Spearfishing kit - What and where? (part4 - Snorkel)

As a spearfisherman you are going to be doing most of your breathing through a snorkel. While there are not many features that make for a good spearfishing snorkel there are a few that need to be discussed.

You will once again find that most dive gear stockists keep a range of snorkels, most with fancy self draining valves and other fancy attachments. You will also find they come in all colours of the rainbow. Now these are two features that a spearfisherman does not need. First of all the self draining attachments become more of a burden and at times can actually hinder air flow, it is therefore best to look at a simple straightforward snorkel that will have less attachments that can fail while you fight that prized catch.

Flexibility is a feature that is often sought after, when you dive you don't want to have this appendage sticking out the top of your head causing drag and no doubt alerting all the local marine life to your presence. You also don't want a straw, as I mentioned you are going to be doing allot of breathing through the snorkel so you want one that can accommodate this by having a sufficient bore size thereby allowing you to breath unrestricted and naturally.

many manufacturers also offer a camo print on the snorkel so as to blend more effeciently into your surroundings. While this is a nice added feature you want to consider all the areas you plan on diving in and make sure its not going to have an opposite effect in some of the areas.

Snorkel with camo print

Spearfishing kit - What and where? (part3 - Mask)

A mask is almost as important as a speargun because you cant shoot what you cant see!

There are a few different varieties of masks mostly due to the scuba diving and snorkeling industries but spearfishing has some unique demands that are not often met by the run of the mill masks out there. When diving to depths in excess of 5m one will note a bit of pressure on your face caused by the air cavity between your face and the glass of your mask becoming compressed. This can not only cause pain but can effect your vision as well as leave nasty marks on your face where the blood is drawn to the surface of your skin.

Mask Squeeze

To avoid this one needs to equalize the pressure in the mask with that of the outside pressure, this is done by breathing a small amount of air through ones nostrils and into the mask cavity. Obviously when holding ones breath on a dive every little bit of breath is precious, so what spearfisherman and freedivers have done is use a low volume mask. This is a mask that holds a smaller amount of air in the cavity between your face and the glass than that of conventional scuba masks and therefore only requires a tiny amount of air to be breathed into the mask to equalize it.

You will also find most spearfishing masks have a black silicone skirt. This feature is to give the spearfisherman tunnel vision so as to aim correctly and not be distracted by reflections of light that tent to come through the sides and skirt of the clear silicone masks.

Low volume mask with black silicone skirt

Another feature that is becoming popular amoung spearfisherman is that of reflective lenses. Most divers report that fish are spooked when they make eye contact with a diver, so many manufacturerers have now released models with a reflective coating on the lenses that avoids the fish making eye contact.

Mask with reflective lenses

These are just a few of the features most sought after in a mask by spearfishermen, but one of the most important features is going to be fit, so go into your local dive shop and try on a few making sure that the mask seals correctly and most important that it is comfortable.

Spearfishing kit - What and where? (part2 - Fins)

I am sure by now you have noticed that most sperfisherman and freedivers don much longer fins than those of scuba divers and snorkelers. Why is this the case? Well remember that spearfishing requires you to hold your breath for extended periods, while holding your breath you will need to conserve as much energy as possible so as to increase your bottom time. These "longer fins" help in that you get more propulsion from less effort but this comes at the cost of having to have strong legs. There are numerous exercises that can be done to strengthen your legs in preparation.

Back to the fins. There are a two different options of fins you can look at:

• Off-The-Shelf fins
• Foot pockets with interchangeable blades 

Off-the-shelf fins offer the added extra length but do not have a few of the luxury features that the interchangeable blades offer. They are pretty much maintenance free and can be considerably cheaper than foot pockets with interchangeable blades. Should the fin however become damaged in any way, it will require the replacement of the entire fin!

Off-The-Shelf fins

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Foot pockets offer a wide variety of features to suit any diver. You are able to fit the foot pocket to the exact size you require while taking into consideration the neoprene sock you no doubt will be using. Should the pocket tear or otherwise become damaged it can be replaced without having to replace the entire fin and therefore at a reduced cost, the same applies to the blades.

Blades are constructed in 3 main materials:

• Plastic
• Carbon composite
• Pure carbon fiber

Plastic blades are very versatile and rugged. For shore entry dives these are a must if you are only starting out. They however have limited flexibility and only flex uniformly along their length (the base of the blade flexes the same as the tip), this therefore reduces the efficiency of the fin considerably.

Carbon composite blades are offer slightly better flexibly when compared to the plastic blades. Manufacturers are able to adjust the flexibility on the blade along its length to provide more flex towards the tip and thereby improving the efficiency of the blade.

Pure Carbon blades, need I say more. There  is nothing that cant be modified on these blades. Pure carbon blades can be custom made for an individuals strength and desired thrust. These blades however can come at a cost and don't even think of taking them over the rocks on a shore entry dive. Once the epoxy layer and weave of the carbon has been compromised you can pretty much throw them in the bin!

Foot Pockets

Spearfishing kit - What and where? (part1 - Spearguns)

May of us when looking at starting a new hobby look to the internet to give us a starting point. With spearfishing it is no different as there is a wealth of information out there, its the putting it into tangible, practical advice that becomes a little tricky.

I was lucky enough that in my escapades on the net in search of more information I stumbled on a chap who was able to steer me in the right direction. I will share some of the wisdom that was imparted to me.

As I am sure you have by now realized spearfishing is not as simplistic as it originally seemed. Gone are the thoughts of you swimming in the ocean with nothing but your swimming costume and a speargun, nope there is allot more to it than that. Let me briefly list a few items that a spearfisherman might need, we can go into a little detail later:

• Speargun (obviously)
• Fins
• Mask
• Snorkel
• Wetsuit
• Weight belt
• Buoy
• Float line
• Stringer
• Dive knife
• Gloves

OK, so as you see there is a decent amount of kit. Let us now look at each item individual over the next few blog posts and see what options there are for each one. Let us start with the...

Speargun

This is the main part of your kit, something you are going to bond with and become immensely fussy over as you develop your own style.

The main difference in spearguns is the length, you can expect to find lengths from 70cm all the way to 140cm. Why the variety? Can you imagine swimming on a reef, along gullys and in caves. Cruising around with a 1.4m speargun is going to pose a bit of a problem. So logically the size will depend on the application, but it does not end there, it seems the longer the gun the more accurate it is, so you are going to need to give it a bit of thought before running out and buying the first gun you find. Along with the length you will find the longer spearguns have 2 rubber bands, this is to give them that extra power to get to that huge game fish. I have personally found a 1.1m gun to be a good all-rounder especially the models with muzzles able to take a second rubber band.

You will also find "rail guns", these are spearguns where the spear runs on a rail for the full length of the barrel and  not just on guides at increments along the barrel of the gun. This feature allows the spear to travel smoothly off the barrel increasing accuracy but also stopping the spear from bending under speed and then clipping the end of the barrel resulting in a loud "ping" sound as the spear exits. This frightens the more spooky fish and you could possibly loose that trophy catch you had your eyes on.

Next is the more debated feature, reel gun or traditional gun. Now this is where you need to see what suits you better. A reel gun has a reel attached to the gun with about 30m of braided cord attached directly to the spear via a bungee, this will allow you to let a large fish run with your spear giving you time to surface. A reel gun offers freedom of movement as you are not "attached" to anything (buoy), this setup tends to suit boat divers more as they can just load their catch onto the boat rather than onto the stringer on the buoy. It's also a good setup when negotiating caves and other areas where a buoy line might get tangled.

A traditional setup on the other hand is more suited to those than like the security of a buoy to string their fish and mark their position. It also allows you to let your gun go with out the risk of loosing it. This setup is generally favored by shore entry divers.

Reel Gun

Traditional Speargun

Some examples of locally made spearguns:

Freedivers

Rob Allen

Orca

Rabitech

To be continued....

To powerhead or not to powerhead

Most of us cringe at the idea that such a loathsome creature as a shark even dares to inhabit the waters vaguely close to our homes. Many people stay away from local beaches just at the thought of their presence. But what about us that actually want to venture into their turf? Are there dangers? What do we do to protect ourselves?

I have been reading with much interest about the sudden increase in Great White sharks in our bay (Algoa Bay). Other spearfisherman have reported sightings of some decent sized specimens, some in excess of 4m and many within swimming distance of popular bathing areas. The exact reason for this increase is still unknown although many are pointing fingers at the new Coega deep water harbor development. The fact of the matter is they are here.

We as spearfisherman are not about to stop at the thought of their presence. For this reason many have resorted to carrying bang sticks or power heads and other tools to fend off sharks, this has led to a bit of a debate as there are many pros and cons.

Powerhead - A powerhead, bang stick, or shark stick is a specialized firearm used underwater that is fired when in direct contact with the target. Powerheads are often used for spear fishing, and against sharks or alligators for sport, defense, or to kill nuisance animals. The term powerhead refers to the firearm-like part of the device; when attached to a shaft to form a spear, it may be referred to as a bang stick or shark stick. The spear in question may be handheld, or launchable from a spear gun. Wikipedia

A variety of powerheads (bang-sticks)

Let's look at a few of the pros:

• Peace of mind knowing you have the firepower at hand
• Might save your life in the advent of a shark bite

Now what about the cons?...

• You need to have time to load the unit onto your spear
• It is live ammunition and therefore volatile
• You are using it in water, contamination could cause a misfire
• You will be carrying an illegal firearm (in South Africa)

OK, so you might have noticed that I am not pro powerheads. Let's think of it in real world terms, although many sharks are known to harass spearfisherman its the big five that we are really concerned about (Tiger, Bull, Great White, Hammerhead, Mako). I am no marine biologist but I have a good idea of the ideal hunting conditions of these sharks. If you are spearfishing and have a fish on, you only then see a shark, I can almost guarantee its already too late to start groveling around for your powerhead.

My next argument is their legality. In South Africa it is illegal to carry a modified firearm, a powerhead pretty much falls into this category. I know many police officers have turned a blind eye to the powerheads carried by some fisherman but I don't think you want to be the unlucky chap that has to explain it to that irate cop that is not so lenient. Also remember regardless of the firearm used to discharge the ammunition, you are still going to need a license for the bullet used. It' starting to get a little complicating hey....

What about the moral aspects? Granted that this is where I will get the most flack as it's justifiably only my opinion. When we enter the oceans, we are entering a sharks hunting domain, we should respect this by educating ourselves about them rather than just destroying the first one to cross our path. There are many techniques that have been developed to repel sharks, most times a stern prod with the tip of your spear behind the eye is enough to send a shark in to the depths allowing you enough time to get yourself and your catch onto the boat.

I do understand that there are extenuating circumstances that may require a person to do away with a shark, but you will soon find that most sharks that are powerheaded are merely the victims of selfish spearfishermen that are trying to clear a dive site of the pesky characters and not as a result of an impending attack.

We all want to be safe and we all want to enjoy the ocean, let not the combination of these bring out our selfish traits!

Totally unnecessary 

Where it all started

I originally come from up country, from that city we all love to hate - Joburg. As a kid I used to join my older brother and his friends on frequent trips to the East Coast, namely Kosi Bay and Mabibi. These holidays still bring back amazing memories of lounging in the sun to the point of actually getting bored. One of the more recalled memories however was that of snorkeling, getting into the rock pools at Mabibi and enjoying some of the best underwater scenery our country has on offer.

At one spot that the locals had shown us due to the abundant crayfish there was a decent drop off to about 10m.  Try as I might I could not get to the bottom cave that held the loot. After about a weeks worth of camping and me trying unrelentingly each day to reach the cave I finally managed to get to it, albeit for about 10 seconds. I did not managed to retrieve anything but still felt that sense of accomplishment.

I vowed to myself that I would return the following year and retrieve something from that cave even if it was a handful of sand. So about 2 weeks prior to our next holiday I started with some exercises in the communal pool in our housing complex. I had no idea what to do, so I just practiced holding my breath while swimming laps of the pool underwater. I was about 13 and had to do this between school, homework and a nagging mother begging me to come inside for supper, so I did not get in nearly as much pool time as I thought I needed as the memory of the depth of that cave (now a year old) had somewhat exaggerated the effort needed.

About a week later we arrived at Mabibi camp, and as you can imagine I rushed down the 150 odd stairs from the camp down to the beach, in the process aggravating the rest as they where left to set up camp for the ensuing two week holiday. The tide was a little low and I was left tip-toeing over the rocks to get to that familiar spot. I slipped into the warm water, readied myself and took my first dive to the nearest sand bank to warm up for the next deeper dive. I returned to the surface, now overly excited as on my previous dive was shared by a sizable turtle, something I had only seen in an old hand-me-down Divestyle magazine. I relaxed for a few minutes, managed to catch my breath and took the plunge, the one I had been preparing so fervently for, the one I had sacrificed many weeks of homework on. All the excitement, all the preparation rushed through my mind as a kicked towards the bottom.

There it was, "the cave"! It seemed my preparation had paid off, I still had a bit of breath to spare. I forced myself down just that little bit more so I could peer into the void I expected to hold a prized catch. Feeling my chest contract as it pleaded for breath I looked in and found nothing, nothing but a stray Scorpion Fish hovering mid water staring back at me with it's almost cocky "you suck" stare.

I returned to the camp somewhat de-motivated, the wind out of my sails, left to pitch my tent and sweep out the campsite, day dreaming of the two weeks ahead.

We never managed to go back to that camp after that holiday. The memory however nagged at my unconscious. I worked hard part time after school to pay off a scuba diving course trying to maximize my time underwater, to see all that there was on offer.

Time passed, circumstances changed. I ended up moving to Port Elizabeth in seek of greener pastures. It took me a few years before I finally got in the water with more than a costume, but when I did I felt like I had come home. I scuba dived as much as I could, I dived before work in the mornings as well as night dives, but this all faded with time, I eventually stopped diving, it all seemed to become a bit, well, boring. Even during this sabbatical I regularly recalled my time at Mabibi camp, the freedom I felt with nothing more than a cheap mask.

I related my Mabibi experience repeatedly to my wife. She seemed almost skeptical of it, having come from a history of asthma and respiratory complications as a child, her exposure to the underwater world was therefore somewhat limited if not nonexistent. We decided to ease her into it. We went to the local dive operator and bought a set of snorkeling gear. This went astronomically well, she was amazed at what lay just under the surface of the water at the beach she had frequented since childhood. It was not long and she was asking about doing a scuba diving course. A visit to a 'diving doctor' and the unexpected all-clear made for an exciting December holiday as she completed the classes and the dreaded exam.

Then came the dreaded day, her first ocean dive. I decided to join her for the moral support, but thought it would be best if I remained on the surface with just my mask so as not to complicate the process. Due to my wifes interest we invested in an entry-level underwater camera and I was now eager to put it to use documenting this pivotal moment in my wife's life.

A short boat ride brought us to Phillips Reef just off Kings Beach in Port Elizabeth. After a few frantic minutes the students where in the water and on their way down to the reef. I had to help my wife don her kit and therefore missed most of their time on the surface, the photographic opportunity just before she headed down with the others. I was not going to miss a photo or two! I relaxed as I watched the bubbles rise from their position just a mere 7 meters from the surface. I took a breath and headed in their direction. Suddenly the memory hit me again, I felt 13 again! I returned to the surface out of breath but almost in a daze, excited and covered with goose-bumps.

A few more dives and we were back on the boat and heading home, but I did not remember a minute of the ride as my mind was awash with thoughts and memories of Mabibi. I managed to take some photos of my wife, but the photos that took her attention were that of a large Red Stumpnose that I managed to get with in a meter of, I felt I could touch it.

It was not long after this that I started spending more and more time in the water with just my mask and snorkel. A few hour in front of the computer and I had a new word in my vocabulary - Free Diving!