Info Spearfishing Q&A

[Belzelbub]

Per recommendations on the PB Dive thread, I figured I’d start this for questions.

Are you suggesting to go one size up on the bands?

Actually, what I believe @PBcatfish was suggesting is you may need less power than you think you need. Might have enough with just one band that you are currently using. The Grouper band was what some of the people he met were using. I interpreted the Grouper Band to be a thicker band.

My speargun has space for 3 bands. I have two installed, but 99.9% of the time, I just load one band.

To answer what size you should use, you’ll need to give us a bit more info. I use 5/8” thickness bands. For length, you’ll want to be at a max of about 4:1. My bands are 26” and the Speargun is a 52”. Previously, I tried 24” and maybe even 22”. The 24” worked, but unnecessary. The 22” were just too hard to use.

I’d suggest on the next time out, try a shot with just one band. Load like you would load the first band, and see what happens.

Edit to add. A consideration may be the profile of your spear. Lots of extras mean more drag. A streamlined shaft can get by with less power as there is less drag. As your line attaches directly to the shaft, there should be no slide ring, washer, or both the catch on a crimp. How about the other end? An integrated flopper has less drag than a removable spear tip. Single floppers have less drag than spring loaded double floppers.

I originally used line shafts with a double flopper. I have since switched to all single floppers. They aren’t spring loaded, but that’s really not a problem. As long as the spear passes through far enough for the flopper to toggle, it will work.

 

[100days-a-year]

Band ratios are based on draw length not speargun length.
From where the band starts to the specific notch or tab.

 

[Belzelbub]

Band ratios are based on draw length not speargun length.
From where the band starts to the specific notch or tab.

Correct. Rereading what I wrote, it wasn’t as clear as I intended.

 

[PBcatfish]

My understanding is pretty basic, but this is it in a nutshell -

The shorter your band, the longer it will pull on the shaft before the shaft leaves the gun. If it's too short, you will not be able to set the band on the shaft.

Roller guns give you the best of both worlds, the band pulls all the way to the end of the gun & you have lots of room for a long band that is not as hard to set.

If you put too much stress on a shaft, it will bow & vibrate as it gets released. That's not good.

Having a retrieval line on the shaft, prevents lost shafts. Freeshafting, with no line, gives less drag & better accuracy, but increases the risk of a lost shaft. Freeshafting also gives you the option of reloading faster for a second shot if you carry a spare shaft. I've seen a commercial guy carry 6 shafts & shoot 6 fish before going around & scooping them all up. I don't do that, but he did & it worked well for him.

A sharp point & shooting from a proper direction allows you to penetrate most fish with modest force. Shooting from behind & sending the spear up the scales, means a lot. Hitting the scales broadside or from the front is a very different situation. It's kind of like shooting turkey with #4 shot. If you hit them from the front, the feathers are like armor. If you get a quartering away shot, they generally drop quickly.

Some fish are dumber than others. Lion fish often don't think that you pose a threat to them, until you miss the first shot (shame on you if you do that from less than a foot away). Hogs are so stupid that you can often get a second shot in, if you miss. Grouper are usually a different story.

If you free dive or use closed circuit gear, you will likely see a lot of fish that you will never see when diving on noisy open circuit gear. Your bubbles scare away certain types of fish before you even see them. This is why CCRs are not allowed for spearing.

Being good at sneaking up on a fish will allow you to do more with less powerful equipment.

To the people who do more of this than I do, please be kind in picking apart what I have posted here. This is my basic understanding from my limited experience. I carry a spear on less than 10% of my dives. I'm not the guru on this stuff. Others probably know a lot more than I do.

 

[Belzelbub]

A sharp point & shooting from a proper direction allows you to penetrate most fish with modest force. Shooting from behind & sending the spear up the scales, means a lot. Hitting the scales broadside or from the front is a very different situation.

Agreed. Another consideration, probably more for freeshafters, is that most fish can’t back up real well. So, hitting it a bit from behind means it’s less likely to swim off the shaft.

Some fish are dumber than others. Lion fish often don't think that you pose a threat to them, until you miss the first shot (shame on you if you do that from less than a foot away). Hogs are so stupid that you can often get a second shot in, if you miss. Grouper are usually a different story.

Exactly. Hogs and lionfish seem mostly oblivious. Last weekend, I shot a hog that was in a group of 3. I strung it, reloaded and got one more. The third was borderline, so I left it to grow.

And grouper are real friendly when they are out of season. Somehow, they know.

Being good at sneaking up on a fish will allow you to do more with less powerful equipment.

Absolutely. If you can manage to close the gap and be patient, the fish will likely give you a shot. If they are swimming straight away, they’ll often turn for a bit to see if you are still there. If you are close enough, that’s your shot. Different species behave a bit different, so knowing the species will help with predicting what they will do.