Ordered my first speargun

[JKPAO]

I spear on most every non working dive. I like to use a bag to hold the catch . (Holds Lobster as well) I use a pole spear, when diving off New Jersey. Seems to be faster. I do have a JBL woody that is still a virgin. has not seen blood of a fish yet. I did hit it with my foot once when it was on the deck. so it has seen some blood but..... I'm off to Carolina on Sunday, and I will bring the JBL Hopefully I will get something worth putting in the bag, or on the hoop.
Good luck and have fun! I love to eat fish!!!!!!!!
See you topside! John

 

[EEZerik]

I think there is an advantage to not using a hoop stringer. The hoop stringers put all the fish to one side and make it lopsided on your belt.

The Cable stringer w/ Kill spike seems to have solved this problem balancing the fish so as not to make one side too heavy. You simply shoot the fish with your speargun, brain it (kill it) with the sharp point of the stringer, then put the stringer through its eyes or its gills and around your back. I think you can carry more fish this way as well because the Cable is quite long

 

[JKPAO]

Nice catch ! They look yummy!
See you topside! John

 

[bdshort]

Nice pics!

I just got the gun from Brown today. Only comes with very basic instructions, but I think I figured it all out except where to attach the line to the spear. There is a spring piece that is on the shaft that can slide on it, with a loop hanging off... it looks like I attach the line here, but I'm not sure how to get the line into the spring loop. When I get a chance I'll take a picture so you can see what I mean.

The directions also say to put the slings in a plastic bag in the fridge, but I can't see an easy way of getting the slings off the gun. Also, do they become a bit easier to stretch over time? It wasn't too hard to get the front sling in place, but the one in back took some effort, which I assume might end up being harder under water.

Brian

 

[EEZerik]

bdshort,

Take a picture of the gun, maybe I can help you out or someone else on the board.

The slings in a plastic bag is unnecessary. It's like trying to keep your car out of the sun so the tires don't wear out as fast. It may help a little bit but I think it's 50x more effort than it's worth. Slings will be easier to load underwater. Our guns come standard with 1 single 20mm sling. I imagine your ABBiller comes with 14mm. So imagine the single 20mm. Most people can't load it on land as easily as they can in the water, and I think once you get those muscles used to loading, you will be fine. Besides, having to load and reload means you're shooting fish so getting tired may be a good problem to have!

Yes, the rubbers will wear over time, but a good rubber should last 6 months as long as it's not in the sun.

 

[bdshort]

Thanks... I found a spearfishing book I bought awhile back, and the piece I was asking about is the slider on the shaft that the line hooks to. Maybe I'll get a chance to take it out this weekend, and find a nice 200# halibut

Brian

 

[bdshort]

I have a new question...

I took the gun out yesterday, and was unable to stretch the bands back far enough while underwater. Topside, I'm able to stretch them back far enough, but for some reason couldn't even come close in the water. Is it the cold water (50 degrees), or just poor technique? I put the butt of the gun against my weightbelt buckle, reach up and grab the band near the metal wishbone part, then am pulling straight back, but can't quite get it back far enough. I was showing this to the LDS owner while cleaning my gear, and he said I need to do it in one quick, smooth motion, that I was taking too much time trying to pull it back.

Help! I want to kill some fish to eat!

Edit: I watched the YouTube videos and it doesn't look like I was going that slow pulling the bands back... and I just tried in my bedroom, and it was easy. Guess I'll just try again tomorrow.

 

[Jud1417]

A 48" Biller was a good choice for starters. Besides a stringer you might want to
consider a few upgrades to the gun such as a speed load kit by Spearfishing Specialties
at oceanrhino.com

Have fun & be safe!

 

[bdshort]

I finally got a chance to kill some fish with it yesterday. Shot a few rockfish at a local site, and am very happy. I picked up a metal hoop stringer off of eBay, and that worked well holding my catch. I found a nice ledge at 85' and just hung around there as that was where the fish seemed to be. Now I need to start looking for some bigger game!

 

[mseese]

I too just got a new speargun- went for an Andre Gold 110. The plan for now is for myself and dive buddy to search the reef while another person mans the boat. As I was looking around online, I saw the float lines available. I can't figure out how this would help me land a larger fish. I'd like to be able to secure one end of a line to the boat and the other to the spear. That way, if I shoot something, the guy on the boat can pull it up after I use a rapid release to seperate from the gun. Is this a reasonable plan? I can see the importance of having a good set of sheers around when doing this. What are the float lines for? I mean, I see that they float... k. Any advice before I go loose my gun?