EQUIPMENT
Guns:
Around Sydney the ideal gun is between 90 to 110 cm long, fitted with a 7mm straight shaft, single wrap of 1.8mm monofilament and a single rubber between 18 to 20 MM. With this set up you will be able to get all your reef species as well as the odd king and jewfish.
A 120-130 cm gun with single or double rubbers is better if you are targeting specific species such as big kingfish, snapper or dolphin fish in Sydney.
Longer guns are harder to load, more difficult to manoeuvre underwater and will damage your spear tips a lot easier when firing at smaller fish on the bottom. They are great for extra range and punching power and are therefore better suited when chasing bigger pelagics up the mid north coast.
For the mid north coast locations like South west rocks, Coffs Harbour and Tweed Heads you will be hunting predominantly pelagic species. For this style of fishing we recommend you bring at least 2 guns between 1.1m and 1.4m. One with a single 18-19 mm rubber fitted with a 7 mm shaft and a single wrap of 1.8mm of mono, and one gun with double 14 / 16 mm rubbers with a 7mm shaft.
For shy fish like Wahoo, Billfish and Tuna a 1.3 or 1.4 metre gun with triple 14 or 16 mm rubbers and an 8 mm shaft and a slip tip is the way to go.
For all trips it is strongly recommended to carry at least 1 to 2 spare shafts per gun.
Wetsuit:
A piece of equipment often neglected, but a good wetsuit is probably the most valuable piece of equipment in a spearfisherman’s kit. Having the right wetsuit on the day can be the difference between being warm and comfortable or cold and miserable.
Spearfishermen can spend up to 10hrs in a wetsuit therefore a proper spearfishing suit with a good fit, good quality neoprene and the right thickness is mandatory.
If you dive all year round in Sydney you need at least one 3mm and one 5mm wetsuit, and if you feel the cold throughout the winter even with a 5mm, a 7mm jacket with 5mm pants may be neccessary.
A typical spearfishing wetsuit is made of a hooded attached jacket and waist high pants or long johns, with all seams glued and blind stiched. Although there are lots of different models and options for spear fishing the most popular design worldwide remains the exterior nylon lined / open cell.
Camouflage patterns are used by many wetsuit manufactures to disguise the divers presence to the fish and break-up our shape on the bottom. Plain colours that also work really well are black, seaweed green, marron, brown and grey.
Smooth skin wetsuits are also great for boat diving to beat the wind chill factor during boat transfers. |
