DIR and Spearfishing
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Hank49
Contributor
My comment should have read more specifically; 'GUE has no allowance as far as I can see for spearfishing. I think that answers the OP's question.'
With some of the people here interpreting what is DIR and what not, this statement should stand unless someone can point the sections in GUE's S&P that do specifically describe spearfishing...
JeffG
Contributor
RTodd, I think you are either not reading correctly or are purposefully antagonizing. Read my statement and tell me where it calls out that something not in the S&P's of GUE constitutes something being Non-DIR....
I answered OP's question if GUE has policies procedures etc, for spearfishing. The answer still is "GUE has no allowance as far as I can see for spearfishingf". It does not mean, nor does it even remotely indicate anything else.
so which is it: misinterpretation, or antagonizing?
Heh....okay, I stand corrected!
You CAN spearfish DIR!
(although I DID note that you could apply the principles to nearly any situation; it was the standardization and solo aspects of hunting that I thought would be frowned on.)
We are all informed by our own personal experiences (good or bad)...
I've done a lot of spearfishing, but I was basically alone while doing it. My buddy was somewhere nearby, but too many divers together tend to spook the fish. Plus, where I was spearing there were sharks - so you couldn't attach the stringer to your body, but I was in 80'- 90' of water generally, so going to the surface repeated became a PITA. We were on coral, excellent vis, so basically hung the stringer on dinky liftbags that were just enough to bring the stringer to equilibrium+. They floated 10'-12' above our heads like bizarre fish balloons, on what would today be called little jump spools of nylon cord. Yes, brethren, I was a sad, convoluted sight, I'm sure.
The shame, the shame! Thank god I was alone so no one could see the spectacle. I was decidedly a nightmare!OTOH, I shot a lot of fish.....
(Probably would have been safer if my buddy and I had worked as a team, but I could never convince him that he had to hold the stringer!)
Hank49
Contributor
I've done a lot of spearfishing, but I was basically alone while doing it. Yes, brethren, I was a sad, convoluted sight, I'm sure.
OTOH, I shot a lot of fish.....
Great post. Glad to hear you saw the dark and came in from the light before you got hurt or killed.
DanLVolker
Guest
Yes you can be DIR and be spearfishing.
I did tech diving for years with George Irvine and Bill Mee, and on virtually each of our deep tech dives, I was spearfishing.
In fact, a least one DIR inovation came from spearfishing at depth....notably, the torpedo float I would use for spearfishing, as it became by far the best float to tow behind a scooter on 280 foot reefs off of Jupiter or singer Island, where currents made towing a float ball impossible. The scooter could pull the torpedo float ( Riffe float) with a very thin line, limited scope, and next to no pull on the line--so it did not really impact scootering speed at all. And the boat would always be there when we reached the 20 foot stop, where the safety diver would jump down and check for fish or any issues we might have.
DIR in spearfishing will demand only one is shooting at a time, and we typically were in 3 man teams whenever I was hunting. I would use an Ultimate, 60 inch double barrel, and typically send the fish up on a lift bag, for the safety diver to get..although on a few dives where we had weenie divers with us, I would keep them with me to enhance the deco experience
On 280 foot deep wreck dives, I would always use 9 mm powerheads, as I have no intention of working or fighting with an 80 pound fish at depth..and Pat Frain always used to say it was more humane to use a powerhead, than to let the fish struggle on the spear
It was amazing how humane Pat Frain or Frank Hammet could be with a few dozen 9mm apiece, and a full day of spearfishing Pure DIR would be to send the fish up, and to never carry it, as there is no smart way to carry/tow a bleeding fish on a tech dive.
If any of you guys want to do some spearfishing, I am back to doing a lot of diving again, after spending most of my free time doing mountain biking or working over the last 4 years..now I am back to wanting to dive every week. I live in lake Worth , Fl.
Let me know.
Regards,
Dan Volker
Dude.
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