Salutations,
My name is Jake, I am new to spearfishing, but I'm already a junkie. I have been reading this forum for weeks, as one of my friends recommended it to me. (I don't know his user name yet though :confused1:) Hey, Al, if you're reading this. I finally joined the forum, because I just bought my first speargun, so I figured it was finally the right moment. Patience.
Anyways, about me: I am primarily a musician / performer playing in an up and coming experimental, electronic, funky, psychedelic, hip hop, jazz, severely bass-oriented band called Telekinetic Walrus. Our music makes you move. Telekinetic Walrus We are based out of Miami, FL, which is where I have done all of my spearfishing, so far. Though, I am originally from Atlanta, GA, after a brief early-life stint in Pensacola, FL. Anyways, as fate would have it, one of our band's biggest fans became a close friend and it just so happens that he is a life-long Cuban Spearo. This guy is insane at the sport, I mean absolutely crazy. Breath holding for 4 minutes, deep knowledge of the sport as deep as his diving capability, pin point accuracy in his shots, etc. We call him, "Super". One random day, Super calls me up, "Hey, Jake, you wanna go spearfishing tomorrow morning?" I'm open minded. I like new experiences. "Ya, bro. Actually, I do," I said. I had no clue what I was in for.
Now, I have always been around the ocean, lakes, boats, and water sports of all kinds. But, after that first experience spearfishing, I knew that it would be something I'd want to do as long as my physical form graces this planet. Which brings me to a completely unrelated, yet entirely intertwined side-point: planets. And the Universe. I am an avid lover of all things "space-related". I think anyone who has an appreciation for mother nature, here on Earth, such as a spear-fisher would, has to be able to look up at the stars at night and marvel in appreciation and bewilderment. It's just so beautiful. There's so many possibilities. Infinite possibilities, in fact. I mean, going by the laws of probability, due to the seemingly infinite nature of the Universe and its infinite possibilities, there would literally have to be at least one other planet out there with intelligent life - at least! To go even further, the laws of infinite probability would have us infer that not only are there other planets with intelligent life, likely even one with lifeforms just like us, but they probably spearfish, too. Giant, bioluminescent, telepathic, plasma spewing alien fish. Yummy. Which brings us back to spearfishing.
So, I've gone out spearfishing a handful of times, each time gaining exponentially increasing amounts of perceived skill. After every time I go out spearfishing, I come back and hit the World Wide Web; and I hit it hard. Sucking up as much knowledge, advice, and accolades as I can is how I can transfer my desire to get better into a tangible product that I can then, hopefully, eat at the end of the day. Again, "yummy". Now, notice that I have made no claims to be great, or even good. Heck, I won't even say that I'm decent. But, as of now, I have killed my first two fish. Hogfish. Though, this may seem, on the whole and rightfully so, very laughable to the many spearos which grace the digital pages of this ethereal meeting place in space (hooray, space!), it is nothing short of exciting for me. Excitement aside, I intend on approaching this sport and my relations with its participants that are so lucky to partake in such an awesome pass-time, with humility, an open-mind, and an unquenchable thirst for learning.
That said, it is an honor to file ranks among each of you. I hope to learn much from this forum that I can take with me on my travels. And, likewise, I hope that maybe one day, I can share some unforeseen nugget of knowledge that may help someone else. I wish you all the merriest of spearing and fruitful, yet respectful, harvests. Thanks be to Mother Earth and Father Time, may they grace you with their hands and wisdom; may they be merciful on your soul.
Music, Spearfishing, and The Universe,
Jake
Telekinetic Walrus
P.S. - In case you were wondering: my new gun that I was referring to is a Riffe 50" Hawaiian Mid-Handle with horizontal mounted reel (200 lb test monofilament), three 9/16" x 24" bands, three-notch 5/16" shaft with repositioning notch and threaded, large 2-barb tip. I did a lot of research before I selected this gun. I felt it would be very versatile and last a long time. Additionally, I also got a custom-tailored Wet Wear wetsuit - 3mm, nitrogen cell, with hood, rubber gaskets around neck, wrists, and ankles. It has zippers on the forearms, legs, and a back zipper with an extra long cord that attached to a Velcro tab to hold it in place. The arm and leg zippers make it super easy to get in and out of, despite that fact that it is a form-fitting, custom suit. Inside of the zippers there are what the manufacturer calls, "rubber gussets", to prevent from leaking. And I must say, this is one heck of a wetsuit. The hood is a little uncomfortable for breathing up; I'm still getting used to it. But, other than that, I could wear this suit in 50 degree F water all day and be warmer than a fresh Cinnabon (also, yummy). Supposedly the nitrogen cell neoprene lasts for a very long time. The lady who made it said some peoples' last them upwards of twenty years or so, with very little degradation of the material. I believe it, too, because she showed me a pressure chamber with the nitrogen cell neoprene right night to 5 other leading neoprenes (yamamoto, etc.) and at 20 feet, they all start to compress, except the nitrogen cell. All the way down to 100 feet and the nitrogen cell neoprene remains unchanged, while the others are flat like nat booty. Then she releases the pressure and they all reflate to "normal", except the nitrogen cell, which never changes the whole time. So, I like that wetsuit. And I like my new speargun, too. Though I have not used my gun, yet. I anxiously await my next dive.