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All About Guns What's your weapon of choice, and why? Discuss the beloved speargun here!

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Old 09-18-2014, 10:22 PM   #1
SpearoSevv
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Before my inaugural shot

Hey guys! I'll be shooting my first speargun tomorrow (No more polespear/ sore hands!) and I'd like to hear some opinions on my setup before I pull the trigger. I've looked around the internet and have had a hard time finding any decent information on my setup/ the proper setup for my JBL 38 special.

The Spots:

On Friday I'll be heading out with a friend in the kayak to do both R&R and spearfishing- hopefully he'll want to do more of the later. We're looking at spearing underneath a large bridge or as a backup launching from a beach if we cannot find a somewhat close parking spot. No fishing is allowed ON the bridge, but I still want to call FWC tomorrow morning to make sure everything is okay & legal.

The normal backup beach spots are very shallow and mainly are populated by sheapshead, flounder and a plentiful amount of southern stingrays (Never tried eating them due to that barb and mixed opinions on the taste- but hear they make GREAT shark bait!).

The Fish:

As far as target species go: Sheepshead, Mangrove Snapper, Flounder, and maybe (highly unlikely) cobia if we find a good parking spot within a reasonable distance of that bridge. I hear cobia are very common under that bridge.

My first gun is a JBL 38 special (Aluminum, just the plain 38 special) with two 1/2"x 20" bands. My main concerns are about the range of my gun and the current shooting line that I have rigged up.

The Question:

My guns current shooting line is 18' of 125lb mono line. I hear the effective range (Very, very hard to find a good estimate on the internet) of the gun is from 6-10'. Is 125lb mono going to work for the fish I'll be targeting/the strength of my gun? The last thing I want is to shoot my gun and find that my shaft did not stay on my shooting line. Keep in mind, we will be targeting smaller fish if we spearfish.

I'd love to hear some opinions!

Last edited by SpearoSevv; 09-18-2014 at 10:47 PM.
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Old 09-19-2014, 05:59 AM   #2
moteman
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Re: Before my inaugural shot

I do a lot of inshore/bridge hunting in the Sarasota/Venice area and I'm going to offer my opinions. First of all the JBL 38 special is a good first gun and adequate for the fish you're likely to encounter, but I'd replace the shaft line with a double wrap of 200-300 lb test mono and a heavy ball bearing type snap swivel. Secondly, unless you have really good viz, until I gained some experience with the gun, I'd only load one band. Lastly, until you gain some experience I'd leave the cobia alone. A cobia of legal size can be a handful for a novice shooter.
I don't know what the general visibility is in your area, but in my area, around inshore reefs and bridges the viz is about 4-6 ft, so I'll offer a bit of advice for shooting with a buddy in low viz: try to keep all your shots at a down angle unless you can clearly see what is on the other side of the fish you intend to shoot (rock, bridge piling....). If you miss your range might be farther than your visibility. Nothing will ruin a trip or friendship faster than spearing your buddy!
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Old 09-19-2014, 06:08 AM   #3
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Re: Before my inaugural shot

One other bit of advice/opinion: JBL guns tend to be under powered to allow novice shooter to load them easily. For low viz shooting: Replace the two 1/2" bands with a single 5/8" band of the correct size. The larger single band will be quicker to reload and have more power than your current setup. There are several threads on the board on how to determine the optimal length for a band.
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Old 09-19-2014, 12:24 PM   #4
SpearoSevv
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Re: Before my inaugural shot

Appreciate the speedy reply, Moteman! The visibility at my beach locations ranges from 5-12' depending on conditions. Ended up canceling due to the weather, hopefully next week will work out better.

My main concern is my shooting line, I think I may have to get some stronger line like you have suggested. We would be doing the "One up, one down" strategy for general safety. As far as bands go, I'll probably pick up the one you suggested and try out both in the water to see what works best for me. I was also thinking cobia should be left alone.. For now.

Again, appreciate the advice. The only question I have left is what length should my shooting line be?

Last edited by SpearoSevv; 09-19-2014 at 12:33 PM.
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Old 09-19-2014, 12:33 PM   #5
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Re: Before my inaugural shot

A double wrap should be plenty. From the line anchor point to the line release and back to the anchor point twice about 12 ft I would guess. I prefer heavy mono to spectra, less likely to tangle or knot up on ya.
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Old 09-19-2014, 06:06 PM   #6
SpearoSevv
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Re: Before my inaugural shot

I ended up picking up an 18' autocoil for about $20. Easy to attach and now I can keep my extra shooting line for a backup (Lots of 300/400lb mono laying around). After I get comfortable with the gun, I'll have to rig up a break away rig for those cobia. Once more, thanks for the help- now its time to find some bridges with decent parking options!
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Old 09-20-2014, 06:08 AM   #7
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Re: Before my inaugural shot

The "autocoil" is a good option, I have one on my pneumatic gun that I use for low viz spearing. I'm not a freediver, but if you ever come to Sarasota, I'll point you to some good inshore/bridge spearing sites.
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