Omer XXV Speargun + Other Fast tracking guns?

[Pav]

All your posts have been a great help.

I'm ordering this week. I have had to decide if to ;

a) Replace my current guns 75+90 with 1 x 82cm.

OR

b) Get the 90, and keep my 75 as a "spare" and also poor viz gun.

Reading your comments it seems that option B is the way to go. I had wondered if the 82 may replace 2 guns but decided it would be a compromise and I would regret not having a 90. My best days have been with my 90! , and with the thinner barrel hope to see a difference in tracking speed.... even if I don't I can't help but be influenced by the look of carbon

Thinking of missed fish, the ones that fustrate me are the ones that never quiet made it into range / shots that ended short / and missed shots that afterwards said Fish has come up to my mask to mock me!!

So the Omer Gold 90 it is!! Thanks all.

Pav.

[Pav]

It arrived today! .. complete with REEL fitted . Thanks to spaghetti I now know how to remove it

Now OMER know how to impress me.

1 Gun (with reel ). You've gotta love carbon regardless of the pros / cons. Really neat the way the railguide is moulded into the barrel. Little things that make me smile... the graphics are set under the resin so will not peel off.

A bag of bits seems to include spare mech parts, a spare rubber, line, crimps and a line winder? Not sure how to use the rubber as its 1 length which is threaded at each end? sure someone will explain.

Seems the gun gives you a lot of options re. setup of the rubbers.

Big thanks to Spaghetti for putting me onto this one. Can't wait to get it wet, and I wait in anticpation to realise its first kill.

Pav.

[Old Man Dave]

Mine hasn't arrived yet. Goes via the UK from France so expect it any day now. I didn't bother with the reel even though it was only an extra couple of euros as I intend to use it without a reel and didn't really have a use for another extra spare reel.

The loop rubber fits through the hole in the front of the gun and loops back where the 2 threaded ends connect to the wishbone. Assume it came rigged with the 2 thread in rubbers fitted with the special front "wishbone" attachment. You can swap from single loop rubber or 2 threaded single bands. Omer says you can rig both but spaghetti thinks this is too much for the gun and I'm sure he's right. This arrangement allows you to experiment with different rubber set ups.

Race you, first one to catch a bass, when mine comes that is.

Dave

[Spaniard]

Dave, which shop did you buy your Omer gun from, Apnea in Jersey?

[foxfish]

I can ansaw that one Spaniard - Scuba land France - very good price too!

[Old Man Dave]

£102 ( no VAT here remember) delivered to my door, if it arrives. That was about £30 cheaper than Apnea or Subprof or anywhere else I tried. You need to join Scubaland to get their discount but it's free to join so just a formality.

Dave

[Spaniard]

Thanks for info. guys, will check out the website

[Pav]

£129 to the door. That includes the UK Vat etc. Quick delivery (about 1 week). Signed for postage etc so they can track lost orders.

You can get it a bit cheaper without the reel, but I didnt see the separate items. If you search xxv I now see that you can choose 1 of 3 items. 1 gold+reel. 1 gold - reel. 1 standard xxv.

When you see it, you will understand what great value for money the gun is.

Thank oldmandave for searching out the best price for us

[Old Man Dave]

Gun arrived today at lunchtime. . Looks nice. Very small and light. In fact thinner than the leg on a size zero model. Looking forward to pointing it at a big bass. As I suspected though looks a little fragile for flatfish or reef work although at a pinch it would manage. Gonna start off with closed muzzle and screw in bands, which is how it came rigged.

Dave

[spaghetti]

Yes OMD it's thin ideed, but carbon fiber is more solid than it looks. For use on rocky bottoms it might get scratched, and that's the destiny of spearguns.
The only warning I can give from my experience is that the steely wishbone might scratch or shave the rail above the barrell (this happened to me, but forum member Mundial did not report having this issue on his XXV Gold, so maybe it's just me). For this case my advise is to make your own dyneema wishbones, which is quite easy if you follow the instructions given by Pau on Medfish:
Mediterranean Fishing :: Log in
PS-before doing all that mess on your bands try to shoot your XXV and check if the problem actually shows up. Me I had the rail scratching issue only on two shots on a pair of dozens, and the damage was not so relevant. Just a scratch. So it's up to you.

[mundial]

i use it one day with the matel wishbone
it did scrach the point next to the handle\barrell!!
but as i always work with dyneema it last only one day
i use to work with it open muzzle only
dyneema WB
i have manage to take groupers & bass easy

i work with it in rocky - cave places as well
this guns rocks mate & do not scratch easy
good luck

[Old Man Dave]

Rigged my gun today. The Omer mono and crimps came loose but I found the line was thicker and stiffer than my usual mono. The pic shows the green Omer line and BIG crimp, alongside my usual clear mono and small crimp. Not too clear in the pic but my mono is 160lb test and the Omer one looks a bit bigger maybe 200lb. Don't know why the omer crimp is so big, my crimps have never let me down. Get my stuff from a fishing shop that sells commercial long line gear so it's good quality and strong.

On rigging I found that with the bridge in place I still had to use the cross over method to route the line correctly. This meant there was no need for the bridge piece. When I tried to run the line without crossing over the spear the line slipped back over the rubbers. So the closed muzzle option doesn't look so good if you can't fit the line properly. Doesn't really matter as I was probably going to use it open muzzle (no bridge piece) anyway. Still would have been nice if all the options worked. Pic shows the clear plastic bridge still fitted but the line crossed over.

Looking forward to trying it all out but guess what ... force 6 winds ... again. This has been one shit winter even though it's now officially summer time.

Maybe next week. I'm on holidy .

Dave

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by spaghetti

...And of the english too! From what I've heard here on Deeper Blue, the 90 is the favourite guns for England and there must be a reason.

I think you're right Spaghetti, there seems a definite preference for 90cm recently. Although it might also reflect where the active spearos/forum members spend their time - in clear water areas, like Cornwall & the Guernsey. The advice I heard a lot was 75cm-90cm for the UK, & it seems shorter the further east you go (murkier water) and long the further west you go (clearer water) - a generalization. We don't currently hear much on this forum from Spearos active in Hampshire, Sussex & Kent. Some of them seemed quite keen on shorter guns when I first started looking.

Originally Posted by mundial

...but if you choose a 82 cm you will be missing
90-82=8 , but 8cm in 5 times = 40+ cm , how is that ?
1 time the length of the barrle
3 times the mono line
1 time the shaft but the shaft is more
so
almost 50CM make a differance!
...

Good point Mundial, that is quite a difference. I thought 4x (have heard some say 3x) - forgot to include the barrel itself in the range calculation. Nice catches -- you obviously get to eat plenty fish oil!

Originally Posted by Old Man Dave

Race you, first one to catch a bass, when mine comes that is.
...
guess what ... force 6 winds ... again.

Let us know how the OMD v. Pav shoot out goes! I've just changed some of my holiday plans in the hope of catching some more favourable weather conditions - swapping sun for lower winds ...hope it works out.

[Pav]

Let us know how the OMD v. Pav shoot out goes! I've just changed some of my holiday plans in the hope of catching some more favourable weather conditions - swapping sun for lower winds ...hope it works out.

... whilst oldmandave is suffering from force 6 winds I may still have a chance

Its resonably nice on the northcoast, but with a nice swell and offshore winds have been spending my time surfing.

Hoping to get down to Penzance after the Easter weekend madness. I start a bit earlier each year! What I have noticed is that the biggest Bass for me are always at the start of the season. Anything in this?, or has it just been a coincidence?

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by Pav

What I have noticed is that the biggest Bass for me are always at the start of the season. Anything in this?, or has it just been a coincidence?

Early season, perhaps you get first choice! Folk usually talk about big fish late season - although I have read of the odd big fish being caught in winter (when most leave our shores). Maybe folk are just "getting in the groove" better by end of season. Was happily surprised at how few people were at the coast between Easter & Summer hols. last year.

By the way, I found a site with longer range forecasts than the BBC offer: weather.co.uk - Index & for wind: GB Wind Map (move your mouse over the area of interest).