Palm Beach Dive Thread

[MrChen]

I dove out WPB on Sunday. All I can say is WOW WOW WOW. It was top to bottom visibility, mild current, and comfortable water temps. I was able to ditch my wetsuit and wear my Sharkskin jacket and pants, which is my preferred thermal wear.

On dive 1, I had a clear shot on a black grouper and missed. It was a downward shot and I didn't have a clear broadside angle. My buddy was swimming by and asked if I was ok because I was quickly trying to reload my gun (and failing lol). I point to the grouper which only moved 20 ft. He swam for it and it took off before he could get in range. I scootered up current looking for it, but it was gone.

Dive 2 we cruised along Juno ledge. Saw the usual, sharks, turtles, and goliath groupers, and not much to shoot. There were schools of yellow jacks, but they wouldn't let me get anywhere close enough to shoot. Of note, my blacktip DPV flooded a month ago and I replaced it with a Tusa Sav-7 Evo3. Since doing so, my air consumption is WAY down. We did a 50 minute dive averaging around 65 to 70 ft and I had 2000lbs of air when I saw my buddies starting their ascent. My GTR said 55 minutes, NDL was 40+ minutes. I opted to surface with them.

As we were getting on the boat, they were saying to get up quickly because the others wanted to do a quick drop on a spot with tanks which had enough air to do so. I was like, I have enough air and NDL, so I just moved to the back of the boat and put my fins back on for a 3rd dive. They drove for about 10 minutes and we dropped in.

I really didn't know the dive plan for dive 3. I heard go north and then east. I decided to follow one buddy down to see what they wanted to drop on. There was some ledge with lots of fish, but nothing to shoot. I look up and see another buddy going east and no one else was around, so I followed east until I saw a hogfish. The hog was borderline, so I didn't take a shot. I look up and no one is around me, so i looked around for some structure. I see a curved west to north facing ledge, shaped like a candy cane. I loop around the edge and don't see any fish worth shooting. I came back up in the sand patch in the middle of the curve and see a large black grouper. After missing on dive 1, I was determined not to miss this time, but the grouper wouldn't let me get close. I ascended at least 30 ft and continued following the grouper. The grouper slowed down, so I dive bombed, full speed right at it. When I was about 5 ft away, it turned broadside to look at me and I immediately fired and landed a shot in the rib cage. It started swimming for the ledge but lacked any real fight. The shot must have severely injured it. I pulled it up to me, brained it without much resistance, added two float stringers, but couldn't remove my shaft. I was down to 700lbs of air in 75ft of water, so I just floated the fish with my gun attached (I know, risky). I shot my DSMB and ascended. I couldn't see the fish or gun from my safety stop, but upon surfacing, I could see the floats about 100ft away. I scootered to it and wrapped all the free line around my gun. I handed up the fish with gun attached. The grouper measured a hair shy of 33 inches. This was my first black grouper. I started spearfishing a few months ago, so this was really exciting.

 

[MrChen]

 

[Johnoly]

..but couldn't remove my shaft.
floated the fish with my gun attached
I started spearfishing a few months ago, so this was really exciting.

That a really nice black and they spook very easily & run.
All of us started out the same and it just takes time & shots as you get better & better.
After each day of diving, make a list of things you want to solve and do faster. There is no one single correct way to dive, everyone is different. If you have an issue/delay underwater, try a change, any change. You can always go back to the original. You did it with the scooter, do it with spearing too ! Congrats on a great dinner fish !!

 

[MrChen]

That a really nice black and they spook very easily & run.
All of us started out the same and it just takes time & shots as you get better & better.
After each day of diving, make a list of things you want to solve and do faster. There is no one single correct way to dive, everyone is different. If you have an issue/delay underwater, try a change, any change. You can always go back to the original. You did it with the scooter, do it with spearing too ! Congrats on a great dinner fish !!

Thanks. I was trying to rush a reload and just couldn't get the dang line to align properly on the shaft and then I had the bands wrong, etc. Doing this while scootering up current and trying not to lose sight of the fish.

One thing I notice, the more focused I am on aiming, the more I miss. This means the shaft isn't traveling how I'm expecting. When I shoot more reactionary or in the moment, I hit every time. I am going to take some practice shots at the beginning of a few dives so I can figure out how the gun is really shooting when I'm aiming down the barrel.

 

[Belzelbub]

Thanks. I was trying to rush a reload and just couldn't get the dang line to align properly on the shaft and then I had the bands wrong, etc. Doing this while scootering up current and trying not to lose sight of the fish.

Yeah, line is a bit of a challenge. Definitely takes a good chunk of the reload time. It really depends on how the line attaches to the speargun and the shaft. With some, there is just learning the singular technique and getting better at it. I couldn't really get a good look at how it is supposed to work in the video you posted.

Does the line attach to a slide ring on the shaft, or does it attach directly to the rear of the shaft?

If it attaches to a slide ring, you may be able to adapt a speed load kit. Speed load kit is essentially a rubber band, I believe you could use some bungee or surgical tubing as well. The loop of elastic is placed in a specific spot on the line and held by a zip-tie. Instead of wrapping the line individually, you grab two strands of the line (one is attached to the gun at the muzzle, the other to the shaft) wrap both around the line release, then bring up toward the front. The elastic loop would then hook on the horn that you would normally wrap the line around. Essentially, you get two wraps of line in the time it takes to do one.

I know that's probably difficult to follow. A pic is worth a thousand words, what's a video worth?

One thing I notice, the more focused I am on aiming, the more I miss. This means the shaft isn't traveling how I'm expecting. When I shoot more reactionary or in the moment, I hit every time. I am going to take some practice shots at the beginning of a few dives so I can figure out how the gun is really shooting when I'm aiming down the barrel.

That's a good idea. I've known a few people who did some aiming practice in a pool. You need a long pool for this, but essentially, they attached some weight to a foam float. A boogie board works well. Aim for a spot on the board and see where it ends up. Could also do nearshore in the ocean if a pool won't work.

And also just don't beat yourself up over it. Some days will be better than others. I dove on Saturday, and was missing way more than I usually do. I think my first 4 or 5 shots were misses. That was frustrating. My buddy saw several misses and commented that I wasn't missing by much. Luckily, I was able to get it sorted and finally got through it.

Posted and added video in the Hunting section.

Got some dinner yesterday

Started out frustrating as I was missing way too many shots. Finally got it together and managed to bring home dinner. A few fish took multiple tries to land. Definitely not my best work, but in the end it worked. Got a couple visits by a turtle, too. Water definitely warming up. 82 on the...

scubaboard.com

I edited the video of most of the misses, but left a few for fun. One, I gave a fish a haircut, and lost him. Ran into that same fish on a second dive in a different area of the ledge and brought him home with me. On another, my buddy injured the fish, but it got off the shaft. I attempted to hit it but missed. I grabbed it, but though injured, it was able to get out of my grip. Quickly reloaded and got it on the 3rd shot.

 

[MrChen]

I appreciate all the advice. It's a Rob Allen and the line attaches to the end of the shaft. Going up current and wanting to hurry was my downfall. The line needs to be on the top side of the shaft, but then it was below once I was ready to click it into the gun. I adjusted it and then noticed I didn't thread through the bands properly. /SIGH. I had to release the shaft and pull it back out and through the bands correctly. Meanwhile the current is throwing the line into my gear while I'm keeping one eye on the fish the entire time.

My gun is a closed muzzle which means I had to pull the shaft out the front of the gun to fix it.

 

[Belzelbub]

I appreciate all the advice. It's a Rob Allen and the line attaches to the end of the shaft.

That's what I was afraid of. I don't know of a quick way to load the line on those.

I adjusted it and then noticed I didn't thread through the bands properly. /SIGH. I had to release the shaft and pull it back out and through the bands correctly. Meanwhile the current is throwing the line into my gear while I'm keeping one eye on the fish the entire time.

My gun is a closed muzzle which means I had to pull the shaft out the front of the gun to fix it.

Managed to get the band(s) under the shaft? There is a technique to help prevent that. When loading the shaft, use your other hand to grip loosely near the muzzle under the bands. This should allow the shaft to pass under your palm, but the bands will stay on top of your hand, so that should help prevent getting the band under the shaft.

 

[MrChen]

That's what I was afraid of. I don't know of a quick way to load the line on those.

Managed to get the band(s) under the shaft? There is a technique to help prevent that. When loading the shaft, use your other hand to grip loosely near the muzzle under the bands. This should allow the shaft to pass under your palm, but the bands will stay on top of your hand, so that should help prevent getting the band under the shaft.

Awesome, I'll dry run practice it a few times and then try it under water.

 

[MrChen]

While we're on the topic of spearfishing, what do you guys use for a chest pad? I have some bruising and the area is slightly tender to the touch. I tried to order a Cressi shirt with chest pad, but it doesn't fit me well and the pad was very thin.

During the summer months, I wear a front zip Sharkskin which doesn't fit skintight like a wetsuit, so slipping in a flip flop won't work. I'm on the heavy side, 280lbs, 5'11". I know they have some chest pads you can strap on, but from what I've seen they might not fit me. If I could find one which will fit, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

[johndiver999]

LOL, you sell that gun and get something with a loading butt. Also, an enclosed track gun is probably quicker and easier to handle than a closed muzzle. As you describe, sometimes, saving just one or two seconds on a re-load can make the difference in making another shot or missing the opportunity entirely. There is no reason to be sore and uncomfortable with a no-butt gun.

Floating the fish with the gun is a high risk decision. You can lose everything like that. Why would you not disconnect the shooting line only? - Then you still have a "stick: should a shark give you a problem and you can't lose the gun? I would only do that in an emergency.

FYI for others....Freeshafting is not practical for diving Palm Beach on most days. The current is a one way ticket, even with a scooter and the almost omnipresent sharks further limits the practicality of free shafting.

Yesterday in Palm beach was strong current on top. and cool (about 74 maybe) below 50-60 and low current in the cool water. Vis was 45-90 depending on location, with clearer water deeper than 100.