Ok, I have no idea how to spearfish. any help?

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SHADOW-DIVER

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I go on vecation to visit my parents on the east coast of kauai and I would like to get into spear fishing. I free dive a ton but never had the chance to spear fish. Now I do... soooo, now what. What am I looking for? What all do I need? I have a spear gun, free diving fins, weights, kayak, and thermal protection. Anything else? Any tips?
 
I spearfish on scuba, which is vastly different than freediving. You may want to check out www.spearboard.com. There's a lot of freediving spearfishermen over there.
 
Shadow,

check out the link www.spearfishingvideos.com there is a DVD on it with a trailer. The DVD is called Spearfishing 101 and goes over gear selection, loading your gun, underwater stalking, and has interviews and info from the Riffe Speargun facility in Southern CA. It may be what you are looking for.

GTB
 
SHADOW-DIVER:
I go on vecation to visit my parents on the east coast of kauai and I would like to get into spear fishing. I free dive a ton but never had the chance to spear fish. Now I do... soooo, now what. What am I looking for? What all do I need? I have a spear gun, free diving fins, weights, kayak, and thermal protection. Anything else? Any tips?

If you go in the winter you will need a set of neoprene johns. The Hawaiians swim off the beach. Coming back through the surf the thermal suit turns into knee protection. You normally would not need a full suit, just the johns. Carry your top, too, just in case.

They normally use fairly long guns with skinny shafts and rigid points (Hawaiian tip). It is normal to tow a float line tethered to the gun butt. The float is usually a life guard can. The float line can be poly but the natives may be using a Riffe style float line. This is nylon inside a clear plastic tube.

Except for tuna and wahoo the fish (even big jacks) are often on the bottom. Be prepared to dive to 60 feet as the shallow areas have scarce game.

Tie your fish to your float with a short stringer. Tiger sharks are sometimes a concern.
 
pescador775:
If you go in the winter you will need a set of neoprene johns. The Hawaiians swim off the beach. Coming back through the surf the thermal suit turns into knee protection. You normally would not need a full suit, just the johns. Carry your top, too, just in case.

They normally use fairly long guns with skinny shafts and rigid points (Hawaiian tip). It is normal to tow a float line tethered to the gun butt. The float is usually a life guard can. The float line can be poly but the natives may be using a Riffe style float line. This is nylon inside a clear plastic tube.

Except for tuna and wahoo the fish (even big jacks) are often on the bottom. Be prepared to dive to 60 feet as the shallow areas have scarce game.

Tie your fish to your float with a short stringer. Tiger sharks are sometimes a concern.
If you are just freediving can you get to 60 feet ( 20 M ) ? how much training or what training do you need to get down that far and for long enough ? ( I am also quite new to spear fishing . Got the long style freediving fins though so have the thrust power )
 
Tim220171:
If you are just freediving can you get to 60 feet ( 20 M ) ? how much training or what training do you need to get down that far and for long enough ? ( I am also quite new to spear fishing . Got the long style freediving fins though so have the thrust power )
If you can equalize and are very comfortable under the water, 60' is not a problem..when I've worked with people who are trying freediving for the first time, I usually set about 60' as a goal... but it's always the equalizing of the ears that's the trouble... or the comfort level under the water. A quick trip to 60' and back only takes about 40 seconds or so.. so it's not a matter of how long you can hold your breath. So what kinda of training you need is minimal... but having a good buddy is a MUST! Having a buddy that is familiar with freediving can really help in the comfort level too - knowing that your spotter is there for you always makes the deeper dives a lot easier.
 
I agree with "breath". Really, you need to partner up with one or more Hawaiians. Not always easy to do unless you have an "in", a recommendation from someone. In any case, with an experienced partner, you will find it takes about a week to move from 30 foot dives to 60 feet. Use a type of fin which provides plenty of thrust and is fairly flexible. Drive hard on the way down, get to depth and do your stuff. You need sharp vision to spot fish from the surface. Vis is usually not a problem but the fish, even 20 pounders, look like guppies from the surface. Hawaiians regularly take octopii (tako, ne'e) by spotting them from the surface. Takes eagle eyes. There are some shallow beaches off Oahu where it is only necessary to dive 30 feet or so.
 
pescador775:
..... Drive hard on the way down, get to depth and do your stuff. .....
Guess I don't agree with that.. if you push it to get to depth you'll be outta breath before or when you get there...and won't be able to spend much time. Take your time, relax, be efficient in your kicks. A good steady pace, good technique, not much effort will get you about 3' a second, so 60' in about 20 sec..with a bottom time of 20 sec. and a return trip of 20 seconds, you've only used up one minute.
 
Three feet per second is 2 mph. That is about 1/2 the max speed of an average free diver. Some trained athletes claim 5 mph for short bursts. Any way you look at it, anything more than 1 mph is not "relaxed". Hawaiians with whom I have dived, descend at what looks to be 2-3 mph. I do the same. Game will continue to move laterally and if the diver slows his pace the fish will be in a different location forcing the diver to swim laterally as well as deeper. However, even when doing reef "inspections" they seem to get down there pretty quick. There should be no oxygen penalty until the dive is over, that is on a two minute dive. Almost anybody can swim for 2 minutes without breathing hard. That is due to the fact that humans have the capacity for "oxygen debt". Feeling out of breath after 20-30 seconds of "hard driving" is either psychological or a sign of something else, something medical. The need to breath is a function of average oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production. However, the muscles do not need oxygen, they metabolize something called ATP. It is only after ATP depletion, the need to replenish stores, and build up of CO2 are detected that breathing rate, and oxygen uptake, is forcibly increased. The diver normally uses surface intervals to recharge and blow off CO2.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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