Hunting Technique

[giddyuptiger]

wow, i just read this thread from start to finish, spans 11 pages and nine years. God love spearo's!

 

[DanMcCallum]

Very useful thread for people new to the sport, but then I came upon the faggots line above which I found offensive and daft (surely the sport needs to appeal as broadly as possible, not allow anti gay slurs on the website?).,thanks dan

 

[jay cluskey]

I wouldnt say the word faggott was anti gay or a slur in any way sorry if your offended none meant i saw the picture and pasted it because i like daft things which are funny to some but if your so offended ill remove it .

 

[ActiveMatrix]

I believe that poster is referring to:

4 Brit. informal, an unpleasant or contemptible woman.

And not

3 N. Amer. informal, derogatory a male homosexual.

Andlets face it, noone likes unpleasant women!

 

[Mr. X]

Also a tasty meaty snack/dish (containing liver, oats, etc.).:duh

It looks like an American-style playful dig at golfers to me. An unfortunate choice of words though. We would not take kindly to homophobia on the this forum. We likely have several gay forum members; at least one has a keen sense of humour (see the camouflage bikini thread for proof ).

[At least one popular spearing beach in the UK is run by a gay couple.]

Perhaps the word "Bankers" could be used instead

 

[liam.slug]

awesome thread, helped me alot. seeing everyone asking about how people become good marksmen with a speargun. what i did (am doing) was get an old bucket lid and draw a fish on it. then id punch a little hole in it towards the bottom and thread some fishing line to it. then tie some sinkers to it and there ya go. what else helped is that i learnt with a 90cm pneumatic.this thing had like an 8mm shaft on it so its effective range of 2meters max. the gun was also VERY loud (you could hear a loud crack underwater for about 50 meters) so id only get one shot then the fish would bugger off. very frustrating way to learn. glad to be getting a new gun this week... i feel like a kid at a toystore at christmas.

 

[guanacaste]

awesome thread, helped me alot. seeing everyone asking about how people become good marksmen with a speargun. what i did (am doing) was get an old bucket lid and draw a fish on it. then id punch a little hole in it towards the bottom and thread some fishing line to it. then tie some sinkers to it and there ya go. what else helped is that i learnt with a 90cm pneumatic.this thing had like an 8mm shaft on it so its effective range of 2meters max. the gun was also VERY loud (you could hear a loud crack underwater for about 50 meters) so id only get one shot then the fish would bugger off. very frustrating way to learn. glad to be getting a new gun this week... i feel like a kid at a toystore at christmas.

I had the opposite experience, although I'm still learning, in that I started off with a shorty hole gun and then worked my way up to a 75cm and am now waiting on a 85 cressi geronimo elite. starting with the small gun made me very aware of the limitations and range while not having it be a hassle to load while I bumbled around in the current. It's gotten so that now every time I go out I hit on target about 50% of the time and am now working on patience (waiting for big fish instead of being excited about any fish at all).

great thread btw.

 

[guanacaste]

Re: Surface hunt

The surface hunt is the oldest spearfishing method we know. When hunting from the surface the spearo actually doesn't dive at all. He floats on the surface, moves really slowly and silently and waits for the fish to pass by.

During the summer months this method is a complete waste of time. Even if the spearo spots a fish, it would never be close enough for a successful shot. The surface hunt would be somewhat appropriate during the cold winter / spring months. The fish then occupies the upper warmer layers where there's more plankton. That's exactly the time when enormous schools of fish may be encountered. Besides everything else the fish during that period reacts slower due to the cold water and the diminished survival instincts after the hungry winter months.

I think this is highly dependent upon your fishing area. For tropical areas there is only dry/wet season and the fish are either around the reefs where you can get to them or the wet season rains make the water so terribly dirty or silt filled you aren't going to see 2" in front of you so you would have to go to blue water hunting to get anything.

However, I will agree with your advice for all other regions of water as I have seen what you explain to be true for, say, norther california pacific coast waters where there are four seasons and water temperatures vary more than tropical regions. This is for traveling fish, not reef fish which play different games.

 

[Gletwyn Rubidge]

Here are some methods that occasionally work in very dirty water:
1. swim along the bottom at a pace that will spook a fish - when you near the fish they spook and you hear it, stop and lie dead still on the bottom - the fish most often spook and dart off, curiosity brings them back and that is when you get your chance. I have taken some big sand dwelling fish(white steenbras this way)
2. when waiting on the bottom for fish and they approach but then depart looking as if they do not want to return, you grunt using your soft palate. THis type of grunt has brough many a fish back for another fatal look and serves me well.
3. "Swimby" You swim along terrain with potential, perhaps see a fish spook or see no fish at all. It does not mean fish have not seen you. Swim on a bit then stop turn around and hide facing back the way you swam from. Fish are curious and come out so see what swam by. If you can hide inside a cave/hole behind a ridge it may work well.
4. Sewer rat method - dive down away from the fish and swim closer under cover i.e. though a tunnel to fish on the other side or in a crack out fo sight of them them make a weak appearance to get them to come look.
See this clip [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY1NZZ8x-5A]Shipwreck spearfishing - sewer rat technique - YouTube[/ame]

Just be sure you are fit enough to expend the extra energy in the methods where you swim.

 

[guanacaste]

Here are some methods that occasionally work in very dirty water:
1. swim along the bottom at a pace that will spook a fish - when you near the fish they spook and you hear it, stop and lie dead still on the bottom - the fish most often spook and dart off, curiosity brings them back and that is when you get your chance. I have taken some big sand dwelling fish(white steenbras this way)
2. when waiting on the bottom for fish and they approach but then depart looking as if they do not want to return, you grunt using your soft palate. THis type of grunt has brough many a fish back for another fatal look and serves me well.
3. "Swimby" You swim along terrain with potential, perhaps see a fish spook or see no fish at all. It does not mean fish have not seen you. Swim on a bit then stop turn around and hide facing back the way you swam from. Fish are curious and come out so see what swam by. If you can hide inside a cave/hole behind a ridge it may work well.
4. Sewer rat method - dive down away from the fish and swim closer under cover i.e. though a tunnel to fish on the other side or in a crack out fo sight of them them make a weak appearance to get them to come look.
See this clip Shipwreck spearfishing - sewer rat technique - YouTube

Just be sure you are fit enough to expend the extra energy in the methods where you swim.

Nice method, I like it. Great video -- what region is this from?

 

[Sting Meadery]

BTW: The 120cm Railgun kicks like a pump action shotgun - with no shoulder rest!

Regards RC

Yeah I've smacked myself in the face a few times with the recoil [emoji109]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[David90]

AMAZING thread, lots of great information for a noob like me. Learned a lot reading through this, thanks to all for taking the time to help us new guys out and fall in love with spearing!

 

[Felix112233]

AMAZING thread, lots of great information for a noob like me.

 

[csekeo]

Hi Guys,
I am looking for the english expression/word for technique "la coulée" in french. This is the technique when you spot a fish from surface or during decent usually in high visibility waters (15-20m), you approach the fish from the top and shoot it when you are close.
Thanks

 

[marco15499]

In Spanish is "a la caída". I'm not sure there's an English expression for it.

 

[Mr. X]

It sounds like "stalking", as in "deer stalking". It's not in common use for spearfishing but I have used the term on this forum in the past, for want of a more appropriate term, and I think others have too. E.g. I think Foxfish likes to stalk bass in string weed.

Sometimes British spearos fall back to using foreign terms, most often French or Italian in my experience. E.g. aspetto, augauchon (spelling?).

 

[Mr. X]

"
stalk
2
[ stawk ]SHOW IPA
verb (used without object)
to pursue or approach prey,quarry, etc., stealthily."

Also available as a noun apparently

 

[Mr. X]

I googled your French term, which it translated to "cast". Perhaps in the sense of casting - searching - around for prey. I've heard the word "hunt" used to describe this process when spaniels are used to drive game birds ahead of a shooter.

 

[Mr. X]

I googled the Spanish term " a la caída" too. That translated to "to the fall" - perhaps "on the drop" would suffice for that?

 

[marco15499]

Yes, is like dropping from the surface as a dead leaf. You see the fish from the surface and glide motionless until is in your speargun range and too late for him.