How much experiance before going it alone?

    Just after some thoughts on spearfishing on my own, Iv only been out 20 or so times and a lot of it has been in lake conditions, I have probably been off the shore around the beaches 6 or 7 times and handled it easy enough.


    I can't find anyone to go with. Very few people here are into it and the ones who are Don't seem very eager to share the experiance :confused1:


    I'm wondering what sort of things I should practice and what equipment I need to load up with, im going to buy a big float and line this week as I read on here that they are pretty important when going alone. I definitly won't be trying to dive deep or push myself out there in case of blackout


    Anyone care to share there thoughts or tips?

    If you are prone to fear and panic, don't ever go alone; otherwise, start today. Obviously, you need to be really honest with yourself when asking that question. I also don't know you or your environment, but for me here in California there is very little a buddy can do for me in an emergency situation unless we start diving one up, one down which I just don't do.


    I hope you find a buddy though. Its nice to have someone to enjoy the adventure with.


    Welcome to the board.

    this is a dangerous question because to someone with bad judgment and a poor head on their shoulders, my anwer is a death sentence.


    since I dont know you well, yet, my advice is exactly what Stephan said. Ask yourself if you are ready to deal with anything that could happen? do you carry a first aid kit? do you have a flare or radio? without a buddy iwould never get in the water without those items. just because there are situations I cannot handle with just my hands and spear gear.


    for example..if god forbid I were to start bleeding (shark or cuda strike, slip with my knife, spear accident) and didnt have a big zip tie ( i keep them in my kit) I could VERY EASILY bleed out duting my .75 mile swim back to shore. Now I am still in a lot of trouble with a buddy, but I was a lifeguard, and so were a lot of my friends and we are good swimmers. If I had to I could swim someone in and that would leave them to apply pressure to the wound and greatly increase their chances.


    so the best thing to do is spend as much water time as you can until you are feeling confident AND mitigate as many risks as you can...use a plat so your catch is out of the water and there are less sharks, have a big float and a big flag, etc etc


    above all be safe and have fun

    i like to spear fish

    Thanks for the replies guys. I appreciate all the advice, If I was to go on my own I would only be going out probably 50 metres or so to begin with. Where we are there is loads of rocks and fish close in to the shore


    The zip ties I would not have thought to take, A radio or communication is another thing I didnt think of.


    Where we are has a lake which gets pretty clear in the winter so I am going to be practising in that for a bit first, I have panicked once on my second go when I got pinned under an oyster rack but I managed to find the snag and pull free luckily. I was pretty calm when I saw my first shark, I just tried to remember all the things to do so I didnt piss it off, I will have to have a think about wether Im calm enough or not!


    I saw the pursuit float which looks like a tiny boat with room to store loads of stuff in would that be a good investment?

    Yes. The banks board is awesome and is a good place to rest if you need it. A great feature.


    It sounds like you have the right mindset. One thing I'll suggest is meditating. I have always done breathing an meditation and I find that by training my mind to unfocus while breathing and holding my breath, I am also training TO focus as well. It makes me quite calm when I can't breathe.


    What part of the country are you in?

    i like to spear fish

    Nah in Australia Mate, along the east coast. Our town dosnt have enough people in it otherwise I would probably be able to find a few more diving buddies but no such luck


    I'm desperate to get out and improve, some days if the waters good and I can't get in there I get pretty peeved off :D


    I will try meditating as the doctor recomended it for after the gym and after work etc. Tell me lunker do you practice breathing and try and clear your mind right before you go in?

    I am a strange creature of habit in some things and I change my routine arbitrarily on other things. So with that said. I do a certain type of breathing when I first get in the water always and I am usually very quiet( a rare time ) when I am gearing up to get focused on hunting and visualize finding good fish and having good dives. I would not say that I necessarily do anything other than visualize every time. As I think back that is the only constant. I guess it is a personal kind of meditation as it relaxes and sharpens me.

    i like to spear fish

    Hi Marco, I met a couple of guys who were into it but when I went with them they did some screwed up shit- like shooting undersize fish for target practise and letting em go half alive, one shot a luderick and threw it at his mate for fun :crazy:


    I only shoot something if I know I am going to take it home and eat it, and I try and dispatch it as quickly as possible so its not cruel and dosn't alert sharks. The whole thing is more about exploring and seeing everything out there and If I bring home dinner its a bonus. And I am having trouble finding people like that :-\ My few best buds are into it but its hard to line up times when one of them is free.


    Lunker your ideas are pretty right on, I used to do the same kind of thing for sport. Just visualising whats going to happen, playing it in your head and knowing what's going to happen. They talk about it here: http://www.freediving.biz/education/sportpsychology.html <-- iv been googling :thumbsup2:

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