Plenty left to Learn

[Ink Junkie]

OK here's the deal, I'm new to the spearo/freediving world. the problem i'm having is that I know one person with any experience that i can turn to for advice and i dont want to bug the guy every day with another list of questions.

I have everything left to learn. I have a million questions. so ill just work down the list..


1. Ive never been fishing in the ocean, how do i find the reefs and kelp beds to hunt.

2. how do you guys get out? do i need to invest in a RIB or kayak or can i make it out with my fins and a long board or body board?

3. untill i can afford a gun i'm using a jbl pole spear, can i attach a float line to it? im not worried about landing a huge fish or anything.. i just dont want to drop my spear and loose it, if so how do i attach it?

thanks

 

[blaiz]

For someone who is starting out I would suggest a few things...

1. Take advantage of your friends knowledge, go diving with him/her as often as you can... you don't necessarily have to bug him/her, just observe...even if it means just floating on the surface or following him/her around and pulling the float... But most of all ALWAYS dive with a partner. The more popular this sport gets the more casualties I see in the news. We just lost another young diver here in Hawaii this weekend to a shallow water black out, and it was on the same day of the Gene Higa tournament which is in remembrance of Gene Higa and other divers who have succumbed to SWB. DIVE SAFE!

2. The best way to find spots is to put time in... LOTS of time. Your not going to find too many good divers who will tell you where to go, you might get lucky enough to tag along with others to there spots but it would be bad etiquette to go to someone's spot w/out them. No matter where you are in the world certain things hold true with finding fish. Look for structure, in your case kelp beds, changes in environments i.e. currents, edge of kelp, ledges and drop offs, pinnacles, upwellings, the list goes on, bait is important too. Think like a fish.

3. A pole spear is a great choice to start with, and some of best spearos alive only use pole spears. This type of hunting forces you to learn how to stalk fish correctly and proper shot placement. You can attach a float line to a pole spear but you need to make your own band. Usually the band is a bit longer with a knot tied about 4 inches or so from the end of the loop. You place your tuna clip in the end loop and your hand on the knot when pulling back the band. Remember that your shooting range with a pole spear is about the length in which your stretching the band. If you want longer range you need a longer pole, but with a longer pole your sacrificing maneuverability.

Hope this helps a little, im sure others will chime in with their 2 cents soon.

Aloha

 

[Ink Junkie]

Great info man thanks a lot. i plan on making my float line this week, im also looking into a tandem kayak to get in and out of the surf and out to the kelp

thanks

 

[Mr. X]

...
1. Ive never been fishing in the ocean, how do i find the reefs and kelp beds to hunt.

2. how do you guys get out? do i need to invest in a RIB or kayak or can i make it out with my fins and a long board or body board?

3. untill i can afford a gun i'm using a jbl pole spear, can i attach a float line to it? im not worried about landing a huge fish or anything.. i just dont want to drop my spear and loose it, if so how do i attach it?

thanks

1. a. Visit the coast and have a look around. Chat to the locals.
b. Multimap - and probably Google Earth - offer good ariel views that can be quite informative, showing weed beds, rocks at or just below the surface.
c. Detailed maps (in the UK the 1:25,000 Ordinance Survey maps) and charts - sea charts can be expensive (although they might be free on-line to US tax payers(?) - as you probably paid to make them) but you can get old out of date ones cheaply on eBay which are good enough for spearing research if not marine navigation. Again, choose ones that will have enough detail for your needs.

2. No you don't need a RIB or kayak, I dive from shore. That's not to say a boat of some kind won't help in certain areas or add another dimension; plenty of people use a RIB or yak for spearing. I have a 2 seater sit-on-top kayak but don't really use it for spearing -- too many things to do at once, so I just paddle & maybe fish with hand-line or rod from the yak.

Usually, I just take one of inexpensive inflatable "torpedo"-shaped floats with a built-in "diver down"-flag -- cheap & cheerful, easy to carry in my small bag, it does the job with minimal fuss. I've probably used mine for, maybe 4 years now & I just fixed the second puncture with one of those brilliant, clear, self-adhesive bicycle patches. I have a float line attached to my speargun at the front, a fish-stringer (Rob Allen - real nice heavy duty one), emergency whistle and crab bag at the back.

3. Afraid I can't help you with the pole spear, never used one. Some say its a good way to start.

 

[Ink Junkie]

thanks for the info Mr X the maps are a great Idea, i think a decent float will take me anywhere i need to go, great input guys, thanks for all your help

 

[willloomy]

does your pole spear have a 3 prong head? i love going out with a pole spear, it will get you better at spear-fishing and you'll have a bunch of fun, good luck.

 

[Ink Junkie]

yeah it does, i also have a slip tip for it

 

[willloomy]

i think you'll find the slip tip problematic at first. just get those three prongs nice and rusty and you'll be good to go i have caught some very nice with the three prong, good luck

 

[willloomy]

also you don't really need to worry about dropping your pole-spear, I wouldn't bother attaching a line to it. you shouldn't be diving in water deeper than you can dive in with a a three prong. most of the fish you are shooting will be in holes, on or close to the bottom

 

[Ink Junkie]

also you don't really need to worry about dropping your pole-spear, I wouldn't bother attaching a line to it. you shouldn't be diving in water deeper than you can dive in with a a three prong. most of the fish you are shooting will be in holes, on or close to the bottom

good call, I'v been looking for some decent shallow places to practice and i think I have found a few to try out (thank you Halliseeker) im just waiting for the memorial day weekend to pass, the beaches will be over run with tourists and parking is a real bitch on normal weekends let alone holidays.

 

[blaiz]

There are many people here who know how to choose the right spear. But in order to do so we need some more info, like whats your experience, where are you going to be diving, what are your target species... and so on. There are many types of spears that suite many types of situations.

 

[yeskaa]

good call, I'v been looking for some decent shallow places to practice and i think I have found a few to try out (thank you Halliseeker) im just waiting for the memorial day weekend to pass, the beaches will be over run with tourists and parking is a real bitch on normal weekends let alone holidays.

so whats the deal ...did you try out your pole or what.

funny ran across this thread. Im new and using a pole spear also. First time was this memorial weekend at Laguna but i went out first and water was to murky for me so i dident pull out the pole
i was thinking the same as you ...dont want to loose my pole. lol

you know it was more intimidating than i thought to swim out there alone.
maybe i needed something to paddle out and float / rest on. prob take out my boogie board next time.

i see your in sad diego. im gonna be San Clemente next month and there they have Man Made reef Kelp beds but i think there a lil ways out there. gonna need some extra courage to paddle out there if i was sweating the lil way out i was at laguna LOL

wondering if you knew about them.

http://www.surfrider.org.ar/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Kelp_Project_Site.jpg

 

[Ink Junkie]

no havent been up in that area, interested tho, i didnt make it out this weekend, i didnt want to fight the rush of tourists at the beach, hoping for this weekend, my buddy has a set of kayaks we plan on taking out, wed was a great day to go out here, no swell and 15-20 foot visability, to bad i had to work all day

 

[blaiz]

Not sure if you have dove from a kayak before but a few things to consider.

1. Have a good kayak anchor and a strong anchor line. California might not be a big deal because if your yak breaks loose its more than likely going to blow to shore, here in hawaii, it blows out to sea.

2. TIE YOUR SH$T DOWN, I cant stress enough how embarrassing and frustrating it is to get flipped in the shore break and spend the next hour looking for your stuff... I speak from experience!

3. Its also good to have a cell phone, I keep one in a ziploc bag and usually keep it in the pouch behind my seat... just in case.

4. Hand Held GPS are crucial when you have the mobility of a Kayak, you find a nice lobster hole, mark it and come back during season, find a pinnacle, or other form of structure, you can get back with a few presses of a button. I got a Garmin 72 ? i think, simple, easy to use.

5. DIVER DOWN FLAG, regardless of how visible an orange Kayak is, sometimes it takes the flag to help idiots realize that there are divers in the area and not just a couple of abandoned kayaks.

Just some food for thought.

Good luck!

 

[Ink Junkie]

Not sure if you have dove from a kayak before but a few things to consider.

1. Have a good kayak anchor and a strong anchor line. California might not be a big deal because if your yak breaks loose its more than likely going to blow to shore, here in hawaii, it blows out to sea.

2. TIE YOUR SH DOWN, I cant stress enough how embarrassing and frustrating it is to get flipped in the shore break and spend the next hour looking for your stuff... I speak from experience!

3. Its also good to have a cell phone, I keep one in a ziploc bag and usually keep it in the pouch behind my seat... just in case.

4. Hand Held GPS are crucial when you have the mobility of a Kayak, you find a nice lobster hole, mark it and come back during season, find a pinnacle, or other form of structure, you can get back with a few presses of a button. I got a Garmin 72 ? i think, simple, easy to use.

5. DIVER DOWN FLAG, regardless of how visible an orange Kayak is, sometimes it takes the flag to help idiots realize that there are divers in the area and not just a couple of abandoned kayaks.

Just some food for thought.

Good luck!

couldn't agree more

 

[yeskaa]

Not sure if you have dove from a kayak before but a few things to consider.


2. TIE YOUR SH DOWN, I cant stress enough how embarrassing and frustrating it is to get flipped in the shore break and spend the next hour looking for your stuff... I speak from experience!
!

rofl



hit Corona Del mar over the weekend. dam there was a influx of young hot bodies yesterday.? maybe schools are letting out, grads partying? .
i not complaining here, just saying

just did some regular fishing with my pole off the jetty. althoe i did hit the water I dident see any fish, then again i wasent over by the reef below 'inspiration point'..... reef and crashing waves still scare me some LOL

but my wife did mentioned she liked the Kayaks out there she saw. so i may be able to pursway her into letting me buy a pair. here to hoping :friday

 

[Ink Junkie]

yeah we went out and got wet but didnt see any fish either, tried two spots, hit bird rock off La Jolla , poor vis and pounding surf. then tried just south of seal rock, better vis @ maybe 5' but still poor, only small fish hiding around rocks, but surf ket us away from them. visability was so bad at bird rock that my dive buddy got washed up on a big ass rock by the surf, he was ontop of it before he could see the damn thing haha

all in all it was a good day to dive but crappy to fish, we got to get wet and enjoy the sun a bit. it was just nice to get out.