Merits of a Shock Coil

[justin-branam]

i havent used one myself, yet, but plan on getting one for my small pneumatic gun. im told they work well for small fish, close distance, and with the pneumatic spear being easy to load already, you could go from one shot to ready to shoot again in probably less than 10 seconds.

 

[DIdiver]

I use a 12' on a small JBL gun. It works fine for smaller fish at close range. It definitely makes reloading quicker. It is getting a little stretched out, but still woks fine.

 

[100days-a-year]

Garbage.:no
If you are shooting small fish, freeshaft.
Very few fish require a line.I only use them on pelagics or big fish up in the water column like cobia and jacks.

 

[mudhole]

Garbage.:no
If you are shooting small fish, freeshaft.
Very few fish require a line.I only use them on pelagics or big fish up in the water column like cobia and jacks.

Dear 100days-a-year. . . bring your long guns and freeshafts to my neck of the woods and you'll never see them again. . . This thread has had some good and bad advice, each message limited to a small part of the spearing environment. Many of the divers have listed very good dive conditions that the coiled cord fits well with. My friends and I have about 6 spearguns with coiled cords. Riffe Metal tech size 0 guns for freshwater lakes. We take a lot of catfish each year, up to 40 lbs. and the coiled cords allow faster shooting. . . The techniques you've learned in Florida conditions, don't travel well to other areas of diving. . . the NE ocean diving, The Texas/Louisiana oil rigs. . . California Kelp. . . The NW coast. . . Your experience in your little part of the diving world is fine at home, it just doesn't travel well.

 

[100days-a-year]

MudHole,lived and dove in Texas,Colorado,NJ,Illinois.
Traveled as a military brat and was taught by my dad there,Europe and the Middle East.I joined the Navy and for 6 years traveled at your expense and shot in the Middle East,Africa,Azores,Bermuda and a few Caribbean countries along with some Central and South American.
The first thing I killed was an octopus in Turkey with what was basically a piece of rebar sharpened at age 10 almost 35 years ago.I have killed buffalo(the fish)carp,catfish and whole lot of other fish fresh,salt and brackish.I have lived in Fla only the last 20 yrs or so.I still travel from NC to the Keys every year and spearfish in vis from 5' to 100'+I was merely trying to help someone get better with better info that I learned from better divers.

What happened was I learned to listen. 5 or 6 years ago I still line shafted mostly.I still use a short gun when my quarry is small(which I try to avoid)But since my goal is to stone kill the fish or immobilize it lines are rarely needed.

I can reload faster freeshafting than you can with any line.But are you guys really killing that many fish that a few extra seconds in shallow water is a big deal?

 

[DIdiver]

100 days,

What size gun do you like to use for reef fish? What about AJ's and cobia?

 

[100days-a-year]

54" Biller LTD for everything but shallow dives for lobster where the normal fish are less than #5 and vis is 5' to 15'.I have an old JBL cut down to about 40" my wife normally uses for that.The Biller allows me to power up or down according to species.Very hard to power the little guy up enough.

 

[DIdiver]

I am looking to move up to a little better gun. I mostly dive the wrecks and rigs in the gulf off AL. Currently I use a JBL carbine. I am thinking about a 42" shaft Biller.

 

[100days-a-year]

Most of the guys there use bigger guns.FredT has some great posts on riding rigs,do a search here for some great experience on the rigs.
We have Navy and Air Force towers here in Fla and Ga.They are very similar to smaller rigs but the deepest are in only 150'

 

[slay-em-all]

I just got back from a commercial spearing trip. Three of us slayed 450 pounds of grouper and snapper for delivery to a wholesaler. Allof us were using shock coils. It reduces reload time when shooting for quantity. Also, we landed four - 60# AJ's on the same trip, so size is not an issue either!