spear fishing advice

filletofish · Jun-16-2007, 03:43 PM

hey everyone, any advice for someone who wants to get into spear fishing, like brands to use, or what not to waste the money on... im a good swimmer avid fisherman, shore and offshore just have passion to try something new... can hold my breath for a long time interested in freediving, not scuba, yet... or shops that have good service and choice, i only know of 1 in solana beach, blue water... any info is appreciated thanks guys

speedgoat · Jun-16-2007, 03:51 PM

Dunno where in SD you are, but you can check out OEX in PL. Good inventory of gear and the guys there are very helpful.

filletofish · Jun-16-2007, 04:06 PM

im from the east county, dont mind driving anywhere i know for sure there is nothing out here... any recomendations on types of spear guns, or anything similar ... thanks

Carcharodon · Jun-16-2007, 04:31 PM

avoid anything JBL except the polespears...Same with AB Biller...BAD

filletofish · Jun-16-2007, 04:43 PM

so i noticed that most places ive seen carry jbl, why stay away from those brands?, what do you recomend for pole spears... and should i start out with that before getting a gun? what weight belt do you guys recomend? does it matter? and how much weight or better yet do i wanna almost sink if i dont move

speedgoat · Jun-16-2007, 04:51 PM

I would recommend starting out with a pole-spear. They're cheap and easy to use. Probably safer for a beginner too.

You want use the right amount of weight so that you have neutral bouyancy. That's sort of a trial and error thing. You'll have to factor in the bouyancy of the wetsuit too if you plan on using one.

You'll also need a knife and a catch bag/keeper of some sort.

filletofish · Jun-16-2007, 04:59 PM

thanks alot guys, i do appreciate the tips im making my fathrs day list as we speak and birthday list at the same time... and only rules are the same as F&G... besides diving rules... thinking i wanna try just past the break at tourmaleane or southmission, and is there good polespearing off kelp? do have acess to a boat just gotta plan fun and not waste my time if its gonna be more like swimming than hunting

lj.fish · Jun-16-2007, 07:24 PM

just remember you become part of the food chain !

T-BONE1 · Jun-16-2007, 07:56 PM

If you looking to get involved with free diving I would recomend you getting involved with the San Diego Freedivers Club. Go to their wedsite and find the date to their next meeting. Many of the members will spend the time to give you all your information to start. YOu might also hook up with them and take the time to learn. This is a great sport but us caution. Also buy good equipment.

MagicMike · Jun-17-2007, 07:19 AM

Like T-bone said, use caution. Get Terry Maas' book on freediving. Never dive alone. Do a search on shallow water blackout, one up, one down techniques Etc. There is good info here but also check out spearboard.com and deeperblue.net. If you have good viz a polespear might piss you off after a while, it's nice to be able to take those longer shots. As for what gun to buy, well, thats a whole other giant can of worms. You will get a lot of different answers. People get very passionate about that subject. Why? No idea. There are a lot of great gun manufacturers, do a search for hours of reading. Good luck.

rojodiablo · Jun-17-2007, 08:00 AM

David, I 2nd you at least going to a SD freedivers club meeting, and getting to know some local guys. As for guns, a good gun( a great gun) to get is a 90cm. from Hammerhead Muzzles: Spear gun modification, Diving Gear Talk to Kevin Sakuda. He is the owner and my teammate. Very affordable, locally made, very accurate. You won't need a bigger gun. Also, on Spearboard.com, there are some other local SD guys you can meet and dive with. Look up Freedro on spearboard. He is in the SD freedivers, and can get you to a meeting. Good luck, Paul.