Scotland spearfishing 2013

Looks like a real nice set-up. 75cm is good for starting out unless you are sure the water will usually be particularly clear (like the granite coasts of Cornwall & the Channel islands). You could always get a longer one later if the conditions warrant it (you might then decide 90/100/110/120 - depending of what you find when you dive).

The water around Scotland will likely be a bit cooler than down south, so you might want to consider either: a slightly thicker wetsuit (5.5/6/6.5/7mm) or longjohn pants or/and a 2 or 3mm neoprene vest that can be added for warm conditions (you could always get the latter later if you find things cold sometimes or if the wetsuit looses some loft after a few years use).

Coincidentally I recently bought a similar wetsuit albeit by Mares, you can check that out here: https://forums.deeperblue.com/threa...ne-use-them-review-sizing.104877/#post-952572 (mine was £125 inc. shipping).
Some ads say it is 5.5mm others 5mm, probably much-of-a-muchness. Check the size charts though, a good fit is important & brands vary.

I like Beuchat gloves - they seem less clunky that some others. I would recommend against the 2mm super-stretch gloves for Scotland though, not warm enough.

You'll need a float-line with some stiffness that floats. 12-20m is enough when you start out but you can "reef up" excess if you get a longer line. Polyester washing line rope 5-7mm diameter works well, nylon doesn't it sinks & paracord sucks (or buy similar rope by Rob Allen in olive green for ~£9 inc. shipping, which already has loops spliced in each end). Alternatively aquarium air line sealed at both ends reputedly has good characteristics: floats & has stiffness. It is also a good idea to have a clip at both ends - although perhaps better to leave them attached to the float & gun respectively, rather than to the float line itself.


A fish stringer (I like the Rob Allen ones as they are heavy duty have a long sharp spike that can be used to dispatch fish but they seem a bit expensive currently) - with another clip to attach it to your float. I am assuming - perhaps wrongly - that you are new to all this as you are buying all new gear. Once you have some experience you could consider wearing a waist stringer but I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner (or where there are sharks).

Then mask (bi-lens, low volume, spearo mask of some kind), snorkel (Omer Zoom?/simple-J), and big, full-foot spearo fins a weight belt (e.g. rubber marseille belt by Omer or RA or ...) and some lead. I think I normally carry about 20-22lb of lead weights give or take a couple of pounds these days, depends on your buoyancy. A small, sharp spearo dagger or an emergency dive knife (or Kitchen Devil!) is probably prudent. I like the Omer mini-laser american spearo dagger, the price usually reasonable too but I don't like its sheath. Alternatively a cheap, flat Taiwanese knife in a simple Rob Allen limpet sheath (or Pelaj equivalent) is unobtrusive. Dive knives often get lost, worth bearing in mind before splashing the cash & again before use.

ritvars said:

...Mr. X, I can sense you like Rob Allen stuff, any particular reason?...

Click to expand...

I was on that website buying a reef-hook when I wrote that response! I like most of the major spearfishing equipment suppliers. Omersub, Mares, Beuchat & Seacsub are also favourites. If I lived in the USA still, I would likely have a lot of Mako gear (& perhaps a Darryl Wong woodie). Yes I quite like Rob Allen gear. That's what I started out with and perhaps that is part of my makeup now. I have a theory that folk generally prefer the style of wishbone they started out with, I started out with RA so I converted the (very good) French articulated wishbone on my Omer speargun to Dyneema .

RA gear is unusually tough /"over-engineered" - designed to cope with the largest game fish) - although it can be a bit too much (e.g. too heavy/too big) for the UK. Also, the cost of RA gear has risen significantly since I bought my first RA gear, consequently these days I am more likely to buy European brands, which are cheaper (less shipping costs/import duty/etc.), lighter and are generally designed for conditions/fish like we encounter in the UK. However, there are a few items which RA make which are either unique or particularly good of their type or good value or I just like it/used to it (e.g. their Cray-bag, their fish stringers, their cheap olive float-line [similar polyester washing line is much cheaper at ~£2 for 20m - but the right stuff is hard to find], reef-hook, rubber Marseille weight belt, dyneema wishbones, bulk rubber).

foxfish said:

... extra 2mm vest..

Click to expand...

Hi Foxfish, where did you get you 2mm vest? 10 years ago (when the pound was very strong) I think Elios wanted £32 or £40 for one - almost half the price of the made to measure suit back then - so I passed on that option. I guess I never really needed it: although it might have extended the season a bit, it was the fish leaving rather than the cold than usually ended the season for me . I'm more of a "fairweather" diver these days.

ritvars said:

... I fink as newbie i would feel more confident in cammo suit then in black, mainly because everybody in these days wears cammo suits and as you said they look better, and price difference from cheapest cressy suit and black cressy apnea is 25 punds (20%) and for long term investment, i fink, its not lot.
Thanks
Richard

Click to expand...

I missed that bit when I first scanned the new posts. Black is fine, might even be as good or better than camo. It is popular now because it has become more readily available and therefore fashionable and...why not. I used a black suit for 10 years, it's fine - very good in fact, can't fault it. I just fancied a change. I figure this might be my last spearo wetsuit - if not then I will likely need something with a zip like OMD used to wear (shoulder problems ) - so might as well make the most of it. Also, by buying off-the-shelf, my Mares camo suit was cheaper than a direct replacement for my made-to-measure black Elios eco-line suit, and it even has rudimentary knee patches (extra cost on the Elios).

I've gone for brown camo, as that seems to be what I swim around most - been looking for a good pattern match for several years (for my fins) so I happy when I found the Mare suit. So most likely I will find myself only in green seaweed from now on!

On the plus side: black doesn't reflect much light towards the fish (camo has lighter patches, so if you move a fish will likely see the movement).

On the negative side: it gives you a silhouette like a seal - but then seals manage to survive by catching fish. I once had once hang round with me, even nipped my fins! (Great Whites eat seals sometimes )

I am thinking of mixing & matching my old & new wetsuit parts (e.g. camo pants, black top, camo weight-vest -- movement of black arms & gloves would perhaps be less obvious). I'm also thinking I can have one suit drying while I wear the other, although my old suit got a little chewed up last season.