Fish stringer: bad loss!

[Marwan]

ive been using the ss cable stringer and leave it in the float...now that ive seen the setup miles illustrated, im going to give it a try, now i know what "speed stringer" means.. i imagine the downside to it is that your whole line ends up smelling of fish afterwards... probably gets a bit chaffed too from friction with the gills...but still definitely worth a try i hate going back to the floatespecially when theres a bit of surface current...

[Huw]

Originally Posted by Marwan

ive been using the ss cable stringer and leave it in the float...now that ive seen the setup miles illustrated, im going to give it a try, now i know what "speed stringer" means.. i imagine the downside to it is that your whole line ends up smelling of fish afterwards... probably gets a bit chaffed too from friction with the gills...but still definitely worth a try i hate going back to the floatespecially when theres a bit of surface current...

Yeah, i also wouldn't mind giving that system a go too, to see if it works for me, as like some of you guys... i never knew how a 'speed stringer' worked.

Mind you, i have just about got into a routine of my stringer, and seem to be stoning/braining fish and stringing them at a lot better pace than i used to.

One tiny thing that could annoy me with the speed stringer, is that some fish (especially mullet) that i have brained withmy knife, still seem to flick around for a bit however much i waggle the knife around, and so a fish tugging on my gun could get irritating, but i guess this isn't much of an issue most of the time.

Huw.

[spaghetti]

In the Mediterranean most of our hunting consists in seizing fish between rocks, crevices and kelp, so I'm afraid that a line clipped to the gun handle would be too much of a hassle.
Miles's system is certainly smart for his kind of hunting, but he's a blue water hunter, while I don't think it would fit for me* in most of my situations. However, I'm quite sure it may work for the deep aspetto technique (when you wait for fish from a static position) and I'll try it soon as possible, something new can be fun.

*I'm considering to start this new thread for european spearos: "Chronicles of a brown water hunter".
Anyone want to join in?

[Marwan]

i can join you spago.... but maybe ets find a cooler name, brown water is not so enticing if you know what i mean in my kind of hunting, reef/rock..i always attach the float to my gun...since its not really cave hunting, where youy have to get into a cave/crevice... it s less hassle/safer than a reel system...the speed stringer in this case seems to be a very convenient solution...
one question for miles... do you use like a cork or something at the end of the line before the float so that the fish doesnt damage your float?

[Marwan]

Originally Posted by Huw

One tiny thing that could annoy me with the speed stringer, is that some fish (especially mullet) that i have brained withmy knife, still seem to flick around for a bit however much i waggle the knife around

Huw.

you dont need to wiggle the knife around, insert it frome th back of the gills, in an UPWARD diagonal direction, aim for a spot behid the eyes and to the center (making an equilateral triangle beteen the eyes and that point your aimig for)... you should expect some blood, some twitching and then thats it, the fish is dead...give it a try

[huntermark]

Originally Posted by spaghetti

So you have a professional stringer! That's the best type indeed. Mine was just a piece of chord with a stainless steel nail. I bought it seven years ago in Sicily and was ok with it. Now I think I'll buy a full metal circular nail like yours.
I must say apart of that that I don't like to keep the stringer to the float cause I don't keep the float attached to my belt and I should swim back and forth to the float to attach the fish: I leave the float....afloat using a weight on the float line to keep it on position, while I swim and dive within a range of 50 meters from it.

HI ever since i lost a large bass on a stringer many years ago those sharp gill covers etc - I had one made kinda custom made at a yacht dealer using fairly heavy gage sprung stainless steel cable - which is also has a simple but clever fast way to string my fish - will have to post picture not sure how to do that but will have go soon - this stringer consists of a stainless steel barbecue skewer twisted in such a way onto a stainless eye to length of sprung heavy gage yachting cable - then fish tank plastic sleeving slipped over cable cut to right length then slide on plastic empty fishing line spool which acts as fish stop then stainless steel shackle which after made up you can string your fish through gill cover and mouth fish slide down to fish stop then simply clip shackle through eye at base of skewer
mark

[Mr. X]

I use a Rob Allen stringer, which has a big, long, stainless steel pin (something like the end of a spear), and a thick, plastic covered cable. The end loop has a loop with a large game swivel attached. Just a regular float stringer, although quite big and tough (like most RA gear), no doubt for the large SA fish. I attach it to my solid RA float with one of the stainless tuna/orca clips, or to my inflatible float with an old, anodized, Welsh, Clogg karabiner (originally designed for sea cliff climbing).



The sharp pointy end, I keep sheathed in silicone tubing (an off cut from Portland Oceaneering) which is tied to the float-end of the stringer. This stops the stringer dangling down too far & stops the point digging into the back of your leg as you walk out of the water! (Thanks for that tip Miles). I also thread fish through the gill and mouth as Miles describes (the gills alone looks insecure).

Crawling about in shallow waters yesterday, Indian style - as OMD described - made me think about not using a float in such conditions (although the crab bag & stringer caused more problem than the super light float). A minor inconvenience rather than a big deal though. A fishing boat came by -- so even early morning in the shallows, you have to watch out.

Having a fish on a float or belt stringer probably helps attract fish (camo, blood, fish oil). There is a great picture in one of the spearo catalogues of a guy doing aspetto with a belt stringer full of fish half hiding him!
Belt stringer in action (video clips):

Omer - it's probably Spaghetti or one of his mates ]
Omer - incs. a 2fer1 shot.

I used to think a belt stringer a bad idea - something else to snag/get caught underwater and, in more shark infested areas, draw in sharks. It doesn't seem to be much of an issue in the UK though. I suppose as long as you can cut it (i.e. mono or cord rather than steel), it could be quite useful. Float stringer seems a safe bet to start with though.

[Bill McIntyre]

Originally Posted by Mr. X

I used to think a belt stringer a bad idea - something else to snag/get caught underwater and, in more shark infested areas, draw in sharks. It doesn't seem to be much of an issue in the UK though. I suppose as long as you can cut it (i.e. mono or cord rather than steel), it could be quite useful. Float stringer seems a safe bet to start with though.

In general I agree with you about belt stringers, but it depends on how and where you dive. I'm always diving from a boat, and I almost never shoot a fish that is small enough so that I would want to keep diving while towing the fish around. Since I take every fish that I shoot back to the boat, in most cases I don't even use the stringer, but just grab the fish by the gills and swim back to the boat towing the gun behind me.

When I do use the stringer, its just to free up my hands to untangle line and shaft from kelp, etc., and then I'm off to the boat.

I don't worry about sharks grabbing my strung fish in Southern California because the one dangerous shark we have, the great white, is likely to be more interested in eating the mammal towing the fish than the fish itself. However, sea lions can be a problem. I read an account on spearboard of a big bull sea lion grabbing a fish strung on a belt and pulling the diver down to 70 feet.

[dave]

Originally Posted by Huw

One tiny thing that could annoy me with the speed stringer, is that some fish (especially mullet) that i have brained withmy knife, still seem to flick around for a bit however much i waggle the knife around, and so a fish tugging on my gun could get irritating, but i guess this isn't much of an issue most of the time.

Huw.

Dont put mullet on a speed stringer, in fact never string mullet through the gills and mouth, they tear off really easily. String through the eyes or top of the head. Mullet are also the Terminator of the fish world, they just dont seem to know when they are supposed to be dead!
cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

[land shark]

Im planning on using a soft cooler bungeed to my new yak

[deep thinker]

My stringer is always on my float. I have a torpedo shaped foam float with a spike stringer and double mono line that clips onto a tuna clip on the back of the float. When on a shore dive and swimming through kelp the stringer gets pushed into the float as to not snag in kelp. I find this works pretty well and lives up to my needs at the moment, will post a pic tomorrow

[IB Boyd]

Originally Posted by Bill McIntyre

I attach it to a loop of mono on a weight with a tuna clip.

I rig mine like that also. I however, lost mine the other day also. Was just raising my legs to dive when my trusty old marsailes(spelling) rubber weight belt gave up the ghost and failed after two years of service. To ad insult to injury, the whole thing slid down my back, smacked me a good one in the back of the head and shot to the bottom like a bat out of hell. I tried to make a grab for it, but was shooting back out of the water in reverse due to the sudden positve bouyancy. Missed it by inches. Last i saw it my stringer was flapping merrily as the lead propelled it to the bottom. I always carry a spare in the boat, so the day wasnt a total loss.

[covert]

I cant actually comment too much, im just posting to let you know im still alive and kicking

In our waters we generally never attach a stringer to the body, gun, or belt. Since we have some serious tax collectors swimming around always looking for a fish kebab, and sometimes the owner of the fish kebab. So mine is basically a tuna clip into a o-ring and a stainles steel cord with a spike at the end. Then I just string the fish and stab the spike into my float. (foam float might get messy if you have a air float :P )

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by covert

... Then I just string the fish and stab the spike into my float. (foam float might get messy if you have a air float :P )

(We have tax collectors here too...the biggest one is going to become PM soon)

[azapa]

Originally Posted by spaghetti

...........
How and where (belt, float) do you secure your fish stringer?

Hi Spago,

I'm sure you have many more fishy tales and victories under your belt (pun intended) than I, but I though you may like to see how this beginner manages to keep the kiddies eating good food: http://forums.deeperblue.net/diy-hom...ger-combo.html

hope some of it helps. Cheers