Posts by Dan

Well done Tarick.

Don Paul with Pacific Cubara, Wahoo and Yellowtail.

Nice videography. How deep was the dentex?

Quote from popgun pete

Don Paul was a one-off!

Exactly.

I spoke with Dillon Don's son, he told me Don passed in the early hours of Sunday Jan 22 at his home from health reasons.

I will forever keep Don in my thoughts. To me he was the embodiment of a real man. Adventurous, knowledgeable, calm, generous, willing to lend a hand, keenly aware of human nature on both the physical and psychological levels, overcoming life's challenges/obstacles not allowing it to defeat his own true character. In my life experience Don was a unique combination of rash yet intelligent, with supreme self confidence in his abilities to solve whatever problem he was faced with, be it making some machine work or putting himself on the track to wellness. Don always gave me the sense that he's capable of making everything right, and that the future will bring better things. All the more shocking to know that he succumbed. I can't help but feel that even so he went to the last moment undefeated on his own terms.

Don was a builder of things and an innovator. He applied this talent to speargun design. I believe some of his design contributions were used by Jay Riffe and are still part of every Riffe speargun. When I'd have a doubt about some mechanical feature or material characteristics Don was my go to friend to ask. He was always generous with his knowledge and time. At times when I'm stuck with building something that I can't work out, and remember to take a step back and think outside the box, then finally figure it out, I remember Don saying "That's when you know you're a creator of things".

I know that Don wanted to make a return to spearfishing for a long time. But life's trials got in the way and now the moment is gone. A lesson to all of us. Dillon, if you're reading this, know that whenever your dad talked about you I could sense how important you were to him, and that he was proud of you. Don not being quite old enough at about 15 years my senior, I still thought of him as a father figure. I think he was sensitive to that and so called me brother. But I knew that he was on a whole other level for me to be considered his equal. Maybe one day when I grow up.. I will miss you Don, you left too early.

Don Paul appearing in the Bluewater Hunters documentary circa 1990.

Don Paul 10 years ago.

Very professional content and editing. Is this your video?

Quote from poloires4

Hello everyone, how are you doing?

Welcome to the forum.

Congratz and good luck with your venture.

The leader fins are cheaply made, blades are slow/not snappy so you get little propulsion/return for your kicking effort. Stay away from fins where the foot pockets have short little tendons/arms like the ones with these forza leader fins, they're the latest fad out of china. The short foot pockets don't offer enough support for the blade and are missing the water channeling effect that's necessary to stabilize the fin. You get what you pay for.

I'm sorry this happened to you. I know that moment, seeing the prop spinning right next to you, feeling complete impotence and resigning yourself in a flash to what is about to happen. Thankfully you will recover. A reminder to not trust and expect the worst negligence from people you're not intimately familiar with.

Interesting video. Once I turned on the translation/subtitles

Ermes Avatar speargun handle complete with stainless steel double roller reverse trigger mechanism is available at Spearfishing Store Ermes Avatar Speargun Handle (spearfishing.store). Spearfishing Store is the only one offering the Ermes Avatar handle with a thumb rest for right or left handed divers. Handle is available in White and Red.

WOW!!!

What no revenge?

Do you ever take Moray eel? It's a little hard to process, skin must be peeled (very slippery) but edible.

The Ermes Leonardo reels with automatic spooling are now available in 3 sizes, 30m 60m and 90m Ermes Leonardo Reel (spearfishing.store). The 60m and 30m are perfect for the reef.

Hi Richard, welcome to the forum.

I can't recommend fiberglass fins because good fiberglass blades will cost about the same as carbon blades. Carbon fins are faster and lighter than fiberglass and nowadays quite durable depending on manufacturer, so there's no benefit to fiberglass fins. Cheap fiberglass fins are little better than plastic. Speardiver C90 are excellent carbon fins and are competitively priced Speardiver C90 Carbon Spearfishing Fins. I recommend medium stiffness.

For your stated measurements plus 2mm socks, the best fit length wise is OMER Stingray size 43-44 OMER Stingray Foot Pockets (spearfishing.store). Looks like you have wide feet so not sure how much pressure you'll feel from the sides. If too tight you'll have to go to the next size up, but then the foot pockets will be too long. Good luck.

I found a loaded pneumatic a few years ago. It spend much longer on the bottom than yours as was evident from all the barnacle growth on it. Still fired right there and then although with less pressure.