PNW tips thread...

[North Star]

Beaver - How do you carry the snips? Are they stainless steel? If not, rust would be a problem. Do you have a brand you like? Post a photo.

[ljsargent]

Tough lesson learned this week.
Have a float attached to your gun when you are on or near the water! I just lost a Riffe Comp #0 and would not have if it would have been attached to a float.

[Northwest Diver]

Here is a simple one learned the hard way. Take care of any bathroom business before climbing into your gear and swimming 339 yards from the nearest safe exit. While it is extremely entertaining to watch your buddies swim as hard as they can to shore with stomach cramps, do the dookie dance up the beach while shedding gear and see the panic in their body language when they have pulled the top of their suit over their head and forgotten to remove their gloves and dive watch... it is a whole lot less funny when it happens to you. Or so I have heard ...

[beaver]

lesson 101: local knowledge and being " a nice guy " is more important than being able to free dive to 140 feet and static breath hold to 7 minutes.

Did a favor for a stranger... we chatted and of course we talked of diving and spearing. Turns out his dad used to H/L monsters in an area I have surveyed for years. It turns out I missed the spot by a few 100 feet, after 6 years looking.

Just for giggles I went looking yesterday w/o a gun... saw some of the biggest lings (60-80) I have ever seen, in 15 feet of water. If you want a monster, you can get there the "easy way"

tip: there is more to diving than just diving, or " its not about the fish "

[beaver]

when giving tips, always hold back a few secrets....
share them, for beer!

[OregonSpearo]

Often times the occasion arises to harvest a ling that is laying between you and a rock. With strong bands on your gun, chances are the shaft will go through the ling and smash on the rock, ruining or bending the tip.
To tone down the power, you can reach over with your spare hand and surround the bands as you shoot. The bands will rub on your gloves and reduce the speed of the shaft.
Do this at your own risk: wear 5mm neoprene gloves, don't stick your fingers in the wishbone, don't do it at all if you're shooting metal wishbones, and grab from the top, not from the bottom so that your fingers are away from the wishbone, under the gun. Use a very loose grip, not a firm grip, the idea is to let the bands slide with some friction.

[Navanax]

As the water is now south of 45 degrees, I use an old trick to keep hands a bit warmer in a wetsuit. Use some loops of surgical tubing and run one around the top of the glove and another around the glove at the spot where suit and glove meets. With heavier (7-10 mm) suits a gap forms there. This really cuts down the water flow and is dirt cheap. Seal the glove holes with a little shoe goop and you are good to go.

[DEATH-BY-SPEAR]

Hey Guys I dive 2 weekends of every month... often. I have a youtube site that I am starting to build videos for. Though there are only 2 on there now and they are both not good, I am in the long process of producing some awesome ones. Here is a link to one thats already up. My new ones have higher quality and clearer video, more kills shots, more people.... just follow along its a good way to connect to local divers and learn a thing or too. Thanks http://youtu.be/H_Gww2vVIh8?hd=1

[DEATH-BY-SPEAR]

Aso (in association with Scuba RX) we have a meetup.com dive team. Here you can track upcoming meetup dates to dive with groups and expand your diving network.... SPEARFISHING network.

http://www.meetup.com/diveteam/

[beaver]

the world is not good enough for people like Ken and Max and some of the CP defenders.

Thanks gentlemen for the kind messages and telephone calls. Yes I have been going through a rough patch health wise. The last bout of radiation damaged the cartilage on the juncture of pelvic bone and the head of my femur so mobility has been limited.

I have had some issues with Kidneys (solved thankfully)
pain, whatever
tests I can't study for, really suck
medicine that usually makes your feel worse before your feel better also sucks
and for the love of god, no diving for 2 months,that is just unreasonable.

That being said

My tip:

Never underestimate the effect of your phone calls, emails, and support.
Though I have been long in reply, it has made a difference.

Thank you!

The new year is exactly that! So I promise I will be in this January.

[BadSpeara]

Originally Posted by North Star

Have another plan when you drive a long way to the ocean like I do, and find when you get there the vis is ZERO because of an algae bloom or whatever. Bring rod and reels, photograph tide pools, roast hot dogs on the beach, etc.

Make every trip a good one, even if you can't get in the water. The ocean is too cool to just drive away from even if you can't dive when you get there.

Ditto...good advice.

[aresodin]

Feel better mate. You will be back in the water before you know it. Thank you for all your invaluable input. Keep strong.

[No I'm Josh]

Not sure if this tip was covered already but I learned today that it is illegal to enter the water at boat ramps. Everyone might know this already but for noobs in the area like me it seems worth passing on.

[LittleGoat]

I'm not sure if this was posted or not, but here it goes anyway.

We rarely have glass smooth seas here. For those who get seasick, one thing that I have found that doesn't involve a chemical would be ginger. I get Reed's Extra Ginger Chews. They are a ginger based candy that I can't get enough of normally. The ginger calms my stomach as soon as it hits it. For those of you who can't handle the heat of ginger, reach for a really strong mint candy or gum. When I say strong, I really mean it. Also, as soon as that mint looses it's flavor, spit out the gum and get a new piece in your stomach.

[No I'm Josh]

So far our community here is manageable enough that many of us know each other and fish together. I think as time goes on we will become tighter as a unit.
If you are new here and your name is not your Spearboard handle (or something close to it like mine), please put it under the handle (like Max of North Star for example) or if not, please list it in the "Real name please" thread. This way we can call each other by our real names. Thanks y'all.