cmburch
Contributor
I have Mares pneumatic spearguns. These are simple guns good for fishing up close and around rocks. They are quick to reload by pushing against a rock, or the palm reloader when over sand. Mine are over 15 years old. As long as the front of the gun is stored downward to keep the o-ring lubricated, I just pump them up about once a year. For halibut in open sandy areas, the gun is just under 4' long with a break-away point and about an 8-10 foot range. I mean I would only shoot something no further than about 8-10 feet from my body. The Mares gun I use the most is about 2' long with about a 6 foot range - for ling cod, Cabezon, rock fish - fish near the bottom or around the kelp. Most of my shots are less than 4 feet. I like a spinner rock point tip the best. It is easy to touch up and I have not lost any fish with it. Other than a Cabezon that swam into the rocks and jammed/lost my whole spear. I fish Mendocino, Monterey, to south of Carmel. With my favorite areas being south of Carmel - Big Sur area.