Gee Fuzz, I am that predictable....yes ??
Uni,
I think Uncle Sven is right. MT0 will still outshoot ur JBL by far and it is the smallest of the Metal Tech. With ur current skill and succes with ur mini JBL, the MT0 will double ur catch. Why go longer if shorter will do. The Riffe shaft photo, maybe I am wrong but check with Riffe anyway to make sure, they have some misprint on some models. You can't go more silent than a Riffe, unless your buddy is deaf.
Give me a few days, I'll post photos on my MT0 catches cause for the past two weeks I have been visiting my wreck on both weekends and have done extensive testing on the MT0. The wreck is the main reason I bought this MT0 for. Remember I use scuba and I can witstand 2-2.5 knots current on that wreck. I am pointing this out to tell you how little drag it is and how easy it is to swing in the most unlikely places. All you need is to get the floater wing if uwant it to float and make it look cuter. I personaly do not know if it add any stability but as Uncle Sven put it :
"Any extra mass is a help".
U do not need the aluminum muzzle unless u want to power up to 5 x 9/16 rubbers and use 3/8" shaft.
Here are the highlights of the hunt.
Hunt 1, Saturday 2 weeks ago.
I was blessed visibility very rare to this 120 feet deep wreck. It was 30-40 feet. The shallowest deck lies at 65 feet. I armed my MT0 with 36" x 3/8 shaft cause I expected giant trevaly and golden trevaly to be around. Dive 1 was very nice cause in the morning current was 0.5 knots or less. There were no trevalies in sight so I go for the snappers. I was loading all the 5 bands. The viz allows me to see parts of the 565 foot long wreck which I never seen before cause usualy it was too dark and 10-12 feet viz. There were like 40 over snappers waiting for me at 120 feet on the sandy bottom under the hull. The ship sits on its port/left hull. I think there were 3 types of snappers. One is very dark red, the other is probably rather pink and a few is pink with a black dot on the tail. I took my time choosing the biggest size. I was amazed that they never run away from me as usual. I guess I learnt how to be more calm. I shot one from like 2 meters and the 3/8 shaft entirely penetrated till the shooting line. The 4 wraps I did was too long cause the fish swam into the wreck before I could recover the line. Firts fish was OK but the second one went real deep and got stuck in the hull which was torn open by torpedo damage. I dare not enter the wreck cause 60 years old torpedo holed wrecks could be very fragile to pressure of air bubbles expanding. I unclipped the line and tied it on some metal part of the broken hull. I will retreive that when I find a buddy to watch me. If that wreck collapse on me, at least my buddy will know where I died...Touch Wood...Touch Wood
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A friend once broke a 3" solid steel on a part of the wreck just because a fish went round and around it. The metal is that corroded and fragile.
On Second dive I got my buddy to watch me enter the torpedoed hull. I was holding my breath the entire entry some 25 feet into the superstructure. My fish was still stuck and twisted, so I just pulled hard and the shaft was freed from its flesh but the fish escaped. I swam out and only then started breathing. I shot some more snappers. The 2nd and 3rd snappers I was shooting with 4 bands only and kept 3 meters (10 feet ) distance and still I was shooting entirely into the fish. I have enough snappers (3 ) by the second dive.
Third dive is what I waited for cause current pick up later in the afternoon and it will be about 2 knots. This is when the trevalies will come to the wreck to play around the turbulence. I loaded 4 rubbers and went to the middle topedoed hull where the trevalies will be there if current is strong. The MT0 was a beauty in this strong current, I can swing aim left/right with ease where if I were using my 124cm Standard #2 Riffe, I would have the guns aim swept by current if I aim more then 2 o'clock position.
One hand on the broken metal hull to keep moving and kicking like mad to move forward. I reached the spot and started scanning. My left hand was in pain cause I used it to hold myself in position against the current. The glove I wore is only 2mm thick. I peek at the torpedoed hull below me and saw a big brown grouper. I hate this grouper cause it is not good eating, the meat is like rubber when this big ( 60 lbs ). Then out of the torn open hull rushed out a +- 16 lbs Golden Trevalya and a smaller one behind. The trevalies always swam out of this opening everytime I take a peek cause they then could hear my breathing. I aimed at the bigger one and it was far, more than 13 feet away. By the time I shot it, I just remembered that I loaded only 4 bands. I shot the trevaly from behind it, so there are more meat to penetrate, little did I know that the shaft did not full penetratring the fish. I used to hand to pull the shooting line towards me and natural I was swept by the current by then. I was going 6,oclock and the fish was going 12 o.clock. The spearhead lost grip and I lost the fish ......damn !!! At that size, it is considered a big one for this wreck.
I then drifted around the wreck and spotted another two 12 lbs golden trevalies. I waited for it to give me a side profile but it kept coming head on. I just shot and the shaft went till the shooting line in the gills. I call it a day, I got all I needed. I did not even stringe the fish and it dragged me down for the first 3 minutes while I was ascending.
Since I did not get easy penetration on that 16 lbs Golden Trevaly, I modified my 3/8" shaft. The first 6.5" forward of the 36" shaft was converted to 9/32" and to be made like a pencil point Hawaian single flopper. The shaft will look like Apollo 13 where the shaft will have two diameter. I want the 9/32 pencil point cause I need easier penetration and I maintain the rest of the 29.5" of 3/8" as 3/8" thickness to maintain momentum. I don't know if trajectory or accuracy will be effected, me need to experiment.
Hunt 2, Last Saturday.
The viz was so good last week, I have to come back with a video camera, and I did. Luck was not on my side, the viz was at its normal state, a lousy 12-15 feet and dark like hell. My modified 3/8" shaft was not ready, so I took my original 32" x 9/16 and screwed on the large spearhead. The first and second dive was video only, which the result was so poor in terms of the videography ( I scan too fast, had not hold a video for almost 2 years now ) and picture cause of water viz. On my 4th dive I took my MT0 because the current was much stronger than last week. My#2 Riffe was swept by the current on my 3rd dive, I almost could not aim, landed one golden trevaly. So I need my MT0 on 4th dive. The water was darker at 3:30 PM and the current was mad, must have been like 2.5 knots. I needed 700 psi just to hit 65 feet deck level, swam like mad and practicaly moving by hands on the descent line. I went back to one of my favourite broken hull at the bow. There were a few big golden trevalies swimming around and none was in range. With 5/16 shaft and only 4 bands, I think my best range will be at 13 feet and I doubt penetration on other than the soft flesh is possible. I was able to track the fast moving fishes with ease, it swam up and down on the broken open bow. They were almost invisible except for the yellow color of the tail and fins . I dare not shoot, it was too far. I too could not move forward too cause there is no part of the wreck to grab. Shooting a shaft against a current have taught me that the shaft power will be reduced. By the time the fishes seen too much of my bubbles, they disapeared.
So I went to the middle damaged hull where I failed to penetrate the trevaly last week. There were a few golden trevalies on the open water side zig zag-ing in to the current. It was too far. I usualy dared not move any deeper or be in front of this opening on the hull cause if I ever loose hold and start to drift inside, I won't be able to get out at this current speed. I decided to follow the hull contour to go deeper and keep the hole/opening on my right. This small MT0 was almost no drag on me, so I can move forward easier. I waited like 2 minutes before I decided to shoot and that shot was a desperate one, the bad viz screw up my distance estimation. I never thought the shaft could even reach the fish. Then I recalled my testing at 4 bands and only 3 wraps, the left over energy of the shaft pull is quite strong and it means I should be able to shoot effectively at about 16-17 feet (maximum distance of speartip to gun muzzle ) if for a mere +- 4" thick flesh on a 12 lbs fish. I do not know how far the fish was at the edge of that visibility, the spearhead did penetrate the shoulder when it gave me a side profile.
I call it a day cause I was getting tired after 4 dives and 2 of these trevallies are good enough for a nice meal. On the surface the wind already pick up throwing 3-4 footer waves. Since this is a center console boat, I was sprayed by the beam sea entirely for 2 hours ride 50 miles to home marina.
I am getting used to the MT0 and the more I use it the more amazing I find its performance, for such a short gun. This is a very suitable extreme current and low viz gun. More so if u are a scuba dude like me where the hand which holds the gun keeps getting hit non-stop by a current for an entire dive can get very painful cramps.
Sorry the post is long but in order for you to get the whole picture I guess how and where I do my dive is important info for you...after all I am "Mr. Long Post."...
