Jbl

[snooky]

Hey, anyone like JBL spearguns. I am thinking about getting one of these and trying out this sport. I have just started to read about this type of hunting and I think I could get into this. Another question I have is: Do I have an option on reeling in a fish? Like reel v's float line? I mean, I am alittle concerned about having a big fish drag me down into deep water, while I am just holding on to the speargun with a reel. If I understand correctly, a float line is attached to the shaft and the gun is attached on the other end of the float. So the fish has to fight the float and the shooter. Maybe, I have it all wrong here. Any advise will be appreciated greatly. Thanks.

[sickbugs]

you can rig up a float line pretty much any way you want, some guys rig them breakaway (spear attatched to float, gun isnt rigged to the float tho, you jus clip it onto your belt or something) and other guys rig it spear-gun-floatline (my rig of choice for reef hunting)

what type of hunting do you do? where are you located? check with the locals on how they rig, and copy them if you want, its allways a good bet.

[snooky]

Thanks for your response.

Well, just starting out really. Never been on a trip yet. I want to fish clear water sandbars in a calm bay surf for Snook or any other good game fish. I want to stay around 10-15ft at most. Visibility is almost always very high. No rocks or coral in my area of operation though, which an isolated spot on the northern coast of Honduras.

I was thinking about a JBL Mini Magnum or the Travel Magnum, which is really a BlueWater Gun. Have you ever done any surf fishing where there were no underwater structures, just sand?

[Amphibious]

JBL guns are like an old Ford Pickup truck. Ugly, Clunky, loud, slow, inefficient, but: hard to break and gets the job done.

JBL guns rate pretty poorly next to other guns in the accuracy, speed and range department (don;t belive the listed ranges on their site) when listed next to modern Euro or Woody guns.

if you;re shooting over shallow sand flats with good viz I would put my $0.02 in and recomend you get a little Eurogun in the 75-90cm range. will give you some range and let you use all that viz to your advantage.

I grew up on a beach that was 9ft deep, nothing but sand and went on forever like that. stalking is pretty tough when the fish can see you 50ft off and you have nothing to hide behind, so your speargun's effective range becomes important.

[snooky]

Well you guys set me off on a nice adventure already with your comments. I appreciate your knowledge and advise. I am now looking at the Imersion Concept Pro and the Beuchat Mundial Competition among others. This is a real kick. Thanks.

[snooky]

By the way, I think I will possibly be targeting White Seabass, Yellowtail, Black and King Pompano, Rose Snapper, and Snook. From what I gather they all have been know to hang out in the sandy surf. There is a large mangrove swamp right nearby also. Thats why I think I can get Snooky. Some fishermen told me they can't fish the lagoon though. But, the entrance to the lagoon is okay. Only thing is vis is low there and everyone agrees there are alot of sharks around there. That's why I really like the break-away idea. I think with a small craft I can just hop on out the water when I want.

One other thing, does anyone know whether White Seabass hangs out in the Carribbean waters or just the Pacific?

[sickbugs]

i think they are just pacific but dont take my word for gospel.

the fish you've listed, a beuchat might be a little on the lighter side for some of them, especially if the fish are over 20-30 lbs, but after saying that, it also depends how good a shot you are. ive had my beuchat for over a year now, and i must say its been slightly abused, yet the trigger mech is in 100% perfect condition, and i do a lot of spearing, so its proven to be a good solid gun for me. if you did go for a beuchat, and were planning on shooting fish over 5 lbs allways, get a stronger spear for it.

[JJ Rousseau]

There's no white sea bass in Atlantic.

For the gun, I would recommand you anything else than JBL. An upgraded Beuchat, or Imersion, or one of many of the "euro" guns will be better than any JBL

[snooky]

Thanks for your replies again. I finally decided on a Picasso Century Pacific. Seems strong at 32mm's and adaptable to multiple bands, and sometimes reasonably affordable tool. It was the best deal after a couple of weeks of intense research. Looks great too.

Very unfortunately, I just found out that spearfishing is prohibited in Honduras. I discovered this in a newspaper article about general fishing in the islands. Then, this morning I confirmed this with a fisheries official. Oh well, back to the surf type rod and reel for me. Happy shooting guys.

[snooky]

Thats: "Happy shooting, guys."