Spearfishing questions - gearing up

[Wunderlich33]

Rob/KFHunter wanted to offer my help.
I live just outside of Monroe towards Flowing Lake and come through town daily. I'm heading to Colville the last weekend in August for my late Aunts memorial service that my uncle is hosting at his property.  I'd be more than willing to pick the lead from Rob and and deliver them to KFHunter on 8/27 or 8/28.
Let me know,
-Jeff

[KFhunter]

Wow great offer, I ordered like 40lbs worth of lead so I'd have different sizes to work with.

5's and 2's and two 10's I thought would get me close.

I *think* I should be good

[Rob]

Rob/KFHunter wanted to offer my help.
I live just outside of Monroe towards Flowing Lake and come through town daily. I'm heading to Colville the last weekend in August for my late Aunts memorial service that my uncle is hosting at his property.  I'd be more than willing to pick the lead from Rob and and deliver them to KFHunter on 8/27 or 8/28.
Let me know,
-Jeff

Great offer! 

Hope the services go well

[Rob]

OK,  This is my attempt to describe a fast restringing technique.

The problem statement is, restringing a speargun after a shot is long, can result in knots, and prolonged time unstrung results in tangles around reefs, other divers, boats, eagles, aircraft and honestly anything else within a 20 mile radius (real problem – ask any spearfisher how they feel about loose line in the water!)

The traditional process is:
1.  Load the spear in gun
2.  Grasp the line at the shaft connection point and wind it back and forth between the trigger side line release/retainer and the muzzle end line retainer.  (# of “back and forth wraps will vary depending on gun length and desired string length, but for this example let’s say 4 cycles))
3.  at the end of the 4th cycle, the line should “almost” reach the hook on the muzzle end of the gun.  Using the stretch in the shock bungee, pull the line over the muzzle hook.

The Technique I use:
Setup is the same as a traditional line setup, except I add  quick load bungee to the line (attach it using a loop to loop connection so it will slide along the line if needed.

Parts are labeled in the first photo.

 
1.  load the spear in the gun
2.  Grasp both ends of the line at the same time (the end on tied to the gun, and the end on the shaft). And pull both ends of the line at the same time towards the trigger side line release/retainer. (second photo)

[Rob]

3. hook both sides of the line around the trigger side line release/retainer and bring it back towards the front. (first photo below)
4.  When you reach the muzzle end of the gun, the quick load bungee should be close to the muzzle end line retainer.  Hook the loop over the end retainer and you are done.  A simple down, back and hook. ((second photo below)

[Rob]

The completed load looks something like this.  Note the orange tape lines.  I used those to mark ling slot sizes to make it easier to eyeball them before shooting!

And pardon the Collie hair in the photos!  They are blowing their coats right now and it is impossible to keep up.

[Rob]

Man.....this thread is killing me. Got a Specialized road bike and am doing more tri training......now i guess i need some fredive fins and a gun snd I'm good to go. I really dod enjoy dropping down a line or just open water....the void where you see nothing,  day or night,  then you see the possesion ferry and your world becomes big white plumose anemone,  your breathing,  check your guages....look for that ling,  not to big, not to small....

I am dying!  love that feeling of dropping down through 100 feet of dark murk to the bottom below...  miss it.

[Rob]

Oh, and I found this writeup I did on my PPD (described earlier).

I had not tested it at the time but I have now.  Worked well!

[SeaRun1]

Hey KFHunter,

I have been freediving for about eight or nine years now.  It is a great hobby but one you should be very aware of.  I am pretty set up for spear fishing and freediving in the northwest.  If you want to talk about specifics and the things I have learned along the way I can help.

I would begin by recommending a freediving class.  You will learn so much about the safety aspect of freediving as well as to help get your breath holds longer and longer.

Also freediving is always done in pairs as you never know when you will have a SWB.  No warning sometimes.

I am commercial fishing up in Alaska right now but should be home by the 10th.  Let me know.

SR1

[h20hunter]

Nice. 

[Rob]

Searun has taken many classes and is quite good at free diving.  Solid offer that I would take him up on!

[KFhunter]

I can't get past the diaphragm convulsions yet, so I dunno that an experienced diver would want to go with a newb. 

My freediving is totally different in rivers I'm used too, kick hard and let the current take you along the bottom,  then rise and kick hard back up river to your start.  No rest in the current until you swim to shore.  Rarely hit 40 feet although some pools get that.

Heart pounding the whole time.


Yours is slow heart, minimal movement stuff, its going to be a learning curve.  I was going to book some classes, but truth be known I'm not in peak physical shape.  I had to buy the fatboy suit

[overthefalls]

Lots of good info in this thread, I'll add my two cents.

1. Take a freediving certification. There is an excellent one offered by a local instructor that takes place at Lake Crescent. Pretty much everyone I've spoken to can hit 80 feet at the end of the weekend. More importantly you learn critical safety tips and how to listen to your body and understand what it happening physiologically during a dive. A freediving cert is gold when vetting diving partners. Also diving Lake Crescent is amazing, regularly 100 + ft. visibility.

2. Inflatable are great for diving out of. Just be careful with spear points and fishing hooks.

3. The Mako suits are great, however the 7mm are too warm for the summer up here until they get compressed... in which case they are then too cold for the winter. One option for summer diving is to buy a 3.5 mm top to wear with the 7mm bottoms.

If you are packing 20 + pounds of weight, I recommend looking at ankle/ necks weights in addition to just the waist. It will balance you out better to distribute the weight.

4. I see alot of people recommending AB Biller gun and to each their own.. but I would never use an AB Biller unless I absolutely cannot afford anything else. I have seen AB Billers accidentally discharge multiple times and I have also seen the muzzle snap in half while loading one. I would go with Riffe or JBL if you want a wood gun. Otherwise there are several pipe guns that are great deals and work very well.

90 cm is what I use, but is probably too much for hole hunting lings. I think 70 cm is pretty ideal, roller guns with allow you to pack a little extra punch at that length. Worth it if you can afford it. It is also worth it to learn to tie your own bands. Then you can experiment with different combos and save a lot of money in the process.

5. I would recommend a float line for diving up here. You have to work a little harder in current, but it allow you to mark spots and dive back down to them with the limited visibility.

My number one recommendation is find diving partners that you can trust, develop a safety system and stick to it. There is no margin for error with freediving. If something goes wrong it's all on your partner to know where you are and act decisively.

Freediving in the northwest is beautiful and rewarding, if you're ever up Skagit/ Whatcom area, give me a holler and we can hit the islands.

[KFhunter]

I'll try to find that instructors contact info, wonder if the crecent lake lodge would know?

I'll call the lodge and search the web.

[KFhunter]

I got a 20 something military kid that loves this stuff, he's all over the world so I want to meet up.  If it weren't for this COVID mess,  and I had my stuff together, I could have been diving Spain last week