my flopper isnt floppy...

[liam98]

hi guys,
i have 2 RA sparid's, both with the original spears on them. the floppers have always been too stiff and i have lost countless of fish because of it, ive tried all the obvious things like oiling them and tried to pries them open a little, iv even taken a grinder to the spear itself to try and make it smaller, nout seems to work.
Has anyone had any similar experiences? any advice on how to solve it? also, how stiff is best?.. i have a cressi comanche and i sometimes wonder if the flopper is too loose as i have noticed a few times the flopper laying back down after shooting the fish which has resulted in loosing the fish in the fight.
failing all this, can anyone reccomend a good spear that will suit a ra sparid 1000.
thanks heaps,
liam

 

[foxfish]

This sounds strange considering the things you have already tried!
That fact is the flopper should flop open unaided, there must be somthing restricting this happening?
I can only assume the pin is to tight in the flopper hole.
You could grind of the riveted head & re drill the flopper but you will need a new stainless pin, SS welding rod is somthing & have used before.
Plenty of after market spears available some with double barbs

 

[Scoobaru]

The rob Allen spears come with a locking mechanism that holds them open with a small amount of force (ie a fish pulling against it) but they are normally quite loose. Ate there any sharp edges on the flopper or spear that are catching??? Or has the flopper been bent/distorted??

Failing this if you can get it to the guys at crystal Vis in Weymouth they can have a look for you as they are uk distributors for all rob Allen gear

 

[landshark sa]

Hi Liam,

I have quite a few RA guns and more than a few RA spears and so far have not had any issues with the flopper.

As you have tried quite a few of the antidotes that I would have suggested, it sounds as if the spear / spear tip may possibly be bent or by the sounds of it, the flopper completely pretzeled out of whack.

The flopper should be loose enough that it folds / opens with the natural force on it - eg gravity, fish weight etc. The tolerances should however not be so big that it allows fishy bits collecting beween the spear and flopper when the spear passes through the fish stopping from doing it's job.

Could you possibly post some photo's of the offending flopper / spear?

 

[liam98]

thanks for the replys,
i think fox fish has probally hit the nail on the head with the pin being too tight, the spears are both still straight, one of the guns was given to me so has seen a bit of action, but the other i bought new and the flopper was tight from day one, i also have a pelaj gun that i was also given, the flopper on that was also tight. Obviously having 3 guns all with the same problem before they even get any where near the water i just presumed it was normal. The only gun i ever had that was any different was the cressi and i found myself landing a lot more fish than with the rest, but its only been recently the thought has really crossed my mind that maybe the others were all too stiff, but i have no other guns to compare them against.
Think i will order a couple of new spears and hope i get lucky this time, now i know how loose they should be il make a better judgement before using them.
The camera is on charge so i will try to post some pics (if i can work out how!) but theres no much to see really.
thanks heaps, really appreciate the replies,
liam