Spearfishing, Broken Finger

[pescador775]

Sara, perhaps something like mepergan fortis should be in your kit. It will kill the pain, but no operating machinery, etc, no diving.

Theoretically, the pneumatic/hydraulic gun is efficient and potentially powerful but in the real world no hydraulic gun can compete with the power and speed of a band gun. The reason has to do with sheer physical size, especially barrel length over which the rubber bands exert traction. Also, there have been continuous developments in retained power of rubber bands. Having said this, in the late fifties, the Italian company 'Alcedo' made a pneumatic/hydraulic accumulator gun that was six feet long. This gun could not be fully loaded by normal pumping of the spear and had an attached auxilliary pump that resembled a tire pump. This gun was in the same league as the big band guns like the Addict homemades and the Riffe.

Wishbones do break and they can take off a piece of finger, gloves notwithstanding. I use wishbones made of 19 strand cable.

In my world, loaded guns on board are unusual and only occurs under some kind of urgency such as broken anchor line or diver in distress. I've traveled in some heavy company and that has always been the rule for our group(s).

 

[pescador775]

Larry, I agree with many of your comments, especially those related to your Cayman experience and the hows and whys of it all. Many islanders use grotesque methods like traps and explosives. I have limited objections to string fishing but use of electric reels and such is a bit too much.

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

Pescador775,

Just a clarification. I have no idea what is currently being used in the Caymen Islands.

The wire line and reels are, occasion used here in Miami. Some of these are called wreck lines. The bait is put down on a wire line, next to a wreck. It is hung just off the bottom so there is no extra line for a large fish to return to a wreck with. The wire has very little stretch so once hooked, a large fish cannot snag the line within the wreck. The winch then drags the fish in.

BTW Nemrod had a system similar to what you discribed. I don't know if they got it from Alcedo or the other way around. Once the gun was cocked, a lever was pulled into position which increased the pressure within the reservoir. This gun was very long and it took a big man to even load it.

My first pneumatic gun was a Nemrod. Back then you had to use an "oiling rod" to break the piston free and lubricate it prior to use. The piston would last perhaps one season. Today's pneumatics, while still touchy, but last much longer. I use a Mares. The worst thing that can happen is to insert a bent spear or pull the spear in and flex it at the same time. The result is a scored barrel. This results in a leak and the need to replace the barrel.

In close quarters, the pneumatic is much faster to load and you can turn the gun faster because it is shorter.

Regards,

Larry Stein

 

[pescador775]

Yes, I understood what you said originally. I let my sentences run together and gave a misapprehension. Anywhere you find bottom fish, from tautogs to giant jewfish, there will be taut wire lines. The latest tools of the trade are being used in Florida to catch the last hold outs on the deepest reefs. The fisherman will continue to brag just as the buffalo hunters once did. I sometimes feel like the old Indian, Iron Eyes Cody, with a tear in that eye.

 

[inletsurf]

1. Get your body away from the path of the gun, but if its being handed over the gunnel IMMEDIATELY gain control of gun. Better controlled by you than a clumsy diver coming into the boat, if it is loaded. The divers mentality upon ascent is get into the boat. So I think that if you can SAFELY gain control of the gun, then absolutely do so.

2. IMMEDIATELY have the person wait on everything else and unload gun. Then put away.

3. First offense, be nice but condemn the act, hopefully to never have it happen again. If it does, he/she's cut from the club. No more diving from your boat.

4. Loaded powerheads are a bigger no-no. Someone on another forum that has more spearfishing experience than most of us just got shot by a powerhead while IN his boat. Forgot it was loaded, it fell of of the console, and a .223 bullet ripped through his leg, chest cavity and shoulder. Missed his main arteries by a centimeter. 80 miles offshore. A centimeter from death. Think about it.

 

[inletsurf]

PS sorry to hear about your finger Sara. Hope its all better now.