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The fishes get away of the spear shaft. HELP.

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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K

Ktrell

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2013
33
4
48
Hello!

Im a freediver begginer and a spear fishing newbi. Around a month a go a build a "Hawaiian sling" the idea was to get fishes with a thing I made myself. Now i dont know if what i did is correct.

Here are the pictures:













The band has 70 cms long. And the shaft is a 1/4 and 123 cms long.

I made the secure thingy on the top by myself with some old lamina i found.

HERES THE PROBLEM:

So i go fishin and if i hit a fish bigger than 1 pound usually i lost it. I mean i hit the fish and he start moving desperately and get a away of the shaft somehow. Maybe the secure thing is not securing at all? The secure thingy move softly in the shaft.

I dont know whats wrong im kinda desperated today i just hit 2 good fishes (around 2 or 3 pounds) and let them wooded because i couldnt keep up to get another shot. I dont like to kill the fish and dont take them home.

Is there something bad in my rig so i need to correct. Maybe is my shooting technique? The band? The shaft?

ANY help would be great.
 
I'd say... Use a sharper spear tip, use stronger rubber and make the "flopper" tight to the shaft without a lip on the leading edge.

You can also get closer to the fish to increase velocity.
 
Apneaddict said:
I'd say... Use a sharper spear tip, use stronger rubber and make the "flopper" tight to the shaft without a lip on the leading edge.

You can also get closer to the fish to increase velocity.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the answer.

Sharper how? I mean outside of the water im easily turning over a box or a soda bottle from side to side. Maybe you mean very pointed? (Sry my english is not the best)

I will make the "Flopper" tight to the shaft this afternoon.

Ty.
 
Have you got any line attaching the spear to the handle, if not the fish will shake the spear off?? It's probably a silly question but thought I'd ask anyway
 
Scoobaru said:
Have you got any line attaching the spear to the handle, if not the fish will shake the spear off?? It's probably a silly question but thought I'd ask anyway
Click to expand...

I dont have a line attached to the shaft. I hit the fish and when i swim to get the shaft back the fish keep shaking in the bottom and very fast get away. Sometimes i got lucky and swim very fast and get the fish in the very tip almost getting away.

In some youtube videos about sling spearfishing they never use a line. The fish shake a lot but they cant get away. Then the fisherman goes and get back the shaft with the fish trapped, you know what i mean?

Example: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXW8amo_CwI"]Spearfishing the Bahamas - YouTube[/ame]


Thx.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
Ah I see. I think you may benefit from usin a trident tip then (a multi pronged spear) as this will paralyse the fish.
 
Sharper.

Use a bench grinder and sharpen the tip into a 3-sided point.
 
After watching the video it looks to me like they have mono/fishing line attached to the spear as the fish are limited as to how far try swim.
 
Also, that shaft "looks" quite thick. Most Hawaiian slings use a small diameter / this spear that helps with speed and penetration.
 
Apneaddict said:
Also, that shaft "looks" quite thick. Most Hawaiian slings use a small diameter / this spear that helps with speed and penetration.
Click to expand...

Well normally i dont see a line in any Hawaiian sling. My shaft is a 1/4 shaft, like the ones i see in amazon or ebay.

I sharp the tip in 2-sided point (sry didnt see your response before) The next time ill do it in 3 like you said.

Thx for the advices. So the flopper is closer to the shaft now, and i got a sharper point, lets see what happens tomorrow.
 
It also depends where you shoot the fish. If you hit him in a soft spot it's more likely he can tear himself off it
 
Bigger fish often have better "body armor" (i.e. thicker scales) and thicker bones*. So, as you already suspect, you may be under-powered for bigger fish - or perhaps you are too far away? Shooting larger fish from behind, to get under the scales/gill plates, might help.

*e.g. It is surprising how well armored larger grey mullet can be, with multiple overlapping layers of fairly thick scales. And how thick boned large wrasse (5lb+) can be, requiring a substantial serrated blade to cut through them.
 
Last edited:
Hi Ktrel, good start and welcome to DB.

123 cm, 4 ft, is a little short unless you are a very small person. A longer shaft will be harder for fish to shake. Try 5 ft, 152 cm, that is the standard shaft length. 1/4 inch is fine for small fish, nice and light and will fly far. Note: a heavier shaft will weigh down the fish and make it harder for it to escape. (also shoots slower and isn't as nice to use) Under 5 lbs, I prefer the 1/4 inch.

I think your problem is mostly shooting and grabbing technique. You want to shoot so that the shaft is going through the fish in a direction that, if he takes off, will engage the flapper, and not let the fish swim off the other end. When you grab the shaft, do so in a manner that does not pull back on the shaft, push it forward and down, so the the fish is pinned between the bottom and your hand, no escape unless the fish tears off completely. This takes some practice, because the natural thing is to grab the shaft too early, pull back on it and give the fish a chance to escape.

Looking at your sling, very inventive. The hole for the shaft should be fairly large, so you don't throw off your aim after the shaft is released( you aim with the shaft, not the stock). I think you could do with stronger(maybe shorter) rubber. You want to make it as strong as is consistent with being able to hold it cocked for 30 seconds or so, no shake.

As sharp a point as possible, but beware of flatening the flapper too much. You want it to be easy to engage, needs to have the end sticking out a little. Too flat and it won't open when you want it to. I thought it looked fine as pictured.

Have fun with it. Where are you spearing?

Connor
 
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ReefTroll said:
It also depends where you shoot the fish. If you hit him in a soft spot it's more likely he can tear himself off it
Click to expand...

Where should i aim? Maybe the head because is a tough spot? :duh
 
Last edited:
Hi. Around 5.8 ft. tall. So how long should be the shaft for my stature? What do you recommend?

Thx for the "push forward" advice ill be trying that in my next time fishin, in 2 days or so.

cdavis said:
I think you could do with stronger(maybe shorter) rubber. You want to make it as strong as is consistent with being able to hold it cocked for 30 seconds or so, no shake.
Click to expand...

Before i had a 48 cms band but my hands shake at full load then i read a post somewere that said the longer the band better the power and easy to shoot, so i got an 65 cm band this time, almost dont shake but im not sure if i lose power. The best fish i got till now is with that band. So what do you think? Should i cut the band a little bit?

Im spearing in Santa Marta city in Colombia, we mostly do it in drown-rocks as we called here. They are stones at 1 or 15 mts deep that start sinkin from the coast. You can see fishes going from 10 grms (little baby fishes) to 2 or 3 pounds. Im not interested in anything that i cant eat in one sit so im not going for bigger fishes. Also I dont have a boat so i have to stick with that for now =(

Thx for the advices.
 
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Got two Lion Fish this morning, one has 400 grms (YEY) just 30 minutes in the water and they couldnt get away of the shaft, the flopper works perfect. Last night i cut the band 5 cms, make the shaft 3 pointed and make the flopper closer to the shaft. Maybe that was the dealo?.

Next week ill be buying a 60" Shaft and see how it goes.

 
So today i got a Parrotfish. Around 1 1/2 pounds. So what i figured out for a home made hawaiian sling:

-60 cms band. 24".
-152 cms. 60" for the shaft.
-3 pointed shaft is way better than a round one or 2 pointed.
-An aerodynamic flopper that dont get in the way of the fish and dont let him go out when u actually spear it.
-Try to go for the fish right away and push it forward so they cant get away.

Today was just perfect and im gettin lots of lion fish too.

Thx for the advices and good hunting.
 
Last edited:
Also worth bending up the barb at the end a little to make sure it opens when the fish slides down the spear
 
I am new to the Hawaiian sling and I have a variation of Ktrells' problem. I am using 60" stainless shafts fitted with 3" floppers. I can get a good shot on the fish, but the shaft penetrates the fish and as it swims in circles after being hit, it shakes the shaft off via the blunt end.

I have always used a pole spear previously, and losing a fish after a good hit was very rare. Today I hit a decent Yellow Jack with a through and through in the gills and the spear weighed him to the bottom, but before I could reach the shaft, he wiggled off the blunt end. He was going to be somebody's dinner, but not mine!

Help

Addison
 
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