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Newbie Needs Help with Floats/reels

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

gmata

New Member
Oct 14, 2006
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Hello , i live in La Paz, Baja Mexico :t, a very awesome place for speafishing, both Reef And Bluewater.

First im looking for a gun that would suit both applications, and im leaning towards the New Riffe Euro Gun, is a Wooden Euro Gun with 2 16mm bands and 6.75mm shaft the 110cm has a effective range of aprox 6.7mts according to Riffe. My first Question is should i use 110 or 120? some one suggest me 120 would be better for bluewater, but would it be too long for reef hunting?

my second question is what kind of set up would be better for both applications, Reel or Float line?

also im not very familiar on the lenght of the reel/float line and rated capacity.

Can somebody please help me choose the best set up and type, lenght and rated capacity for that set up.

Thanks
 
Firstly your gun lenth, the 110 is a good size all round gun but for blue water your minimum lenth is normally 120, or at least thats what they suggest here.

Both reel and float is effictive in the fish retreival aspect, but a float can be cumbersome if you hunt from a boat on the other hand a float makes you more visible in the water while shore diving, for other water users and while hunting from a boat for the skipper to see where you are, you dont want to them to loose you when your a few miles from the shore. A float also has the added advantage of being able to string your fish on it and store extra gear, water ect. Personally I prefer a float but once again its a personal choice, Id say perhaps start with a float setup. Your basic float kit will have a stringer on the float and a line connecting the float to your gun, which allows you to let go of your gun and grab onto the line when fiting bigger fish, float line lenth can vary aswell, I use a 20m line, but you can have 15, 25 and 30m lines depending on the depth you hunt at.

For blue water, tuna and other big pelagics I assume, I doubt a reel will be handy, most guys around here uses a foam body board setup or multiple floats on the line, you need to be able to let go of your gun when you hunt at that depth, you will get pulled under if you can hold onto your gun that long . Check out the threads or ask miles what he uses for his blue water setups, you also require a different spear setup for blue water hunting, a slip tip on your spear otherwise the bigger fish will waste a 7 or 8mm spear.
Hope this helps, different brands has different models and designes to their floats and line setups, so look around for one thats most appealing to what you want.
Good Luck and Save Diving
 
Hi
I use Riffe's float line and is great, it doesn't tangle up like rope would do, and is more neutral than rope. It has very low drag. Im very happy with it.

Riffe's Torpedo Diver's float is great also, almost no drag!! Tough expensive.

I use the s5 Riffe speagun. Its a great gun. To big for caves, but great range for weary big fast reef fish like Mutton Snapper. Fitted it with a thinner shaft for that.

I am in a similar setting, reef/bluewater, and I think ill buy other speargun more comfortable for caves and less bulky for the reef hunting
 
Gonzalo, i realized that you got some Rabitech guns, congrats, man. Waiting for you to get those guns in action for good!!

There are some guys that use the Rabis for Bluewater, and they are not complaining at all. Had you got the Riffe float?
 
No man i just got an Omer Float for know with a foam filled line form Florida Free Divers.

All my gear is waiting for me at home because im depoyed to Southwest Asia with the Airforce.

Im going down to Baja in About a Month :friday i can't wait to use my Rabi :martial
 
Take care out there, say hello to all the asian girls that you meet and grab a beer in my honor. I will check the best spots til you come down

Antonio
 
Almost back! 22 more Days!

i can't wait to get to La Paz and use my rabi for the first time :t . We are going to have a great time, i'll give you a call when i get there.
 
Gonzalo,

I live in Loreto, been talking to Antonio in La Paz. Are you back yet? Any chance of coming up this way? I have been looking for dive buddies in Baja Sur.

Yesterday I was diving out at Isla Carmen and saw 15 yellowtail (they stayed too far away for a decent shot... a bit skittish). Several grouper in the >25# range... found a good little spot! Also saw my first shark... spooky when diving alone. My aim sucks (blind in one eye and bad vision in the other)... I am rigging up a target and will focus on shooting and reloading next time out. No matter... it is so damned good to be getting in the water again.

Did a little trolling on the way out... bait boils all over the place early in the morning, but all we caught was a puny little barracuda. Crap! We need to use live bait.

It has been very windy lately. Yesterday was supposed to be a no-wind day, but about 10 am the breeze blew up to 19-20 knots... hairy wet ride back to Loreto in an old 22' Panga. The idea of sinking out in that channel is not a pleasant one, but we knew we had to return to Loreto then or camp at Carmen for about a week... 25-30 knot winds for the next 5 days, with 8-10 foot swells... death in a little Panga.

Hope to hear from you.

Bill Doyle ("billder99" on DB)
 
Anyone close to Rocky Point? We (the family) are planning on going there for Spring break (April 6 - 12?). Any pointers/location, would be appreciated.

Also, if I could hook up with someone from the area, would be great.

Gene
 
Hi Bill That sound Awesome.

Yes finally i got to La Paz, and today we are going spearfishing, in fact Antonio will come pick me up in about one hour

I Don´t think i´ll be able to make it up there this time cuz i im leaving in a few days :rcard but next time i come back to La Paz it would be awesome to go up to Loreto i know its an awesome place.

Also you could probably come down here some time im going to be here in la paz until the 18th, but you Know Antonio lives here.

Hope to hear from you soon and wish us some luck today, i'll get some Pics later tonight.
 
Reactions: seaman
I will be thinking with envy of you both spearfishing. Where are you headed? Question... since this thread is about floats/reels, do either of you guys know how to rig a simple quick release for my gun? I have seen posts on the forum, even with photos, but I suppose I am thick skulled... still don't get it. I am afraid a big fish is going to drown me soon. (YT are out in force).

Won't be able to see you this time, but I am sure we will hook up next time you are home. What is your job back in Babalooland? Army?
 

If you are referring to a breakaway rig that takes you gun out of the chain, you have probably already seen my photos. But if not, or even if you have, I'll post it again.

The length of your shooting line (cable or mono) should be such that the loop in the rear end is a few inches from the line release. Then tie a loop of bungee cord to stretch from the shooting line over the line release, and clip the float line to the loop in the end of the shooting line. When you pull the trigger, the bungee comes off the line release and you have the gun safe in your hand.

Don't let that fancy red bungee in the photos confuse you. It happens to use a hog ring to make the loop and has some heat shrink on it, but I simple loop tied with a square knot works just as well.
 

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Most people here (when they use reels) also rig up a float, but use an anchor instead of attatching it to them. That way you have a point of reference and a place to string your catch, but also have the freedom of the reel. The only bad part is if your doing a shore dive or a rockhop, the rigging is hard to carry around.
 
Bill McIntyre,

I've read many of your posts, and you are one of the guys who really make this forum great. I have read your "Breakaway" post and looked at the photos but as I said, I have a thick skull. I have a slightly different setup than the one in your photos.

I am using a Riffe E100 eurogun. I was just advised by Capt John on BloodyDecks to rig a new spearline with a 5th loop, returning back to the pre-drilled hole at the butt end of the gun. He said to rig a 6" peice of rubber tubing to this end and stretch it through the hole as tension for the spearline. A big fish would pull this tube free of the gun, and my floatline would be tied to the tube. I think I get the idea and will give this a try. Any other ideas for the E100 setup? (pictures would help if you know of any)

Thanks for your reply... hope you can make it down here to Loreto sometime... lots of big fish in these waters.
 
Penguinator,
I like that solution for smaller fish, and sometime I will get a gun with reel for "dinner hunting"... there are too many big fish here in the Sea of Cortez that would drown me ,or I would lose my gun, without a floatline and breakaway. Not a bad problem to have... now I just gotta get me some of that.
 

I'm not all that familiar with the Euro gun details, but that sounds a lot like the Riffe breakaway setup for his other guns. It has a rubber thing going through a hole in the butt.

I used to have a Riffe Island, and I used that Riffe breakaway for quite a while and the rubber thing always came out of the hole. Then I shot my first tuna, the rubber thing didn't come out of the hole, the gun was almost torn out of my hands before the slip tip pulled out of the tuna. Aaaarg!

After asking around, I found that I was not the only one.

A couple of weeks later I was in Hawaii and went out on Daryl Wong's boat, and I noticed that every gun owned by him and his friends was rigged the way I have shown in the photos. I adopted it for myself. Its cheap, easy, and foolproof. Nothing has to pull out of a hole.
 
Ah, now I see it. Very elegant solution, and I can see how to rig the Riffe the same way.

I notice you are using simple eye-spliced braided poly rope as float line? I keep thinking this is an easier and smarter solution (cheaper too)... why does everyone use the spectra/nylon filled PVC/rubber tube floatline setup? Seems to me like it will get stiff if it gets cold, bulkier to manage.
 
Breakaway attachment, type of floatline

Hi Miles,

It really is admirable the way you guys with vast experience are willing to help a relative newcomer to the sport. The many adventure stories I have read on this forum (yours and Bill's are some of the best) are responsible for motivating me back into the water after many years of being away. I feel certain there will be much beer and tequila consumed with forum members in the future.

I think I understand your breakaway rigging, and I would like to try both your method and Bill's method (time to buy some more big mono and crimps). On your rig, it looks like:
  • The shooting line runs about 12" long with a crimped loop in the end for attaching the floatline, and
  • To the side of the shooting line, you attach about 5" of rubber tubing as a tensioner
  • ...with a loop of line coming out of the tubing for attachment to the trigger release.
I can't see clearly how the side attachment is done (tubing to shooting line). Is it a big crimp of some kind? Also, what method do you use to anchor the trigger-loop inside the tubing?.. no crimp or tie is visible.

What sort of floatline do you use? Poly-rope or tubing-with-spectra-inside type? Have you ever used the floating bungee lines? Hybrid?

Gracias for sharing your knowledge and experience,

BD
 
Hiya

Re: Break-aways
The reason i prefer my method is quite simple. With Bill M's way, the clip is very close to your hand and it also scracths the guns barrel. With the slightly longer mono, you have less hardware close to your hand and gun barrel. Doesn't really matter, as both will work!!

The stretch thing is called a gun bungee. Available from all spearo stores. In fact, you could use anything, including a thick rubber band if need be!

There is a crimp placed a short distance back from the loop at the end of the line. All this does is act as a stopper for your gun-bungee/elastic band. The bungee/elastic band is simply looped over the mono. Very, very simple. If you're still unclear, just say so and i'll post a step by step picture of how to do it.

Re: Floatlines.
I HATE them!!! rofl Always tangling around me, the boats prop's, other divers floats, etc, etc. Most of my inshore spearing is done with a reel gun. For the odd occations when hunting deep water for large yellowtail, i will switch to a normal floatline.

Some guys like putting a small inline float a few meters after the gun. Elliminates tangling considerabily. I simply don't use a floatline enough to be bothered messing around with vinyl tubed floatlines.

Regards
miles
 
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