FAQ Home
| What are the different lines used for
spearfishing? |
| Here they
are:
a) the shooting line
b) the
reel line
c) the float line
d)
the bungee line ::Top |
| What is a shooting line? |
| This is the line that is attached
directly to the spear (shaft). ::Top |
| What should I attach the other end of the
shooting line to? |
| Depending on
the hunting ground and/or the fish specie and size,
the other end will be hooked either
a) to
the speargun itself,
b) to the Reel line,
or
c) to a float line ::Top |
| Which of these 3 setups would you recommend
the most? |
| This really depends
on the type of hunting and the area/gamefish that
you're hunting.
But generally, uless you
are blue water hunting, or hunting a rather deep
area with lots of coral or obstacles at the bottom,
the most suitable setup is separgun and reel with
enough reel line spooled on it.
Attaching
the speargun directly to the gun itself is only
suitable for hunting smaller fish in shallower and
clear waters. ::Top |
| What is the shooting line made of? |
| Spearfishers around the world
traditionally use a monofilament. Most of the
Picasso spearguns come already equipped with a
220lb/test, 1.8mmØ black monofilament.
But
today, Picasso America has revolutionized the
shooting line by creating the MemoSpec®
For bigger
spearguns, such as multi-band blue water and tuna
spearguns, the monofilament should be at least 400
lb/test to 800 lb/test.
However, when
chaffing becomes an issue, such as in wrecks, sharp
coral or lava rocks and shark infested waters, the
choice will be a steel cable, with or without
coating.
For Blue Water Hunting or/and when
using a multi-band, heavier spear blue-water or tuna
gun, then the shooting lines of choice will be
either a 400 to 800 lb /test monofilament,
or a coated steel cable.
Except for the
MemoSpec®, all these lines above will have to be
"crimped". This means that the line will be looped
and stopped by the use of a
brass crimp, or sleeve (bullet), securely locked
with a crimping tool. ::Top |
| So how would you tie the MemoSpec® shooting
line to the spear? |
| We recommend
the "Fisherman Knot"
1- make a regular knot,
and let about 10 inches run out and keep the knot
untied, then
2- run the end of the line in
the spear hole and make a U turn
3- pass the
end of the line INSIDE the untied knot on the other
side
4- make a knot with that same running
line AROUND the line with the first knot.
5-
make sure that as you tie the second knot, it is
parallel to the first. Both knots should be bending
backwards, towards the loop. If the second knot is
bending forward, untie it and repeat it, but this
time starting from the opposite end.
5- now
pull both lines, creating stopping knots.
See it being done with animation here ::Top |
| What is the reel line? |
| It is the special super strong line used to fill
the reel attached to the speargun.
The Picasso Reel can be filled with
about 40 meters (132ft) of the 2mmØ Spectra Reel Line
::Top |
| What is the Picasso America reel line made
of and why? |
| Our reel line is a
2mmØ blue and white braided Nylon jacket, with
Spectra® fibers core.
This combination
became the clear choice after years of use in all
freedive hunting conditions.
The Nylon
Jacket's special braiding gives it its ideal
stiffness and abrasion resistance to sharp lava
rocks and corals.
Its Spectra® core alone is
rated to over 500 lb/test, as it is also shock
absorbing, meaning it will stretch under a sudden
pull and won't break like
Kevlar®.
::Top |
| Other sites promote Kevlar® or Technora® .
Why did you choose Spectra®? |
Aramid fibers such as Kevlar® and Technora® are
fabrics that have zero tolerance to stretch and a
very poor abrasion (chaffing)
resistance.
Since these ropes are nearly
always jacketed it is not possible to observe the
wear due to abrasion and failure can occur without
warning.
This would spell disaster should
this happen while you're trying to land your world
record dream fish.
On the other ends,
High Modulus PolyEthylene (Spectra®, Dyneema®) fiber
has a very high tensile strength and it is by far
the strongest man-made fiber ever.
The fiber
density is only 0.97 and consequently the strength
to weight ratio is also very
high.
The
fiber has an extremely low coefficient of friction
and is extremely resistant to
internal and
external abrasion. The lifetime in cycling over
sheaves is extraordinary.
For a freedive
hunter, this means that you will have a fish to
show, rather than a fish story to tell :-)
::Top |
| What is a float line? |
| In case of blue water or very deep reef hunting,
this would be the line that links the spear to the
float, whether directly or indirectly.
This
means that you could have the speargun attached to
the float line or only the spear. In both
situations, the fish will be fighting against the
float.
In case of kelp hunting, the float
line will not be attached to a float, or else it
will be impossible for the freedive hunter to move
through the kelp.
Finally, when freedive
hunting where the law and common sense require a visible float with a dive flag
to signal boaters, this would be
the line attached to that float.
Its
other end will be attached to a
mini-anchor or weight, which will be dropped to
mark a productive spot.
::Top |
| What is the bungee line? |
| This line is used exclusively for
blue water hunting and/or very large game
fish.
Usually it's a 16mmØ (5/8") rubber
tubing with a high tensile strength line coiled in
its core, at 3 or 3.5 times the length of the rubber
tubing, since the rubber should stretch to no more
than 3.5 times its own length.
When a large
and powerful fish is hit, it will take-off at
unbelievable speed and with a tremendous
power.
The bungee line will absorb the
initial shock, therefore eliminating or reducing the
chances of terminal gear failure at that critical
moment, due to the sudden impact.::Top |
|
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