newbie on forum

mellieha · December 30, 2008, 17:54:40 CET

Dear All,

First of all a happy new year.

I am new fishing enthusiast in spearfishing and although I have quite some experience in fishing from outside the sea it is going to be my first experience as a spear fisher. As what regarding diving I have been practising for the past 4 summers reaching depth up to 58meters. (scuba)

I would like to ask which suit would you reccommend? For winter dives of up to 30 meters I would normally use a full 8 mm and an 8 mm undervest. But for surface spearfishing what would you reccomend?

And as what regards speargun size for shore what would you reccomend? I prefer to go for the smaller fisher in between the rocks and for squids (sicc)?

iN tHANKING yOU

MELLIEHI

shanook · December 30, 2008, 18:09:52 CET

Welcome Mellieha there are a lot who can give u a helping hand. Never forget that the smaller fish also have size limits to be caught. Enjoy and repect nature as much as possible

mellieha · December 30, 2008, 18:21:20 CET

Thanks
alot

I was tring to find the sizes of the fish on this forum.

Thanks again

mellieha

shanook · December 30, 2008, 18:59:44 CET

if u try this link u can scroll and have a look a the minimum sizes of fish
http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/index.php?topic=1295.0

charlie · December 30, 2008, 19:07:57 CET

the wet suit 5mm and I think the speargun for you a 75 is good

mellieha · December 31, 2008, 09:53:47 CET

That means a 5mm is enough. Its impressive one never stops to learn. I normally fall under narcosis due to coldness in winter. I grumble even of my 16mm . Sometimes even at the madonna Cirkewwa 18m I was under narcosis in winter. In summer at 48 - 52 m Cirkewa i am quite comfortable.

Regarding the speargun Charlie you recomended a 75 and what would you recommend as a 'froxna'. The one point, the 3 point or the 5 point?

Regarding the sizes of the fish I thank the person who posted the useful information. Is there somewhere where I can find all the sizes of the fish. E.g. sicc, qarnit, and loads of other fish with at the moment I cannot remember their name.

In Thanking You

Mellieha

Buddhagrass · December 31, 2008, 14:30:59 CET

Hi .... first of all welcome to the forum. I'm sure you enjoy the ride over here

. I would suggest 5mm regarding apnea suit (spearfishing suit). Diving and spearfishing suits are totally different. Spearfishing suits comes in two versions. One of them is the open cell one from both sides (we call this Il-Lixxa). They are very soft, keeps you much warmer, more comfortable but you have to be very careful as they are very fragile ...... one tiny scratch could end up into one big hole. Then there is also the other version which is the open cell on the inside only (the one I use). Still comfortable and much less fragile than the Lixxa one. If you tend to dive into rocky areas I'd suggest you'd start with the second option. As for speargun size ....... 75 is good. It is a great size for the kind of hunting you'll be doing. Then obviously you'll automatically start upgrading your equipment according to what kind of dives/hunts you'll be doing. I hope I have been of some help and if you would need anymore information I'll be happy to help you. I'm sure all my other spearo friends over here will be of great help too.

fabrizioviper · December 31, 2008, 17:57:52 CET

AS BUDDAGRASS TOLD YOU 5 MM IS FINE , IF ITS A GOOD SUIT AND OF A GOOD FIT NO NEED FOR UNDERVESTS , LESS WEIGHT USED ON YOUR BELT THE BETTER. AS REGARDS THE GUN ACCORDING TO TYPE OF FISHING YOU WISH TO PRACTICE , I WOULD GO FOR A 75 WITH REEL ...YOU MAY NEVER NOW, AND A 55 WITH THE 4 POINTS. AS SOON SUMMER IS APPROACHING A 90 OR 100 ARE SURELY INDESPENSABLE.

REGARDS .

FABRIZIO.

Seahunter · January 02, 2009, 12:47:47 CET

All good advises they given above to you Mellieha!

The 5mm we use (apnea) is different than the 5 mm used by the scuba divers.
One last thing, don`t relate scuba diving with apnea, these are different and require different equipment, especially the suit and the fins.

Just to tell you, in my opinion there's no sport in diving with scuba while spearfishing, besides that it is illegal to spearfish while diving with scuba.

mellieha · January 03, 2009, 11:11:59 CET

dear Friends,

Thanks for your kind advice.

I have never before practised spearfishing. Now I have to adapt to my changing circumstances. I no longer have the possibility to go on boat fishing trips. As regards to scuba both myself and my buddy seem to have very tight scedules making it difficult to practise day dives.

As regarding apnea fins I have a pair (although I must say they are not to the level of my scuba one's). For the moment I will have to use the one's I have go (apnea) then possibly I will improve.

I have to add that I practise apnea quite often as for me a swim is underwater and not above.

Someone rightly so mentioned the issue of weights. Does the buyancy concept still apply for apnea and spearfishing. With this I mean how should I calculate the right amount of weight needed. I am a 100 kg person.

In Thanking You

Mellieha

Buddhagrass · January 03, 2009, 17:45:47 CET

Quote from: mellieha on January 03, 2009, 11:11:59 CET

I have to add that I practise apnea quite often as for me a swim is underwater and not above.

Apnea means breathless and not underwater

freediver · January 05, 2009, 13:34:12 CET

Hello my friend to calculate the right wieght you have to try it in the water. you have to be positve,when i say positve it mean's to be floateble in ten meters of water. Because if you be over wieght you will have the risk of blackout when your going up,so when you dive in ten meters you don't have to be over wieght. Then if your going to spearfish in very shallow water like 4 to7 meters is better if you add a back weight and anckle wieghts.

and always dive with a buddy to reduce risks.a spearfishing film mite help if you ask for one in the forum they will surely help.
Regards
Mark

baghira · January 06, 2009, 20:57:45 CET

Oki then
How are you my friend. It seems that me and you have some common issues. When I mean common issues I mean the fact that we have both the same weight (But I am 96kilos, so a bit lighter than you

), and we practice common sports, both spearfishing(apnea), and diving.
I have been practicing diving for the last 11 years (you can see my recent trip photos to the red sea in this forum), and have been practicing some spearfishing for ages, but from a year, I have gone deep into it, and when I mean deep I mean changing all my equipment, and dedicating time to this sport, sharing information with members of this forum, and I really found this forum challenging, and if it was not for this forum, I think I wouldn't be as much involved.
1 st rule. Do both sports with a buddy. (Spearfishing if you go on your own, stick to shallows, and be really careful)
2nd rule. Do not related both sports, go diving for leisure, and take your gun only whilst spearfishing (apnea).

I have many equipment, and none of the one I use for diving is suited for apnea. This I learned it some year ago. I do not use not even the weight or the belt or mask. All has to be dedicated to it, if you want results, but you will find out this much earlier then me, because when I started, I did learn much on my own, and had noone to help me, or give me advices. Some of the, things we had already mentioned, I discovered them after years, so that's why this forum is great.

I was also impressed re 8mm suit and 8mm vest. I usually go diving in winter in a 7mm suit and a 3mm vest at 40 metres, and usually you do not find 8mm diving suits?

One last thing, if you buy a trident, stick your sports to crevices or tana, you will find it will be useless for open water. We still use tridents don't take me wrong, but only where appropriate, as I mentioned.

I better stop, I have so many things that I might add as regards these two sports, but If you need any info. just ask here no problem. You might find interesting in joining us in an event when we meet. Its much more comfortable giving information to the person when you know him personally.