Spearfishing Guns
Spearfishing Guns are amazing pieces of technology. They have been around for quite a long time, but have changed a huge amount over the last few decades. Unlike a normal gun, these are either powered by air that is pumped to get high pressure or by a rubber (or several) which fires a long spear. Spears are made of high tensile stainless steel, and can range from 50 cm right through to a few meters. Spearfishing Guns range in size for the purpose that they fulfill.
For example, you can buy a tiny air powered gun which is designed for shooting smaller sized fish, or for diving in caves. There is nothing worse than taking a massive gun into a small cave and having difficulty turning around! Most people who use Spearfishing Guns will eventually get two; one smaller one and one for doing deeper dives. Then you simply use the right gun for the right application. I only have a single gun, and use it for both shallow and deeper diving but it serves me fine. I do find it a pain having to play around with multiple rubbers and mono line which is longer when you are only in 3 meters of water, but without buying another gun it’s the next best option!
Spearfishing Guns are often made of timber, and in fact you can even make your own without too much trouble. There are a huge number of guides online which will teach you how to do this, but make sure that you pick the right timber! Other guns are made of aluminum and plastic, along with various other materials like nylon etc. The only issue with wooden guns is that they are usually a bit thicker and as such have greater drag when trying to move them sideways in the water, but you will find most Blue Water Hunter spear fishers will use wooden guns, as you can make them incredibly strong. That’s what you need when you are attaching 16 rubbers to the gun!
It’s important to get a Spearfishing Float with your gun though, as without one you are likely to lose the gun anyway. A float works by having a rope which attaches to your gun. When you shoot a large fish, you simple let the gun go and hold onto the rope. Allow it to slide through your hands, and without putting too much pressure on you should be able to pull the fish back in. If not, just let it run and let the float go. You just follow the float until the fish is tired, go down and icky jimny the fish and then throw it in the boat, or slide it up the float line. This keeps the fish well away from you, and in the case of a larger predator showing up you are usually safe!
Spearfishing Guns range from under a hundred dollars right through to over a thousand, but they are great fun. Compared to fishing you will get so many more fish, and you can be selective about what you get too. If you haven’t tried spearfishing, I would highly recommend it!