Thread: Spearfishing

Good idea bro. Some good fish in those pics.
I want to spear three Kings so bad, it looks so epic

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Originally Posted by Nick-D

Good idea bro. Some good fish in those pics.
I want to spear three Kings so bad, it looks so epic

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Next time I'm going up I'll give you a bell if there's a spot. Trips usually get planned in advance then cancelled or confirmed last minute based on weather.

Originally Posted by Dorkus

Next time I'm going up I'll give you a bell if there's a spot. Trips usually get planned in advance then cancelled or confirmed last minute based on weather.

Awesome man. Keeeeen as.

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@Dorkus nice mate, those boaries are delicious. have nailed a few myself

Good to see my other form of shooting covered here. Been dabbling in the whole freediving thing for a few years now.
Also make my own guns, and fix / modify everything I get my hands on. Invert rollers are the current project.

Originally Posted by quentin

Good to see my other form of shooting covered here. Been dabbling in the whole freediving thing for a few years now.
Also make my own guns, and fix / modify everything I get my hands on. Invert rollers are the current project.

Fancy making me one

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pb snap of 24lbs shot snooping
couple of OK snaps from kawau. Did a session where we shot 7 upto 7kg~ with the odd bronzey buzzing our burlies. couple of goldies we plundered from the deep off mayor over the new year. Certainly weren't in a state to dive the next day!

Originally Posted by Nick-D

Fancy making me one

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Could do - what type of speargun rocks your boat / what are you wanting to shoot?

Most of my guns are wooden enclosed track guns, but i've just started dabbling with carbon euro type guns again. I started out with euro guns, but moved away from them as the quality was questionable, and when I lost a fish of a lifetime when a euro handle snapped, I started making everything myself (stocks, triggers, muzzles).
There is still absolute rubbish out there, but there is also some real quality hardware available. As with everything quality comes with cost. Turns out shaft speed comes with complexity, pulleys, and lots of cord.

Originally Posted by quentin

Could do - what type of speargun rocks your boat / what are you wanting to shoot?

Most of my guns are wooden enclosed track guns, but i've just started dabbling with carbon euro type guns again. I started out with euro guns, but moved away from them as the quality was questionable, and when I lost a fish of a lifetime when a euro handle snapped, I started making everything myself (stocks, triggers, muzzles).
There is still absolute rubbish out there, but there is also some real quality hardware available. As with everything quality comes with cost. Turns out shaft speed comes with complexity, pulleys, and lots of cord.

Actually thinking more for the missus. She is strong enough but struggles with arm length to load the longer guns. Her little 90 is fine for snooping and inshore stuff but we have been out white island etc a lot recently so she needs something with a bit more grunt and range. Thinking an inverted 100 or 110 with a double wrap and heavy shaft would be a good setup for her. Ill just buy a billy basic 130 euro for me.

I fish a lot and hunt, and I am (or at least was) a keen SCUBA diver with nearly 1000 dives under my belt, so getting in to spearfishing makes sense. I have all the gear apart from a speargun. I'm a little worried about sharks. I don't think it is irrational, I've travelled all over the world to dive with sharks, but an encounter with a pumped up shark while holding a bleeding, dying fish on a breath hold might be a little too exciting for me.

Originally Posted by MB

I fish a lot and hunt, and I am (or at least was) a keen SCUBA diver with nearly 1000 dives under my belt, so getting in to spearfishing makes sense. I have all the gear apart from a speargun. I'm a little worried about sharks. I don't think it is irrational, I've travelled all over the world to dive with sharks, but an encounter with a pumped up shark while holding a bleeding, dying fish on a breath hold might be a little too exciting for me.

Sharks are part of the equation, although pretty easily managed. You get used to them pretty fast.

Ime as long as you aren't actively shooting larger fish when sharks are around (kingies seem to be the worst) then you will be fine.

Investing in a float boat is a good tool for peace of mind.

Really they just want the fish, and aren't fussed with you. I wouldn't let it stop you, way more danger from the many fuckwits who don't have a clue on how to safely pilot a boat than sharks imo

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Originally Posted by MB

I fish a lot and hunt, and I am (or at least was) a keen SCUBA diver with nearly 1000 dives under my belt, so getting in to spearfishing makes sense. I have all the gear apart from a speargun. I'm a little worried about sharks. I don't think it is irrational, I've travelled all over the world to dive with sharks, but an encounter with a pumped up shark while holding a bleeding, dying fish on a breath hold might be a little too exciting for me.

Understandably... I have noticed a massive increase in shark encounters in the last 10 years and am increasingly concerned one of them is going to go pear shaped. That said, it is not nearly enough to stop me doing it and I don't think it should deter you from giving it a nudge.

A couple of things you can do to reduce your chances of an encounter:

• Dive in winter. When the water gets above about 18 degrees, shark numbers in shallow coastal areas will rise steadily until the end of summer.
• Don't use fish burley. Break open kina or mussels, but using fish will increase the likelihood of seeing sharks massively. (Winter is usually a good time for fish burley)
• Shoot fish carefully. Especially with kingfish (generally found in sharky spots), wait until they are close and you have a high percentage shot. Aim for the lateral line just behind the eye (I like to go right where the gill plate meets the lateral line from side-on or slightly quartering away), hitting the brain or spine will effectively switch them off, greatly increasing your chance of landing them quickly with minimal fuss. A gut-shot kingy swimming round in circles making a racket is likely to attract a shark if there's one near by.
• Buy at plat (sometimes called a float-boat) to put your fish in. It keeps them out of the water and away from scavenging bronzies.
• Gut your fish once you get back to the boat. This is a judgement call, gutting and gilling immediately will improve the quality of your fish but is more likely to attract a shark (as well as other fish) - I judge it on time of year (winter go for gold, summer not so much), terrain (shallow boulder area great, deep scary drop off nope) vis (sharks in good vis are cool to watch, sharks in green dirty water are scary as fuck), and if I've got mates to hold my hand (even big kids get scared sometimes).

Sharks can be real fun to dive with. Seals can be real wankers though and there is a big increase of them in winter

Originally Posted by superdiver

Sharks can be real fun to dive with. Seals can be real wankers though and there is a big increase of them in winter

I was stick baiting the other day and a seal come flying out of the water beside me onto a rock...then gave me a verbal, smelly tune up....to say I nearly shat my arse is an understatement!!! They are dodge as imo

Originally Posted by Gibo

I was stick baiting the other day and a seal come flying out of the water beside me onto a rock...then gave me a verbal, smelly tune up....to say I nearly shat my arse is an understatement!!! They are dodge as imo

They are more annoying than sharks, but overall less dangerous. Have been mugged by the bastards a couple of times

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