Which length?

[XD-tuga]

Hi

I've been spearfishing for 2 years now (always near the shore, 4or 5 meters deep) and now i want to buy a speargun.
The one i chose was Cressi Comanche, but i cant decide between 90 or 100

Let me know what u guys think

Thanks

 

[Mr. X]

Re: Wich lenght?

Depends mainly on the visibility in the areas you will dive, I think. How far away are the fish you are after? How big & tough are they? Best chat to the locals & see what they use (we have at least two Portuguese members on the forum that I know of, try using forum's Private Mail feature to contact MCerieiro - he also sells spearing gear at his website: http://www.blue-factory.net/). I started with a 90cm RA (in England) but I prefer to use my 75cm Omer XXV these days. I have a 90cm XXV too now but I still use the 75cm almost all the time. So longer ain't necessarily better. For UK, these days, I would recommend starting with a 75cm gun; I've only been to Portugal once and didn't dive, but I recall the water was much clearer than where I usually dive. 100cm will give you a little more range and power but 90cm will be a little easier to load and will be a little more agile in the water (& will be powerful enough).

Commanche is a good choice. Great value/design (good enough for a World Champion) & spare parts are easier to find than for almost any other model. Looks cool too

 

[XD-tuga]

Re: Wich lenght?

In portugal water is good on the south... in the north there are less fish, lesse visibility and way to mucha plants (sea plants dont know the name)

Ill dive in Portonovo (galiza espain) wich is a bay so theres never wave sand visibility there is just perfect. I think i'm going for the 90 because i want to have some range too

And yes it really looks cool... I have to get a black spear

 

[Mr. X]

It was the south coast I visited. Perhaps the plant is kelp?
I see quite a lot of this in UK waters (is this kelp?):

Is this where you dive: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porto-Novo ? Looks real nice:

Looks very clear. Might need something longer for that 110/120?

 

[XD-tuga]

It was the south coast I visited. Perhaps the plant is kelp?
I see quite a lot of this in UK waters (is this kelp?):

Is this where you dive: Porto-Novo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ? Looks real nice:

Looks very clear. Might need something longer for that 110/120?

I dont know if it is kelps... I dont think a nedd that big, iwas thinking in 75, 90 or 100, becaus i will not spear in open water, only 5 6 meters... I cant dive very deep and i like much more to look for the fish in the holes (cant explain it very weel in english) than wait for them down there...

BTW

Porotnovo is here


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That tiny beach is where i stay ( i really like it becaus it does not have many people, and u can catch all kinds of seafood in the rocks, on the left of the pic)

I will spear in those circles. The water is really great, there are never waves, but the problem is that u cant catch many things... 5 kg per day , exclluding the bigger piece, only 1 octopus, and no sea food at all (theres on thing calles percebes (in portuguese) that is really good and costs arround 80e/kg and i cant caths it...:head)

 

[Mr. X]

I started with a 90cm spear-gun - a Rob Allen Sparid railgun - but usually now, I use a 75cm speargun (an Omer XXV which is a particularly small/slim/light gun - even more that the Cressi Commanche, which I think is similar). Lately I recommend that beginners in the UK start with a 75cm, the visibility is often poor here.

The reason for recommending a 75cm band gun in this case (pneumatics are measured differently, so the equivalent size might be a 90cm pneumatic - but I don't use them, so can't advise) is that they are more fun:

* Easier (& so possibly quicker) to load.
* Range is not much different to 90cm.
* Powerful enough for most regular fish.
* Significantly easier to move & aim in the water, esp. when dealing with fast moving fish or working in confined spaces (for example, you mentioned looking under rocks)
* Easier (smaller & lighter) to carry & transport
* Will be useful later, even if you get a longer spear-gun

If after you gain some experience you feel you need or would like to try a longer gun, you will still find it useful to carry or use, on occasion (e.g. when visibility is poor and in confined spaces), your old, smaller gun (or you could sell it to a beginner).

Spearguns usually come well set-up and balanced from the manufacturer. You can customize your spear-gun later if you wish. For example, with more powerful bands (often a mistake IMHO) or a second band - we all go through a stage of wondering if more power/range will help. Perhaps a second-wrap of spear-line, a soft Dyneema (or steel cable) wishbone, perhaps a different spear -- perhaps a thick spear and/or trident tip if you are shooting big eels or other reef fish at close range (a typical use for a shorter gun), or a slim spear for speed/agility/range. Maybe smoothed notches (/sharkfins/mini-sharkfins/pins) for dyneema wishbones.

80/82cm is an interesting size too (sorry to complicate your choice). I don't own one, I bought a second 90cm, another Omer XXV instead - as it is lighter & shorter (the spear is 5cm shorter than most 90s), but rarely use it. In the water it feels quite similar to the RA 90, so I regret not getting the 82cm model (that way I would have had a 75, 82 & 90 to choose from). However, in practice, you can only use one spear-gun, and I almost always use the 75cm spear-gun these days - and when I don't I usually regret it.

However, It maybe that visibility is better where you go fishing. From the forums, it seems that the Guernsey spearos usually stick with 90cm guns and rarely go below 80cm. In South Africa 110 or 100cm is considered a short reef gun!

BTW I would would think the Rob Allen 70cm railgun models as roughly equivalent in size/weight/power to a 75cm European spear-gun.

 

[XD-tuga]

Thank you for the complete answer... One more thing :


I searched online but i cant find the diference between hawaiian and tahitian. if it is simple can u explain it to me?

TY

 

[Mr. X]

I see Huan defines barb on top (euro-style) as Tahitian & barb below as Hawaiian on a related thread - however, I believe RA refer to their barb on bottom spears as Tahitian. I generally consider a spear with a single barb/flopper as Tahitian. It is worth visiting the Rob Allen* website Rob Allen spearguns, railguns and other spearfishing and freediving accessories., to read why they prefer the single flopper/barb configuration -- basically its simple and it works.

We discussed barb preferences on another thread yesterday. In truth both work well enough, I slightly prefer barb-below (but my favourite gun has the barb on top & counter-sunk into the spear shaft ) and strangelove prefers barb above (except on his Sporasub One).

* By the way there is/was a Rob Allen importer/dealer in Portugal with a cool website. Worth checking out for general interest and robust equipment. Their railguns are "heavy duty" - suitable for dealing with very big fish. The Commanche is a well regarded speargun too, fantastic value for a world-class competition speargun - in hindsight, a 75cm Cressi Commanche is probably what I should have started with.

BTW there is another configuration that seems far more popular in certain other area (Oz/Nz/Hawaiia/USA), which is a double barb - I think some people call them 'farters' (I thought it was a joke at first). I think the advantage is that you are less likely to loose a well speared fish but the disadvantage is that it'll take more time and trouble to remove the spear. Simple is often best, and the single flopper (tahitian?) set up is probably the simplest.

I always use a single flopper (Tahitian?) spear but I've read that trident & paralyser tips tend to immobilize spear fish -- which might be useful around snag hazards, for example around a ship wreck, where you don't want you spear line tangled around things. Could be useful for flat fish too -- to avoid spearing the ground/rocks under the fish. I think spaghetti recommended them for eel too(?).

 

[XD-tuga]

SO basicly in Tahitan flopper is on the upper part of the end of the shaft, on the hawaian the flopper is on down part of the end of the shaft... thats it? How can that make sucha big diference

 

[foxfish]

I love double barb spears, decent ones with a well milled flat section to recess the barbs.
Any fish toggled by such a spear is unlikely to escape? The spear is removed by passing it through the fish & using a swivel clip on the rigging.

 

[Mr. X]

SO basicly in Tahitan flopper is on the upper part of the end of the shaft, on the hawaian the flopper is on down part of the end of the shaft... thats it? How can that make sucha big diference

ANSWER: It really doesn't make much difference.

A bottom barb will usually hang down while you are hunting with a loaded gun, causing lateral drag near the end of the fulcrum that is your arm & speargun. When you fire it will get pushed up (using a little energy). Maybe toward the end of its range it, the barb will start to fall, and act like a fin pushing the spear up, just as it is starting to drop, or maybe not. Once you spear a fish, the barb will tend to fall open under gravity (a top mounted barbs tend to stay closed under gravity).

A top mounted barb will tend to remain flush with the spear while you are hunting will a loaded speargun - so no lateral drag. When you fire, the barb is already flush with the spear - so no drag/wasted energy. Once you spear a fish, you better make sure that barb opens & stays open.

In practice the barb might fail to open, or might open then close with either type of spear. I use both and both work well enough.