How to deal with BIG fish??(from a newbies perspective)

[Tristin O'Connell]

Hey guys Tristin, from South Africa here with some questions for you pros:

So I started spearfishing or became a "Spero" (a word I picked up from you guys) about 1 mounth ago and I've fallen in love with it!! I'm loving the feeling of being in the deep, blue and beuatiful ocean and being able to (usually) come back with a meal for yourself. I've become comfortable with the spearfishing techniques(still working on perfecting them...he he he )
I'm also really liking my gun, a nice but small Rob Allen 600mm

So back to my question while even in my short time spearfishing I've seen some monsters of fish that were just out of range of my gun...At first I was upset that I couldn't reach theses giants but as I thought about it, I wonderd what would happen if I shot that huge fish??
I have a 30m line tied to a float and attached to my gun but wouldn't this giant fishing just take my gun with it if I hit the fish?(I really don't want to loose my gun to big fish...)
Also what must I do in this situation?

Sorry for all the questions(which probably have simple answers...he he he) but I'm just really keen to learn what to do when dealing with a big fish!!
Thanks, Tristin

 

[Bill McIntyre]

The simple answer is that you need to use a float big enough to fight the fish you plan to shoot. I don't know what monster fish you have in mind, but giant tuna are taken by spear fishermen using large (and usually multiple) floats.

This photo shows one example. This Gannet float has 95 pounds of buoyancy, and it inflates to 2 atmospheres pressure so that it maintains that 95 pounds down to 33 feet before it starts compressing and losing lift.

With such a small gun I doubt that you need a float like that yet. Rob Allen makes hard floats in 7 liter and 12 liter sizes. I bet one of those would be sufficient. I use the 7 liter for fish up to 40 pounds. They are probably the most popular brand of floats for serious spearos in the US, and you are lucky that they are made where you live. I guess they must be a lot cheaper there since they don't have to travel across the sea. If you get one, get the foam-filled version. The foam keeps it from collapsing if its pulled deep.

http://www.neptonicsystems.com/rob-allen-floats.php

 

[MozSpearer]

What Bill has said quite covers it. A large enough float is very important when spearing in waters like SA. It is advisable that your floatline is quite longer than the water your diving in so a line like yours should suffice. I would suggest investing in a gun at least one metre long seeing that in SA you have clear waters and big fish like us is Mozambique. 1,1 or 1,2 would be ideal but I'll leave this discussion to another thread. There are a few of them here and good ones at that. But it seems like you are getting along well.

So if your floatline is long enough and you have a good float you can shoot fish that are quite big. Obviously not monster tuna or the like but a good size couta, queen mackerel or Natal snoek as some call them and the odd queenfish will be fairly easy to manage when shot, seeing that you have a good float and line.

Have fun and let us know how it goes!

Cheers
Mozzie

 

[Mr. X]

Love that Gannet float Bill - and the T-shirt . The Rob Allen website & videos are good sources of info. You could use a smaller solid float (e.g. I have a solid 11 litre RA float) that won't collapse at the front and then a second float-line to a larger inflatable float, the Gannet looks excellent. Probably worth using an RA break-away pouch to keep the second float-line manageable until deployed. You might also want to fit your railgun with an RA or homemade breakaway rig - so that the speargun can be freed from the fish->spear->line->float->line->float chain.

Alternatively, Tommy Botha's single large Tuna float appears to be made out of a fairly large sheet of thick wall insulation (about twice the width of that Gannet float) with a yacht cleat mounted on perspex attached; I believe it is used with thick rubber bungee cord.

 

[Mr. X]

BTW Len Jones booklet is an excellent & concise source of info. for all spearos but particularly SA spearos.

 

[Tristin O'Connell]

Thanks so much Mozzie and Bill!

Your replies were really helpfuland informative. I have quite a small float and I will probably need a new, larger one... Luckily as Bill said I can get the pretty cheaply in South Africa
Sorry I forgot to mention what these "monsters" I'm talking about are... Well the one big guy I saw was a 1.8m Kob and the other was a 1.2m yellow tail (which I would think are some pretty strong fish)
They may not be the strongest fish out there but it was still a question that was worrying me. Which you guys answered brilliantly

Thanks again guys! I'm keen to get out there and shoot some giants(after I get my new float of course hehehe)

Tristin

 

[Tristin O'Connell]

Thanks Mr X!(badass name BTW hehehe)

I will take a look at that booklet looks interesting.
You guys really know your stuff here!

Thanks to all of you, your are very helpful even with Newbies like me!

Tristin

 

[landshark sa]

Hi Tristin,

Where in SA are you based?

 

[Tristin O'Connell]

Hey Landshark

I'm based in the Eastern Cape but mainly in PE.
Tristin

 

[landshark sa]

Nice!!! You have some EPIC spearfishing areas right in your backyard

Probably the most common setup guys in your neck of the woods use is a 1.2m Rob Allen or Rabitech gun with reel and either double 16mm or single 20mm band(s). Add to that a 7l foam filled float and 20m float line and you should be set.
You will most probably find as you build experience that you make subtle changes to your equipment when targeting different species but the above mentioned setup will be good to land most fish you encounter.

On the bigger class fish a slip-tip with breakaway rig may come in handy, especially on dirty fighters such as Yellowtail.

 

[Tristin O'Connell]

Awesome information Landshark! I will take note of it. As soon as I become a more experienced Spero and I'm definitely go for that 1.2m speargun.

Also I would like to say I'm new to this site aswell as a new Spero who has much to learn but so far this site has been extremely helpful! This spearfishing community has really impressed me with you knowledge and helpfulness.
Thanks a ton guys!

 

[landshark sa]

The best way to fast-track your experience is to dive with more experienced guys.

Try and get hold of guys such as Gletwyn Rubidge or Justin Lindsay, both well known spearos in your area. Also, the Border Undersea Club has a vibrant and active spearfishing community.