Question from a young gun

I am 17 yrs old and new to spearfishing and i need a little advice. I am very hesitant when taking a shot sometimes because I am worried about the size of the fish. I dont wanna kill something illegal. Some guys make notches in their fins or spear to measure a kill. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on this subject. I know that this will become less of a problem with more experience but just wanted to see what you guys had to say.

Trouble with notches in your fins or gun to measure the kill is that you can't do it until after you killed it. Check your local fisheries and see what the size limits are. And remember, they look bigger underwater so don't shoot anything that you're in doubt of.
You're starting off with the right attitude. Good luck.

I use a sharpie pen or piece of white tape for 10", 15" and 24" on my gun. There are also special marking pens for dive gear. Sometimes there are reference points on a gun that can also be used such as screws. For a polespear, I would use a sharpie or piece of tape. I glance at the marking first if in doubt at the beginning of a dive and double check.

I would not use notches because the length used to be none, 12", and 18". So they may change. With experience, comes being able to estimate pretty well. I take more time to determine legal fish when borderline in size.

Yes, always remember that fish look much bigger underwater. Easy mistake to make.

The reason why you glance at your markings when in doubt at the beginning of a dive and double check is for reference to know what the difference is due to refraction of light in water.

For good tasting fish without a size limit, do not be surprised when your stringer is out of the water that they look a lot smaller when you first start spearfishing. Have Fun!

I've seen the FDL regulations on a ruled sticker, similar to a Law Stick, and some divers stick them on their guns... but regs change so often these days.

Most importantly you want to limit the number of measurements you are viewing, so that you can commit them to memory. So I'd recommend just a few sharpie marks, starting from the muzzle of your gun in towards you. You will develop an eye for the various fish sizes, but that can even fade for veterans when not shooting for a while.

I try to only shoot when it's obviously good and legal, by mentally adding a couple extra inches.
That said, it's toughest when poor visibility limits your reaction time and on days when you're having slim pickings.

Before the dive I try to keep in mind that I always want to be proud of the catch... or I'd rather come up empty handed. There's no shame there.

Chad

You are doing exactly the right thing by not shooting. Keep it up. I know a good number of shooters that look down on "Poaching Hashes" that other divers will put on their guns. I personally agree that putting marks on your gun so you can measure a fish after you shoot it is less ethical than not pulling the trigger on borderline fish. The magnification effect (not exactly refraction) of looking through your mask underwater is constant and you should be able to pick up on it very quickly.

Every boat should have a law stick or other means of measuring the fish on it. If you feel like shooting borderline fish then you should be prepared to measure them in front of everyone else and deal with the consequences if you are ever short. Anything less than that is borderline trying to get away with something or could easily be construed as such in my mind. Obviously a number of good people who have no intention of rule breaking do this (mark their guns).... but so do the shadier characters and people who make snap calls may label as the type of person they'd just rather not dive with. My $0.02

Interesting point of views from Chad and Pat that I have never heard or thought of before.

I forgot to mention that my 3 measurements are based upon the fish I like to eat.

For example 15" is Cabezone, 24" is Ling Cod, and California Halibut is 22", but I just make sure it is the Ling Cod size.

Florida must have a different set of problems

I should really point out that my perspective is based on what I have observed here in the Northern Gulf and a few other spots across the state that I have been fortunate enough to spearfish repeatedly. I want to stop well short of characterizing people elsewhere with different methodologies that I am not familiar with as unethical. I can easily see the practicality of doing this for shore based freedivers.
I do feel very strongly about the type of person that I have seen in my familiar haunts that operate on a shoot first ask questions later philosophy, but we are scuba shooting out of boats which should all have a tape of some sort on them. Also, several of the people I know quite well have their guns marked in this manner and one or two of my hunting buddies as well. But none of them use the marks any more, and they kind of look at them like a tattoo that they now regret but don't want to go to the trouble to remove for mere aesthetic reasons. It is just far better to not pull the trigger without certainty about what species you are shooting and complete confidence that it is legal.

Well, I'm on the far other end of the spectrum of marking guns.

I have an aluminum Home Depot ruler monster glued to the bottom of my gun.

And I NEVER shoot short fish, although some are just legal.