Floatline or reel?

    I am doing mostly shallow reef diving (< 70') mostly in the 20'-30' range from the beach or my kayak. Currently I just have the basic line set up on my gun which works well for SCUBA but with free diving I am thinking that a FL or a reel would work better. I have not used either in the past so have little knowledge on the two but it seems as if the reel would be nice for keeping all of the line in one place so it's not an obstacle in the water such as with a FL. I still do some deeper SCUBA spearing as well and want to find a method that works well for both; though I am considering free shafting when on SCUBA. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks. :toast:

    I would suggest if your diving in 20 to 30ft of water only then a reel is best for that situation, but, a float line is good for someone who is inexpierienced and may feel more comfortable to let go of there gun and swim to the surface. A float line is good for several reasons, diver flag for alerting boats, float to hang on and rest, shoot and swim to surface without gun, etc, etc. The reel is good for ease of use, no line to get tangled in, streamlined approach, etc, etc.
    Scuba diving is different and you should freeshaft so there is no entanglement of line around areas such as tanks or regulator which can be deadly if you spear a decent size fish, this could also get wrapped on structure or reef and not be able to free one's self. I would go with a reel, fish are not big at all in 20 to 30 ft of water.

    Quote from black1

    I would suggest if your diving in 20 to 30ft of water only then a reel is best for that situation, but, a float line is good for someone who is inexpierienced and may feel more comfortable to let go of there gun and swim to the surface. A float line is good for several reasons, diver flag for alerting boats, float to hang on and rest, shoot and swim to surface without gun, etc, etc. The reel is good for ease of use, no line to get tangled in, streamlined approach, etc, etc.
    Scuba diving is different and you should freeshaft so there is no entanglement of line around areas such as tanks or regulator which can be deadly if you spear a decent size fish, this could also get wrapped on structure or reef and not be able to free one's self. I would go with a reel, fish are not big at all in 20 to 30 ft of water.


    John, how can both of these statements exist together :)


    the reel is as much of a tangle hazard as a float line.


    I prefer the FL as I find that 3/8 tubing doesn't really tangle at all and the reel just frightens me for exactly the reason John pointed out and denied.


    but the real clincher is that with either rig you may will have to let go of the gun in some cases..with the floatline it is often, not so much with the reel, but it WILL happen, big fish can, and will, spool you, the drag will lock, etc.......with my floatline i have a good chance of getting the gun back..not so much with the reel



    ultimately dive with both and see what you like...what ever is working for your diving is ultimately the safest as something that interferes with your diving is a potential hazard...



    If we dive sunday I'll bring a FL for you to use and get an opinon.

    i like to spear fish

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