Are you taking up spearfishing? It?s a fantastic fun sport that is engaging and provides good exercise, with an excellent reward at the end for the successful! If you?re trying to work out all the right spearfishing equipment to get for your first trip, read on for some helpful tips:
Freediving Gear
You?ll want a suit of the right thickness for the waters you want to fish. If you?re typically in balmy tropical waters, you won?t want much more than 1.5mm thickness in your spearfishing wetsuits. If you?re going to colder waters, suits come in 3mm, 5mm, and even up to 7mm if you?re really getting serious. Check with friends or spearfishing guides in the area you plan to go. Another essential piece of spearfishing equipment is your rash guard. Go ahead and get a real spearfishing rash guard, as this should come with a loading pad in the chest that will help you endure the pressure of pressing your gun against it every time you reload.
Masks and Spearfishing Fins
The mask should be low volume, which means that air in the mask is reduced to lower the pressure as you equalize. It should also be rated high visibility, and the type of lens is crucial. Clear lenses may seem like the natural choice, but when visibility is low a colored lens can greatly increase contrast. Freediving fins should help you conserve energy as you dive, but if you?re just starting out with diving you?ll want to use softer fins until you get used to it.
Knives, Gloves, and Other Spearfishing Equipment
These incidentals can be anything but. You won?t need a knife every time you go out, but when you do need it, you?ll really need it. Worry more about quality than about price so that your knife will resist rust and stay sharp when you need it. For gloves, a simple kevlar is generally best. Lightweight but protective, you?ll appreciate it when they make loading easier and help you avoid abrasions.
Spearguns and Polespears
The polespear requires you to be quite close to the fish and never completely leaves your hand. These are something you might want to check out as you become more expert. What most people want to start out with are spearguns, which can be powered by air, pneumatics, bands, or slings. Make sure you check out what?s legal in the area where you want to fish. In general, the lower the water visibility, the shorter the speargun. Smaller fish also naturally need less power in the gun. Also bear in mind that the thicker the shaft of spear, the more powerful, but also slower it will shoot. Finally, you?ll want to choose between spearguns with a rear handle and those with a handle in the middle. The latter are typically easier to use in low visibility water.
The Essential Watch
If you?re going to be serious about spearfishing, you should invest in a great freediving watch that will let you know how deep your are, how long you?ve been down, and even how you?re improving.
The Last Bits of Spearfishing Equipment
When you?ve caught your fish and need to bring him in, having floats and reels can mean the difference between getting dinner and watching it swim down into the dark waters below while you get up for air. Reels let you bring in the fish once you get to the surface, while a floatline will pull up both your gun and your catch when activated. For really big fish, you might need up to three floats and lines to get them to the surface.
Having the right spearfishing equipment can be the difference between a great time in the open ocean and a frustrating series of failures. As you learn all your techniques for aiming and breathing and hunting, don?t forget to outfit yourself with the right gear for the job.
