Posts by Chase

  • How to remove the hood of wetsuit?

    Quote from hank


    Chase, did you cut it yet?


    Not yet. I haven't got around to it, but I was thinking of maybe keeping it on. The water is starting to warm up here in SoFlo and thats why I was contemplating cutting it. I can just roll the hood back if it gets too warm anyway.


    Thanks,


    Chase

  • Kayak diving setup

    Also, for the anchor I have one suggestion. I rigged a line running from the bottom of the anchor to the top of it and then attached my chain to this line via a quick link from home depot. The purpose of this is that when you drop anchor up current and drift down to your spot sometimes the anchor can get stuck when you go to retrieve it later. If this happens paddle up current a little past where you dropped initially and pull the anchor from further up current and it should pull it the opposite direction of what it was caught on. Other divers use many different techniques for this and theres more than one way to skin a cat so just set yourself up an "emergency" way to get dislodged if/when it does happens.


    Good luck,


    Chase

  • Kayak diving setup

    Here's what I recommend:


    #1: An anchor, hopefully setup with an anchor trolly rigged on your yak so switching anchor from bow to stern is a no brainer when the current/winds change. I bought a "divers reel" from divers direct which comes w/ 250' of line. I put a 600 lb tuna swivel on the end of the line that connects to the chain/anchor so it doesn't get line twist.


    #2: Rig some tie down straps so you can secure your guns and paddle. I used those bungies with the balls on the end and it holds me Speardiver 120 just fine. I also recommend a leash for your paddle. My buddy just lost his paddle the other day while we were drift diving off the kayaks because it wasn't tethered.


    #3: Depending upon the size of your yak, setup somewhere to stow your catch. I have a 48qt cooler strapped down down on the stern of mine. I prefer not to stow dead fish inside the hull of my yak because its a hard area to clean thoroughly and I don't want the boat to stink like death when Im out and not diving on it.


    #4: Dive flag. I have mine rigged on a 3ft fiberglass pole which rides inside one of the fishing pole holders. Its very visible from even a mile away. Standard size vinyl flag.


    #5: Life vest, whistle, and some first aid gear. You never know. I also bring along a dry box for my fishing license.


    My next addition will be a GPS/FF to start marking my spots.


    Happy hunting,


    Chase

  • Spearfishing wetsuit Speardiver Reef

    Ive seen these at the shop. The pattern looks very cool and broken up in person. It definitely stands apart from the other camo patterns like the "pacific" colors. Personally, I think this camo would kick ass on the reefs here in FL because of the typography FL has which is mostly sandy bottoms, ledges, and hard bottoms. Where as the green "pacific" still blends well, but would blend even better over grass beds and kelp forests. Just my $.02


    Chase

  • SCUBA spearfishing

    Thanks Xan for the insight. You bring up many good points with lots of knowledge to back them up. Thats why I like to discuss topics like this. Some times our own ideas are not always the best or most accurate. Thanks for the "food for thought". :)


    Chase

  • SCUBA spearfishing

    Ill pull it, not a biggie. I just wanted to see what others thought about possible new regulations arising and how everyone can be effected by possibly a certain group within the spearo community. Whether its scuba, commercial, lack of regulations, etc. Not trying to bring any of us down, just hear from others. Im not a mule so my ideas are not set in stone. I actually agree with Xan on some points. Let me know if it needs to go..


    Chase

  • SCUBA spearfishing

    Interesting points. So your argument would place more blame on commercial fishing for the decrease in overall fish populations? Correct me if I misunderstood. I agree with you that 15-60' are the most fished zones. Once us recreational spearos fish these areas hard, then the fish pop becomes desolate. But, if we all put on air tanks and continue to follow where these fish retreat too (the bigguns) then what of the future generations? That is how species become extinct. They must be able to spawn and do their thing so more fish will enter the shallows. And I do not think that commercial fishing (exploiting/turning a profit) should take priority over recreational fishing... Better regulation is probably the real solution as you stated.


    Chase

  • SCUBA spearfishing

    So I read an article online a few days ago pertaining to the FWC contemplating raising minimum lengths of some common species we like to hunt. Particularly hogfish. The complaint/argument is that Florida, particularly the keys is over fished. Now I'm a free diver and consider myself a sportsman. The thrill of the hunt while holding my breath to a responsible time, all the while trying to land a nice fish within this small amount of time. If something comes my way, great! If not, it's time to go up, catch my breathe, and try again in a few.


    Scuba on the other hand offers no fair chance for the fish, IMHO. Ya ya, "the bubbles scare the fish"... Whatever. Scuba leaves the fish no real place to retreat to and spawn and get it's numbers back up. Most free divers cannot go past 60' on average. Im talking weekend warriors. The more serious free divers are hunting in 80-100'. But, the free divers going to those depths are a lot less common. Any beer drinking pop belly Billy Bob can slap on an air tank, equalize on descent, and basically sit at depth neutralizing anything (100'-120'?).


    So my argument/point is this: If the FWC wants to give fish more of a chance to build their numbers back up to say 30-40yrs ago(when scuba wasn't popular), why not restrict spearfishing to free diving? They've already done this in other parts of the world because scuba divers were abusing the sport and over harvesting. You can scuba dive all you want and go sight seeing. If you want to shoot fish, you'll have to man up and hold your breath, no cheating! Do I sound ridiculous gents? :crazy: What say you all?


    Chase

  • Speardiver Phantom Railgun 90cm Modification

    Thats why you have to get your technique down first on some cheap plastic. This way you can get a feel for how much pressure you have to apply to achieve your desired results. It's easy once you play around with for a few. Thanks for the positive feedback guys.


    Chase

  • Speardiver Phantom Railgun 90cm Modification

    Hey everybody,


    So I stopped by Dan's shop today, and he noticed the handle on my Speardiver 90cm Phantom Railgun I bought from him recently. When he took a closer look he noticed that I had made a small modification to the pistol grip of the gun. He insisted that I post some pics so without further ado. Let me know what ya'll think.:thumbsup2:


    Chase


  • SHARK ATTACK 02/08/14 AU, Spearo missing.


    Conservationists have their heads in the clouds. If someone gets attacked by a dog in the street was that person in the dogs "property" as well? The earth belongs to no one especially not an animal. The ocean would be totally fine without sharks. I mean, the earth used to have dinosaurs and we are doing GREAT without those guys, wheres the conservation group at to bring em back? It almost seems like these conservationists never go in the ocean and experience anything first hand. E-Divers maybe?

  • SHARK ATTACK 02/08/14 AU, Spearo missing.

    Quote from Ramon


    The attack occurred after the neighboring state of West Australia adopt a program to protect swimmers authorizing hunting of sharks over three meters in two coastal areas , despite complaints from conservation groups.
    *


    This should definitely be implemented here. Just like any other fish, once they reach a certain size, they should be harvestable. Minus the whale shark, what benefits does a shark growing to great proportions offer? None. I mean, when a pitbull bites a person the entire breed gets a bad rep and the entire world, besides pitbull owners, is ready to exterminate the species that was "bred to kill". WTF do they think a wild apex predator like the shark is designed to do? Sure isn't designed to give away free hugs to their favorite divers.