The different needs between Bluewater spearfishing and reef spearfishing

Quote from Dude george

hank and Marco, rather than derail the other important thread I thought the discussion could proceed here.
FAD fishing for pelagics is very different from open water drifting in deep clear water, stalking a fish with no point of reference with 100ft visibility does a number on the brain till you get used to it. I have seen experience shooters trying 50ft shots on wahoo [emoji1]
The type of fish makes very little difference on power in the deep clear blue to me(more is better) fish see you much clearer and are less curious, it's not about the one you tempt in close, it's about making a kill on a smart fish that stays out of close range. I want to shoot as much fish as possible not just wait for the perfect opportunity, or a better way to say it is capitalize on all opportunities that present themselves.
Reef is completely different in terms of power needs, with so many factors coming into play.

I understand about the distance thing. This is why "don't shoot until you see the whites of his eye" was told to me regarding wahoo.

But, I have to say that the 40 lb plus fish that I've shot on the reef appeared to me to be about 20-30ish. Two of those were over 50. It's also deceiving. I've shot a few big cubera with the bottom far below. Hard to gauge the size of the fish then too.

But again, I realize there is a need for power to get distance. I just don't see the advantage of trying to get a lot of power out of a small gun and sacrificing accuracy, especially on a fish that tears off as easily as the mackerels.

Now you're getting into an area I have little experience or knowledge of. I haven't used a lot of different guns so I can't say which is the most accurate setup.
Besides getting to spend time diving with Daryl, what I liked about Wongs was the semi enclosed track which helps eliminate shaft wobble, or at least in theory. But that's probably a non factor with the way I set my 55 up. As I mentioned, I use 14s, 26 - 28" Dan Bands. Jake uses 24 - 26 16s. But the prick shoots more fish than I do now. :laughing:

As far as a marketing ploy, you may be right. I don't really see an advantage to the design, but on the other hand, I don't see a disadvantage. But I'm open to learning.

George,

I'd say to each his own. You can Google search AJ Halley, but he's a pretty well known Spearo, personally known by Daryl Wong & Sherri Daye. Any who, he shoots those Wong hybrids exclusively and kills it on the reef and in the blue. Got to meet him at the blue wild expo, seemed like a down to earth dude.

I personally don't like that style gun and don't see the need to spend $800+ for a base model Wong when I can get a custom teak for much less expensive.

Before I get jumped, I'm not bashing those who use hybrids. It's just not for me. I'd rather have a straight pipe gun or an all teak gun, not to be intermingled.. but one of my buddies has a custom $1300 Wong hybrid 60" with 3 x 14mm bands and claims its heavy as hell to swim with all day compared to his riffe euro. I chuckled inside when he told me that after he told me what he spent! :cool2:

Just my .02

Wongs are a bit pricey but I honestly have gotten a lot back from Daryl. Shafts, a free muzzle that Jake had broken (actually about 3 muzzles were handed to me) bands, floppers and pins, 7 or 8 trips out on his boat and forget about trying to help paying for fuel. Not to mention a drawer full of shirts and hats. And I would bet that if I left the gun on the ground and ran over it with my truck, he'd fix it for free.
Re being heavy, I don't find my 63 Mag to be a burden. It's counter balanced so it's pretty neutral with the shaft in it. Slightly negative but so is any other gun. Big, yes, but in the water, not heavy.

Sorry George. I was typing to Chase's post and yours beat me to the punch.

I think we're in total agreement. I need all the help I can get and for a while I was using my 63 magnum with a float line on the reef. I did hit a big kingfish one day that got off because I hadn't braided my cable shooting line and the crimp slipped.

As I think Steven said earlier, hunting the reef doesn't mean only small fish. Here, you're on the edge of the blue, not like a gentle sloping reef. And anything can show up.....well, not Mahi or marlin but ....

I feel like the greatest argument against the need for heavy duty gear are the paxmans. One could argue, though, that they dive where the fish have never even heard of people before.

Quote from Dude george

They come up all the time in these discussions, Barry is an abnormal human and doesn't belong in a conversation with mortals. Man dives with a 1950's mask! The pipe gub and flopper is space age for that dude! But the guys who are that good, and CAN land fish because they are that good with gear that is less capable are not a argument.

Don't put them that high up on a pedestal georgey! There is something going on there though , poison spears maybe.

Quote from Dude george

Maybe not, a Michael Jordan is a Michael Jordan [emoji6] also think about the fish guys shoot in the Bahamas with polespears... but give those same guys a good gun in the same spots and see what happens! Right?

No way you lost me there. I can't even watch Bahamas videos . How do you miss a 40lb fish in 15 feet of water?

George, I totally agree. Chase, build your own Hybrid. I built mine patterned after Daryl's GR Hybrid rear handle plus 55". I tried to buy one of Daryl's guns that he built for a guy that backed out of the deal...he sells those for around $650. Not bad. I think I spent about $250 and a couple of Airline passes for my build. But it is a great gun. I built it after diving with a South Point assassin who shoots a 50" Wong RH plus hybrid. I loved how it tracked in the Hawaiian currents but still had the mass to handle bigger shafts and three bands of 16mm.

I have a Bobby Abril ( Kona Local Boy and builder) 55" "wedge" custom built enclosed track which was my bread and butter-every where gun. Weighted and ballasted for big game but not too big, perfect for for hunting bigger reef game like Omilu, ulua, big uhu's, and then blue water fish like shibi's (small to medium sized ahi), ono's etc. So when I built my hybrid I made sure to keep the heavy hitting characteristics of my wedge and used Daryl's GR Plus as a template. So my stock is ballasted and the cf barrel is 1.25 OD. So both guns are set up to handle 16mm bands and shoot a 17.5-18.0 mm shaft. I've penetrated gill plates on all the big reef and blue water fish I've shot (my preferred shaft placement for the holding and control factors) with this set up. I like cannons, what can I say? They work for me. I rarely load all three bands, but when I do I know how the gun will handle and I shoot accordingly. I live by the principle that regardless of the gun I shoot, know what it takes to hit fish with it and never let a gun be an excuse for having an empty kui.

"DG" and Hank, I appreciate your posts and I find that we share a lot of common experiences and island way of life. I look forward to shooting fish with you at some point.

A picture of my hybrid on its maiden reef hunt. Never missed a shot. Stormy seas, ripping current, in and out of the water in under two hours. :thumbsup2:

Deal!:thumbsup2: