gear for the nj shore are

[Vander28]

I am looking to get into spearfishing off the Jersey shore and was wondering what type of gear you guys use. I know i can ask in other forums but wanted to see what you guys used since it is different for each area. I will free diving off of LBI since that is where go a couple weekendds a month. Any help would be great

[njspearo]

try to find a gun with as much power for how short it needs to be. Nj viz aint the shit so you wanna gun probably not much bigger than a 42''. I had a 48 when i was fishing in Nj and i felt that at times it was too big. might i suggest a riffe metal tech or a nice powerfull euro, an aimrite or an omer or something. your also gonna need a float with a dive flag, nothing special, just get a small omer float or, make your own out of a boat fender and some poly line from home depot, (some one recently made a post about making their own float in the gear section). a float is good for when you shoot those big fish and for abiding by the law, i hear theres a nice fine if your caught with out a dive flag. and obviously a wetsuit, depends on how you handle the water, i think you would do alright with a 3 or 3.5mm with a hood. but then again some people need something thicker a 5 or a 7mm, but for this time of year i think a 3 would be just fine.
thats all the advice that is coming to mind right now, but im sure youll get to talk to alot of other guys from NJ who can further help ya. but good luck!

[TriggerNJ]

Here's a discussion on the different guns Jersey guys prefer to get you started.
http://www.spearboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=144&order=desc&page=2

For shore dives I use a lifeguard can, stringer, flag, 40ft of floatline, 90cm Rob Allen, Omer Alien mask (best I've ever had hands down), whatever snorkel's not lost at the moment, weightbelt, and Sporasub fins which suck by the way but thats another story (thankfully I just ordered some Cressi's anyway). Oh and various surf style wetsuits, boots, etc.

If you search around the site you'll find a lot of info on preferred setups and there uses.

[spearman21]

Hey guys just wanted to give you all a heads up that im selling my custom made Mojo Stick which is 42in long and has a Riffe 9/16 shaft...gun is brand new still in my closet... sorry for hijacking the threaad...lol....oops almost forgot wetsuit is available too.....oceanus custom open cell 5mm one piece suit with hood......the water is still cold in Jersey....in my opinion wearing a 3mm suit especially if it has a zipper will cut ur dive time out dramatically.....u will freeze ur nuts off if u dont have the proper gear,booties, gloves and wetsuit these things are very important....in the spring........I only dive using a 3mm in the late summer.......or maybe its just im a wuss for cold water...lol....

[Vander28]

Do you guys use reels on your guns? How much weight is needed if freediving off the shore? Anybody try for lobsters off jersey or are they not around?

[njspearo]

weight depends on suit and your own body,
you should float at eye level with a full lung of air, and you should slowly sink when you fully exhale.
if this is the case you are weighted perfectly. unless of course you like to be overweighted in which case, feel it out for yourself.

spearman, like i said suit depends person to person, i got by with a 1mm skin from sept to beginning november, as long as i was moving and amped to be in the water, i was warm, but thats me.
vander just feel it out and figure out whats best for yourself.
and do some searching like triggernj said.

[FLETCHOSAURUS]

How much weight is needed if freediving off the shore?

Use the 10% rule....take you body weight and multiply it by.1 and bingo

welcome btw. I have just started myself. Where are you located

[Vander28]

I will be doing most of my spearfishing out of LBI since my family has a house down there

[Jersey Jim]

Vander, everyone is different but what ruins a dive for me is when I'm warm in a suit and cold water runs down your neck from a hood that is not attached to the suit. When the water warms up, I switch to a 2.5mm one-piece suit but it doesn't have a hood. I supplement the suit with a thin Henderson 4-way stretch hooded vest (no sleeves). I wear this under the one-piece as a means to get a hood without water leaking into the neck. The added little bulk in the torso helps enough to be warm, and is an easy combo to don & doff. Otherwise, I use a 5mm 2-piece Elios custom suit. This past Tuesday I actually started getting hot in it, yet the water was only 57F. A good fitting suit that holds very little water will be very warm.

You also need neoprene socks to wear inside your "closed-heel" fins. Not open-heel fins. Rubber-soled booties don't fit inside closed-heel fins very well, although they are very durable for long shore walks. I dive from a boat but when I used to walk the shore to the point-of-entry, I would wear the booties, and then switch to the socks.

Jim

[spearman21]

weight depends on suit and your own body,
you should float at eye level with a full lung of air, and you should slowly sink when you fully exhale.
if this is the case you are weighted perfectly. unless of course you like to be overweighted in which case, feel it out for yourself.

spearman, like i said suit depends person to person, i got by with a 1mm skin from sept to beginning november, as long as i was moving and amped to be in the water, i was warm, but thats me.
vander just feel it out and figure out whats best for yourself.
and do some searching like triggernj said.

Yes absolutely is depends on the person.....from sept to even nov is the warmest times of the year to dive in as well....the spring totally different story....the water in some places is still very cold due to the cold winter temps.....but everyone is different.....dive safe guys...:thumps:

[jmik90]

there is no real system to tell you how much weight you use,you need to test it out your self in a pool so you can find out what works for you.The 10% rule says that i should use around 16 pounds when i really need 25.Get to a pool and figure out the right weight for you.

[njspearo]

the 10% rule is retarded, the ammount of weight you need is completely dependent on your body's density, how much muscle you have and how much fat.
also testing yourself in a pool is kind of a retarded idea seeing as how most pools are fresh water, which is far less dense than salt water, therefore you will need less weight in freshwater.

[jmik90]

:DI know im a kid but im not that stupid, I forgot to say i add 5lbs.But seriously flech whoever told you about the 10% rule is wrong, it all depends on how buoyant you are.

[Vander28]

I was looking at this gun http://www.primescuba.com/p-672-cressi-sub-geronimo-pro-85-speargun.aspx have any of you guys have any experience with it?

[dave p]

In regards to weight..... The percentage is just an approximation, a good starting point.
What I found to work is 10% for 7mm, 7% for 5mm, and about 5% for 3mm. It pretty much works for two piece wetsuits.
Alot of it depends on how deep you're diving too. For me (160#), a 5mm and 60ft, I'll use like maybe 10#. So a little bit lighter. But in 30ft, I'll use about 12.
It's better to be lighter the deeper you're going.
As was mentioned before though, everyone has different body density.
Have fun!
BTW, Any stripers showing yet?

[njspearo]

hey vander, the cressi geronimo looks like an awesome gun, although i think its is still pretty new so i dont know how many people would have any exp. with it. but i know personally that the cressi comanche ( a very inexpensive low end gun) is a very nice gun, so .....hope that helps.

[Vander28]

Thanks Njspearo. I found two other people in the guns board that say it was a good gun. Seems like a good price and around the right size too.

[taimenz]

check out rabitech spearguns at www.sumora.com you probably only need a 90 cm as with a wetsuit like everyone else says it all depends im in the water all year i dove two weeks ago in a 3/2 no hood and was fine, some of my friends dive in a 3/2 in the early summer and are cold you have to get a float line even if its one of the cheaper ones that are made of the rope, attach it to your float then to your gun. the main thing i would invest in is a good pair of fins ive dove lbi and that current can crank just about with everywhere else in jersey good luck

[njspearo]

hey taimenz, what kind of fish is that in your avatar, its a little dark and hard to tell.

[jmik90]

it looks like a striper

[njspearo]

or a blue?

[njfisherman11]

its def. a striper

[sullivanke]

Bluefish have a forked tale, do not have as much girth, and are not that large (ordinarily), mouths dont open as wide either and they have razors for teeth.
STRIPER INDEED>

[njspearo]

yea its a striper

[taimenz]

32# bass

[FLETCHOSAURUS]

I Always used if for a rule of thumb and it works for me.
Trust me...check this sight out. It takes in consideration the mm suit you will be wearing, your weight and the depth you plan on diving. This works great:

http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.chasse-sous-marine.com/magazine/pratik/lest.htm

[njspearo]

32# bass

yeah dude, thats a nice fish!