Sorry to hijack the thread but I am very interested in dynamite fishing for men with scuba tank and a spear gun.
Can anyone point me in the right direction

Hi Guys,

Just a heads up, Please do not mention dates and places of impending trips to the North west for spearfishing as Fisheries use forums to set up road blocks looking for spearo's on the return trip.

This happened to a few of the guys in our club. A Park ranger notified Fisheries that spearos would be leaving on a particular date and they set up a road block to stop them as they were returning from Steep Point fishing trip.

Of course our guys know better and only had their allowed limits and sizes, but one was fined because he cut a fish in half to fit it in the ice box. Technically it was no longer a "whole fish" and therefore became classified as "fillets" which changed the weight allowance from number of fish to 10 kilos of fillets, of which the fish weighed more. It was an outrage and totally not fair. Spearos are targetted unreasonably considering our fishing is selective and sustainable unlike line fishing. But that's another argument .......

BTW, Hosh's gun is a 1.4 and a very good unit!

Cheers,

KH

gasman said...

there is no doubt that free diving hunting is .... somewhat violent

have to agree about the violent -and it does put me off somewhat too - but has anyone else ever thought about how the fish are feeling while rod & line guys are having fun dragging them through the water with a great steel hook through their jaw.
They are not fighting to make it more fun for the fisherman.
Thats the reason I cant enjoy fishing.

Hi Puppet,

No Spearo wants to hurt the fish they catch or gets off on the pain inflicted. A precise shot from a speargun to the brain or spine of a fish gives an instant immobilisation so the diver can iki jimi the fish quickly. Iki jimi is a knife or spike to the brain which kills all brain function including pain and feeling.

This is much more humane than any other form of fishing and keeps the flesh pretty much free from adrenaline from the fish. Adrenaline taints the taste of the meat so it is in the divers best interest to kill as quickly as possible to prevent shark interest and also tainted fillets.

It may seem violent and inhumane until you really understand what is going on. The last two of three fish I shot were "stoned" (killed stone dead) with a good shot. Both fish knew nothing after they heard the click of the trigger.

The other thing to remember is that spearo's don't practice catch and release (fishing for fun). We shoot only the fish we need to provide a feed for our family. We get to choose the species, size and even sex of the fish BEFORE we pull the trigger. There is NO BY-CATCH when spearing fish. If I want to dive for fun I shoot fish with a camera. Just as much skill required if not more, coz you need to be closer, just as satisfying, no death.

Spearfishing is naturally regulated by the elements. We need calm water (no wind), good visibility (no swell for a couple of days), and a boat, We also are limited by depth (average freedivers only dive to 20m) Fish in water deeper than 30m are pretty much safe, unlike line fisho's (no where can they be safe). Fish can fight back so they have an almost equal footing (diver can't hide in the security of a nice dry boat) and sharks make the contest even. Many fish have drowned their would be captors!

Line fishing for fun or sport is barbaric and inhumane. Pulling deep water fish like Dhufish quickly to the surface whilst their floatation bladder expands until their internal organs are bursting out through their mouths is not sport. But hey, that undersized, female can be returned to the depths with a drop weight so you don't have to feel any guilt of seeing that fish turned inside out dieing slowly, floating away from your boat because you can't keep it

Newsflash: They don't survive, even with drop weights

If everyone had to dive for their fish on a breath hold, we'd have more respect for fish and their oceans and habitats, less fishers, and many more fish.

How was the fish you had at the local fish and chippy caught? Unless you specify a type of fish, it was probably whaler shark. Watch Karma baby!

I ask again why are spearfisher persons targeted so heavily by fisheries

KH

Hi Peeps,

In response to several PM's I've had, regarding how to get started, here's a few clues on what to look for and how to go about it.

Gear
First of all, you need some gear. You can start with as little as a $50 snorkeling set from K-Mart as it is basically snorkeling. However, If you're serious about trying it out, you'll do better with some more freedive specific gear.

Fins : A decent set of plastic bladed freedive fins is ideal as you can trash them pretty good and they handle the abuse. Long fins are a must if you want to get to any reasonable depth. Something like Cressi Gara's, Picasso Black Teams etc. ~ $180-$220 Try the footpockets for comfort and allow for wearing about a 2mm neoprene sock for warmth and comfort.

Mask : A decent low volume mask which allows good visibility is idea. Buy the one that fits your face best. On a clean shaven face, put the mask on without the strap and draw in a light bit of air and see if the mask stays on. Most are silicone nowadays and are really comfy. The last thing you want is a leaky mask. ~$90-$110. I use a Cressi Matrix which is wicked for me.

Dive suit : A decent freedive suit will set you back around $400 but you can get basic ones for around $250. A good freedive suit will be less restrictive and warmer. You'll need gloves, booties and a hood as about 25% of body head is lost through your head. No need to go camo. For summer around Perth a 3mm will do nicely, for winter a 5mm, for up north in summer a 2mm top only with boardies will be fine, in winter a 3mm long john and top. The more you spend, the better the suit so buy what you can afford.

Weights: Buy a rubber belt, not nylon as the rubber will handle the compression of your body at depth and stop the weights from sliding around. You'll need between 9 and 15 lbs depending on your body weight and wetsuit thickness. You can buy clip on weights at a pound each but this is a little extravagant to begin with. The basic 3lb RULE weights are good to start with.

Snorkel : A good simple "J" snorkel is the best, avoid purge valves and other fancy stuff, they can be leaky and are not necessary. ~$24-$30

Guns: Most favoured guns are Edge, Picasso, Rob Allen, etc etc any rail gun will do the job. Look to buy around a 1.3-1.4 for Bluewater hunting or 1.0-1.2 for shallow water and reef hunting. The more distant your target, the longer the gun needs to be.

To begin spearing, join a club, either Undersea club or Bluewater Freedivers of WA in Perth, or google your local clubs if in another state. It will serve you well to attend a meeting and find out what everyone else is using in your location and ask about gear from the locals, they'll fill you in on location specific requirements depending upon species and diving environment ie sandy bottom, rock reef, coral, rocks and wash, headlands, drop offs or open water.

Types of Diving: There are two types of Diving : Rock hopping or Boat diving

Rock hopping is diving in off the rocks and usually requires a float/flag on a line to your gun. There is almost no where you can do this in Perth Metro area, so don't even think about it.

Boat dives: Most club members will have boats which makes it easy for newbies to get a ride as everyone likes to have bums on seats to ease costs of a day out. Boat dives can be anywhere from 50m off a cliff drop off, to 75km off shore at a shelf or Shoal in the middle of no where.

Don't think you need to have a boat to get great fish or have extraordinary skills. My first open water dive saw me shoot a 17kg Spanish Mackeral with a 1.0m gun just 2km off shore and I shot it in about 15 metres of water but only 6-7 metres from the surface. Many good fish are landed close to shore from Rock hopping. When rockhopping, keep your fish on your float, not your belt in case you meet "company"

I hope this helps as a guide, but I recommend you join a club and learn good practices right from the start rather than learning dodgy stuff and then having to learn the right way again anyway.

Most important: Do NOT Hyperventilate (Rapid deep breathing) to clear CO2 from your system before diving. You are not filling your system with oxygen, you are purging CO2 from your system. CO2 is the gas that triggers the need to breathe. If you expel all the CO2, you will feel like you don't need to breathe when your body is running dangerously low on oxygen, and can suddenly blackout which can be fatal at depth.

Be careful, and enjoy the awesome sport of freediving!

KH

Looks like we might need another forum Laurie.
Spearos need great forecasts too!

Hi Pi22api22a,

There are very few purely freedivers in WA. There are a few percent of Spearo's who do a bit of freediving, but not as a principal objective.

Have a look here: forums.deeperblue.com/ for something more to your liking.

Deeper Blue is freedive first with a bit of spearfishing tacked on, it's also international and an incredibly informative and helpful forum.

Enjoy!

KH

Cool, have joined up WA Divers,, hope to get back into training soon... Something to do while waiting for the wind!

just set a depth charge.