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Rarotonga Dive Charters?

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    Posted: 03 May 2011 at 1:56pm
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Does anyone know any dive charters in Rarotonga? I have a mate going there at the end of this month and he would like some contacts.

Thanks for any help!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Mullins Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 2:44pm
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Kyle is good:
 
 
Pretty laid back and has done plenty of spearfishing himself. Boat is about the right size, not a big expensive launch. 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Qaz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 3:36pm
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Go see my Uncle Greg , 'Cook Island dives' - He'll sort you out - PM Snoop , I'm sure he's lurking and he's meet him before.


http://www.gladiatormarine.co.nz/
A fisherman is a jerk on one end of the line waiting for a jerk on the other.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote nismo404 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 5:00pm
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Sorry to hi-jack the thread but I'm also heading to Raro but in November. At the moment I only own a 100cm gun and was wondering what type of gun and setup you guy's would recommend for out on the FAD's? I want something I could bring back and still use here as well.

Cheers
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote bigbrett Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 6:25pm
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At least a 120 with a 7mm shaft and 20mm rubber
Also known as "Dory Rider"
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote baffled Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 6:59pm
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Cheers for the advice, he has been reading the thread and will try out those options. We also found a mate knows someone over there so that might be the one for him.

No worries on the hijack, I went to Samoa recently with a 120, found it lacked range in the awesome vis and with some very shy fish. I want a bigger gun next time I visit the tropics (140-150) but this is also down to my lack of skill and practice at hunting tropical fish which was quickly improving with time in the water over there. If you are bringing the gun back for use in NZ you probably wouldnt want anything bigger than a 120 anyway.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote mjl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 7:17pm
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Go 130 Baffled.  I understand the urge to go bigger and bigger but anything over 140 is a bit of a joke.  All normal rules apply, ie get close to the fish, if you're not getting close enough look at how you're diving and how you're approaching the fish.

"It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top. " Hunter S. Thompson
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote long john Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 7:22pm
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Disagree-130 at minimum
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote nismo404 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 7:26pm
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Cheers guys. Quick question mjl, I understand getting close to fish in reefs etc, but have never dived in truly open water and with the visibility I've read about (crystal clear), don't see how one can approach fish in a discreet manner. Could you elaborate?

Thanks
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote mjl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 8:05pm
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first a disclaimer -I am not a particuarly successful bw fad type diver, I find it boring and have little real interest in changing that.  However I have been on trips with a variety of different levels of divers and have found the length of a persons speargun to be inversely proportionate to the number of fish they shoot. 
Blue water fish are predators and are curious which is what you need to exploit.  You cannot ambush them, you have to attract them to you.  Body language is eveything.  The angle which you dive is important ie intercept the fish rather than swim towards them, avoid eye contact at all costs, swim away and make them follow, pretend to be a log...  When you change the length of gun you're using it changes your attitude in the water, how hard it is to swing, everything.
"It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top. " Hunter S. Thompson
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote long john Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 8:45pm
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Meh, if guys do well with short guns it is because they feel more comfortable with them, not because they are the best tool for the job?
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Spearsniper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 10:04pm
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Just remember the vis at the FAD's often exceeds 50 meters, so the fish do not need to come right in close for a look. The bigger the gun you take the more likely you are to come home with a fish.
A gun with a big range and shoots reasonably flat should also land the shots you will inevitably take at the fish that "seemed so close you could touch them", but were in fact at the outer range of the gun.
 
A tip that made my FAD diving a lot more productive, was to spend less time floating on the surface looking out for fish, and hang at 2-3 meters down as you can see a lot further. Also allows you to see the fish right on the surface that are obscured by the swell.
 
You can't go wrong with Kyle and Rob (Kyles brother). Both top spearos.
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"If at first you don't succeed, reload and try again"

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote random Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 10:28pm
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Realistically, what is the maximum range you are realistically going to shoot a fish at?
For me, it does not matter which gun I have in my hand, I dont really shoot at anything that is more than about 3m from the spear tip.
And if thats the range Im shooting,then it makes more sense to me to have something Im accurate with.
I have a 130 for the tropics. Its the same as my 120 so adjusting to it isnt too hard. Though I hardly ever use it (I use my 120 for everything, even on the fads)
basically, if you're going to get a longer gun, get a longer version of what you use every day. but dont go hugely long just to say 'Mines bigger than yours'. Get something that is going to be comfortable to shoot in the range you're planning on shooting at.

Ive seen lots of stories saying 'so and so shot this fish from 6m away' but really what they're saying is that 'so and so shot this fish that was 6m away from their face, which was 5m away from their outstretched arm which was 3.5m away from the tip of their speargun.'

I think the new record y/fin was shot with a 130 r/a?
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Mullins Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 10:36pm
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I found a 130 with a fairly tight 20mm rubber to be fairly good for Raro & Aitutaki. Could have used a 140 at times, but for the most part the range was adequate. I tend not to shoot very straight with double rubbers so the extra accuracy largely made up for the reduced range. Hit some reefies out towards the end of the double wrap.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote nismo404 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2011 at 11:05pm
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Cheers for the info guys. I've only ever used my 100cm freedivers gun, so I wouldn't say I'm accustomed to that particular style of gun and could probably adapt quite quickly to a different brand of gun, hopefully. Will probably go for the 130 as that seems to be the popular choice. I feel confident in shooting most fish at home on the 100, apart from a kingy which I am yet to encounter and don't think I'd attempt on the 100 anyway, so the 130 should be nice for that. I realise having not shot a kingy yet I'm getting ahead of myself, but I don't think I'll get another chance like this for a couple of years and what to make the most of it while I'm there.

Cheers
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Mullins Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 May 2011 at 8:02am
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I use my 130 for everything, even here in Wellington. It's overkill, but I'm used to it and I don't find it too unwieldy.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote SharkBite Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 May 2011 at 10:07am
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This is a very interesting dilema it really is. Myself and others are soon to depart to a remote region of the tropics renowed for ultra clear water, even by tropical statndards. In NZ I own and use both 1100 and 1200, yet the 'body of knowlege' says go 1300 in the tropics. Dilema. 1300 or 1400. Well I bought a 1400 version. I have been using the 1400 in merky old NZ. The result is I am now very confortable with the 1400, but am concerned by the amount of power I now unleash on what are 99% of the time close range fish. So I can't say that the extra range has been any particular advantage in NZ but I have found the extra power drives the shaft right through even very large fish and clean out the other side. This effect is a little disconcerting when the viz is such that you cannot see what is beyond the fish (hopefully not one's buddy!). This shouldn't be a problem in the tropics though. I figure I can always cut the 1400 down to a 1300 but its a bit tricky to do the opposite.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote mjl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 May 2011 at 10:12am
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I think you must take your own physical size into account as well - for you a 140 is going to be the equivalent of a 130 on me and a 160 on LJ.
"It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top. " Hunter S. Thompson
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Gareth27934 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 May 2011 at 10:34am
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Can't you put some lighter rubbers on it in NZ waters?
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Unclejake Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 May 2011 at 10:39am
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Originally posted by mjl mjl wrote:

I think you must take your own physical size into account as well - for you a 140 is going to be the equivalent of a 130 on me and a 160 on LJ.
An excellent and probably often overlooked point MJL.
 
Now.... if Riffe would just make a Euro handle that will fit a grown man's hand.....
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