Hi All,

Im really intrested in the sport of spearfishing. I am a beginner, and i have a few questions.

Length of gun

Im looking at getting a pelaj nemessis railgun. However, the smallest size they come in is 1.1m. i read somewhere else in the forum that the largest size needed for victorian waters is 1m. Will the extra 10cm make much of a difference? I live in Altona north, and have a holiday house in Port arlington, so i will be prodominatly spearfishing in Williamstown, Altona, Port Arlington and indented heads.
I currently own a sea hornet v track commando gun. its app 90cm, but i find its noisy, and not very fast.

Wetsuit

I am looking at the Omersub Mimetic 5mm Wetsuit. However, i dont know if i need a 5mm or 3mm wetsuit. Also, what are people talking about when they refer to a steamer. I am currently using a 20 year old, 2 pc, 7mm sonar wetsuit.. It takes alot of effort to swim in, and its hard to use a gun with...

Mask and fins

I am currently using an oceanpro mask, snorkel and fins, however, i have read that there is better equipment for spearfishing. im looking at the picasso team black fins and mask. Any opinions on these?


I would love to go for a dive with someone a bit more experienced than myself so i can learn a few things, anyone interested?

Thanks,

Lee

hey mate,
im only a newbie aswell but i have found the difference in length of speargun and the quality of it,
i had a really old speargun approx 90 cm long and it shot really slow and had no power,
if you have a small gun it limits the range you have to a fish(except flatties and flounder etc)
a longer gun will increase the range you have towards a fish and the length to the fish

i am a newbie and this is just my personal experience, so if anyone has anything to add please feel free to

cheers
frankie

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all the rest was made in china

Thanks for your help, but is a 1.1m gun too long? Are the Pelaj guns any good? Can anyone answer the wetsuit / fins / mask questions?

Kind Regards,

Lee

hey mate,

Gun - an extra 10cm on your gun isn't going to be a huge problem might make it hard spearing in and around caves and other structure although it will benefit you in deeper water and tacking longer shots on those clearer days. (i have a 110 myself and use it a fair bit in port phillip. this said starting off with a smaller gun can be a good thing as it can help develop your hunting skills more than with a longer gun.

and i personally don't like pelaj guns.

Wetsuit - the omer is a good suit i love the cressi and neptune suits as well, if your only going to have one suit to dive in i would go the 5mm or 5mm top and 3mm long johns better to be to warm in summer and be able to let some cold water in to cool yourself down than be too cold in winter (there's only so many times you can warm yourself up in winter)

ideally you'd have a 3mm for summer and 5mm for winter. oh and a steamer is a one piece extending to the wrist and ankles usually zipped up at the back ( not that great for diving because the zip lets allot of water flow though the suit)

mask, snorkel and fins - with the mask make sure you don't get one with clear silicone because the light protrudes through and reflects of the inside of the lens and a nice soft silicone that is comfy of your face and stays on your face whilst creating a small amount of suction though the nose (without the mask strap supporting it) if it stays positioned on your face without air flowing into the mask or escaping this generally means you should have any leaks in the water.
personally i would only use a J snorkel ( a simple snorkel without valves). snorkels with valves usually have problems with leaking although they do have there fans. i haven come across a decent one yet.
and the black teams are a decent fin i have a pair myself, good beginner fin although i would buy the best fins i can afford because i find them to be very important if your going to be diving allot and covering allot of ground, the more comfortable and energy efficient your fins are the more ground you can cover and better breath holds, although this does apply to all your other gear to a degree too. (it would be hard to shoot that fish no matter how deep if your mask is leaking and you can't see the thing)

hope this has helped

Thanks for the advice! This has been a huge help. Do you dive around the williamstown / altona area at all? Maybe we can catch up for a dive?

Lee

Go check out legendary they will be able to get you on the right track and answer all your questions.

no worries mate, every now and then i get down to williamstown / altona, next time im heading down that way i'll let ya know

PM sent...

as craney said go check out legendary

_________________
god made heaven and earth..
all the rest was made in china

Make sure you shave your face before you go and try masks. If you've got a pointy face like me you won't get any suction and you can't tell whether the mask will stick to your face. Although there are many divers with beards and fat faces that don't have much trouble finding a mask to suit. I have a 1.1 metre gun with reel in case I encounter a kingy or snapper. But for flatties in the bay and reef species in the ocean it can get a little cumbersome. I've also missed a couple of whiting in the ocean that were too close to rock ledges and I was cramped and couldn't extend my gun behind my eyline so had to shoot from the hip. But in the bay on a clear day I've been able to nail fish from a greater range. A 1 metre gun might be good starting point though, especially if you've all of a sudden drifted over a flattie in shallower water. All the best.

I use a 800 gun for around Portarlington and St Leonards because of the depth and a 1 metre around queenscliffe and outside the bay.

i use a 75 around mordi, a 90 around mornington, a 100 around portsea and a 110 other side of the bay and some backbeaches...

Thanks to everyone for their help. All my questions have been answered. I will also be going to legendary on Saturday to have a talk with the guys there..