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hi all, i am new to this site and also spear fishing.
i have got into it in the last year or so but still have not speared a fish i could keep.
can someone out there please pass on some places to spear, i am willing to travel 1-2 hours from cranbourne. have tried mornington, beaumarris and flinders and still not fired my spear gun more than 3 times. hitting nothing.
also what about tides and winds, do they make much difference?
what makes the water go from clear and fine to murky and not divable?
any information would be much appreciated.
thank you
dan
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hi dan, i have heard this spot is good but i haven't been there myself:
[url="http://www.squidfish.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=572"]http://www.squidfish.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=572[/url]
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[quote name='glen' post='10170' date='Apr 1 2008, 08:41 AM']hi dan, i have heard this spot is good but i haven't been there myself:
[url="http://www.squidfish.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=572"]http://www.squidfish.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=572[/url][/quote]
thanks glen, looks interesting will give it a go.
can you tell me what makes the water go mirky? i know rain water will but does wave action have an input into it?
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[quote name='d_flitton' post='10183' date='Apr 1 2008, 05:37 PM']can you tell me what makes the water go mirky? i know rain water will but does wave action have an input into it?[/quote]
Rain is the main one, but rough weather for many days/weeks in a row will also impair visibility, and in some spots the tide will have an influence (usually the run out tide is dirty, the run in tide is cleaner).
In my experience, diving most of the ocean spots in Victoria (eg/ Philip Island, Great Ocean Road, Mornington Peninsula back beaches etc) the visibility and access is a lot better at low tide. So I usually plan to be in the water 1-1.5 hours before low tide, then get out an hour or so after low (so in the water for 2-2.5 hours).
Also, for calmer seas (this is particularly relevant to diving the Ocean Road) look for a number of days in a row with northerly (offshore) winds, this will flatten out the swell and make the visibility better, and your dive safer.
Flinders is always worth a look, and not too far from Cranbourne - there are always leatherjackets on offer, and big squid as well in season.
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[quote name='Jazman' post='10184' date='Apr 1 2008, 08:45 PM']Rain is the main one, but rough weather for many days/weeks in a row will also impair visibility, and in some spots the tide will have an influence (usually the run out tide is dirty, the run in tide is cleaner).
In my experience, diving most of the ocean spots in Victoria (eg/ Philip Island, Great Ocean Road, Mornington Peninsula back beaches etc) the visibility and access is a lot better at low tide. So I usually plan to be in the water 1-1.5 hours before low tide, then get out an hour or so after low (so in the water for 2-2.5 hours).
Also, for calmer seas (this is particularly relevant to diving the Ocean Road) look for a number of days in a row with northerly (offshore) winds, this will flatten out the swell and make the visibility better, and your dive safer.
Flinders is always worth a look, and not too far from Cranbourne - there are always leatherjackets on offer, and big squid as well in season.[/quote]
awsome, thanks for that.
where abouts at flinders? the bay side or open sea side? which is better?
also i am having issues with my mask fogging up, what is the easiest way to fix this?
i went out to morrnington last week and got one leatherjacket of size yay.
lost my spear due to the rope broke and coudn't find it damn.
will be buying a rubber propelled one instead of an air propelled one durring the week, any brands or price rangers better than others. i am looking about $150-$200. would that get me an ok one for a person starting out?
thanks
dan
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where abouts at flinders? the bay side or open sea side? which is better?
-There are more fish ocean side, but it's a lot safer on the bay side. I would stay bay side for the time being, there are plenty of leatherjackets there. If you head to the right from the pier you should find some nice reef and sea grass.
also i am having issues with my mask fogging up, what is the easiest way to fix this?
If the mask is new you need to wash it with toothpaste first (squeeze in some toothpaste, rub it all over the glass and rubber, rinse well - you only need to do this once). Then every time before you get in the water you need to spit in your mask, rub it over the glass, rinse well and put on. This will stop most of the fogging. I don't know what is in spit that stops the fogging, but there are also some commercial products which do the same job (I just use spit though, as do most people).
will be buying a rubber propelled one instead of an air propelled one durring the week, any brands or price rangers better than others. i am looking about $150-$200. would that get me an ok one for a person starting out?
I don't like air guns. Too much can go wrong with them, and they are not as powerful as rubber guns. If you could stretch the budget to $250 you could get a 75 or 90cm Picasso Assegai - fantastic value gun for the money. You can see that the Picasso guns come in different lengths - the Assegai comes in 60, 75, 90, 100 and 110cm. I reckon a 75 or 90cm would suit you best. I would also get a pranger (6 prong) head for the spear if you are mostly spearing small-medium sized fish.
[url="http://www.legendary.com.au/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_9"]http://www.legendary.com.au/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_9[/url]
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ok sounds great, will be heading out of wednesday and might try there or somers.
what do you know about the sea hornet tourist? or the undersee Phantom.
would either of these be ok to start with?
what is the advantage of a longer gun from a shorter? is it just range and power?
thanks for the help Jazman.
you rock
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Haha, I actually own an Undersee phantom special 1200 - It's not a bad gun, reliable mechanism, but it's very long. Long is good for range and power, but longer guns are not as easy to manoever eg/ to follow a fast swimming fish, or to track on to a fish which appears unexpectedly. Longer guns are also more difficult to swim with. But they are good at sniping fish at longer range. Short guns are very manouverable, great for shooting fish in caves, heavy reef etc, but don't have the range or power of longer guns.
Something else I should ask, how old are you, and how fit are you? If you are <16 or slight build you might not be able to load a longer or more powerful gun. I am 6'2" and a slim jim, and I sometimes struggle to load the phantom, especially after a long session in the water.
I have not heard much about the tourist, it would probably be fine if you are a beginner or casual spearo. I would fit it with a pranger head though.
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i am a 23 years old and of ok to good fitness, i swim alot(body boarding) and i have ok uperbody strength as i am a chef.
i have just lost air powered gun and didn't have a lot of difficulty reloading it.
i was looking at the undersee phantom 750 or 1000 but don't do alot of spearing where i can sniper fish only close range at mornington mostly atm.
i was looking to pick up the phantom 750 for $149 or the 1000 for $169. do they sound ok to you?
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Those guns sound fine for what you want to do. If you get a taste for spearing you can always upgrade down the track. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='  ' />
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[quote name='Jazman' post='10259' date='Apr 7 2008, 05:54 PM']Those guns sound fine for what you want to do. If you get a taste for spearing you can always upgrade down the track. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />[/quote]
ok cool, will be picking the 1000 up on wednesday.
looking for a nice spot to go on thursday, i have a swell 1.2-1.7m through out the day and a southery at about 5-12knots.
do you think that flinders beach side would be ok or would you stick to the mornington area (heard water vis is only 1-2meters in the bay)
need help, prob going to be my last trip for this season.
thanks
dan
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I would always go for an ocean location over anywhere in PPB. So I would go Flinders, although there is never any guarantee of good vis there, IMO there is a better chance of spearing some decent fish. I'd head a few hundred metres to the right of the pier and swim over the sand and broken reef area for some whiting and leatherjackets.
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Ahoy Jazman.
Took the wife out saturday floundering...She loved it. She was amazed at the experience. The fish were all skittish though, I think you are right, bright moon is bad news.
We saw about 40 mullet, but speared none because they were so panicky. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':rod:' />
Fresh air, tight lines, scales, slime and fins, 'tis the salty sea dog life for me. Arrrgh!
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