Got some dinner yesterday

[RumJunkie]

Very cool. And, thanks for pointing out the freeshafting in previous post. Have seen that tactic before in some vids here on SB and hope to attempt that tactic on spear one day. What length spear gun do you use for that? I figure there is some kind of all around length longer than what I use now if my intention is to shoot same size fish you are shooting and a very similar bottom structure.

 

[Belzelbub]

Very cool. And, thanks for pointing out the freeshafting in previous post. Have seen that tactic before in some vids here on SB and hope to attempt that tactic on spear one day. What length spear gun do you use for that? I figure there is some kind of all around length longer than what I use now if my intention is to shoot same size fish you are shooting and a very similar bottom structure.

I use an Ocean Rhino RX5, which is the longest one they make. Spearguns are measured weird. Sometimes it's overall including extension, sometimes it's tip to trigger mechanism. Anyway, it uses a 60" shaft.

I converted mine to use the Evolution shafts and rings from Speargods. They are a local shop to me, but do quite a bit online, so they'll ship. The evolution shafts make it easy to go from free shaft to line shaft. There are other systems to relatively quickly convert, but then you are essentially shooting a line shaft, with a slide ring and other hardware to attach a line. The Evolution shafts just have a small crimp at the aft which will catch the ring that is attached to the line. You can also backload them, which is a bit quicker, IMO.

One thing, though. Free shafting is not for every location. Check with locals to see if it's done. With higher currents on the east coast, it's often not ideal. If your currents are pretty mild, then you could try it. I took longer than I should have to start free shafting. I was just nervous at first that I would lose a bunch of shafts. Over the years, though, I haven't lost that many. When my daughters started spearfishing, I started them on free shafting right away.

 

[RumJunkie]

I use an Ocean Rhino RX5, which is the longest one they make. Spearguns are measured weird. Sometimes it's overall including extension, sometimes it's tip to trigger mechanism. Anyway, it uses a 60" shaft.

I converted mine to use the Evolution shafts and rings from Speargods. They are a local shop to me, but do quite a bit online, so they'll ship. The evolution shafts make it easy to go from free shaft to line shaft. There are other systems to relatively quickly convert, but then you are essentially shooting a line shaft, with a slide ring and other hardware to attach a line. The Evolution shafts just have a small crimp at the aft which will catch the ring that is attached to the line. You can also backload them, which is a bit quicker, IMO.

One thing, though. Free shafting is not for every location. Check with locals to see if it's done. With higher currents on the east coast, it's often not ideal. If your currents are pretty mild, then you could try it. I took longer than I should have to start free shafting. I was just nervous at first that I would lose a bunch of shafts. Over the years, though, I haven't lost that many. When my daughters started spearfishing, I started them on free shafting right away.

This is great. And, appreciate the details. I like the sound of this setup and don't spear here on First Coast. Only Big Bend and infrequent, but my SG with line just doesn't seem to be user friendly. I know it takes experience but need to simplify the operation. And, freeshaft seems to be it.

 

[Belzelbub]

This is great. And, appreciate the details. I like the sound of this setup and don't spear here on First Coast. Only Big Bend and infrequent, but my SG with line just doesn't seem to be user friendly. I know it takes experience but need to simplify the operation. And, freeshaft seems to be it.

For sure. Definitely simplifies things. One thing to get in the habit of doing is putting your arm through the bands after taking a shot. Very important if the speargun floats.

Oh, and the line on my speargun is a double wrap with a speedload. The speedload is simply a loop of elastic material. Instead of grabbing one strand and wrapping around the release, around the horn, around the release again and up to the spear, you just grab both ends at the front, double up the line, wrap around the release, and hook the elastic loop on the horn. That can simplify things until you are ready for freeshafting. Shoukd wrk on most spearguns with a traditional closed muzzle. (JBL, AB Biller, Ocean Rhino, Sea Hornet, etc.)