Request for Gear Selection Help from a Newbie

[Frugal_Scholar]

Hey. I’m a new member to this board. I’m hoping I can get some gear advice from you guys and would be super grateful if you can help. I am moving to the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas in a few weeks for one year. This is a long post, and I apologize for that in advance.


During my stay in Eleuthera I want to attain all my protein by spearfishing. I’ve never spearfished before. I’m a fairly strong open water swimmer, but most of my experience is in lakes not the ocean. I am not naïve to the differences between the two and have swum in the ocean before, and also have tremendous respect for some of the risks such as blacking out and sharks. For now, I just need gear advice to get everything bought before heading to the island. I want to bring everything I need to spearfish for a year with me.


I’m not rich but I’m not destitute. I want to take everything I need with me to the island and I’m not sure what to bring, both in terms of what items I need, and what brands and types would be best. I am hoping you guys could provide some sound advice. I don’t want to be cheap and end up with garbage gear that will not do what I need, but I definitely want to minimize the expense and brand names often are not worth the premium. I need functionality, I’m not trying to look cool.


I will be living a five minute walk from the beach, but not right on the beach. This means I can’t have a huge quantity of cumbersome or heavy gear.


I’m a tall guy above 6 feet and have gotten kind of fat, one reason for the move, but hardly the only reason, is to get the weight off. This obviously affects my buoyancy. It may mean that it will be a little while before I can dive deeper, which may be inadvisable going solo regardless.


All my spearfishing will be alone. I will have no boat and no partner. I will wear a shark shield, I understand it isn’t inviolate protection and that one still needs situational awareness. I will not be scuba diving, but rather will only use a mask and snorkel.


I would reemphasize that I need cost-effective solutions, though I may also be able to find some higher priced stuff used on Craigslist or other places, so if anyone knows the better brands or the more reputable brands or just really good products knowing that would be helpful as well.


A secondary use of my gear is long open water swims. I usually wear five fingers Aqua socks for my lake swims. Not sure if I’ll flipper it up or just stick with the Aqua socks for the swims. I will not be spearfishing on the swims. I’m not sure if I will wear my goggles on the mask and snorkel. I usually swim lakes with a Finis SwiMP3 player, not sure if this sound will attract sharks or impede my situational awareness in the ocean.

Questions will follow in a reply.

 

[Frugal_Scholar]

My questions. If anyone had recommendations for each of these questions or any of them, I would be super grateful:


1. I guess the first thing I need to know is just a gear list. I need a mask, snorkel, fins or flippers or whatever you call them, gloves of some sort especially if I’m going to be grabbing or handling lobsters and perhaps fending off barracuda, I heard you need shoes or footies to go in the flippers to prevent chafing and irritation, but don’t know if this is true. Sharks once you’ve caught fish are an issue, and I’ve been told that people in the islands often use an inflatable raft of some sort, with a cooler placed on it. I’ve also heard people just bring a cooler with them which floats on the surface. Once they spear a fish, they place it in the cooler, keeping it from floundering in the water attracting sharks or at least minimizing that, and also freeing them up to then go after other fish. I’ve done a lot of cold water swims in upper north US, and I’m also kind of fat, and had exceptional resilience to cold even when thin, so I don’t think I’m gonna bother with a wetsuit unless someone says it’s absolutely necessary. This is especially true because I’m planning on losing a pile of weight and just assume buy a single wetsuit in three or four months. I was also told that it would be good to have a mesh bag to put lobsters or other creatures in, though this seems to be more for scuba diving than free diving. Finally, a knife. I have a larger cold steel single-sided blade scuba knife, but I wonder, as with combat against humans on land, if a thinner, smaller, double-edged blade is more effective for use underwater. Similarly out there all alone, I also thought of bringing some of that sprayable shark repellent that smells like dead sharks and scares them off if I ever end up in a situation where they get really aggressive. So what should my gear list be?


2. What is a good brand of prescription mask? As in eye prescription. As dumb as this sounds, people don’t ever use masks that are dark and like sunglasses or anything, right? I probably don’t have the ability to head to a dive shop and try a bunch of different masks, which I know is highly recommended. My head is the shape of an extruded coconut, long, wide and deepset eyes, and rather goony. I know certain masks fit certain face and head shapes better so I just wanted to mention.


3. What is a good brand of gloves for larger hands. Ideally something with Kevlar or something like that that offer some protection ever bitten by a barracuda, fending off a shark, etc. I understand that a Kevlar glove will not keep a shark from devouring me. I earn my living on a computer and must protect my hands.


4. Snorkels. I see these with all sorts of features, but seems like many of these could just turn it into a big clown show. What features do I and do I not want in a snorkel, and what’s a good reasonably inexpensive brand?


5. Going there for a year with the intention of not having to buy anything, primarily because I’m not going to have a car, it would probably be wise to bring two masks, two snorkels, and two or three pairs of gloves? How fast will gloves wear out? I will have a freezer, so I would think one or two successful spearing trips a week should keep me fed?


6. Ye olde spear gun. Obviously, there seems to be the most particularity and sometimes disagreement about the optimal spear gun. I believe that only Hawaii slings are legal spearfishing in the Bahamas, but I’m not sure on that, and anyone with recent first-hand experience that would be appreciated. I don’t know if just a standard hand-propelled spear is also legal and would be advisable or not. I have no idea how the process of spearing a fish and getting off the tips works, nor of the different strengths or thicknesses or lengths of spear one would presumably need fishing for small or larger fishes, nor if there are different tip types. Obviously, I’d rather pull down a few big fish once in a while as they have more meat, but I’m also cognizant of the fact that one doesn’t become an expert spear fisherman in just a couple days and that catching fish might end up being hard and I may have to catch many small fishes. I’m assuming you probably need a thicker spear with more robust tips that can handle more weight and strain for trying for bigger fish, and I don’t know if it’s harder to hit things or if there is an accuracy drop of with such a spear. I also don’t know how many spears one will tend to break and go through over time, and how many spear tips one will need. I also don’t know if the Hawaii sling has a kind of rubber band apparatus that needs replenishment and if bringing a couple of those would be advisable. A long spear may be a pain to carry on plane, but is a travel version with a joint a no go? I need a bottom-line recommendation of a good brand of spear that offers good value, and then the thicknesses or strengths to purchase, and the number of tips. I’m a big guy with long arms so longer spear isn’t necessarily as unwieldy for me as it might be other people. I guess the one thing I wonder is if you take a thin spear out and see some 70 pound grouper you want to spear, are you just hosed?


7. Fins are another item where there seems to be a lot of variation. I’m hoping and I’ve been told that a lot of decent fishing is within 30 feet depth or so. I won’t be going really deep, and this would seem inadvisable until I’ve lost some weight and become more experienced regardless, especially because I’ll be solo and one is none. But with my current buoyancy and with some fat that decreases how long you can hold your breath and increases the risk of blackout, I’m just not going to be stupid and push it too hard. I got fat, besides just the general weakness that causes anyone to get fat, because of a spine injury and am hardly the limber fellow I once was. This factors into my thinking about the size of fins. Overall, I would tend to want something a bit shorter and easier to just walk in getting in the water, rather than something super long. I have no idea if dive socks or dive shoes or whatever they’re called are truly necessary if I am using a reasonably simple and light fin. Or maybe people just swim in a bit and put their fins on? I would love to be able to use my five fingers and just put a fin on over those. I’ve been told that fitted fins are far superior to the adjustable ones and that these are what I should get. If anyone has specific length and brand recommendations I would really appreciate it. Seems like clear kind might make it easier to see something coming behind you, I don’t know.


8. Is there anything else such as a mesh bag that I need for spearfishing?


9. Is there a small double-edged dive knife that people carry that I can keep on my wrist or forearm or something? Where on my body when I store the small can of shark repellent?


10. I usually swim lakes with the Timex Ironman watch, and with the shark shield only working seven hours maximum it is my intention to never exceed half this, as aging batteries don’t last as long. So I want to swim with a watch. But I’ve been told shiny objects attract fish and sharks.

 

[Frugal_Scholar]

11. Another kind of obvious but weird question is where I would put my house key. I would normally just shove it on the sole of my foot in my five fingers. By the time you carry shark repellent, knife, and a house key, plus put a shark shield on, it’s a lot of stuff. I don’t know how people address this or deal with this or if anyone has any insights in this regard.


12. Overall, I’m kind of dark skinned and not really worried about the sun, and I’m hoping that I can just spearfish and swim wearing just a bathing suit and no wetsuit. I understand that a wetsuit protects against cold, but if I regularly swam in water that was 60 degrees and cooler, I’m assuming that the water of the Bahamas which doesn’t drop below the 70s isn’t gonna be a problem in that regard.


13. My final question and the one that perhaps confused and baffled me the most was how you dispatch fish once you get them to the surface humanely, and then the raft set up that spear fishers use to keep fish on the surface. I envision a wooden cudgel tied to cooler to dispatch, rather than knife, so no blood in water. Any tips on lobsters, so they don’t pop raft? Wondered bag vs. cooler. You’d need a big cooler of you caught some, and they are very big in Bahamas. Remember that I won’t have a boat nor can I keep heavy stuff right in the house just walk out front door and drop in the water. I’ve seen devices that are essentially super small kayaks with a pop on lid, that people used to store fish or gear in. Whether this works in waves and turbulent water I don’t know. I’ve also seen certain snorkelers and spear fissures keep a float with a flag on it near where they are diving and I’m not sure why this is done or if I need it if I’m diving alone. I was told by someone who has seen actual snorkelers in the Bahamas that the use an inflated black truck tire tube and then place a bucket or something in the middle of it. Not sure how it would be attached, lashed, whatever, and if it would tip easy. Again, I also wasn’t sure if I just would keep a wooden cudgel tied to the raft and use it to dispatch fish humanely before putting them in the cooler. It’s not clear to me how you will attach a standard square or rectangular cooler to a float with a circular hole in a way that would truly be effective. Overall, I’m hoping like hell that someone has seen one of these before, seen someone do it before, or can otherwise provide some insights and a solution. I’m guessing that being a total newbie I’m going to be catching mostly smaller fish at first, and that even with the shark shield, catching several fish is going to attract sharks rather rapidly. So by my thinking it would be incredibly stupid to not have a solid plan of some sort for a surface flotation device that keeps fish out of the water and from floundering and bleeding in it. If anyone had pictures of such a device man that would be great.


14. I guess one other kind of stupid question is what are the main especially bigger fishes that are good to spear in the Bahamas?


15. If anyone knew of the smaller simple dry sack for my swims that I could maybe put an extra shirt and a set of glasses in and have them stay totally dry, so that if I swim two or 3 miles over and seas get really rough and sharks show up, I could just swim back to the beach, open up my dry sack, throw on a shirt and glasses, and hoof it back home.


16. I’ve heard that certain fishes shouldn’t be eaten and are poisonous, has anyone been to the Bahamas and attained experience about fishes to avoid? Or does anyone know a good web resource that is emphatically credible?


17. Should I buy a fileting knife or can I get by with my scuba knife?


I realize this is an insanely long post. There is doubtless much that I missed. I kept it as short as I could and hope it doesn’t irritate anybody. If someone has a little bit of time and could help me out I’m extremely grateful.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

WOW, you have a ton of questions. We would be happy to talk with you over the phone. Please give us a call during the normal 9-5 business hours.

Without sounding too promotional, you have indicated that you are interested in function rather than name brand recognition. We sell all our gear direct, with no retail stores or middle man to drive up the distribution costs (i.e., price) and we use the same factories as our larger competitors.

We offer kevlar gloves, package deals which combine all the basic gear into one discounted package and have about everything you might need for your one-year stay in the Bahamas. Please check out our website - we carry everything - from freedive gear, to pole spears to exposure protection; however we don't stock prescription masks.

There are two issues I should mention. The first is that it is extremely beneficial to have a buddy to help keep an eye out for sharks and also to spot each other when diving. Possibly you will be able to find a buddy? Secondly, you may also want to consider a kayak for surface support and as a place to store bloody fish. If a kayak is impractical we also have an inflatable dive board which might be very helpful for your application.

Swimming off shore alone and trying to swim back alone with a mesh bag of bloody fish may end up being more excitement than you want.

thanks!

Dano

 

[Frugal_Scholar]

Thanks.

Don't mind the commercial response, I'm trying to find gear.

I am absolutely going to try and find a partner.
That may not happen, I am someplace remote. Going to take it nice and easy and no stupid risks--besides doing it alone at first, which is by definition a stupid risk. But at least I'm smart enough to know it is a stupid risk. Except not smart enough to not take the stupid risk. Hmmm. Where does that leave me? Hoping can find some small fish ten or twenty feet max down and just keep it simple and less dangerous. Not looking to be a tough guy and do any remotely deep diving without a partner. Maybe I have to stay out longer to find stuff closer to surface, but hoping that is possible. For me, this is about spearing food as efficiently and low-risk as possible, the more recreational and adventurous aspect will have to wait for a partner for sure.

I agree exciting swims back not on the menu, nor do I want to be. Some flotation device to get fish out of water needed.

I reached out to a local here who answered many of my rudimentary questions. He recommended your gear as quality but cost effective. So with you replying as well, guess maybe that is karma telling me something.

Call you this week.

Thanks.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Wow! I'm overwhelmed and can't even know where to start. Usually we get questions like "what is the best spear gun for my needs, or "are carbon fiber fins worth the extra expense." It's unprecedented to be asked to start from scratch on every single aspect of diving and equipment. You certainly seem to have a systematic approach and know what it is that you don't know, but answering each question could take hours. I've been spearfishing since the early 1950s so you might think I could offer advice, but I left almost speechless (or is it typeless?).

But at least one question jumped out at me, so I'll start there. You don't dispatch fish with a cudgel. The best method is to use a dagger-style knife with a thin point and brain the fish. Imagine an equilateral triangle with the eyes marking two of the angles and a point behind the eyes marking the other angle. Insert the knife into the head at that rear point. Rock the knife back and forth as necessary. You can tell when you hit the brain when the fish sort of shudders and the mouth opens. The fish will die instantly and not be fluttering and attracting sharks. I like to wear the knife on my forearm where it is visible and easily accessible.

I think calling Dano will be a great start. He offers almost everything you'll need. Experienced spearos might nitpick and argue the merits of each piece of equipment that he recommends, but that would be true no matter who recommended and you don't have time for that. Everything he offers will be serviceable. After your year on the island, them you'll have the experience to form preferences. Right now you just need to get started.

 

[Frugal_Scholar]

Wow! I'm overwhelmed and can't even know where to start. Usually we get questions like "what is the best spear gun for my needs, or "are carbon fiber fins worth the extra expense." It's unprecedented to be asked to start from scratch on every single aspect of diving and equipment. You certainly seem to have a systematic approach and know what it is that you don't know, but answering each question could take hours. I've been spearfishing since the early 1950s so you might think I could offer advice, but I left almost speechless (or is it typeless?).

But at least one question jumped out at me, so I'll start there. You don't dispatch fish with a cudgel. The best method is to use a dagger-style knife with a thin point and brain the fish. Imagine an equilateral triangle with the eyes marking two of the angles and a point behind the eyes marking the other angle. Insert the knife into the head at that rear point. Rock the knife back and forth as necessary. You can tell when you hit the brain when the fish sort of shudders and the mouth opens. The fish will die instantly and not be fluttering and attracting sharks. I like to wear the knife on my forearm where it is visible and easily accessible.

I think calling Dano will be a great start. He offers almost everything you'll need. Experienced spearos might nitpick and argue the merits of each piece of equipment that he recommends, but that would be true no matter who recommended and you don't have time for that. Everything he offers will be serviceable. After your year on the island, them you'll have the experience to form preferences. Right now you just need to get started.

LOL.
Good stuff, man.
Thanks, man. No cudgels, LOL. Gotcha.
K, Dano it is. As long as I don't end up with total garbage gear I'll be fine.

One other question. Shark advice.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Advice on sharks can be general and also site and species specific. For your area, it is best to talk with a few local spearos who know the waters and who have developed effective means that may range from aggressively chasing the small sharks as soon as they are seen, to simply getting out if certain species or behaviors are observed.

Some general advice might be to:

• dispatch the fish ASAP (exactly how Bill described above).
• place the fish out of the water or within a sealed bag that will not allow blood or visual stimuli
• Avoid spearing if there are multiple sharks -- especially since they can become more aggressive, competitive and even work as a pack to distract you and steal your catch
• Try to avoid feeding the sharks, if you do, expect them to be MORE aggressive - not less.
• If a shark approaches close enough to allow a jab with a pole spear, most people would recommend doing that in order to defend your personal space.
• A shark that makes a vertical approach and with their mouth open are probably going to be a problem.
• If you see a shark - keep your eyes on him - they are very aware of where you are looking, but realize that they may prefer to approach from behind, especially if you're looking at "his brother".
• Do not assume that a small shark is harmless, often the small Caribbean reef sharks can be extremely aggressive and daring, with some of the smaller ones seem to be almost fearless.
• Do not try to swim away from a shark rapidly or splash excessively - they can swim much, much faster than you - you want them to realize that you see them and that you are not trying to flee (like a prey animal). You may have to leave, but do it in a controlled manner, as much as possible.

I wear a shark shield and feel that it is worthwhile.

 

[Frugal_Scholar]

Thanks on Shark info. Call you Monday or Tuesday on gear.

 

[Frugal_Scholar]

I saw Phelps race Shaq, but never a shark.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

That's great advice about shark advice being species and location specific. I grew up diving in the Tampa Bay area, and during my 20 years in the USMC lived in Hawaii, Okinawa, California, and North Carolina and dove briefly on Wake Island, Guam, and the Philipines they are all different. The good news is that I've felt really threatened maybe two times. In Hawaii a shark rode a wave with me and chased me out onto a lava reef, but I was dumb enough to be carrying a conger eel in a sack. In North Carolina a hammerhead picked up a stringer of flounder that I was dragging and started dragging me. When I jerked them out of his mouth, he started making passes a foot or so over my head.

Dano said to make sure you didn't let blood into the water but in California we commonly cut the gills of your fish after braining them so as to improve meat quality. But our big danger in California is the great white, and if one of them wants to eat us, its because it thinks we are a seal rather than a fish. From what I've heard, I wouldn't want to be cutting gills in the Caribbean.

So all that was really just taking advantage of the chance to tell shark stories, but the excuse is to reinforce what Dano said about checking with the locals.

 

[Frugal_Scholar]

That's great advice about shark advice being species and location specific. I grew up diving in the Tampa Bay area, and during my 20 years in the USMC lived in Hawaii, Okinawa, California, and North Carolina and dove briefly on Wake Island, Guam, and the Philipines they are all different. The good news is that I've felt really threatened maybe two times. In Hawaii a shark rode a wave with me and chased me out onto a lava reef, but I was dumb enough to be carrying a conger eel in a sack. In North Carolina a hammerhead picked up a stringer of flounder that I was dragging and started dragging me. When I jerked them out of his mouth, he started making passes a foot or so over my head.

Dano said to make sure you didn't let blood into the water but in California we commonly cut the gills of your fish after braining them so as to improve meat quality. But our big danger in California is the great white, and if one of them wants to eat us, its because it thinks we are a seal rather than a fish. From what I've heard, I wouldn't want to be cutting gills in the Caribbean.

So all that was really just taking advantage of the chance to tell shark stories, but the excuse is to reinforce what Dano said about checking with the locals.

Check with locals for sure. Sharks supposedly fairly numerous and aggressive Florida and parts of Bahamas. Thanks, man.

 

[SubSub]

A shark that makes a vertical approach and with their mouth open are probably going to be a problem.

Lol, you think!? I'd shit myself, that's for shure! On the other hand I have never seen a shark in the water so maybe with a bit of exposure I'd feel differently about it. But that comment was pretty damn funny in the casual way it was presented!

 

[Frugal_Scholar]

Lol, you think!? I'd shit myself, that's for shure! On the other hand I have never seen a shark in the water so maybe with a bit of exposure I'd feel differently about it. But that comment was pretty damn funny in the casual way it was presented!

Just be sure to shit into the shark's mouth.

 

[SubSub]

The few things I'd focus on are:

• A mask that sits snug on your face and that will not leak or hurt after a few hours of wear, preferrably with low internal volume.
• Good durable fins, not plastic ones. Look for a better fiber glass fin.
• Perhaps a thinner wetsuit. Consider that spearfishing is not a high intensity sport like swimming. When freediving you try to be relaxed and after some hours in the wet it can get kind of cold even in higher water temps. I just checked for Bahamas and dec -> mar it's just above 20°C.
• Definitely a inflatable device of some sort where you can stash your stuff (keys, guns, water bottle, fish, etc).

The physiology in freediving/spearfishing is different from other sports and there is a lot of basic science you should educate yourself with beforehand. Try finding a class you can attend. Many focus on performance in these classes, but the more important bit is safety.

 

[Frugal_Scholar]

The few things I'd focus on are:

• A mask that sits snug on your face and that will not leak or hurt after a few hours of wear, preferrably with low internal volume.
• Good durable fins, not plastic ones. Look for a better fiber glass fin.
• Perhaps a thinner wetsuit. Consider that spearfishing is not a high intensity sport like swimming. When freediving you try to be relaxed and after some hours in the wet it can get kind of cold even in higher water temps. I just checked for Bahamas and dec -> mar it's just above 20°C.
• Definitely a inflatable device of some sort where you can stash your stuff (keys, guns, water bottle, fish, etc).

The physiology in freediving/spearfishing is different from other sports and there is a lot of basic science you should educate yourself with beforehand. Try finding a class you can attend. Many focus on performance in these classes, but the more important bit is safety.

Thanks again for help.
I am probably going with a rash suit.
I am educating myself as much as possible about blackout, rest periods between dives, etc.

 

[Frugal_Scholar]

Advice on sharks can be general and also site and species specific. For your area, it is best to talk with a few local spearos who know the waters and who have developed effective means that may range from aggressively chasing the small sharks as soon as they are seen, to simply getting out if certain species or behaviors are observed.

Some general advice might be to:

• dispatch the fish ASAP (exactly how Bill described above).
• place the fish out of the water or within a sealed bag that will not allow blood or visual stimuli
• Avoid spearing if there are multiple sharks -- especially since they can become more aggressive, competitive and even work as a pack to distract you and steal your catch
• Try to avoid feeding the sharks, if you do, expect them to be MORE aggressive - not less.
• If a shark approaches close enough to allow a jab with a pole spear, most people would recommend doing that in order to defend your personal space.
• A shark that makes a vertical approach and with their mouth open are probably going to be a problem.
• If you see a shark - keep your eyes on him - they are very aware of where you are looking, but realize that they may prefer to approach from behind, especially if you're looking at "his brother".
• Do not assume that a small shark is harmless, often the small Caribbean reef sharks can be extremely aggressive and daring, with some of the smaller ones seem to be almost fearless.
• Do not try to swim away from a shark rapidly or splash excessively - they can swim much, much faster than you - you want them to realize that you see them and that you are not trying to flee (like a prey animal). You may have to leave, but do it in a controlled manner, as much as possible.

I wear a shark shield and feel that it is worthwhile.

Hey. Question. Called ye company, order in works. Thanks.
What is best place online to buy prescription mask?
Thanks, man. Huge time.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

I can not really provide a recommendation. however, we did talk with these folks at a the most recent DEMA (dive show) and they seemed to be very professional.

https://prescriptiondivemasks.com/