Posts by nishthefish

  • Cheap float?

    ^That's really impressive!
    But I suppose for spearfishing applications, 3 or 4 bottles could be tied up, with one of them filled with water as some weighted ballast. This would make it ride lower in the water, and have enough buoyancy for small to medium fish.


    Again, just a thought. I gotta try it to see how effective it would be! Some plastic water bottles are really streamlined, and a couple of them wouldnt have much drag in the water. I've made one before with 3 1.5 litre bottles tied together. It worked, but since I didnt ballast it, it was riding too high above the water. I'll try the ballasted single bottle soon and post the results!

  • Cheap float?

    ^Hahaha


    You're right though. But I'm always fascinated by super-'ghetto' ways of making floats.
    This one does look like it would disassemble itself going through the first big wave!


    That being said, I'm sure there's a smarter way to use plastic bottles to make a decent float. This should be an interesting project... to make a nice float with bottles just to see if it's possible!

  • A Mediterranean guy in Dubai

    Hello Kamel! Welcome to Speardiver! And welcome to the UAE!
    I'm relatively new to Speardiver as well. You'll find that this forum is THE best spearfishing forum there is! :thumbsup2:


    I live in the UAE as well, in Sharjah (very close to Dubai). In fact, many spearo's hunt in Sharjah, Ajman and neighboring emirates due to the ongoing artificial island construction off the shores of Dubai.
    The viz here in the UAE (Persian gulf coast) is not too great, but in the winter, it could open up to around 30-40 feet at times.
    Due to the Viz, the most used speargun size varies from 80cm to 110cm. Some Spearo's also use 120cm and above for wreck diving from a boat.


    Compared to the Mediterranean, The 'fishy' depths are relatively shallower here. In fact, you can find nice Snappers and Groupers in less than 10 metres depth! In this case, the hazy viz is an advantage! Due to the scarcity of natural underwater structure in the Arabian/Persian gulf, a lot of fish congregate at man made breakwater rocks. So shore diving is fairly simple!


    Sharks are not an issue on this coast (or so I've heard), but be VERY wary of Jetski's and boats. Every other douchebag has a jetski here. And sometimes if they see you, they'll take that opportunity to splash water at you whilst coming within 2 feet of you! They have NO sense of personal responsibility!


    There are no clear rules for spearfishing in the UAE. Abu Dhabi is off limits for spearin', but some spearo's go there anyways. Dubai is also a little unclear on SF regulations. Some spearo's have been approached by the coast guard whilst spearing in Dubai, and if the coast guard is in a bad mood, say goodbye to your equipment!:( This is never an issue in Sharjah, Ajman, Um Al Quwain, or RAK. The coast guard dont really bother anyone in these emirates.


    The EAST COAST of the UAE (Fujairah and Khorfakkan) is a different ballgame altogether! It's the Indian ocean, and the depths and viz are MUCH better. There's a lot of natural structure, and the viz is excellent! However, a majority of this area is a protected marine reserve, and the coast guard is very vigilant there! It's a fun place to go for a swim/snorkel/dive, though.


    There are many different species of fish to hunt here. The most popular fish in the UAE is the Arabian Grouper (or "Hammour"), and you'll find a few of them here hiding near the rocks. You'll find other reef fish such as Longnose emperors, Snappers, Sweetlips, different types of trevallies and different types of sea breams.
    During the cooler months (September to March), you would be able to see some King Mackerel (or "Kanaad"), Queenfish, Barracuda, and even cobia if you're lucky!


    You can PM me for details on stores and dealers of spearfishing equipment.
    Hope you enjoy it here! It's a hot country, but there are a lot of activities to "beat the heat", so to speak.

  • O'ahu dive and spearing report

    Quote from Marco

    Nice catch. ;) Do the milkfish have many bones? They look quite similar to our tarpons.


    Hey Marco!
    Milkfish have a LOT of tiny bones, but their meat is so darn delicious, so I don't mind picking out the bones even after cooking them. It's a very 'fatty' fish. Here's a video of a milkfish (or "bangus", in the Philippines) being cleaned. As you can see, there are a lot of spiny bones throughout the meat.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj7c59FJvew


    They're here in UAE waters, but I've never run into any of them yet!
    Great reports, jaguigui! I enjoyed the video!:thumbsup2:

  • Second Ling of the year

    Nice fish!
    I'm getting hungry now! :)


    The vis we get here (in the UAE) is around 10-15 feet as well. But on some days, it opens up to nearly 40 feet!
    Very unpredictable! Hence, most people here dive with either a 100, 110 or 120. A short gun is very desirable in low vis though!
    I know a guy here who regularly (in the winter) lands king mackerel, barracuda and large trevallies with a 75cm cressi comanche!

  • Spearfishing Reports UAE

    Got out on Friday morning (5 AM) for some spearin' at my nearby rock hopping spot. It's just 5 minutes from my place by car. :thumbsup2:
    Vis was pretty okay, 10 - 15 feet at the clearest. T'was a pretty tiring dive mainly due to the ripping current! wind was at around 7 to 8 knots, which is manageable, but really doesn't help with the current already flustering us.
    A buddy of mine recently bought a Cressi Geronimo (100cm) and I was wanting to try it out. Loaded the gun,and didid a short breath up, before diving into the murky darkness. No fish (worth shooting). During the second dive, I spotted a grouper that popped out of a hole to check me out. I swung the gun to the right and fired instinctively. Hit it right behind the gills. I put some tension on the line so that it didnt hole up, then slowly ascended. Brained him, and put him on the stringer. I don't know exactly how much he weighs, but I reckon a little over 2.5 kilo's? What do you guys think?



    I didn't get to see any more decent sized fish. Saw a lot of twobar sea breams (delicious fish), but they all looked kind of small, so I didn't want to chance shooting a juvenile one.


    Gotta say though, the cressi geronimo feels really comfortable in the water! Super easy to swing around, and the handle makes holding it feel very natural.
    All in all, an allright day on the water, I hope the current isn't as bad the next time!

  • Rabitech

    I've got a Rabitech Stealth Pro 110. A lot of Spearo's here swear by either Rob Allen or Rabitech guns for UAE conditions.
    The muzzle is pretty awkward, however, it does what it intends to do rather well, that is, shoot straight. The handle could be more ergonomic though, but that's a minor gripe.


    I prefer the feel of lighter euro's such as Cressi, Omer and Mares; but these Euro brands don't feel as 'tough' as the Rabitech. The hardware that came with the gun was solid! The stainless steel mech felt strong and smooth, and the 7mm spear is quite sturdy (shot into holes with no problems).


    This isn't to say that I think it's unbreakable, but I think it seems pretty solid given the beating that it's gotten over the past few months. Will keep this thread updated if anything does happen to the gun.


    I have no issues with the brand. I am quite dissapointed by what Mako have done with Rabi's products though. Kind of unethical pushing them out of the US market.

  • Why a float line is safer than a reel

    I feel that the psychological aspect of potentially damaging and/or losing your gun when a big (speared) fish runs into holes is a major reason why many divers prefer reels. A majority of divers here in the UAE use reels, even though from what I've seen, the vis (in uae) doesn't allow for fish to be spooked too easily by the lines.


    I use a floatline here mainly because I can't really trust a reel (without floatline), as it may jam on me and I may lose the gun! I also can't be arsed to drill holes into my pipe gun for a reel!:D


    I agree with Dan though. It's less to worry about. It also doesn't (in some cases) weigh the gun down as some reels may make the gun quite heavy in the water.


    I suppose a win-win situation would be making use of the 'Hawaiian Break-away' setup. You get the benefits of the reel, without compromising on safety. I don't use it, as I prefer to keep things simple for now with a float line and a float:). But I've heard of divers using it with great success!

  • Spearfishing Reports UAE

    Thanks guys! :)


    The talang queenfish is from the Scomberoides family, and tastes very similar to the king mackerel we have in these waters. It tastes almost exactly like king mackerel, just slightly more chewy.

  • Spearfishing Reports UAE

    Hello everyone! :)


    I'd like to share some of my rookie spearfishing reports!
    I hope to use this thread as a way to share my experiences as well as document my exploits in the warm (and often hot) waters of the UAE.
    I'll try my best to keep this thread updated with reports from my dives! :thumbsup2:


    Today (25/5/2014), I went off the coast of Sharjah (Mamzar area, bordering Dubai waters) to a long breakwater area (Had to hop off the rocks) that holds some good fish at times. Reached the spot at around 645AM and even that early, the temperatures were over 33*C (91*F)!


    Vis was not as good as it could be, with around 10 ft vis. VERY green water. I use a Rabitech Stealth Pro 110cm for these conditions. I swam around to some spots that hold some bream, grouper and the occasional king mackerel (I've seen them dart by the deepest spots to feed).
    Now that the water's heating up, the only fish to be found here are sardines, juvenile jacks and angelfish. :(


    Spent a couple of hours in the water, knowing that in this weather, the most I'd get to see is probably a barely legal grouper (that I caught the last time i went spearfishing). At around 9AM, I was about to call it a day without getting any fish when i decided to explore the murkier inside areas of the bay. The vis got worse, and the currents got considerably stronger. Lots of bait here though!


    JUST before deciding to climb out of the water... this nice large talang queenfish passed by to have a look at what I was doing. After realizing that he (or she?) was a good size, I instinctively aimed and shot it right behind the gill plate, and landed it soon after! Brained the fish, and realized the weight of the fish whilst climbing out of the water. I reckon somewhere over 5 kilo's! Here are some pics (Excuse my shabbiness... i ended up getting my clothes wet trying to wash the blood off of this fish!:laughing:)



  • Making a Polypropylene Floatline

    Dude george, It doesn't tangle so much, but sometimes sort of loops over itself... which isn't much of an issue. Seems plenty strong, but I think I'd have peace of mind with a thicker rope of the same type! I believe the super tight braid and core make it stronger than it seems.


    Caught a good sized bream and a sweetlips the other day, didn't really have to even pull on the floatline. But saw some nice king mackerels nearby, which would definitely require some play with the floatline. UAE waters are strange, at the end of the water breakers, near the shore, you can run into anything from smallish snappers, to large barracuda and king mackerels.


    I might just buy a spool of the same line in a different thickness! 8mm maybe? What do you think? The 4mm 90m diamond braided spool was quite cheap and cost me about $10 (35 AED).


    Will let you all know how it turns out!

  • Making a Polypropylene Floatline

    Great insights on this thread!
    So I got a 90m spool of this local marine rope, in 4mm thickness.



    Now when I think of it, it probably seems a bit thin. However, the break load has been stated at 279kg's (615 lbs). It's got a whole lot of strands in the cross section! It's got this wiry, foam-like core within the diamond braided line. It floats, and seems quite strong. I suppose I have doubts about it because it's quite thin (4mm). I havent caught any large fish with it yet, but it seems good so far.


    What do you guys think about it?


    -Nish