Home Tournaments Calendar Weather Merchandise Sponsors

Go Back   Spearboard.com - The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Boating Social Media Forum > General Topics (Non-regional) > General Spearfishing & Diving Discussion

General Spearfishing & Diving Discussion This is where you post to discuss general spearfishing topics that could apply to any region.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 10-04-2014, 11:58 AM   #1
HumbleBeginner
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Live by the sea, die by the sea...
Posts: 6
*Beginner Help*

Aloha to all those in the Spearboard community!

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my first thread. I am brand new to the sport of spearfishing and free diving. However I have been around the ocean my whole life and have a deep connection with it. From surfing, to scuba to deep-sea fishing with my father… I have always thrived interacting with the ocean and the elements.

While staying on a sailboat in the harbor, I recently met a man who occupied the neighboring vessel, who is from Kona, Hawaii and a Spearfisherman. We got to talking and he invited me to go spear some fish with him and night dive for lobster with him. I borrowed some of his gear and he took me out. Although I found it extremely challenging, I knew I was immediately hooked! Unfortunately this guy wasn't staying in the harbor long, so I couldn't utilize him as a mentor. Instead he left me with a yearning for more knowledge and experience, but not a lot of direction on where to gain that.

I am based out of Marina Del Rey, California, but I also spend a lot of time in the Big Sur and Monterey areas. I am hoping to find a great class, or a group of experienced veterans who would be willing to take me under their wing. But if I can't find that, I suppose I will attempt to teach myself. But first things first, I need your help with gear. Right now, I've just been going out with my surf wetsuit and a tiny little metal speargun I got from Sport Chalet. I would love it if you could reply to my thread with a detailed list of what you think I would need as a beginner to get started in a good way. i.e. wetsuit, gun, fins, mask, weights, etc. (and their corresponding brand names). Obviously since I am new to the sport I am just looking for a good beginner kit. Any insight and recommendations you can share are greatly appreciated.

Because there is an element of danger involved in this sport, I realize it is smart to only go if you have a buddy. That being said, if you haven't grown up with family who do this or friends who do this, where is the best place to find a buddy? Also, can you recommend any good beginner spots along the coast from Palos Verdes to Malibu?

If any of you could recommend a great free diving/spearfishing course in California, I would love to hear about it. Especially a course that works on breath holds and breathing techniques.

Thank you all for your time and responses on here. I realize my naiveté on a lot of this and I appreciate your patience and understanding. I want to approach this sport with respect and humility and do things right from the beginning. I'm starting at the bottom and am willing to take any and all steps to gain knowledge and insight to progress further.

Thanks again and hope you're all getting some good fish this weekend!

Cheers!
HumbleBeginner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2014, 04:26 PM   #2
SEATUX
Registered User
 
SEATUX's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Port Charlotte Fl
Age: 76
Posts: 2,480
Re: *Beginner Help*

Check out the local dive shops, ( check them all, compare notes and use you head) they may be able to not only recommend gear, but leads to other spearo's.
Good luck!
SEATUX is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
beginner, classes, gear, mentor, training

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:26 AM.


The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Social Media Forum Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2002 - 2014 Spearboard.com