Hello SFD forum,

This is my first post on this forum and I require some help from the much more experienced people of the sport spearfishing. Last summer I went out spearing probably about 5 times and I love it! Iv been using just a mask/fins from BCF, 1mm full length wetsuit from Anaconda and also a Hawaiian sling from there aswell as soon as it gets a little bit warmer I will be heading out a lot more but my gear is terrible.

My mask constantly leaks no matter how tight it is, so tight I get red marks around my face and I also want a gun but am unsure of what to buy iv been looking at a Beuchat "Marlin Elite" and it looks the goods (That being said I have no idea what "The goods" is) and my mask just does my head in so if anyone could tell me what a good mask is that would be awesome and also whats a good gun for a beginner, the Marlin Elite is on a half price sale I only wanted to spend about 200 but for 250 for a 500$ speargun it sounds too good!

Thanks,
Tim.

hey!

you need (should have) the following gear;

- 3mm wetsuit. Most of the guys here are all like "open cell is the best and you should use one!" (to heavily paraphrase) - probably doesn't matter for your first suit considering they're a bit pricier than closed cell, but 3mm +, even for summer is a must, and preferably not a surfing suit (you'll find surfing suits compress after constant diving with them - making them thinner and thus losing their thermal properties).

- Dive weighted. Makes the whole 'diving' thing a lot easier. If you do get a thicker suit, you'll also be more buoyant so you'll need more weights to compensate. I usually dive in a 5mm suit, and I've got a bit of 'extra' weight on myself, and generally dive with 10.5 KG on my belt. With no exposure suit I still have 5KG to make me neutral - so it all depends on your body type and exposure suit. You should be able to get some advice on this from your LDS. Get a rubber belt with threadable weights - eliminates slipping.

- a gun that's about 100cm. You probably want a rail gun. The Beuchat looks good, but I've never used one so I cant comment as to the specifics of that gun. Both available barrel lengths should be fine for down here.

- Good mask and snorkel set. I use a Mares X-Vision + Oceanic Ultra dry snorkel at the moment and find both quite uncomfortable for spearfishing (brilliant for scuba though). The mares is just too much volume for freediving, and the fancy snorkel's anti water valve thing often sticks (making breathing out of it impossible) and im constantly removing the whole assembly mid-dive and sticking it in my catch bag for later "repairs". I would look at investing in a mask that's low volume but still provides a good range of vision. Your LDS or legendary should hook you up and make sure your mask fits you and is comfortable. For the snorkel, something simple without the fancy purge valves and water blockage stuff will do. Ive just ordered an Omer Zero3 so ill let you know how it goes.

- Cant comment on the fins you're using but most of the BCF stuff is probably not the best. Maybe look at replacing these in time if you're spending enough time out there. Most spearo's use the long bladed, rigid, freediving fins which provide a lot more thrust for deeper diving. Ive got a set of Cressi 2000HF - which took me probably about 3 months of using twice a week to get comfortable with (and had my ankles stop hurting after each dive), but they provide *alot* of thrust, and are pretty good bang for buck. Again, your LDS or legendary will take care of you here. You'll be surprised the difference a good set of fins make in a dive.

- Gloves. You want Gloves. That suede or psudo-suede on the fingers / palms will go along way in terms of protection. Not even for warmth, but protecting your hands is a pretty good idea. Lots of spikey things out there.

- Knife is a must. You want to dispatch your fish as quickly and humanely as possible after you've jabbed it with a spear. I keep mine on my belt, but thats just personal preference.

- Float, flag and float line is a MUST. You attach these to your gun (or weight belt) and drag these along with you to ensure that boat traffic can see you. Theres a 5 knot speed limit within 100 metres of a displayed dive flag. Last thing you want is to be cleaned up by some jackass on a jetski. Also with the floatline, you use this to store your kills and keep them as far away from your person as possible. Bleeding fish can attract unwanted attention from big rays and sharks, so the last thing you want is a fish dangling off your belt with a big ray determined to get at it (BUT don't let this put you off - big rays and sharks are jerks but they aren't after *you*, just looking to poach your catch for an easy meal)

Probably covers the basics for you.

Cheers,

edit: grammar

I'd just add:

+1 get a float an flag

- You need to find a mask that fits your face. I tried on probably 20 masks and found about three that could fit and one that fit like a glove. Silicone skirt masks are more expensive but more comfortable if you are spending a long time in the water. I have a $20 Aldi snokel and plastic mask set which fits great and I have used extensively but my $100 silicone low volume mask is much more comfortable for a longer time in the water.

- Just get a standard J snorkel. Valves will break or block and are noisy to fish. The only time you need a special snorkel is when you are cray diving where soft snorkels are an advantage because your mask will not be dislodged should your snorkel get caught on a rock.

- 5mm open cell wettie. 5mm will get you through the winter and you can just use the top when its too hot in summer. Do a search of the forum for the pros and cons of open cell vs closed cell

- Be careful with weight belts and do not overweight yourself

Thanks for the reply guys! I should have mentioned aswell that I already have gloves and a knife got them both cheap at anaconda lol. I guess I will be off to buy a low volume mask and a dive flag. And should money permit maybe a new pair of fins / wetsuit if I decide to go the whole hog and get crazy about this I have been looking around afew websites and you can get a 5 mm wetsuit fairly cheap on sale so might have to hit it up.

Anymore suggestions, comments, thoughts on the gun would be appreciated!

you sound pretty keen. so if you are i'm guessing you'd be spearing for a while

id probably go quality and spend a bit extra if your super keen.(i've lost knives, borrowed stuff, made my own float thing, and probably wasted a fair bit of time)
get a 5mm, what dilwad said can use the top in summer.

i'd probably get a decent float-one that will last and stand up right and have the flag displaying( maybe get a hard float)-thinking of getting that myself.

floatline-something that is buoyant to avoid tangles-

gloves-get a decent pair dude-ones that will keep you warm and protection.

probably the most important thing is safety- have a visible flag, especially for the bay. learn how to equalise etc.

theres my little bit, spoken from experience

Thanks for the advice, I just purchased the "Marlin Elite" so that should arrive sometime soon and iv found a 5mm cressi wetsuit for about 290 dollars so I might have to snap that up on the weekend perhaps if I can scrape together my pennies, haha. Sometime before Spring/Summer i'll have to get a dive float I guess, any suggestions on what to get iv looked at afew online and they all seem pretty expensive any suggestions onto one that will just avoid me getting ran over?

Yeah, you probably cant cheap out too much on the float line. The cheap and nasty ones tend to tangle a lot and make you sad.

I've got a 10 meter Ocean Hunter float line (rubber tube covering dyneema) attached to an inflatable Ocean hunter float (which I've also replaced the flag on). This float did come with a 20 metre thin rope float line, which was basically the worst thing in the world. Someone wrote a physics paper on "spontaneous knotting of agitated string" - this line more or less proves that hypothesis.

10 metres is probably a bit short as well, 20 would be perfect.

The float was about 50 bucks, maybe less, and the line was 60(ish? cant remember from the top of my head). I've also got a 500 gram weight in the bottom of it as a kind of keel to stop it from flipping over. I've got plans to replace it with a rigid float one day, but cant justify it until I pop it... and its surprisingly tough.

a 5mm suit (open cell or closed) will do you fine, even in winter. As ive stated before, I'm in a 5mm probe steamer (with an insulator vest) and am quite comfortable for maybe 2 hours at this time of year. Just make sure it fits right, especially under the arms and groin, and doesn't allow water in around the wrists, ankles and neck.

There are a few deals on floats here atm. Might be worth a look as you will certainly need to get yourself one.

http://www.spearfishing.com.au/gear/buoys/

I'll look into the lines when iv a bit more money... I just picked up a 5mm Picasso reef from legendary and the bloke at the store was a top bloke gave me afew pointers etc just threw it on for the first time and had a pure cold shower... Couldn't feel a thing was great.

hey guys am also new to spearfishing in melbourne, did a lot of spearfishing in east africa where i am from but looking to get back in the water in melbourne where am studying at the moment.
got a 1.2 rob allen tuna
float
bungee lines etc
5mm wetsuite
dive knife
cressi fins mask and all that.

anything else you recommend? the waters seem a lot different to the ones i am used to here. Also i have a question regarding species . . . what bigger fish can you get in melbourne as am used to spearing pelagics and whats the rules on catching crays? can you only catch them by hand? i like to use my spear here and just stab em and bring up out.
advice would be appreciated!

Come to the next club meeting 1st wed of the month. In Dandenong.

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Why is salt water so far away and the weather so crappy at this time of the year ?

I might try swing down there provided im not busy with work or school as I imagine it to be a pretty good learning experience since I know next to nothing