Spearfishing Screw Ups to Avoid

By: Capt. Chad Carney 

Holding a speargun on your shoulder or in front of your face

  • Spearguns can kick back strong & cause severe injury. Spearguns are shot like pistols, with a straight arm & locked elbow, & maybe wrap a second hand. You can “thumb-shoot from beside the hip,” for close ups & rocked-up fish & pull the gun back to clear the muzzle.

Lack of gun familiarity before diving

  • Don’t load your gun on land. Stop just an inch away so you know the bands are right. Wear spearfishing gloves & a chest pad or hip grip. Practice replacing the shaft, wrapping the line & pull test that the mechanism is locked. Keep your hands outside of the line wraps and never in-between them.

Leaving the safety on

  • Safeties are before hunting. Underwater point the gun only at your target. Fish are gone in a flash when you choke the shot.

Too much gear slows you down

  • Keep equipment simple. Long fins and streamlined dive gear. Scuba with freeshafts or a short bungee & fixed line. Watch your gas level. A reel or float-line is more common for freedivers.

Not starting out by shooting small bottom fish

  • Big powerful fish can break gear & hurt you. Master techniques & equipment on small legal-size fish, i.e., hogfish.

Short underpowered spearguns, Hawaiian slings or polespears

  • The saying goes “Big fish, big spear!” Water density slows short & underpowered spears. A longer spear has the best range and impact for the habitat you hunt.

Descending before loadinga speargun

  • The best shot is often in the descent. Experienced shooters load while descending and polespear or Hawaiian sling spearos ready to pull back and fire.

Swimming near the bottom

  • Get high and drop silently on fish. It relieves pressure on fish, and gravity speeds the shot & pins a fish to the bottom. Jerky movement and chasing fish are fish spookers, so slow down, relax and blend into the underwater environment.

Fish ID

  • Go to my fwc.com & learn shapes, markings, skin appearance of prey.
  • Shooting undersized fish. Learn size regulations and check often.
  • Don’t shoot marginal fish. Be sure you’re proud of all fish you shoot.
  • Shooting from too far away.
  • Learn the flight distance of fish. Hogfish allow close shots, but snappers and groupers are spooky.

Target shooting

  • Spearguns, Hawaiian slings and polespears need repeated in water firing from various angles/distances. Think about a shot & you’ll miss it. I shoot flattened aluminum cans or what’s on the bottom. Try dropping cans & shooting as they sink.

Letting a sling or speargun drift away after shooting

  • Hawaiian slings, free shaft guns, bluewater guns or riding rig guns can easily float away while a diver is busy. Loop a buoyant sling or gun over your arm after a shot.

Pulling on a speared fish

  •  A spear will often tear free. Swim to the fish and keep it pinned, while knifing it. Dragging wounded fish to the surface is risky so have a buddy back up.

Spear removal before stringing the fish

  • Almost always is a lost fish. String it first, kill it second.
  • Bagging fish is difficult to do & wastes time. It creates huge drag & doesn’t conceal fish from predators.

Not having a small narrow beam dive light

  • A spot beam light can shoot in dark holes, but a diver w/o a light can’t nor pursue wounded fish in dimly lighted areas.

— Captain Chad Carney – Diving Instructor & Journalist
mobile: 727-423-7775  |  e-mail: chad.carney@yahoo.com
www.floridaskindiver.com/spearfishingphotos
www.deeperblue.com/beginners-guide-spearfishing