New to Spearfishing

[cody909]

Hello, I'm 15 and new to SCUBA/Spearfishing. I have my SCUBA diving licenses and i found it rather boring underwater, I want to start Freediving since i dont have full scuba Equipment. I think it would have been more fun if i had a spear or somthing to spear the fish since i love fish and i like fishing its just a differnt way to do it.
I was talking to my grandpa about it and he offerd me his old pole spear, when i say old i mean like 1990's or late 1980's i belive. The Tip was rusted and the prongs were dull when he gave it to me with no band. I let the tip sit in paint thinner to remove the rust but it didnt do much, after some hardcore sanding i got 98% of it off and i Grinded the tips of the paralizer and made them SUPER sharp. I replaced it with a band that i bought at Sports Chalet that is made for pole spears.

I was hoping to get out soon, The pole spear is made by ScubaPro and is about 10-12 feet long and is a expandable shaft that is 2 parts.

What do you guys think. Its aluminum and seems good...
I havnt used it yet but i will soon..
Any advice?

I was thinking about buying a speargun... Is it worth it...?

Thanks Cody

 

[cody909]

Sorry for double post but damn no one gots anything to say!?!?

 

[Padaxes]

Hey, I'm new to the sport and have got to say reading all the dummies guides etc on this forum has been really usefull. It`s definatley worth browsing through the various posts here it will save you alot of time learning the hard way!

I've been catching fish and my pole spear is made out of a bamboo pole, the end of a steak knife and a bungie cord so you should have no trouble yours looks like a nice bit of kit.

I`d say the single most usefull thing to remember when you start out is to use a weight belt, makes life alot easier.

 

[Whopperhead]

cody- that pole spear looks fine. As far as getting a Speargun, makes spearing EASIER. Alot depends on what vis you are diving in. Under 10' you probably don't need to get a speargun. If you have excellent vis- might want to get one, just to go after some larger fish. You should learn to spearfish with the pole spear- it'll make everything else you use seem easy. I agree with Padaxes- read the Dummie guides and Beginner threads, very helpful.

Good Luck and post pics of your catch.

 

[Coral Sniper]

try out the polespear first and see if you like spearfishing,If so then you can start thinking about a speargun.

 

[Mr. X]

... rather boring underwater... I think it would have been more fun if i had a spear or somthing to spear the fish since i love fish and i like fishing its just a differnt way to do it.

And spearing them is a way to express that love of fish! (Weird but sort of true).

... I was talking to my grandpa about it and he offerd me his old pole spear, when i say old i mean like 1990's or late 1980's i belive.

:waterworkNow you're making me feel old. The 1980s were, like, yesterday weren't they? What a cool grandpa. Spear looks good.

... I was thinking about buying a speargun... Is it worth it...?

Yes, I think so. But why not just use the pole spear for while - once you get a speargun you might never get round to it and I think that would be shame. Also, it'll give you something to chat to you grandpa about - which might be more valuable to you later than you might imagine.

Padaxes, kudos.

 

[cody909]

Thanks, Alot of good advice, I Definatly looked through the forums for about 2 hours and read tons of good guide for equipment and techniques...
Looks like a fun new hobby.
Ill deffinatly post pictures of fish i catch (If i cant any)

 

[fleshy]

Biggest piece of advice given to me as a beginner, and the only one Ill give to you is this. You are in their home. Being able to view it, and live in it, is a privilege that can be taken away at any time. Dont look at it as hunting, look at it as ... exploring. You'll find more fish, and be less disappointed when you don't. Fish can sense your intentions, if you come into the water like a hunter, they'll sniff you out right away. Good luck, and happy huntin.

 

[cody909]

Ohhh tons of good stuff for sure. I got another question, How do i prevent a fish from taking off with my spear if its not a 1 shot kill
?

 

[Whopperhead]

depends on how big the fish is. You can either hook up your float line to the polespear (speargun) or have a reel system on your speargun. If it's a really large fish and your using a polespear- I would use the float line and float.

 

[iclypso]

The polespear will be a good way to figure out if spearfishing is for you, especially since the investment to you has only been elbow grease. As a scuba, you already know what it's like underwater but being down there without a tank is a much more intimate experience. Be modest with the polespear: it's better to watch a decent fish swim away then wound a fish you have almost no chance of subduing. Best of luck!

 

[flying_spanner]

I've never owned a polespear I own 3 spearguns tho, and I am a bit of a newbie to spearfishing myself.

When I was first looking at getting into spearfishing sometime round August last year, the guys down at my local dive store told me about a beginer/intermediate Freediving course that was to happen in November. (No Bubbles is the name of the company who ran it.)

"Son, Go Do A Course..." was the best bit of advice I've recieved so far, bar none!!!!!

I learned so much in one weekend. Proper breath hold technique, safety, breathing exercises, etc etc etc. Sure it's a bit of a cost but invaluable if you ask me.

I can now comfortably dive down to the bottom in 17m of water, and spend a good min or so waiting for that HUGE Blue Moki to swim a bit closer, or plucking 3 or 4 Paua off the bottom. (aka Abaloney for you non-Kiwi's).

Technique that would have taken me years to build up without the course.

 

[cody909]

Thank you guys tons. Im learning alot in one post
When you say "Subdue" the fish is there a way to intantly kill it?

Such as a knife to the certain spot of body that puts the fish out of its mercy and just dies instantly?

 

[Whopperhead]

Such as a knife to the certain spot of body that puts the fish out of its mercy and just dies instantly?

Yeah- In the Brain. Get a sharp pointed knife or spike and 'Brain them'

 

[cody909]

Yeah- In the Brain. Get a sharp pointed knife or spike and 'Brain them'

Ohhh Ok ill remember to 'Brain Them'
There isnt there like a Big scull that protects there brain from crap like that?

Also today i was Practicing spearfishing in my pool, I used a aluminum can and a string connected to a weight. the weight would sit on the bottom of the pool with the stirng connecting the floating aluminum can. I was then practicing/experimenting with the distance the spear could accuratly travel. I fugured i can hit at about 7-8' about 60% of the time and about 5' 80% of the time.

Also today was my first time attempting to hold my breath staticly for a long time, my longest time was 2:41 seconds. It was good for my i figured i could only hold it for about 1:30 but i proved my self wrong, Is 2:41 a good beginners time?

Another question, If i wanna attach a float line to my polespear do i have to do a extra loop or can i just do a it on the same loop as i hold to launch?

Thanks for all your guyes advice its really helped me out.

Just trying to get into the "Game"

-Cody

 

[Whopperhead]

Cody- for the loop: Put the 2nd smaller loop closer to your polespear. that way you don't loose power- you can use a seperate material for the 2nd loop.

I'm sure all fish have some sort of skull- but should be able to get through it fairly easy. The only fish I have a really hard time BRAINING - is CARP.

Also- for Target practice, Might want to use a piece of styrofoam. You can cut it out in the shape of a fish and it won't dull your tip like a metal can - can.

 

[fleshy]

Cody, fish do have skulls, but your dive knife will be more than a match for most "pole-spearable" fish. 2:41 is a great beginners time. Its been over a year since I timed a static, so I don't know what mine would be, but back then it was about a minute and a half. So yea... thats good bro. Also, having that second loop Ive heard helps accuracy, go buy surgical tubing if you're worrying about running out.

 

[slingshaft]

Hi Cody, just a thought, you did not say whether you were in the pool practicing breathholding, if that is the case have a buddy watching you. OK?

 

[cody909]

As of last night i hit my max static so far in my life. 3:01
My personal best i was super proud as of 4-5 days ago when i started reading about freediving i though i could at most hit 2 min.
And i did this in my bed late at night, can you die from doing it out of water?
I told everyone about my time and the laughed and said im killing all my brain cells.
Does Holding breath affect you body at all?

Is it natrual for a polespear to rust fast?
The metal was freshly sanded and about 45 min after i got it out of the water it was rusted.
Should i keep sanding the rust off or leave it?

 

[flying_spanner]

As of last night i hit my max static so far in my life. 3:01
My personal best i was super proud as of 4-5 days ago when i started reading about freediving i though i could at most hit 2 min.
And i did this in my bed late at night, can you die from doing it out of water?

No you shouldn't, (for any reason that I'm aware of anyway) the don't practise breath holding in the pool without a buddy is a MUST TAKE NOTICE piece of advise! Google "shallow water blackout" the statistics are scarey. So Yeah use a buddy and be safe.

I told everyone about my time and the laughed and said im killing all my brain cells.
Does Holding breath affect you body at all?

It does affect you're body very much, but does not kill brain cells. When you hold your breath your body goes into a survival mode, comonly know as "the mamalian dive reflex". This affects everyone slightly differently, but as a rule the brain is the LAST organ in your body to get starved of oxygen. Google "Dive reflex" the amount of info out there is huge.

Is it natrual for a polespear to rust fast?
The metal was freshly sanded and about 45 min after i got it out of the water it was rusted.
Should i keep sanding the rust off or leave it?

My mild steel spear on my speargun does exactly the same thing. Salt water on steel may aswell be battery acid, you're gear will turn into a rusty pile of pox right in front of your eyes surprisingly quickly.

To minimise corrosion in my gear here's what I do to my speargun after each dive.

1) always rinse your gear in fresh water after each days diving

2) Plastic Scotch Brite scoura pads (pot scrubs) work great at taking off corrosion and they're not too harsh on the materials. 300 grit emery paper works too but it removes material also so use it sparingly.

3) After the Scotch Brite treatment I spray the spear with a can of WD40 (crc silicon spray works too) and gently wipe the excess off with a rag. That way your gear won't rust as much when it's in storage.

Dive safe and I hope this info helps.

Jared