Posts by Reefchief

I do a lot of beach diving. A major concern for me has always been the fact that in a serious emergency there's a pretty good chance I would have a hard time getting quick help. Being 20 minutes from shore on a lightly trafficked weekday could mean bad things. I borrow my dads handheld VHF radio as often as I can. But ive been planning ever since I started beach diving to purchase my own.

I debated between a standard VHF radio and the Nautilus Lifeline for quite some time. And after a long and drawn out internal debate of its pros and cons (cons being mostly the price over an inexpensive VHF) I ended up choosing the lifeline. If I knew then what I know now about its function I would have bought it a lot longer ago.

This device is basically a handheld VHS radio with GoPro-esque "2 buttons for everything" controls. Combined with a GPS and a DSC transponder (Digital Selective Calling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). This combination turns the lifeline into not only an immensely powerful safety device. But also a useful dive tool

For the sake of clarity. I will break down my impression of the lifelines features into two distinct categories. Safety and Utility.

Safety:

• Lifeline has one button (orange button) access to any emergency channel (16 here). As well as 1 button access to an automated DSC emergency beacon button. (red button)
• Small profile and ability to be submerged deep means it can stay on a torpedo float or on top of a board without concern for water infiltration.
• GPS coordinates are always displayed on screen. Can be used to relay position as well as to know which direction you are traveling
• GPS info in DSC message means if you press the oh shit button they will know exactly where to look. Ive lost a big bright dive float in the ocean before. Even with a non-accurate gps attached it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Trying to coordinate a rescue using only landmarks could cost valuable time.
• 5 minute (adjustable) auto off means battery life is not effected much by being left on.

Utility

• Depressing mic button logs GPS coordinates that can later be downloaded via usb. This allows spots to be marked away from the boat or beach diving with the touch of a button.
• One touch auto on communication with the boat. The green button transmits over a predefined chat channel and the channel can be changed in the water with some fussing. This is huge for drift diving. I cant count the times in the past where this would have been usefu to tell the boat stuff.
• 5 minute (adjustable) auto off means battery life is not effected much by being left on.

Im also impressed with the build quality so far. Only time will tell how well it holds up to the rigors of spearfishing. But it seems to be well made on the hardware and software side. Hooking it up the the computer and registering my lifeline was easy.

The best part about using the lifeline was discovering that it wasn't one of those "great safety devices you hopefully never use" but rather a useful tool I plan on using every time I go beach diving.

The Nautilus Lifeline is available from Spearfishing Store https://spearfishing.store/nautilus-marine-rescue-gps

I love the grouper battles. Part puzzle, part wrestling match, part the thrill of hoping your hand isn't bitten off by an eel.

I made a little video edit from some footage of last weeks trip. A lot of the footage is stuff Frank shot and some of its from my Go Pro. Hope you guys enjoy.

Elliot Key Speardiving and lobstering - YouTube

We've been trying for some time to get down to the Elliot Key area. Last time I went was over a year ago and it was a beautiful day filled with some nice water and nice reefs. Not to mention weve all been way too dry this summer due to stupid adult stuff like jobs. Despite various attempts it didn't really happen until now. I think when Frank went down for mini season and brought back his tales of clear blue water and piles of lobsters it reminded us all of what we were missing only an hours drive south.

Last Saturday was looking nice, so Frank (Hardline), Judah (LunkerBuster), my brother, my dad, and I finalized the plans.

We set out early enough to arrive at Homestead Bay front (nice park with nice boat ramps) at around 8. We crossed the bay and made it to our first spot by 9. Viz was much less stellar then expected, lots of particles in the water and thermoclines. But it was still plenty diveable. The first spot we stopped at produced a number of nice big bugs. I got to handgrab a nice one which is always fun for me. And judah shot the first fish of the day a hog.

Looking for somewhere more fishy we pulled up anchor and hit our next spot. This was a very large reef we found last year with some interesting shallow structure(big coral heads) on top. With the sides dropping down to 30ft all around. Last year I got a nice grouper from a large coral head on top of the reef and wanted to find it again. I found it pretty quickly but only discovered a few monster black margates at home. I continued on top of the reef for a while mostly looking under coral heads for bugs. Suddenly, I see a school of big fish going by in the haze. It took me a few seconds to realize it was about 15 big ass yellowjacks. I slowly approached with a few kicks at a 45 towards them. Then I stopped and looked away a bit. Right as I stopped they started to turn in towards me and I dropped down and leveled off on one of them. As I was about to pull the trigger I noticed the one behind my target was a bit bigger and closer. I re adjusted to his front center mass and pulled the trigger. He took off like a bullet and took all of my short floatline and actually pulled me along a bit before getting wrapped up in the reef. I thought I lost him for a second but quickly realized he had tied up. Right after I pulled the trigger I notice a huge 8 foot nurse cruising just a few feet from where I pulled the trigger. He had no interest in the wounded yj though.

We kept moving and looking for bugs and fish. The next spot we hit was relatively bug free. But was home to a couple of really keen blacks who seemed to really take enjoyment in teasing us. Im pretty sure they were taking bets on who could tease us worse. One was an absolute monster who I think everyone saw twice. He just did circles around the reef keeping us in check and making us feel bad.

While looking for the big black I went to the outer edge of the reef and started hunting the slope. As I was coming around a bend a big red grouper was hanging out on the slope. Unlike most reds ive encountered he turned and holed up as soon as he noticed me and I noticed him. Didnt even swim a swim in his direction or dive.

I paid attention to the tiny hole he went in and dove on it with my light. I saw that the tiny cave had a deeper side cave that he was sitting in looking out of. So I surfaced and rested, ready to go down and loose an arrow into the hole. After a few minutes I drop back down only to realize I had lost sight of the exact hole he was in. I frantically checked every crack trying to find the one with the sidecave and eventually gave up. I took a mental note of the vicinity and left, planning to come back a while later after he came back out. I hunted further down the reef for 10-15 minutes before I decided to go back. When I got back there was still no grouper, but this time I was determined to find the cave he was still in.

After 5-6 dives I finally found it again, looked inside and he was still there, this time I made copious mental notes of its location before surfacing. I rested and dropped back down, lined up, and let one go. It was a good solid hit and the spear instantly started dancing and silt started flying. I gave the spear some good tugs before determining he was holed up and hooked up good. After about 8-10 dives I finally managed wrestle him out. I almost put another shot in with my hole gun. But was able to get my hand in behind his fins and pull him out.

After that we moved again this time focusing on bugs. I was chilled from the thermoclines and tired from the grouper and stayed on the boat while everyone else hunted bugs. My dad got one which made his day (he had been sick all week and almost didnt go but was glad he did) And everyone else got a few more too. Frank shot a yellow jack that tied himself up on the reef. As he was getting him un tangled a blacktip came in to investigate. From the boat I could see frank swimming with his fish out of the water and yelled at the other divers to go over and help him. By then the blacktip was gone but so was franks shaft. He had cut the shooting line to get it out of the coral and then dropped it in the melee.

I missed a few other fish a nice hog that got spooked right before I pulled the trigger. And we all got teased by a few other smart fish throughout the day.

Around 2pm everyone got back in the boat and we considered hitting one last spot. Everyone seemed to have had their fill so we decided to head back in. It ended up being a great decision. After about 3 minutes heading west we noticed the sky growing darker along the entire horizon. Then a nice little bolt of lightning streak across the sky. We packed up everything that couldn't get rained on and headed into the storm. As we hit the edge of the storm (pictured above) the air temp dropped a good 10 degrees. By then we were almost to the ramp doing ilde speed down the canal. There were still a number of people headed out into the bay despite the black clouds as far as he eye could see coming to engulf everything. Maybe they were running away? <img src= " class="smiley" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x" height="23" width="23" loading="eager" data-tooltip="biggrin" aria-label="biggrin"> We quickly yanked the boat out of the water in the drizzle and were on our way. Not 2 minutes down the road the drizzle turned to a downpour which stayed half of the way home.

The rest of the story involves cleaning boats and fish and all the un-fun stuff that we shouldn't talk about so I will skip it. Although Judah created chapter 2 today on the smoker.

Epic day for sure. Two PB's for me as well as a whole lot of fun. Even made it back minutes before a squall.

(Fishpush disclaimer)

FOV is way better then my Omer Bandit. Similar to my Speardiver Micromask.

Quote from John Hanson

The nose piece looks to be a huge improvement of most of the masks I use. My biggest problem is having the bottom block my nostrils making it difficult to equalize the mask.

I am also very fond of the matt finish on the skirt.

Thanks for the pics!

I had a similar problem with my Omer Bandit. It is def a big improvement there. Not as much with equalizing the mask for me. But the constant pressure on the underside of my nose would make my nose feel bruised after a long day of diving. Id sometimes end up with the skirt almost in my mouth to relieve the discomfort.

Awesome video! Love the intro and Ommfg @ 3:57.
:fanwave::fanwave:
:ymca::shark2::notworthy3:
:notworthy3::hail1::notworthy3::notworthy3::hail1::notworthy3::notworthy3::hail1:

Damnit now im so hype to go spearfishing but gotta work.

I got a chance to really put the Speardiver Stealth mask to the test over lobster mini season. Probably 14-16 hours of diving over 2 days. Half of it was only in 5-15ft but after limiting out each day we went spearfishing/freediving in deeper water.

I can now say without a doubt this mask is perfection. Wearing it was almost a revelation in how comfortable masks can be.

As I suspected. Its the best sealing, most comfortable mask ive ever worn in the water. It makes the fit (and FOV) of my bandit seem like a joke. And I wore the bandit for 2 years because it fit better then alternatives. I think its a combination of a really nice soft skirt, a good nose shape, a lot of contact and surface area between the skirt and the face, and the straps being on the skirt.

Im sure it doesnt work on every face. But I feel sorry for anyone who cant or doesn't have one.

Took a few pics at about 30 feet.

Quote from Sith

I was thinking the same thing so how about taking the donut shaped ring that you removed from the snap and cutting a slit in it and then reinstalling it on the snap with the line (or in my case the swivel welded ring). Do you think the donut ring is sturdy enough to be reinstalled with a cut in it?

No I think at that point the ring would be too beat up to serve its original purpose.

Also, if you want to keep the clips oriented right some twine in a double constrictor right behind the clip will prevent it from ever turning around on you. I may even do it myself.

Edit: seems to work. have to see if the twine slips but it seems secure. Might not work as well on poly. You can see the RA line in the back.

Are snook as dumb there as they are here in FL? After almost being wiped out they are subject to heavy regulations here. A short season, very narrow slot size limit, no spearing. Now they are everywhere and just hangout like logs. Ive come across a few while spearfishing and found them to be one of the least skittish fish ive ever come across. I was able to get a hand on the last one I saw before he finally had enough and swam away.

I dont think the orientation is that big of a deal. Infact it makes them work kind of like a quicklink. you just gotta turn it around before you unclip it but it doesnt bother me at all. Its def not as small as the smallest quicklinks around but I honestly have never found myself going "good lord this snap is so large and cumbersome, I cant even catch fish". Frankly I dont notice them. Infact when I used tunaclips which were much larger those didnt bother me (except with my board being lost). Others may feel differently.

To me quicklinks and Dans clips are not in the same category. Dans clips are more like tuna clips in their usage. Immediate on/offage when needed. Quicklinks imho can be considered semi permanent without pliers. I wouldn't want to put anti seize on a quick-link because if it unscrews itself there is no spring loaded gate holding stuff in.

The ability of Dans clips to never seize in salt cant be understated IMHO. Its so nice to twist on the lock and have it always come free instead of "ok that didnt work, now where are my pliers?" Personally that bothers me way more then it being a little bit bulky.

On most of my stuff I use a combo of small quicklinks or shackles and Dans clips. The determining factor for me is if there is a good chance I will need to use the clip casually to break apart my gear. For that reason I almost always use one of them on the gun side. I find myself always taking the gun off the floatline to store it on the boat. Or my banksboard etc. If I had to get a pair of pliers out every time I took my gun off the floatline I might as well just wear them on my belt. On the other hand I often leave the floatline attached to the float since they dont really need to be separated anyways (unless im changing hunting grounds and switching up gear, at that point pliers are fine) with a quicklink. Although a lot of that was due to having shackles and not enough of Dans clips but I just bought more. Ill always use the smallest non pokey thing possible for coupling floatlines together.

Among those you mentioned I think the phantom is the best choice for sure. Mako's are junk but usually get the job done. Although mine broke within a few dive trips. RA's are solid guns but the ergonomics of the handle are poor in my opinion. The phantom is an awesome gun with great ergonomics a super solid all stainless trigger mech.

Also welcome

Its riffe waytooexpensive armored spectra floatline. It's really nice but wayy too pricey. I got this one half off at the blue wild and it was still too expensive. But I didnt like the other rope floatlinesI had used ntil that point. Its good for shallow beach dives.But since then Dan showed me that tight twist RA line. I like it almost just as much at a fraction of the cost. 40meters was like 30$

It's worth noting that you can pop the eye out of dans locking snaps with only a little elbow grease if they can't be used for some reason.

Also I only use one swivel at the gun and don't seem to have any issues with any of my floatlines.

The other clip is gonna be one of dans soon too. I dont like that they can be left open.

Stocking up on some gear for mini season.

Picked up a new speardiver stealth mask. This is mid lighter trick.

*A polespear with jbl sliptip. Been wanting a polespear for quite a while. Cant wait to catch even less fish then I already do.

A new all metal trigger mech for my speardiver carbon 120

And some various band supplies clips etc.

Quote from hank

It's not your face....it's your forehead....or five head. <img src= " srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x" height="23">
Just joking buddy.....we come from the same blood. I have red haired brother and sister. Same forehead too.

Hahah. We're in the exclusive ginger blooded divers club. Single handedly keeping the rashguard and suntan lotion industries afloat.

One good thing about having such a noggin is the gopro headstrap works great and it never falls off

Quote from Belizeman

Will it fit on someone with wide face such as me. I am looking forward replace my used scuba mask. This mask I am using does leak bit. And also I have big nose.

IMHO it will be very good for a wide face. I switched from the bandit to the micromask because the bandit was too small for my big nose and a little small on my face. The micromask was better, and the Speardiver Stealth mask even more so.

I cant say how well this mask feels diving yet. But it felt and looked so good on my face that I bought one despite picking up a Speardiver micromask from Dan only a few weeks ago and diving with it only a few times (but loving it over my bandit). My brother in law also purchased one despite planning on buying a micromask after using mine (he has a terrible time with masks)

My first impressions are: The skirt is amazing. Better than any other freediving mask ive put on my face. Very soft and comfy with a huge seal all around the face except the lip area where its the right size. Its got a lot of skirt but it very closely hugs your face and the frame so its not creating volume. It feels softer then both my micromask (pretty stiff) and even the Omer bandit (softer). Internal volume and field of view seems similar to the micromask with a solid edge for the stealth on FOV, and an edge for the micromask on volume, way better FOV then my bandit. The seal to my face is pretty much the best ive felt from a mask. Like I dont even need a strap.

Most importantly(not really), it makes me look cool(er) instead of goofy(er).Perhaps its the skirt shape and size and shape of the lenses but I feel like my other masks made me look kind of like a weird bug and this mask makes me look like a fighter pilot.

Overall im pretty impressed so far and cant wait to go diving with this thing and really try it out.

No its DANS clips. [D]ual [A]ction [N]evergonnaletgobeachdivingandmakeyougetindansboatandgofindyourfloat5milesoffshore [S]naps