monofin & spearfishing , OK ?

[matthieu]

hello everybody,

I am in finswimming club for two years and doing some competitions.
I also spearfish during the holidays.
I have tried to use my monofin but it seems to be to difficult
- my wetsuit is 5mn, not good for stretching the arms above your head
- the weightblet not helpful for dolphin movement
- the gun in the hand doesn't help for hydrodynamic position
- frightened to hit the monofin on a rock
- not to quick to change direction when following fishes
- not helpful when loading big guns
In fact, i prefer using bi-fins for spearfishing
should i try again to gain more experiences
Have you ever tried monofin for spearfishing (for freediving it' s perfect)

thanks a lot

 

[andrsn]

interesting topic

matthieu,

this was actually an interesting topic in this post:
http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16669

the technical spearfishing i do won't allow a mono palme. although, i think there maybe a few types of spearfishing that might be able to accomodate one.

i think our questions could be better researched knowing whether or not mermaids were vegetarians.

bon chance,
anderson

 

[Crispin]

I know of a Romanian guy who does this, but I think it's more of a "Drop on a mark - go deep - shoot your fish, come back up" kind of affair instead of a "dive into holes and amongst rocks and crags affair" if that makes any sense.....

I need liability insurance just to do constant weight with a monofin, they give me a line about 100ft away from everyone else (i'm getting better though) in case I take go off course and butt anyone So I cant imagine going spearing with a monofin!

Horses for courses i spose....

 

[Jason DeGraff]

Mono not so goodo

I tried a bit of spearfishing with a monofin in Kona but ended up with the same results as you . My initial thought was I could chase the fish and go deeper . It doesn't really work like that hunting . I found my best hunting at very slow speed or stopped at the point of firing on the fish . Many times I'm crouched on the bottom which might damage the monofin . I'll actually curl up in the rocks and try to hide from a fish . The fish will come in to investigate and presto ! Dinner for 2 .
So I gave up on the idea of hunting with that kind of a fin . Eventually I even shortened and rounded off my long blade Tigulios so that I had more manouvering room in the rocky areas . I was very happy with the results of manouverabilty over speed for hunting in 40 or less feet around rocks and coral .
Good luck ! Dive with a buddy .
Also check out a gret discussion on fins at The FREEDIVING EQUIPMENT SECTION under "Need advice on fin types" by Jasper Juul" around Dec 31, 2001 . I expanded on this discussion explaining why manouverabilty is needed around rocky areas .

 

[Andrew the fish]

old thread but, why not.

I am spearfishing with monofin lately. I am only getting back to monofin, technique is still in the works. If anybody remember, I was using monofin back in 2013-2014, this one:

but then sold it to my co-worker. Recently, I bought it back for the same price, he wasn't using it anyway.

So, why spearfishing with monofin?

Because fo covid! My gym is closed to anyone who is not vaccinated. Lets leave vaccine debate aside, I needed an alternative workout and training plan. Monofin came to mind, mostly for swimming sessions, going the distance and such, not spearfishing. But then, I thought, why not take a gun, just in case.

It turned out great. Not just a monofin, but in combination with float (body board, raft type of float) it worked awesome. I have Seac Seamate/bounty type, similar to this one here

The gun, flag, goody bag, float line - all neatly tucked into the float. Arms outstretched and resting on the float, face in the water, just behind the float. This seem to be the most efficient position. Kick and glide style also work better for going the distance.

Initially, my plan was to go for exhaustive exercize style distance swims. I was sceptical about any chance to hold my breath. Turned out, monofin propulsion efficiency, combined with arms on the float, snorkel-in face-down position, all worked sweet, and I had a great spearfishing outings. My area opened up quite a bit and I found interesting new fishing grounds. Maneuvering on the bottom with monofin is not intuitive, but I am getting better.

I also switched from reel to float and line style, with gun connected to float. A few times I used the speargun as a marker for the spot. So, imagine diving down with nothing in your hands. Just pure free freediving. Hard to give you an idea if you never had monofin before. I was going down so effortlessly, and fast, that I had trouble equalizing. I had very good bottom times too. There was a few seconds saved on the descent. But also, going up, there was a few seconds saved there, and at the end I was decently fresh on the surface. Overall spearfishing sessions seem more effortless and pleasant. Not that I had to struggle before, but in comparison, and in combination with this style of float, monofin adds to awesomness of spearfishing, which was awesome already and just got slightly better.

I am excited with my new spearfishing style, wanted to share it with you guys.

 

[cdavis]

Very interesting take, glad you found something that worked for you.

I searched for years for a mono that I could spear with, even tried a monoflap. Nothing was sufficiently maneuverable until I found the Dol-fin. That worked, all the efficiency advantages of a mono and maneuverable enough for spearing, so I can switch from sightseeing to spearing without a pause. If I was intending to just spearfish, bifins work better overall, but I REALLY like the Dolfin.

 

[gbert27455]

Riders should pay attention to their foot position and note any interference with the horse's movements or signals. The single flap of a monoflap saddle may provide a closer feel to the horse, but it may also require more cleaning and maintenance due to increased exposure to the horse's sweat and dirt.

 

[subversive]

Riders should pay attention to their foot position and note any interference with the horse's movements or signals. The single flap of a monoflap saddle may provide a closer feel to the horse, but it may also require more cleaning and maintenance due to increased exposure to the horse's sweat and dirt.

..very funny post..