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Old 11-26-2013, 03:57 PM   #1
rysgates
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A Message To New Divers

Okay, so I've been Spearfishing now for about 10 months, and still consider myself to be a nube, but I do have a lot of dives under my belt and a good understanding of the whole world of Spearfishing. I just want to share my experience of what it's like to be new with everyone else. Spearfishing is the most addicting thing I've ever done. When you first start have no expectations of coming home with dinner. I have ben on countless dives that I have come home skunked (I came up with the idea for this message yesterday while I was diving, and of course got skunked because conditions sucked), and still have never really nailed a "target species". I grew up spending a lot of time fishing with a rod and reel, and spearfishing is very different. Like everything the more you do it the better you get. It takes a lot of time though, I practice holding my breath every day and still suck at it. I am a very competitive person, and thats part of the reason that spearfishing is so great. Every time I go and it sucks it makes me want to go even more! That explains why I want to go a lot. You have to have the proper mindset to dive though or else you will hate every moment of it. As a beginner you must think of it as just a dive trip to explore a part of the world that we have never seen before. If your only intention is to put food on the table, than you may as well just give up now like half of the people do by their third dive. For me diving is an escape from the rest of the world, as it should be. The ocean is a great experience soak it all up. It does get better. The more you dive, the better you get, the better you get the more you dive, and the more you dive, the better you get. Eventually you can count on bringing home dinner if the conditions are decent, but by choosing to dive you submit yourself to mother nature, and it will never be the same two days in a row. Yes, better gear does help, but there is no substitute for practice. I definitely think that equipment wise, a warm wetsuit is a must, and if you cant see threw your mask or breathe in your snorkel, upgrade it. As I said, I have been diving for 10 months, and I am still using a pole spear. I believe that I should use it until I consider myself good, and then I will get a gun and I will be known as the fish slaughterer. If you are result oriented then get a gun and, I imagine that the fish count will probably skyrocket. The reality of it is that the person who loves Spearfishing the most is going to be the real winner. My biggest piece of advise is as follows: Take a deep breath, swim down, and loose yourself. What I mean is that sometimes you will have one dive out of the day that just feels perfect. You start swimming down and see something really cool, and just forget about everything else. You know what to do, subconsciously you will find yourself doing everything that you have been taught. When you do this you often find yourself deeper than you have ever been before, you feel no unnecessary urge to breathe, you are in the comfort zone, and spearfishing is all you know. When you feel this feeling you are doing something right. So just loose yourself.
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Old 11-26-2013, 04:03 PM   #2
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Re: A Message To New Divers

I hope this helps some of you guys with questions.
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Old 11-26-2013, 04:07 PM   #3
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Re: A Message To New Divers

Good post.
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Old 11-26-2013, 06:15 PM   #4
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Re: A Message To New Divers

So in summary

- Dont expect to always catch fish
- Practice
- Replace bad gear
- Be smart
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Old 11-26-2013, 07:25 PM   #5
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Re: A Message To New Divers

Quote:
Originally Posted by riff View Post
So in summary

- Dont expect to always catch fish
- Practice
- Replace bad gear
- Be smart
no shit?

I would move -Be smart up to the top of that list, with -Practice coming in at a close second place. Don't buy bad gear, and you can eliminate item number 3 altogether, and move -Don't expect to always catch fish down to the bottom.
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Old 11-26-2013, 09:18 PM   #6
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Re: A Message To New Divers

Good post. I'd add to find someone GOOD, not decent. Your friend that has been spearfishing a few times is not someone you should be learning from. Be humble is another good one to top the list. I once considered myself better than a lot of other spearfishermen. Don't. There is something to learn from every dive you take, every fish you shoot, and everyone you meet.

Dive safe.
-Davis
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Old 11-27-2013, 03:19 AM   #7
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Re: A Message To New Divers

Must.find.enter.key.Wall.of.text.destroying.eyes.
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Old 11-27-2013, 10:03 AM   #8
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Re: A Message To New Divers

Excellent commitment to move slow through the learning curve. A polespear is the best way to learn, and the longer with a polespear the better.

Safety First should be at the absolute top of the list.
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Old 11-27-2013, 12:58 PM   #9
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Re: A Message To New Divers

you want dinner????check the caves with a flashlight and your polespear will get a lot of dinner fish.
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Old 11-27-2013, 01:10 PM   #10
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Re: A Message To New Divers

Quote:
Originally Posted by isotopez View Post
Must.find.enter.key.Wall.of.text.destroying.eyes.
thats why i wrote the TLDR
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Old 11-27-2013, 01:12 PM   #11
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Re: A Message To New Divers

I feel your struggle on getting skunked. Dove 4.5 hours on two different dives on Monday and only pulled one legal bug and twenty or so shorts between my brother and I. Super frustrating. If you're ever down in San Diego, shoot me a PM. Like you I've only been diving since August and all I can say is get more water time.
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Old 11-28-2013, 03:07 AM   #12
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Re: A Message To New Divers

great post, keep it up, you ever want to give a gun a try, hit me up, ill loan ya one.
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Old 11-28-2013, 08:59 AM   #13
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Re: A Message To New Divers

Glad to see you're enjoying this sport and I appreciate your post. I've been super stressed lately and just getting over a cold but I snuck away yesterday for an hour dive and suddenly life was good again. I've been freediving for 22 years now. I still feel like I suck but I am still content to just explore what's below the surface.

If there is one thing I might add, try to keep very aware of your depths vs. capabilities. Always remember that chasing that fish at depth (or stuck anchor) could cost you your life.
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Old 11-28-2013, 09:23 AM   #14
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Re: A Message To New Divers

Great perspective! I like it Better than "Lets shoot some fish" (nothing against people that say or think like that)

Thx for sharing
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Old 11-29-2013, 08:07 PM   #15
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Re: A Message To New Divers

I am missing the point on not bringing home the dinner. What ocean are you diving in? I have to limit my 10 and 12 year old to the number of fish they kill each time we go out. My daughter caught a 7.9 lb lobster on our last outing. She is just a kid. I had to pull it off her chest and help her carry it to a tidepool. We stopped grabbing lobster because we had filled a two day permit about 3 days earlier. They are not shooting trophy fish like halibut and seabass this time of year, but the grass bass, sugars, cab drivers and other good eating ones come home in abundance. My job is to keep the guns loaded and hold the stringers or bags.
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