Spear fishing anyone

[sdexcalibur]

My LDS has a day of spear fishing, Just wanted to know how hard is it. Being in the water with a bunch of people with spear guns kindda frightens me. What the biggest thing you caught?
:muscle: :muscle:

 

[swsurgeon]

Presumably the instructors will give you some good advice on spearfishing tactics and safety. My best results come from using some of the same tactics that I would use when hunting on land. I try to make effective use of the available cover to get close to the prey . Although you may occasionally get a "gift fish" that you just stumble upon while its guard is down, you'll go hungry if you count on those. Most of your prey has at least equal vision and much better speed/maneuverability. To neutralize its advantages, it helps to come around/over an obstruction and fire before it can react.

I'm only an average spearfisherman but my late father was quite good. I have pictures of him with a couple fish longer than he was (and he was about 5'10").

 

[WreckWriter]

Spearfishing on scuba is not the way the folks who are truly good at it do it. Depth being reasonable a good free diver will outfish a tank hunter any day.

Tom

 

[swsurgeon]

I should have stated that I was talking about free diving. Sdexcalibur has a neighboring thread on free diving and I was still thinking about that when I responded here.

 

[Scottri]

I used to spearfish freediving and now I use SCUBA. Neither is hard but freediving takes more skill. It is a great way to put some food on the table and contrary to what a lot of people think it is safe. I use a hawaiian sling more than I use a gun since it is more of a challenge but it just takes practice.


Scott

 

[100days-a-year]

WreckWriter,would you like to tell that one to the commercial spearfishermen in Fla.All things considered freediving is better for Pelagics,but reef fish(grouper,snapper,cobia etc...)no freediver on earth can even come close to the amount of fish shot on scuba.Scuba is banned in many spearfishing contests for this reason amonst others.I also freedive in the stream for wahoo,tuna &dolphin(mahi or dorado..not flipper)but for some pics of some scuba fish go to Chad Carneys site at WWW.mobilescuba.com

 

[WreckWriter]

I'm not claiming it can't be done but where I did most of my hunting (Keys) the bigger fish take off real fast when they hear a scuba diver coming.

I'm well aware that there are people who hunt on tanks and are extremely good at it but I still believe that (in reasonable depths with decent vis) a good freediver will outdo most tank hunters.

Tom

 

[pescador775]

S-caliber, you have the right moniker. A lifetime is not enough to learn it all, so you have a lot to look forward to. As already mentioned, there are significant differences between Scuba spearfishing and freediving. There are huge differences in the habitat and reactions of individual species of fish. The broadest difference is between bottom fish and blue water, or "pelagic" fish. These live in their on worlds in their own time. The bottom fish are more likely to be at "home", under a rock or near a reef. The pelagic fish comes and goes. The bottom fish may be more wary as he likely sees divers, including spearfishermen, from time to time. With pelagics, you never know. Some, like certain jacks and cobia, are curious, or downright dumb. My favorite bottom fish are the tautog and sheepshead. My favorite reef fish is the mutton snapper. My favorite pelagic is the dorado (yum) , although the king mackeral and African pompano ain't too shabby either. The striped bass is in a class of its own.

The rubber band speargun is actually an offshoot of the archaic crossbow. Accuracy is not a process of sighting but more like the archer's "gap" shooting and it is a matter of practice. Try to learn with a particular type of gun. There are two types used by serious spearos, the rear grip arbalete type (arbalest=crossbow), and the mid grip "Addict" type. (The Addict gun looks somewhat like a bazooka). Both are rubber powered. There are many good guns around. JBL and AB Biller are popular. The JBL design is an aluminum gun although there is the recent mahogany 38. The Biller is available in a variety of fine woods. I suggest a metal gun for the bottom hunter and a wood gun for the freediver. If an Addict gun is desired I suggest the Riffe series, but bear in mind that this is really a freediver's gun and doesn't take well to bottom fishing.

Practice safe handling; don't bring a cocked gun on board. If you have a safety, use it. Remember, a spear is sharp even when the gun is not cocked. Mind the furniture, and the ceiling if it's a big one. Better, make a spear tip cover with a short length of latex tubing.

 

[sdexcalibur]

Would a spear through a fish destroy or mess up the cut of the meat or fish if you prefer . How can you fillet a fish with a hole in it's side:tanker:

 

[100days-a-year]

sdexcaliber,a head shot is preferrred,the kill area is comprised of the brain and first part of the spine.The hole made by a spear isn't that big in any case .