft, H2O temp 86, vis 50-70. We started on the shallow side of the reefs but didn't see many fish. I moved off in 40-50 ft and started seeing more.(Ithink the waters too warm in shallow) There I shot a Black Grouper about 20# and a Gray Trigger. I chased a couple of Muttons but they apparently knew th effective range of a 110cm Esclapez. I shot a nice Cerro Mackeral ,but my shaft went through and the line cut out. We saw some more Mackeral and picked up a few more Triggers. Some of our group shot a few Mangrove snapper. I got to see two Spotted Eagle Rays and a turtle. Thats always nice and reinforces that you don't have to kill something to have a good time freediving. I'll keep you posted on anymore activities. I'll have 9 days underwater to scope out the fish life so maybe I can give you a heads up on what to expect. Take care.
Jay

 

[andrsn]

very nice!

jay,

that would be great. i've heard the muttons are heading back out to deeper waters(commercial territory) but also heard the mangroves are still lingering around. just a reminder... the laws on the triggerfish have been changing around. a few of my friends have been fined for spearing what they thought was the grey. they sure are tasty, though. too bad you need a can opener to clean them.

a few more weeks and i'll be in the water! take a look at my site when you get a chance. it's still under construction, but i'm sure you'd get a kick out of it.

thanks for the updates!

anderson

 

[Erik]

Your Site

Hi Anderson, your site looks very cool. I just started sparfishing this year; i went out 2 days on the west coast, and caught nothing, but I swear I've never had such a good time. I "caught and released" over 300 fish those two days, and only took two shots(I missed). Spearfishing is a completely different aspect of apnea than i can describe. I bow to your skill and experience, and your cool website. maybe we can spear together one day.....you shoot stuff, while I try to figure out how to stalk!
Cheers,
Erik