Welcome! I don't know why but your avatar picture creeps me out. It also makes me laugh though so I guess its a draw.
Better? 
Posts by Oregonism
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That makes sense. I'd been told the rains affected it a lot, and we've had an abnormally rainy fail and winter here (from what I've been told). I imagine we are closer to Granada in composition than the Bahamas (very few sand flats, mountainous terrain and rapid drop-off in a lot of areas).
I am just trying to get it figured out, because it was relatively calm one day and the vis was bad, and windy another day and it went from 50ft of vis down to about 20ft by mid-afternoon in some spot. I am also realizing that as I get more comfortable in low vis, I am realizing the benefits of being able to approach fish more closely.
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Ok, I am new to the diving thing and living close to the ocean in general. Here is my question(s):
What different things cause bad visibility in an area with otherwise good visibility? What sort of things do you look for when attempting to estimate what visibility is going be like for a given day?
My observations so far: Rain = bad. Wind/chop = bad. Swell = bad. I've also noticed that certain areas always have lower visibility, but some spots will suddenly open up and I can see 100ft. Is it bottom strata/composition? Something else? I've also noticed that visibility seems better, overall, in the morning and drops noticeably by the afternoon.
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Awesome. Yeah, I feel really lucky to have such good diving at my doorstep. Visibility was pretty terrible today, but I still got a nice shot on a 7-8lb mutton... unfortunately, missed by a few inches. Still learning the new gun I guess :rolleyes1:. I need to make some targets and go out and practice I think. That being said, I rigged up a little butt pad and I am having a way easier time loading the gun. My first day out was pretty painful.
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Very cool
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Hey guys. Thought I'd just introduce myself as I am pretty fresh off the boat down here in PR. My name is Elliott and I am in my late twenties. My wife and I moved down here (Vieques specifically) nearly three months ago now. Thanks to Roberto, I've just gotten my first speargun. I've been fairly obsessed with spearfishing since just before we made the move, and now I live within a 10 minute walk of decent spearfishing (assuming the swell is down in the Atlantic).
I am still learning the sport, and am very much a beginner at this point. I've been a fisherman (both flyfishing and conventional) since I was a toddler, and spearfishing is sort of the final frontier. I also hunted a bit in my youth, and this seems like a good cross between the two. As I continue to improve, I'd love to be able to go out with people that have been doing it for a long time. I don't make it to the main island very much, but that may change eventually.
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:welcome2: you are right that practice above all else will improve your bottom time. Proper freediving fins are also going to really change everything for you
Yeah, I am still at the point where I am acquiring just the most basic equipment. All I need at this point is a set of long fins and a wetsuit or skin with a loading pad. But, at least I can get out there and do it. The move down here wasn't cheap, so I have to accumulate gear over a long period.
And thanks again for all the warm welcome. I was doing a bit of posting on SB, but it seems to be a very slow moving forum. If anyone has any other recommendations for good spearfishing resources, I am all ears. Nerding out on a new hobby/sport is one of my favorite things :laughing4:. I think that's why I was so into flyfishing for so long, as there is soooooo much literature and information. It's easy to continue learning for years and years, and always some new technique or pattern to try.
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I've watched all of the FreeDiveInt videos on youtube. Great stuff. Jacques is a talented film-maker and photographer. Dahab looks amazing as well!
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Hey guys, thought I'd take the suggestion and introduce myself. My name is Elliott and I've recently moved to Puerto Rico and discovered that how much I love being in and around the ocean. More specifically, I am on the island of Vieques. It is a great place to learn to dive and spearfish, as it is basically surrounded by good condition reefs with good numbers of moderately sized fish.
I had started doing some reading about spearfishing a couple months before coming down here, and got extremely excited about it. I didn't really know much about spearfishing, though I had an uncle that showed me how to use a polespear in Hawaii. That was about the length of my experience. Truth be told, I'd initially considered this island for the Fly Fishing, which turned out to be bogus. So my wife and I got down here, I bought myself a polespear and a decent mask and snorkel set and started bagging fish. My wife even gave it a try and decided to buy herself a spear as well. The largest fish I've taken was a bit of a joint effort between myself and my wife, which was a hefty 15+lb mutton (I think it was closer to twenty, but my eyes tend to exaggerate :laughing3: ). It took several shots from both our spears to disable it enough to draw it out from under a ledge, but it was great fun. I've taken plenty of various other types of snapper over the last couple of months, but a small five foot, three prong polespear can only go so far.
So, last week I took a trip to the main island and visited Roberto Reyes, who hooked me up with a Mako 110cm speargun and a basic float. I took it out the day after, pulled a few snappers and grunts, and had a blast (despite having a hell of a time loading it up with no chest pad). Taking shots at 10-15ft instead of 2-3 was an eye opener.
My bottom-time is pretty much nonexistent. I usually go down to a max depth of 30ft or so, peek under ledges and maybe take a shot before feeling like I need a breath. I work on breath-holding whenever I can remember, but I feel like it's something that will really just take time and practice. Tips here are appreciated
I've also gotten myself a little bit of lead and I'll be getting a set of freedive fins before too long as well, which will hopefully help me with bottom time. Hoping to learn a lot while I'm here.:thumbsup2:
