Fish stringer: bad loss!

[spaghetti]

Thanks all, interesting debate going on.
I should also apologize to Miles now that' I've tried a gunhandle-spike-float attachement as he suggested: much less annoying than I thought. Quick, simple, effective.
I used a clear monoline with bits of silvery tape to make fish more curious than scared by it. Aspetto worked out fine. But still I think that a gun-to-float line is no good for the typical mediterranean agguato hunt in shallow rocky & weedy bottoms.

[Marwan]

guys, ive been using the speed stringer all last week, lt me say that ÏTS A DREAM!!!!, especially in the current, you dint have to go back to your float, just unclip it from your gun, pass it through the gills, the mouth and clip it to your gun once again, as you swim forward it makes its way all the way back to your float, no problemo... i go it from rob allen in south africa, great service, great guy...
cheers

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by spaghetti

...I used a clear monoline with bits of silvery tape to make fish more curious than scared by it. ...

Fish seem to be far less intimidated when I have a fish in tow on the float-stringer. Perhaps we need spearo floats that look like bass (bass decoy?)! I give you...the Bass-Float (with a strung fish, it'll look like a school of bass!):

[azapa]

it would be fun until a seal came along, even more fun if the float and line was tied to you belt good hunting this weekend, dive safe.....

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by dave

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

With a bigger fish, I usually thread the fish and then impale the spike in the head of the fish (where it was dispatched, if it wasn't stoned). It looks a little gruesome ("made sure he was dead!" was one comment I heard) but not much chance of loosing it.

By the way, those of you that don't use a float line, what do use for a wrist lanyard (assuming you use one)? I'm thinking of getting a shorter gun & might try using it detached from the float.

[azapa]

over simple answer here: I use both, and often unclip whilst under if I want to go under the kelp "canopy"

It works like this:
- I have a 8MM or so diameter hole drilled in the butt of the pistol grip of my gun, about 15mm from the base, to the left hand side.
- through that hole I have two things: 1. a stainless "keyring" type loop about 1" dia. 2. A 30Cm rubber band strap made from car innertube, its about an inch wide, basically a big elastic band.
- in normal use, my carabiner from the floatline is clipped onto the gun with the stainless "keyring"
- when I go under some kelp or rocks I unclipp the carabiner and place my wrist through the rubber band
- the carabiner is quite big and sits there, I later retrieve from pulling up from the top.

A PICTURE would say a million words. I;ll send one tonight if i remember.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: the wrist strap MUST break if anything gets snagged down there. Hence the rubber band. I guess you could dry test its breaking strain (I have not done)

Good fun eh!

[dave]

Originally Posted by Mr. X

By the way, those of you that don't use a float line, what do use for a wrist lanyard (assuming you use one)? I'm thinking of getting a shorter gun & might try using it detached from the float.

Why would you want to use a wrist lanyard? What problem do you see it solving?

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

[covert]

stringing fish is not a science people any which way if there is allot of rope involved it will get irritating thats just part of spearing, in SA 99% of spearo's just string directly on the float due to sharks. and you generally have to surface after the kill. So whats the problem in pulling your float closer and stringing the fish?

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by dave

Why would you want to use a wrist lanyard? What problem do you see it solving?
cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

Interesting. I've seen wrist loops on images posted on the forum & thought it was normal practice to use a wrist-loop (as you would with a torch...or perhaps you wouldn't) for those not attaching their gun to the float-line (as I do currently).

As to the reason: to prevent accident loss & to allow the shooting hand to be freed up - to, for example, pick-up a crab.

Presumably the counter argument is that you could get entangled (the main reason I am not currently attached to my gun or float line)?

Originally Posted by covert

stringing fish is not a science people any which way if there is allot of rope involved it will get irritating thats just part of spearing, in SA 99% of spearo's just string directly on the float due to sharks. and you generally have to surface after the kill. So whats the problem in pulling your float closer and stringing the fish?

Good point covert. I did recently sigh when I realised how far away my float had gotten by the time I came to string a fish (the tide was ripping through). I was tired and almost back to shore. Mind you, the thought of unclipping & re-clipping the Orca clip of a speed stringer might be equally unappealing. I don't shoot many fish and I'm trying to pare down the gear -- so maybe I'll forego the speed stringer for now. I usually use the stringer spike to dispatch fish anyway (unless the float is 20 or 30m away!).

[covert]

its a case of finding whatever works for you as an individual i guess. I personally just do the basic rig like most SA spearo's. I'm probably just use to it by now, but i find it works well, nothing fancy dont have to worry bout things breaking or unhooking etc. Im sure If we applied our minds to it there could be a more conveniant solution, though Mr X if I do shore dives im lucky enough to know exactly what my deepest dive will be and I have floatline ropes with the exact lengths for each shore dive. If we go by boat its generally not a problem since we throw the fish in the boat to avoid atracting sharks. To me its a case of not using a 30m rope on a 15m Max dive.

Since shorter harder ropes are easier to manage and you tangle less. and to pull in a 15m float line takes about 4 seconds :P

[dave]

Originally Posted by Mr. X

As to the reason: to prevent accident loss & to allow the shooting hand to be freed up - to, for example, pick-up a crab.

.

Apart from the entanglement issues, having the loaded gun dangling from your wrist pointing who knows where is not a terribly good idea
Wrist lanyards on guns are a very very bad thing. They dont solve any problems and they create several (potentially fatal) ones of their own

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

[Mr. X]

I appreciate the advice & insight Dave & Covert. I bought the shortest float line available at the time, which I think is 20m/66ft but I've picked up a few other lines since which I could try. I generally avoid diving deep, so 15m (or pos even 10 or 12m) will probably be enough. I should probably get some aquarium air tube, I imagine it would tangle less.

[covert]

Allot of people use the harder lines i prefer normal line and i guess i have adapted to a diving style that doesnt entagnle me around every peace of kelp i meet.

I also have a drop anchor that i use to mark good spots, but if i know i want to go into a thick kelp forest and do some serious bottom searching i detach the line from my gun, attach the 1kg drop anchor/weight in the center of my hunting grounds and I dive free through the kelp forest. with my buoy always close enough at hand. dont know if that will help you in your environment.

[covert]

you could probaly also use 15m of mono instead of trying hollow pvc tubing wich will be heavy and cumbersome.

[deep thinker]

Theres a few threads on here on how to make the clear pvc float line using the line and a mono through it, crimped and sealed at the ends. Looks to work quite well and also the line itself floats wich is a bonus.
I use 5m of bungee as a floatline when hunting in the kelp or in shallows with rough waters, you can easily dive to about 8m without to much strain from the bungee and if you hit a big one the bungee playes well. Also its pretty rigid and doesnt tangle easily. When we dive off a boat I have a line winder with 15m of rope line to the float and the 5m bungee going to the gun. If its not too kelpy it works a charm as you can roll off as much line as you like.
Back to the stringers, I either string to my float like Covert or I just made a bodyboard float with a stringer and net bag on top, fish gets strung and goes into the meh bag effectively keeping them from being eaten by gulls as well as keeping them out of the water