Posts by Akira dkt

  • Hi from the UK :)

    Quote from tonyeynon

    Thanks bud this is great information, really appreciate it :)


    I mentioned above to hank that I would love to partner with someone who offers trips over there, can you recommend anyone to contact and talk to?


    Ascension wise, you defo need to experience it, even if its just once - its like the wild west out there when anything can and often does happen, a fantastic experience :)


    the only person I can think of is Rob White of Blue Water Hunter Kona. I know there are guys who do small time charters (side jobs) but Rob has probably the best known spearfishing charter business in Hawaii.

  • Hi from the UK :)

    Quote from tonyeynon

    Sweet mother! BEAST!!! hahaha thats a monster :) I love hawaiian names for fish as well - so slick sounding ;)


    No, sadly no GTs on ASI, loads of various jacks, wahoo, dorado, and of course the yellow fin tuna. Its pretty good for Marlin as well now around the fads. When I was last there my friend saw a nice 500 - 600lb'er, it came right under him slowly but he was reloading his gun hahaa, he was pretty 'frustrated' at the time lol. At the right time of year they really smash the dorado - Ive swam through shoals of them covered in slash marks and open wounds where a marling has very recently attacked the shoal. I have loads of pics on the site if you want to check it out Spearfishing trips around the world - the best spearfishing holidays


    Hey quick question for you, I'd love to plan a trip to your neck of the woods but don't really have any local knowledge. That said I hear I should head for the big island, Kona beach for spearfishing - would you agree?


    Kona would be ideal due to its conditions (sunny, flat, easy access). Great reef diving in certain areas, good pelagic diving out at FADs and in the ono lanes (if you can catch it at the right time and are willing to swim).


    BI has the best shore diving in Hawaii (IMO), but it has relatively little divable reef, due to the relative young age of the island. Coral has not had enough time to develop, resulting in less habitat, and a steep drop off in most places....but this is good for pelagic shore diving. Many divers regularly pick up Ahi and other pelagics from shore.


    I feel like the older islands have better reef diving, but in most cases a boat is required and someone who is willing to show you some of their hunting grounds.


    Ascension sounds awesome, someday Id love to travel there just to experience such a unique location. And of course slay a large pelagic. :D:D

  • Best speargun 90cm ?

    Quote from Deeper

    What would be the best spear gun 90cm with 2 x 14mm or 16mm band.... like if it was to be the last gun of your life!!?? :)
    (For the Caribbean) and spear ( 6.5mm or 7mm?)


    last gun of your life hmm? Gotta go with JBL explorer:laughing3:


    Make a franken gun, choose parts that you find to be most comfortable for your style of shooting. (also considering durability)


    Id go with a durable handle, with an all ss trigger mechanism, and housing.
    Carbon tube (i personally like carbon) but ive shot ali pipe guns for a while with no problems (except aimrites....way too heavy) (my 90cm aimrite would sink without the shaft because of the reel tipping the scales)
    Carbon steel is the way to go for shafts..especially when fishing rocky areas. Just gotta make sure to rinse it off and oil it (I use pam)
    just go with a muzzle that isnt a peice of crap ie omer cayman open....all jbl....
    (speardiver muzzle is nice with a very low profile)



    Id like to have said to get a c4, bleutec, or sporasub sk40. all really nice carbon monoblock..ish guns. but why buy a production gun when you can make your own custom to your needs?
    good luck,
    Josh

  • Hi from the UK :)

    Very nice fish from both locations. :thumbsup2:
    Thank you for sharing.


    Having only speared fish in Hawaii and Arizona, I'm always amazed at the variety of fish spp. this world has to offer.

  • Hi from the UK :)

    Welcome!! Id like to see some pics of fish spp. you spear in the UK.
    Ascension from what ive seen and read about online is the new premier destination. Id love to spear there some day. Very cool.


    Josh

  • Maui Diving

    Quote from hank

    In the second picture, with the yellow shirt: in your right hand…..are those two mu's? Holy shit !! Those are huge. Jake told me he saw some big ones on the Kona side and they're more spooky than the snappers here. I saw them on Oahu but nothing close to the ones you have there. :thumbsup2: You're good !!


    Lol. yeah. the big ones only about 8lbs. still looking for the double digit. depth, bottom time and hiding spots are critical for the bigger mus. (a good gun youre comfortable with helps with all of this)


    Thanks Hank,


    Josh

  • Maui Diving

    Quote from makelymyday

    Other angle


    handle looks cherry, I did almost the same with an aimrite venom handle a few years ago. I ended up taking the cheek plates off and filling it with marine epoxy putty and shaping the ergos with that stuff as well.
    how do you like the meandros trigger mod? ive been thinking of getting one for my comanche handle (favorite handle).

  • Maui Diving

    Quote from makelymyday

    Josh- nice catches! Thanks for all the info, I know my super venom barrel maybe overkill but it is the barrel that I hsve so I need to use it. I can't see it being less maneuverable, and it floats fine with the shaft out so it seems to fit the bill. You like the speardiver muzzle as an upgrade over the aimrite? I hsve a modified rob Allen I may try out or get another, maybe the speardiver. I just put new bands on the gun, some of dans no hole rubber. I cut them to short! I can load them fine but I feel they over power the gun and accuracy suffers! Funny


    Don- thanks! Wish I did it along time ago


    yes, the speardiver muzzle is less bulky imo. and allows for wraps to left and right line releases. The band holes are also larger which makes switching out bands less of a pain, especially when using thicker stuff 5/8" up to 3/4". It also reduces the stress on the band where it touches the muzzle.
    Ive found that if you store your bands in tight fitting band holes, cracks tend to appear, much like the ones where wishbones are tied in. (if that makes sense) (i know i should take them out every dive and store them in a fridge..... but after 6-9 hours of diving i just wanna sleep. lol)


    Aimrite muzzles are well made (the new ones, 1st gen was a piece of crap), and have a good rep, and i doubt the size of the muzzle itself causes any noticeable drag to most divers, but to me less is more, smaller the muzzle the better.

  • Maui Diving

    makelymyday,


    Ive been running carbon guns for a while now. Imo, for a 110 and shorter, the thickness of a supervenom barrel is not needed for ballasting purposes, especially if a reel is used....but thats my opinion. Right now my go to gun is a 100cm aimrite/pathos/speardiver/torelli/cressi frankengun.


    100cm pro comp barrel
    pathos D2 handle
    Speardiver open muzzle
    torelli shaft (trusty rusty) 130cm
    with twin 24 inch 5/8" bands
    Home made reel using old cressi spool


    I generally use this gun to shoot uku, mu, goats, snapper, roi, and other reef fish.
    Not the ulua gun of choice but i have taken omilu and menpachi uluas with the gun. penetration is kind of a problem with large ulua skulls.


    I recently converted this gun from a roller, (mvd roller muzzle broke on me) so longer bands result in less recoil and a smoother more accurate shot.


    I like the pathos handle, had to shave off the ergonomics and a bit of the grip due to fat Japanese hands. lol.
    the mech gave me problems though.. very heavy release sporadically, probably due to sand intrusion. Imo... the aimrite or merou style mechs (front release with spring assist). are much more reliable than reverse mechs.


    the barrel is a bit thicker than speardiver, not that it matters much, but i did have to make a reel light enough to allow the gun to float (ulusub reel made the gun sink without the shaft)


    Barrel is super strong and i dont hesitate to throw it up on the rocks if i gotta get out timing a set.


    IMO. aimrite venom muzzles are way too bulky for what they are...


    i like carbon steel shafts like torelli, ra, etc.. for roi hunting and hole hunting, really hard so no worries when shooting at lime or even basalt (in most cases) and cheeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaap!!! lol at least in hilo. also line attached to the end helps in retrieval of holed up fish compared to sharkfins or doghouse.


    well. hope this gives you some ideas on improving your weapon of choice.
    dive safe and slay!!


    Josh

  • How to salvage an Ole South African Buddy

    Quote from Marco

    Why didn't you just drilled a hole there? (see the picture) and put a 300# crimped mono loop?


    That should hold and you can change the loop as many times as needed when it looks weared...


    But simpler solutions aren't always the ones you see first... :rolleyes1:


    It would work, I wouldn't trust it on any fish worthy of giving the buoy a good tug.
    The concentrated area of the mono loop could end up shearing through the plastic with enough force...Id rather over do it than under do it.


    That's assuming this is the loop attached to a tag line. if it just clips and kui it should be solid enough.

  • Roller Speargun Muzzle Kit from Speardiver

    Quote from Diving gecko

    Yeah, I reckoned it could just be the old sales trick. It's what happens when more products come to market. Some vendor adds bling to differentiate their product and make us believe it is better.
    For instance, we all know that carbon fiber makes everything better. Everything. I think my next buy should be a carbon fiber toothbrush;-)
    But the point is good. Even if roller bearings are slightly smoother, they wont be once they have a bit of sand or corrosion in them.


    PS. In regards to carbon fiber, I am actually working on some CF handles for my pneumatic guns, haha. I am sure, it will make the gun soooo much better.


    If strong and light is what you're looking for, CF is the way to go. It is by no means the perfect, fix all, material many manufacturers are pushing. It has its positives and negatives.


    I personally do like the look of carbon weave... that said i like the look of nicely finished timber equally as well.


    You wont even know the handle is there. :laughing: I'm interested to see how you're incorporating the handle into the pneumatic mech. should be sweet:thumbsup2:

  • Roller Speargun Muzzle Kit from Speardiver

    Quote from Diving gecko

    I guess, it's fiber reinforced nylon? That seems to be the go-to plastic for high strength use these days. If they can make rifles and handguns and what do I know out of it, I think it's all good;-)


    But you opted for no ball bearings? I guess nylon on nylon has very little friction and takes out a part that might need to be serviced or changed? Just that since others have it, I would be worried it could impact sales and make your version look less advanced?


    But I know by now, you are not one for bling and if bearings are more bling than real advantage I get you.


    Unless youre putting un-necessary load on the rollers, nylon on the ss roller shaft/pin should hold up for a long time, and with negligible friction. Not sure why guys like bb's on their rollers, just another thing to get jammed up with sand IMO. Not to mention the price difference between solid and bb sheaves.

  • Speargun accidents watch where you point it!

    Quote from Dude george

    Jesus!


    agreed...


    UUUUHHHHHH.... Nope!!


    On a serious note... its always sad to see someone lose to depression. No one should ever have to feel like they need to end their own life.



    On a lighter note.. maybe a jbl wasnt the best choice to get the stone shot.


    Reddit has ruined me.



    Divers.....dive with a buddy. More divers die from blackout than from getting shot.
    also
    Divers.....choose a good buddy, who isnt an idiot who points their gun everywhere
    also
    Divers.....dont be the guy who does this ^^^^^


    No speargun is completely safe.

  • Carbon Fibre 1.1m Euro


    Amazing work! How did you get the carbon fiber to lay so evenly? Fabric/or sleeve? Vacuum bag?
    Nice job on the handle as well, for a second I thought it was an old OMER cobra handle/mech assembly.:thumbsup2:

  • Mimesis


    LOL!! it would probably work..... Also would be a pain in the ass with all that material floating around even if it is positively buoyant.


    I dont like how the face shroud covers the snorkel, it doesnt look like it will allow easy snorkel removal upon descent or breathing at the surface.

  • Roller Speargun Muzzle Kit from Speardiver

    Ive used the HH X1 roller. (similar to speardiver) Its nicely made. Nylon sheaves, and majorly composite parts. Simple but effective.


    It is a bit bulkier (wider) than the MVD, Mannysub, or aimrites (not much). But it accepts large diameter bands (3/4 inch). Making it perfect for a bluewater roller cannon, a bit bulky for a reef gun IMO.


    Another fault in design is the wishbone elevator. It doesnt provide as much clearance as I would like, causing sharkfins (especially HH) to hit it if you load the band to the first sharkfin, no problem if band is loaded at the rear sharkfin. or if you are using a notched shaft.

  • Roller Speargun Muzzle Kit from Speardiver


    You talking about the pulley guns? Never shot one, but then again i feel like theyre a bit too complicated....(pulleys....) I can see the appeal though, (very short band stroke)(similar to the idea of a ring snare...for any trapper/hunters out there...but i digress) I dont like the idea of a block sliding up and down the barrel of my gun.