To reel? or not to reel?

[Bill McIntyre]

Most people here don't like the idea of their gun being dragged around down in the kelp. If you don't have a good holding shot the gun might hang up and give a soft White Sea bass something to pull against and tear off. I've never attached my float line to the butt of the gun but I recall a time when a buddy did. We had to go down and cut his fish out of thick kelp and then separately had to go 25 feet away and cut his gun out of thick kelp.

 

[Danny.c]

Most people here don't like the idea of their gun being dragged around down in the kelp. If you don't have a good holding shot the gun might hang up and give a soft White Sea bass something to pull against and tear off. I've never attached my float line to the butt of the gun but I recall a time when a buddy did. We had to down and cut his fish out of thick kelp and then separately had to go 25 feet away and cut his gun out of thick kelp.

Wow,that must be some serious Kelp.I Understand what your talking about now.I mean I seen your pictures paddle boarding over it,but that would take guts to dive in it.I have never seen kelp here in Qld but i think they get it in southern australia.Location realy depends on what set up we all use.
Reel guns for me,I don't think would work because of the sharp reefs I dive.
Thanks for the reply Bill,its great to see you treat everyone here with equal respect and you always have time for people.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

That bed that the guy was paddle boarding across was an extreme case, but its often very thick. That is our big problem on retrieval. We don't usually have to dive very deep to shoot white sea bass, but after we shoot them they get to the bottom and wrap the shooting line up in thick kelp. And often, even when visibility is good in the upper water, there can be a layer of thick murk on the bottom, so it can be challenging and dangerous. I'm very lucky to have some young dive buddies willing to dig my fish out if necessary.

 

[Danny.c]

That bed that the guy was paddle boarding across was an extreme case, but its often very thick. That is our big problem on retrieval. We don't usually have to dive very deep to shoot white sea bass, but after we shoot them they get to the bottom and wrap the shooting line up in thick kelp. And often, even when visibility is good in the upper water, there can be a layer of thick murk on the bottom, so it can be challenging and dangerous. I'm very lucky to have some young dive buddies willing to dig my fish out if necessary.[/QUO
hahah nice,sounds hectic.

 

[Douglas Eaton]

I'm getting setup to try fresh water spearing in WV, in a variety of situations, from deep clear lakes to low vis shallow rivers.
My initial thinking is to not use a reel for these conditions, and simply tie a line from my gun to my kayak. There isn't any kelp to get tangled, and if I get lucky and hook into a 20, 30, or even 50lb carp, drum, or shovelhead catfish, he probably can't drag the boat down.

I haven't settled on a gun yet. What is the usual line test?

 

[Mr. X]

Using your kayak as your float/marker buoy sounds viable, especially on lakes with no tide or flow. Fly a diver down flag. Alternatively for some reason, I think a reel might work well for deep clear lakes - might be worth finding out what others are doing, the Wisconsin threads might be a good place to look as they do freshwater spearing similar to that which you described. I don't use a reel.

 

[Andrew Fogarty]

Horses for courses and the experience of others is testament to the value of trial and error. I often dive with a 110 rail gun with two wraps, no float line and no reel. I am hunting particular fish too at maximum of 15 Kg and have come close to loosing this gun several times over a decade. I enjoy the freedom of a "naked" gun to hut around reef, caves and mangroves and have shot many good fish I would not have seen if I ran the backup gear which requires a divers input to manipulate. The great aspect of others experience is how it can be applied to your spearing. My pet hate is loosing a shot fish, so I am conservative and don't blaze away from unrealistic range. But in saying that a float line is definitely a comfort when you cant pull a fish to the surface and I have three ranging through 10, 20 and 30 meters. Reels are another story in that I have a Picasso Top 20 for this RA 110 but because I grew up not using a reel it seems to get in the way and distract me from diving and hunting. In the early days of a speros life (no matter when you start) the best thing you can do is focus on the environment and becoming attuned to the behavior of fish because the real skill is getting close enough to place an effective shot. Baby steps but always dive with safety in mind and don't exceed your ability.

 

[Danny.c]

Horses for courses and the experience of others is testament to the value of trial and error. I often dive with a 110 rail gun with two wraps, no float line and no reel. I am hunting particular fish too at maximum of 15 Kg and have come close to loosing this gun several times over a decade. I enjoy the freedom of a "naked" gun to hut around reef, caves and mangroves and have shot many good fish I would not have seen if I ran the backup gear which requires a divers input to manipulate. The great aspect of others experience is how it can be applied to your spearing. My pet hate is loosing a shot fish, so I am conservative and don't blaze away from unrealistic range. But in saying that a float line is definitely a comfort when you cant pull a fish to the surface and I have three ranging through 10, 20 and 30 meters. Reels are another story in that I have a Picasso Top 20 for this RA 110 but because I grew up not using a reel it seems to get in the way and distract me from diving and hunting. In the early days of a speros life (no matter when you start) the best thing you can do is focus on the environment and becoming attuned to the behavior of fish because the real skill is getting close enough to place an effective shot. Baby steps but always dive with safety in mind and don't exceed your ability.

Just like to inform everyone that North QLDers are mad crazy,they swim croc infested creeks an s**t.They will lead you into a false sense of security with there amazing humour and care free attitude.Be careful.

 

[Andrew Fogarty]

Hey Danny, my point was about starting simple and growing your spearing technique with you diving experience. Fortunately its sort of self regulating. For a Lad that's made six shots with gun I would say keep it up, but the more gear you have in the water the more you have to deal with. To start with its just about shooting a gun at a target with every dive building your personal ability to reach the goal of feeling like you can do it. Not sure about the crock reference, which is obscure and unrelated to the topic of "what gear to run on your gun". We all have our own preferences which are legitimate expressions of our own diving. Cheers anyway I have enjoyed your posts.

 

[Danny.c]

Hey Danny, my point was about starting simple and growing your spearing technique with you diving experience. Fortunately its sort of self regulating. For a Lad that's made six shots with gun I would say keep it up, but the more gear you have in the water the more you have to deal with. To start with its just about shooting a gun at a target with every dive building your personal ability to reach the goal of feeling like you can do it. Not sure about the crock reference, which is obscure and unrelated to the topic of "what gear to run on your gun". We all have our own preferences which are legitimate expressions of our own diving. Cheers anyway I have enjoyed your
See how cunning they are,.
Haha just joshing mate.

 

[Andrew Fogarty]

Nice Jack to Dan.

 

[Danny.c]

Nice Jack to Dan.

.Thanks mate,I should put all my jack pics up.My best session was 6 in one night,alot harder at day time.My biggest was 68cm.But I have lost some stonkers in the 75 plus range,Lots of frustration and many late night,s

 

[Andrew Fogarty]

That's a high five !!!

 

[Danny.c]

Roger that.

 

[Andrew Fogarty]

We need to get our dams stocked with those beasts.

 

[Danny.c]

Yeh you guys don't have many canels up that way,The big jacks stay in the canals most of the year,they go to see for a month or 2 too spawn apparently,I think they might even lay there eggs in the canals and gaurd them,that is why they are so aggressive.They must like the slow current and hot shallow water. Have you seen this?

I luv watching this blokes vids. He does alright!!

 

[Andrew Fogarty]

Yo Dan n general, Jack's are juvenile inshore and travel offshore when mature. The south coast jacks seem to to grow larger because the temp's are lower and spawning is not an inducement to offshore migration. The warming of the inshore waters will see this trend grow so gear up. I say from the view of an Aquaculture Biologist. I have spent much of my life breeding fish for restocking and farming. There are no fences out there and we are just observers in the expression of nature and her evolution. Jacks are a very adaptive species with pelagic larvae which ride the ocean and settle and metamorphose where the environment is conducive to survival. There is obvious movement between inshore mature fish and good feeding grounds. But in general the further south you go the bigger the Jacks are in the creeks.

 

[Danny.c]

Yes so true,and now on the sunshine coast in my local river maroochydore we are getting all your big barra,some of the barra speared and caught + released are 1m+. Good times comming.
On a sadder not , the crocs are comming down here with them,few crocs spotted at rivers heads of late.
Jacks Really are getting thick here over the last 5 years and plenty of guys releasing them,is a good thing.
Edit=pelagic larvae =interesting

I hope I don't get banned for thread Hi -Jacking

 

[Andrew Fogarty]

Oop's If your gonna spear a 10 kg Mangrove Jack (read Cubura Snapper) use a float line or a reel or both.

 

[Danny.c]

Oop's If your gonna spear a 10 kg Mangrove Jack (read Cubura Snapper) use a float line or a reel or both.

,Yeh,They taste pretty good.Not sure if I could pull the trigger on one.