New Member from Puerto Rico

    Hello Gang!


    My name is Pablo Robles, I am from Ponce. I have been SCUBA diving for a few years now. I consider myself a "tourist" diver... I dive mostly with charters at la parguera, desecho or culebra.


    Last Sunday I went out freediving/spearfishing in Aguadilla with my old friend Pucho. I have known him for 11 years and it is the first time we went fishing. It was an amazing and challenging experience. I learned a few things... first that I do not have the technique/skill/strength to load a 54" speargun, second that my sherwood spinta fins are crap in the weakest current. These were the first and only fins I bought... being newbie I went along with the dive shop owner recommendation, big mistake... these fins are good only in a pool and maybe in a lake. The third thing I learned is that "Jurel" (jack) meat is really good... I used to eat only supermarket fish.


    Last but not least, there are people that tell me that we had the advantage because we have the spearguns and the fish had no defense... nothing can be more wrong... fish have all the advantage, we are aliens in their world. You already know what I just found out... fishing requires skill, strength and determination. That's what makes it interesting... it is not as easy as the experts make it look like.


    I am still an absolute newbie, felt incredibly dumb and uncapable on my first "spearfishing for dummies" lesson. I hope to learn a few things in this forum and with patience and practice get better in this sport.


    I am trying to get new pair of fins and more bottom time... it's shame I go diving a few times a year only when I live about one minute from the shore... from my backyard I can see the Caribbean.


    Lastly I want to thank Pucho for his patience and the good memories from my first silent hunting trip.


    hasta pronto,


    Pablo

    Welcome to the forum Pablo. Spearfishing is easy when the fish just sits there for you in shallow water. Spearfishing becomes very challenging when the fish is deep and understands the danger that a diver presents.


    What kind of gun were you using? Chest loader or hip loader? Chest loading is a PITA IMO.

    Pargo:


    I was using a belly/hip loading gun. It's a custom made for/by Pucho... as I understood it someone made the woods for it and Pucho did the rest. A very nice looking speargun by the way. I do not have my own yet. Suggestions?


    Yes, and even in shallow water... if you spent a couple hours battling a current with crappy fins... it becomes incredibly challenging... and the fish do not sit still in front of the gun either... :).

    I wouldn't say belly/hip loading gun. Hip loading is hip loading, I'm not sure what belly loading is. People who use chest loading guns usually position them lower than the chest, but still above the belly. I was just going to tell you that hip loading is easy. If the gun Pucho gave you was a hip loader you shouldn't have any problems. If on the other hand it was a chest loader then you should know that many people find it difficult to load, especially in the beginning.

    Yes... it's hip loading... I guess is more a thing of technique more than strength. I need to get my own and practice loading in calm water.

    Llegaste Pablo, te gustara este foro, the gun is a TIKI arrecife 48", 2 tight 5/8 bands, euro design, so it was a pain to load speacially with that current and those fins, like I told Pablo it was the first time and is more technique loading a gun than strengh, next time will be a different story Pablo.

    Pucho
    Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

    Thanks for the updated specs on the gun... I already started doing weight training to pull those bands. Let's see if I can get those Cressi Gara 2000... and the new mask... then it will be time to hit the water.


    By the way what is a good beginner speargun?

    Bienvenido Pablo to the best forum there is , we are like family here. BTW you are welcome to come fish with me (as is everybody here) since I do a lot of shallow water (10-40 feet) spearing so you could get the hang of it and work your way to deeper water(as I'm doing now). Anyways you are with master Pucho so you are in good hands.:) Saludos..

    Thanks for the warm welcome guys. I would definitively like to go fishing with you Billy... I need to work on my basic skills first... like loading the freaking speargun.. jajaja.... My mother in law is from Carolina, I spend at least one night every week over there. Hopefully we can get together one of these weekends after I get some gear I need.

    Quote from Pablo

    Thanks for the warm welcome guys. I would definitively like to go fishing with you Billy... I need to work on my basic skills first... like loading the freaking speargun.. jajaja.... My mother in law is from Carolina, I spend at least one night every week over there. Hopefully we can get together one of these weekends after I get some gear I need.


    Yeah man. Just pm me sometime and let me know, and don't get intimidated by us we're just a couple of guys doin' it for fun and don't mind showing you what little we know. Plus we have a small boat and fish the north area and go to Culebra/Vieques quite often.

    dont feel bad at all man...when I got my euro gun and took it out in the water it took me literally 7 minutes to load it and i was seeing stars...I had to swim around for like 30 minutes to get my o2 back up...now i can sling that 20mm band like it aint shit...it is ALL technique


    A biller 54 floridian was my first gun...very easy to load in my opinion

    i like to spear fish

    Gracias por la bienvenida.


    Que bien! De que parte de Ponce eres? Yo soy de la Avenida Brisas (El Tuque).


    Travel to PR is about $250 from NYC or FL depending on the time of the year. Check at kayak.com for the best ticket prices from your location.


    hasta pronto.


    Pablo


    Quote from yaudon

    Pablo, welcome to the forum! que bueno ver a otro ponceno mas!!!
    mucha suerte!

    Quote from LunkerBuster

    with all these Ricans on this forum, I really need to get my ass down there and do some diving....anyone know what the price of travel is to get to PR?


    You might want to check on the net for some traveling specials. My cousing just came here and she paid $99 round trip. She lives close to Pompano beach. Also we found some tickets last year for $49 round trip! If you ever make it you're welcome to come fish with us.:)

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