Posts by Sames

I have the same problem, no diving gloves come close to fitting the length of my fingers (I wear a 3XL glove or larger), so I have to cut the ends off and stitch around them to ensure they don't fray.

Dan I don't know what rock I've been hiding under, but I just saw the Speardiver Stealth spearguns on your site and I know where my next $160 is going! These open-muzzle, super-short spearguns are exactly what I have been dreaming of for my murky water diving :thumbsup2:. My email is currently down, but when I get it back up and running I am going to email you on specs for ordering one ASAP.

I just read on their local media channel that Jarrod was taken off life support yesterday and died.

So frustrating and sad because this was 100% preventable.

Not casting judgment on anyone by any means since I wasn't there, but I always stress muzzle awareness with whoever I am diving with, just like it is a firearm. I have witnessed a handful of people accidentally shoot themselves or others with firearms by not using simple proper muzzle awareness and handling, and to me the principle is no different with a speargun.

A couple years ago I took a dive buddy out, and he was a little bit below and behind me, as we were both on the way up. I heard a click and saw a spear shoot right between my thighs, fortunately it didn't get me but it was only inches away from a possibly lethal femoral artery hit. He said he didn't know what happened, but if he had only had his muzzle pointed down nothing would have been a problem. I ripped him up one side and down the other, and I am extra cautious of muzzle awareness now and who I am diving with. Sounds kinda like the same thing here, sure hope he pulls through.

Hatteras is right, Stuttgart AR is regarded as the duck hunting capitol of the world. If you can swing it, duck hunting there can be absolutely amazing and should be on every duck hunter's bucket list. You may go through multiple boxes of shells each day easy.

You will love diving Bull Shoals, it has good water clarity and lots of fish. I have always found diving by the dam to be the best visibility on both Beaver and Bull Shoals, and the striper are always by the dam. If you see some foot-long shad darting around you near the surface, be ready. Areas with large rocks and boulders are always go-to spots for big catfish hiding underneath, and bluffs are also hot spots. I'm looking forward to hearing how that trip goes.

I've recently started dropping a weighted mesh bag full of cut up perch at areas where I am going to be diving, and start diving there after about 15-30 minutes of waiting. I was a little skeptical at first, but I've been surprised at how many shootable fish it brings in. Since lake fishing is hit or miss usually, this has really increased my fish per day ratio. Maybe that will help, good luck.

Steven,

Glad you at least didn't get skunked on an Arkansas lake! I am in the NW corner of AR and dive Beaver Lake, vis has been rough this year since we got well over a foot of rain recently. It sucks that here on Beaver it is illegal to shoot black bass (largemouth, spotted, smallmouth). Sounds like you had a great time diving a new location despite the conditions.

It's funny that you dream of shooting big striper over here, while I have spent years dreaming of diving in FL shooting a big grouper or mackerel or wahoo. Biggest striper I've taken here on a spear was 38 pounds, but I've seen some far bigger than that; lake record is 70 pounds on rod and reel. I usually chase shad balls close to the surface if I can find them on the depth finder and then dive in hoping striper are chasing them. In the real murky stuff having huge fish like that blow right past you at point blank range can make you almost jump out of your wetsuit.

Great story, not many people travel from Florida travel to Arkansas to spearfish, glad you enjoyed the trip and the diving, best of luck!

Yep, heavier projectile with same applied force equals more felt recoil.

Very cool Marco. How deep do you dive on average out there?

Chase,

Being a combat vet has no bearing on spearfishing that I can see, as comparing the rush from killing a fish and killing a fellow human being are not comparable in the least. I have never felt a rush when killing a fish though, so that may just be me. I think I get the basic principle of your argument that some people abuse their spearfishing "rights", but I think perhaps you may be getting a little carried away with the idea that freedive spearfisherman take less on average than SCUBA guys. Many more experienced divers than you and I here have all said the same thing and it seems you don't want to listen to their advice.

I am not trying to flame you, and as a fellow combat vet (U.S. Army, 2nd Infantry Division, Battalion Sniper) I am simply putting my advice out there, take it or leave it; I will not be offended. Good hunting.

Respectfully,
Sames

Welcome Dusty,

I live in NW Arkansas, and have a dock and boat at Beaver Lake, and I spearfish there as often as I can. Striper are the one fish I haven't hunted much there, even though that's what the lake is famous for. I usually target catfish and walleye. I have never met another freedive spearfisherman on Beaver, glad to now be connected to one. Welcome!

I was thinking along the same lines as Linghunt with the pulley system, just never tried anything like this before so I couldn't advise you on how best to approach this method.

I would pass on using the 550 cord; yes it is plenty strong underwater and has pretty low memory as long as all the filler lines are inside. I used 550 cord many times in the Pacific NW in underwater courses while I was in the military. It isn't heavy enough in my opinion to keep from tangling in a current, especially when you're talking about 100+ feet of line. I do use it to secure things underwater with short lengths, but with any slack line it will go all over the place and can be very difficult to deal with if you get a kink since it is so thin.

Sounds like a great idea, I guess you will have to experiment some to get the weighting correct so the flasher comes up at the right speed. When you drop the topside weight, the two lines will be drawn together as close to the buoy and each other as possible. I could see how a tangle could occur while the two lines are moving, especially in a strong current. I guess if you could attain some degree of separation between the two lines you would alleviate that problem. I would love to see what you come up with.

I have been contemplating creating a similar flasher for freshwater fish here, to try to draw up the striper that stay pretty deep during the day in the lake. Not sure if they would even be attracted to it though.

If you ever have to use QuickClot, be prepared. It literally sears itself into your skin on contact with the blood, and is excruciatingly painful, especially as you are placing it onto a large open wound area. Once you get to a hospital, they will have to surgically cut out the QuickClot that has melted itself onto the wound which will cause more rapid blood loss again, and if you aren't anesthetized when they do this, well, it isn't pleasant. Trust me. However, if you have serious blood loss at hand, don't hesitate to use it, it does work great- just prepare yourself. Hope you never need it, safe diving.

Oh, one more word of advice. If you ever get a nasty bite on your limbs, a tourniquet is your best bet. They work amazingly well, and you have a couple hours to get to a hospital before there is any risk of you losing the limb. The Quickclot is best saved for abdominal/chest wounds where a tourniquet cannot be applied. They are cheap, easy to use, and really effective.

Looks like a very fun day, thanks for posting those pics Hank. How are those trunkfish to eat? I've never eaten one myself.

Hey Dan, I have a couple ex army buddies who live in MI and they spearfish all the time up in those cold lakes and rivers, year round. It amazes me how productive those cold waters can be, and how full of fish they are.

Very cool pics, what kind of shark is that?

Hey I feel for you, I'm just getting my family over a two-week long battle with the flu. Glad you were able to connect on such a nice fish there, gets me itching to get under the water but it's still a little nippy here (below zero recently). Hope you and your family recover quickly and stay well.

The Ruskies were very intrigued by underwater weapons; after the development of the SPP-1 pistol, they also developed the APS in the 70s which was a gas operated carbine, firing 5.66 mm darts with a 26 round magazine. More recently, around 1990-ish, they developed the ASM-DT, which was basically a modified AK-74 that could double duty as both an underwater automatic rifle, as well as the normal rifleman's role above the surface. Pretty interesting designs.

That's an awesome fish, I would love to dive in Alaska, can't beat the scenery. Congrats