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hawaiian sling users????

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Tristan

New Member
Apr 24, 2006
8
0
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I have just recently bought a hawaiian sling but im not having much luck with it any techniques?
 
What are your usual hunting grounds? I've had good luck at the edge of kelp beds using the aspetto (ambush) technique. Go down as quiet as possible, hug the bottom 'till something (other than your buddy) swims by. Then fillet, cook, eat! :p

Good Luck!

Rick
 
Tristan
Are you using a real hawaiian sling or a pole spear (3-prong or otherwise)?
A Hawaiian Sling is a free shaft powered by a band with pocket to hold the back of the shaft. A pole spear is much longer, and has the band permanently attached to the back end.
The difference is in keeping from losing a free shaft by a fish swimming off with it versus being having control of the spear, but potentially having to drive it down onto the rocks or sand to ho d a fish on.
Hunting techniques are similar. For most users of both weapons, get close to the quarry while nonchalantly holding the spear at full draw, some times for many seconds, all the while pretending to be invisible.
It is a very challanging way to hunt, as well as being more sporting and conservation oriented. Its also much harder!
The tw techniques I use are aspetto (lying quietly on the bottom), or hunting quietly by moving VERY SLOWLY.
And again, it should be cocked before you see the fish, so start working out.
nd, good luck with doing it "like a man"
Howard
 
I have been fishing regularly with a pole spear in regularly pressured reef in Saipan. took a break after the first month due to blisters fromt the sling, and trying to hold it every way imagineable.

needless to say heavily pressured fish know the difference between a quiet spearfisher and a bubbling tourist. They bolt from the spearfisher/snorkeler, and visit the bubblers! but this means that if you can succeed in these conditions you are getting better, and your lack of success means that more fish are surviving for another day.

so ASPETTO appears to work with the larger reef fish, curiosity kills more than cats! but getting past that 2 minute wait before that cruitial surface ghasp is a real challenge. I guess natural curisoity has a 2 minute threshold where all fish must be reasoning with themselves "What was that? should I check it out? is it dead? it's still making thumping sounds, is it edible? I'm Hungry. is it a wounded shark? My what big eyes you have! what strange fins those are! those dont look very eficcient at avading predators......WHAAAM!

I am not too sure what they are thinking after this point, maby I will ask one of them on my next dive.

good luck with patience under pressure, it is a DOOZY!
 
When you shoot a pole spear, do you let go and let it fly out of your hand towards the fish or do you try to keep the band on your hand at the end? I have a three peice pole spear that I tried years ago and did not have much luck with it. I kind of flared out my hand upon release as I did not want to lose the thing to a miss.

Was I doing it wrong? I only caught about six fish with it, of course I never lost it either.... Also, what do you use to replace the band? Mine has been on the garage wall for about ten years, and the band has decayed.
 
Yo dudes! I love my H.sling-

I have attached a small lenght of kevlar string to the rear cap that holds the rubber and attached it to my wrist so that if I do loose grip with reality...roflI can just pick it up.

By the way I have a couple and my favorite is my 3 piece gold aluminum one pricey it was but holy crap is it fast.

Also if you are having trouble with sighting try to pronate (that is rotation of the wrist inward) till your shooting thumb is pointed down and the shaft lays on top of your horizontal arm and site it off the shoulder and cheek! Tinker with this and good luck!
 
The hand-made slings are succesfully used by me and my friends (in Russia) for more than 20 years.
Sling.jpg
(sorry for quality, this is phone-made photo).
It is about 110 cm length. We use it for both searching and ambush techniques depending on current target/visibility conditions. Just try to be more quiet ;)
 
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Does anyone know where you can buy the thin rubbers needed for these kinds of poles ? Ideally off the internet in Europe somewhere ? Guess it is 12mm rubber ? Thinking of making a sling :)

__________________
Edward
 
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