As above.Many times whilst cray diving I have seen good table fish well within range of a speargun.Many spearos around the world use scuba.Any ideas on guns brands, length ect would be helpful.

Hi CJ.No mate,I don`t freedive.Too old,smoke,unfit.Plus I have all the scuba gears now.Can`t really afford to tool up and train for freediving.I`ve read plenty about the ethics of spearing on scuba v FD.Fish should taste the same to my family.Was planning on only using the gun in deepish low viz dive sites.Should not conflict with any FDers.Seldom see any FDers where I usually dive anyways.Web searchs are pointing me in the direction of a gun 100cm -80cm.6.5 dia shaft.Single rubber.Confused as to either getting a railgun,open or closed muzzel,Free-shafting,reel or standard 3x shaft length with mono.or tip type.Target fish would probaly be greenbone,porae,blue moki,perch,male parrot fish,octopus.Never see the clamour fish on air,apart from the curious Kingies.Not worth a rookie losing his gear or worse on those bigger KF.

I am currently using 90cm attached to floatline, i guess if you are not targeting big kingfish you can easily use 90cm, single rubber with 65 shaft no problems. I think a railgun or a floatline will be risky on scuba tanks... You have higher chances of getting tangled with your line. You want to keep it simple... also watch out for these sharky, I dont think they often attack divers but if you carry fish close to your body, that can be a risk to you too. Where do you intend to dive?

I think if you carry a proper speargun it might be really risky because if you nailed a big fish it can take you to different depths which can cause you real troubles... (if you run out of oxygen etc). Where do you normally go to? How deep do you dive(while one scuba or when you free dived)?

3rnzir is trying to make a setup for spearfishing on tanks... having a gun on a reel increasing the chances of getting tangled i believe. I would have tried keeping it simple if it was me... :-)

Hi men.Nice to here from others that spear on air tanks.I dive the Manukau Hbr mostly.Usaually dive in the 14-22 mtr mark.Belive a shorter gun is better moving thru kelp etc.Plenty of kina around to berly up with.You guys got any advice to improve ones accuracy wiyh the gun.I was thinking of flooding a few milk containers and setting them up over the sand.Any type of spear tip better for shooting around reefs.And what extra gear would you have on hand.IE shaft,rubber,trigger parts.See the odd shark down there.Just fake charging them seems to work OK.Will need to know more about this floatline fish stringing system.Not keen on a Bronzie dragging me around by my catch bag.Got a beauty fright one dive the Manukau.Struggling to extract bugs from a hole for a few minutes,then backed out turned my head and a good sized bronzie about 3 mtrs away was observing me.It just slowly moved away when we eyeballed each other.My bowels nearly moved as well.There are times that the crays are soft or are they are in berry or not around at all.Almost everytime I see table fish.Be a shame not to bring a feed home.It`s an expensive sport.Need to justify that expense.

 Quote - "Not keen on a Bronzie dragging me around by my catch bag."  Most likely it will be dragging you around by the leg or arm.Never keep fish on you.Have seen plenty of Great whites caught by commercial fishers to not want to have fish on me anytime let alone in a shark haven like the manukau.Ask at any spear fishing shop to learn about the floatline system.quite simple.Never had a bronzie in nz show much aggro when i have not had any fish around me,they can be curious though.  -When you berly up try this for laughs..maybe drop a berley pot from your boat with kina etc in it and have hooks and line off it,I often have one of these out while diving and get fish,all you have to do is iki them if the sharks dont hit them first.

Well said Reid. Totally agree with you.

Agreed.

As a freediver/kayak fisherman I say you are as entitled to feed you whanau as anyone else.

Dead fish taste nice. I don't care how you gather them as long as you take only enough for your needs, stay within the rules and don't let any go to waste.

I have no experience spearing on scuba (only used UBA for recreational voyeuristic diving). Nor have I used a pneumatic gun but they sound good if you only want to use the spear occasionally (small and easy to carry around).

If you want to shoot a few fish each dive it would be worth considering a rubber band gun. They are simple, low maintenance, relatively cheap and reliable. No reel or floatline needed for general table fish, only for big snaps, kings and such. 90cm, 16mm rubber, mono shooting line is all that is required. For general table fish you do not need a slip tip, open muzzle, rail gun etc.

Where to keep the fish is the problem if in sharky waters. I've only had the odd problem with seals (wellington).

Good on ya for dredging this one up and commenting without reading (or appearing to read) the balanced discussion above.