empty space to fill - yak spearo's hint and tip section

[fatbob]

Hi fellow yak-spearos,

Thought a) this part of the forum gets too few attention and b) since I'm more and more diving off the yak, I would be keen to know about spearo tips and tricks for yak use.
Here's something I stumbled over last time (for a start):

Been diving in the lee of a boulder but I was suspecting the depth to be this little bit too uncomfortable to manage the whole way. So I attached a pack of (mussle and kina) burley to my anchor rope, but not with the anchor itself but about 1-2m above the chain. Now the burley was suspended in 'mid-air' and did it's magic. Didn't take too long to attract a big cluster of Tarakihi and they didn't mind that stuff not lying on the ground – easy pickings. The swarm was just the right depth to not be spooked and still be around - even the usual bottom dweller (blue cod) came up to check it out.
So get them coming towards you rather than diving your butt off

K

[paddlesnap]

Good stuff K . Yeah good burley up sure helps and better to use that stuff as less Taxman attention ensues.
You're doing pretty good if you're dealing to Tarakihi on the weedlines as they are deeper living species that offer more cudos (sporting challenge) than other species like Blue cod etc that you have to push away from gun to shoot.
Sounds like you've got it sussed .
You down Wellington way ?
Missing getting amongst the Boaries and Kingies and will be doing more Kayak spearing .
Just thinking of trying the Sit in for Plat but if too much hassle those Stealth BFS skis will be tempting-
Really need a buddy geared up to do the same for safety and rafting up would certainly offer a decent way to get geared up at sea.
Plus having someone around to hand you another gun or spear ,chase the float or ski etc. is reassuring too.
Up off Kawau -Tawharanui Peninsula once on a kayak spearfishing session My buddy on his SOT was a wee bit nervous after we Exited one area after a persistent overly friendly Bronzie pestered us to paddle further along to find a school of them basking in the shallows next to the main current and I casually bought up the story of Yum Yum Yellow attracting them (guess what he was on ).

[Winch]

Missing getting amongst the Boaries and Kingies and will be doing more Kayak spearing .
Just thinking of trying the Sit in for Plat but if too much hassle those Stealth BFS skis will be tempting-[/quote]

Paddlesnap on a sit on top hope G1 doesn't read this
But I am look to join this very good idea of getting out of the yak and around the rocks, Rob Fort is putting something together for me soon

[paddlesnap]

Yeah we have had quite successful missions and Torres can certainly haul a s#*t load of gear effortlessly so weight belts and big Kingies etc don't worry her.
Got the Seabear for any Spearos that want a go, it can carry even more payload
Be a good way to practice re-entry and rolling W.

[fatbob]

Yep, I'm in Wellington. We have a reasonably big spearo scene around, but not a lot of them go out by yak. So it's perfect for reaching spots people can't be bothered to walk to, but on the other hand too close for the other half of them on their stink boat.
I agree, Tarakihi are some of the most fun species to hunt as they won't give you a second chance.

Here's another tip for re-entering the yak in spearo outfit: reach over the seat area to the other side of the yak and find something to hold on to. One more kick and you're on. Piece of cake

K

[Fish'N'Snork]

Yak/Spear/Fishing comb the only way ta go for me. Having the yak means I don't have ta swim as far. I don't need a boatman. When I'm too hot I go for a Spear. When I'm too cold, I get back on top and paddle & fish for a bit. Warmed up a bit and back in I go. Hook the bottom or fowled the anchor, no worries, in I go. Turtle, no worries, was planning ta get wet anyway, LOL.

Love my Marauder as a Spearo Yak, but would love Stealth Supalite BFS. Love the front hatch space on the BFS, I could easily put my spearo fins & Speargun in there and still have space of metre plus Kingies . The only thing I'd like added ta the BFS for the Spearo in mind is a space in the back made for a detachable Pod for my gun. The best thing I did is change my Speargun buoy for a pod. Easier to tow. Most catch can go in it (which stops unwanted attention), and I store my mask & weight belt in it when not diving (which keeps it out for the road when fishing.
I also have a simple breakaway system for my spear, so that my Spear and line to my pod separates from my Speargun when fired. This means the gun (with GoPro attached) stays with me as I head to the head to the surface, instead of being dragged through the rocks and weed. The fish then is dragging only the Pod, 15-20m of line and the spear. All of which is easily replaced if it all goes ta custard. If for some reason I can't hold the fish, then I still have to option of going back ta the Yak, up anchoring and chasing the Pod with the Yak

[fatbob]

My favourite combo would be the PF400 with a pod too, but the price of the chill pods would have to drop for me. I think these lads at Viking wouldn't overprice their bestsellers, so it's probably justified (but still out of my budget).
Fish 'n' Snork, can you post some pictures of your breakaway rig? Not that we have too many opportunities to shoot Kingies here (got flashed twice last Friday, though) but I'm keen to learn. Has anyone a good system to store the speargun?
Re: storing your stuff where on the yak – I try to get my weightbelt always somewhere close to the foot area to distribute weight evenly. Battery and weightbelt up front and my fat butt in the back = more stability and no 'wheelies', haha.


K

[Fish'N'Snork]

Fish 'n' Snork, can you post some pictures of your breakaway rig? Not that we have too many opportunities to shoot Kingies here (got flashed twice last Friday, though) but I'm keen to learn.
K

Hope ya can see in the pics, but what I have done is instead of the end of the spear line attaching to the eye at the front off the gun (as it had come set-up as), I have made a loop on the end of the spear line to hook on to the hook just a head of the eye (my gun came with the Hook/Eye set-up under the head of the spear for the spear line). The spear line still loops around the trigger line release hook, and I have made the line short enough so that I have to stretch it slightly to hook the loop on. This tension stops the line unhooking accidentally. The loop has a line off it to snap the stringer & Pod line to. This line feeds back through my left hand as I aim for the fish with my right hand on the Trigger. I do this to stop the line getting in the road & so I can grab the line as the spear goes into the fish. Big Fish, I let the line trail through my hand as I head to the surface. I can then play them up to the top where I can icky them.
It works awesomely, and I have not had to drill extra holes in the gun to do it,
[attachment=3]Speargun Breakaway 1.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=2]Speargun Breakaway 2.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=1]Speargun Breakaway 3.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=0]Speargun Breakaway 4.jpg[/attachment]

[fatbob]

Now that makes perfect sense. Probably a bit fiddly (?) with the floatline dangling off the front, but great set up for shooting those big ones. Will copy that idea when getting a 110…

K

[Sampson]

Do you guys tow your yak while spearing, a la plat, or anchor and venture away from it?

[Danfili]

Do you guys tow your yak while spearing, a la plat, or anchor and venture away from it?

Not too keen on towing the yak bro having a ton of fish on the float line for me is bad enough , Most of the time i anchor up.

[Aquaholic]

how deep do u guys go wen ur spearfishing (on average), im about halfway through a scuba diving course and was just wondering if its better just to free dive?
Cheers Jess

[Fish'N'Snork]

I anchor that Yak and tow a pod for safely reasons. If something takes interest in my catch and tries to take off with it i can let go of the pod and still have the Yak to go back to. If I am not spearing and am picking up something like scallops, then I tow the Yak with me. this is because the current can pick up where the scallops are so I need the yak with me for safety reasons.
Deep depends on skill, fitness and your "Headology". I'm happy in the surface ta forty foot range. This gives me the best safely margin for me, and most of what I chase is around there, but can go to 60ft (20m) if I push myself.

[paddlesnap]

. The spear line still loops around the trigger line release hook, and I have made the line short enough so that I have to stretch it slightly to hook the loop on. This tension stops the line unhooking accidentally. The loop has a line off it to snap the stringer & Pod line to. This line feeds back through my left hand as I aim for the fish with my right hand on the Trigger. I do this to stop the line getting in the road & so I can grab the line as the spear goes into the fish. Big Fish, I let the line trail through my hand as I head to the surface. I can then play them up to the top where I can icky them.
It works awesomely, and I have not had to drill extra holes in the gun to do it,

Yeah but the line attached to the front of the gun is a tangle hazard and would pull muzzle end around mucking up shots , also tangle in weed etc and dosn't leave your left hand free to help traverse gun on fast moving pelagics.
Check out the rigs on the guns they use in Blue water the spear line has rubber in eye at trigger end releases.

just wondering if its better just to free dive?
Cheers Jess

Yup ya got that right Jess
Tanks and scuba if Dads got a big boat and plenty of money , but Free diving is great fitness and easy to manage gear even from Kayak . Plus Scuba is constant hydrostat tests expense of fills ,getting gear serviced, paying for charter trips , fuel for boats getting buddies , ad infinitum .
I just Spearfish and Kayak fish and put all the W@#*ers that blow on about their dough for show gear to shame for amount of time actually doing it and volume of fish and sea food to feed the family.

Ohh yeah I got a Viking Tempo Pod off TM for $50 and it is a great cheap Plat that tows easily, & I can flip it over and strap it to the rear deck of the Torres I just put a tow point on the bow and a few extra lines on it.

1100 Freedivers speargun does the biz on everything from Butters to 20 Kg Kingies and just lay it
under the deck bungies and deck lines with the trigger end sharkclip to deckline.

[Aquaholic]

cheers for the advise, did you guys have to do any training or anything for free diving?
what sort of gear do you have to get, just wetsuit, gun, flippers, mask, float, is there anything I missed?

[paddlesnap]

Where did ya say the Bach is?
I'm in kurahood so you may want to tag along sometime-
It's just getting out and doing it if you've got reasonable base fitness and swimming confidence, just go at pace that suits and it soon improves along with the confidence after a few days .

Snorkel of course and the Iki ,entanglement cutting , burley smashing knife.
Fish threader on line or float. floatline , drop weight, anchor, catch bag,scallop/cray measure for starters. You can put loops of heavy trace on float that are slip knots that you pull tight on cray tails to secure em and makes easier towing or get em in the plat when you get one.

[Fish'N'Snork]

Yeah but the line attached to the front of the gun is a tangle hazard and would pull muzzle end around mucking up shots , also tangle in weed etc and dosn't leave your left hand free to help traverse gun on fast moving pelagics.
Check out the rigs on the guns they use in Blue water the spear line has rubber in eye at trigger end releases.

I did thanks before I came up with my breakaway set-up as it is. Have not had any of the above problems you have mention. It was cheap and simple to do and only cost me a little time to set it up. Had the line running to a 10L plastic drum, which worked ok, before I when to the Pod. Made my own Speargun Camera Mount for the GroPro, which is working well too. I not in to wasting money on stuff I can make myself.

[Aquaholic]

Sandspit holiday park, ten mins out of warkworth, what sort of depth r u planning on going, my mum wants me to do a bit of training before I can tag along,

[paddlesnap]

Wise Mum , yeah my 16 yr old son will be getting chucked in too and I've had better success showing young fullahs the ropes if they have others doing it too
Get up to Goat Island with the snorkelling gear while you're up that way , brilliant diving -ideal depth to train in , plenty of others around to make it safer ,and great to study up fish behaviour etc. identifying species seeing their habits even though they are semi domesticated it gets you used to spotting em and hunters eye, sneaking up quietly skills

[Fish'N'Snork]

cheers for the advise, did you guys have to do any training or anything for free diving?

I did many years ago and it has helped. Because of the course, I better understand the risks in Free Diving and how ta make sure my gear is adequate. I definitely recommend doing a cause to improve ya knowledge and skills to get more enjoyment out of free-divng, while improving ya safety.