Bluewater rigging?
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Diving
Forum Name: Spearo's Corner
Forum Description: Free-divers & spearos chat about their sport
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=87852
Printed Date: 11 Jul 2026 at 9:32am
Topic: Bluewater rigging?
Posted By: steepNdeep
Subject: Bluewater rigging?
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2013 at 10:41pm
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What do you use or recommend for a bluewater floatline & float setup for big pelagics? -------------  Protecting Our Fishing Rights - Together " rel="nofollow - www.Outdoor-Alliance.org |
Replies:
Posted By: chalkeye
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2013 at 11:08pm
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big pelagics being big kingfish, or actual big pelagics? ------------- float like a crowbar, sting like a bee |
Posted By: Nick.
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 7:07am
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Blue water Pelagic's: Tuna Marlin Wahoo anything in, well, blue water, which is deep, like 100m+ I use a 75ft Rife Bungy with a 35L RA float. for where I can see a reef, i'd go with a 30m braided floatline. Ie Doggies, Kingis Bluewater: 
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Posted By: steepNdeep
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 10:38am
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Nice wahoo Nick!
I meant big bluewater pelagics - not big kingfish. It seems that even the biggest can be shot with an inline rig, standard flopper & 1 float (with the odd bent spear)... ------------- Protecting Our Fishing Rights - Together " rel="nofollow - www.Outdoor-Alliance.org |
chalkeye wrote:Posted By: Mullins
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 10:53am
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You can still use an inline rig for just about anything too, though you might want an inflatable float or two for big fish. Sorry didn't answer your PM earlier, though it wouldn't have been too helpful for your BW preparation - that marlin of mine was shot with a 120 euro gun, 27m hardline and ronstan. Heh.
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Posted By: steepNdeep
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 11:06am
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From where I live, you have to travel thousands of miles to hunt big pelagics, so you don't want to blow your only shot... ------------- Protecting Our Fishing Rights - Together " rel="nofollow - www.Outdoor-Alliance.org |
Posted By: Nick.
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 11:31am
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use inline rig, no slip tips, no breakaways (Thats if you trust your components, ask Q about his sailfish on his Esclapez handle) Though Mullins's handle held up! break away is ok, but make sure you sling your gun over your shoulder or it may get lost or get in the way. |
Posted By: AR
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 11:51am
| A mate that predominantly dives in Mozambique only uses a 1.2 gun, inline rig with standard float and pretty much drills anything that swims... |
Posted By: Mullins
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 12:12pm
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Posted By: steepNdeep
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 4:13pm
Guns are a whole other topic... But I have a feeling that the guys that have watched their shaft bounce off the head or fail to penetrate a vertebrae & watched the fish of the trip swim away... would disagree. ;) ------------- Protecting Our Fishing Rights - Together " rel="nofollow - www.Outdoor-Alliance.org |
Posted By: Mullins
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 4:37pm
| I think the guys who missed the fish altogether would be equally grumpy. What Nick said sounds about right though i.e. bungee when there's no chance of getting reefed, hard line when there is. Big float(s) either way. |
Posted By: Spearsniper
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 8:16pm
What did I learn that day - your bluewater rig is only as good as the weakest point. While an inline setup is good, it introduces another couple points of possible failure. Personally I am a fan of the breakaway rig. If it all goes to poo, you still have your gun. ------------- http://spearfishingreview.info" rel="nofollow - www.spearfishingreview.info "If at first you don't succeed, reload and try again" |
Posted By: steepNdeep
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 10:32pm
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Good stuff! It's always interesting to see how the boys do it on the other side... Ideally we use a sliptip with a breakaway onto a 30m hardline onto a hard float or 2ATM inflatable, then a 5m bungy onto another 2ATM inflatable. Some use full bungee for wahoo for that big first run. Definitely braided if you're next to a reef or if they fight dirty. One of my mates clips a spare shaft onto his float for the second shot. As for guns - I'd rather shoot a powerful, accurate gun sized for the fish. (Obviously you have to be proficient with any gun). The difference is that you could make the exact same hit with both guns, but with the underpowered gun you lose a wounded fish... I understand that guys get lucky shooting all kinds of fish with their standard guns on a chance encounter & good on 'em! But if I had the choice... Here are the boys on a trip this year:  ------------- Protecting Our Fishing Rights - Together " rel="nofollow - www.Outdoor-Alliance.org |
Posted By: oldfela
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 11:03pm
what about WA style ,with reel gun and belt reel  l gun and belt real
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Posted By: steepNdeep
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2013 at 11:19pm
I don't know him, but I think Barry is awesome & I'm in awe of the fish that he shoots daily - with style!  I think there are a couple of classes of bluewater fish: those under ~50kg (ie: mahi, wahoo, spanish mack's, etc.) & Big = over 50kg (ie: doggies, yellowfin, bluefin & stickfaces...) I was talkin' about the Big ones... (I'm sure Paxman could shoot both classes of fish consistently on his reel guns, though. ;)
------------- Protecting Our Fishing Rights - Together " rel="nofollow - www.Outdoor-Alliance.org |
Posted By: Azazel
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2013 at 1:25am
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More stickfaces have fallen to Rob Allens with hardlines than anything else. I managed a good sailie just fine with mine. Maybe it's not all about the gear?
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Posted By: Nick.
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2013 at 2:09am
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Are they putting in 2 Atmospheres in their 2ATM floats? I find on most trips there are no compressors sometimes and I watch people blow up their 2ATM float with about 9psi of lung power! Old Fella: The man with the greatest kudos is the one that free shafts it! If I had my 1.1 reel gun on me and a stick face swam by, it shoot it and hold the f uck on and swim like buggery. Its better to shoot and loose your gun than to never shoot at all. If your not close enough for a holding shot, get closer- no tree trunks required. |
Posted By: mjl
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2013 at 9:26am
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Big railgun or small woody with straight shaft definitely no slip-tip, 30m polyurethane bungy with 1:1.25 stretch and two RA hippo floats clipped together for me but only if tuna over 30kg are really likely otherwise 130 reelgun ------------- "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 |
Posted By: Mullins
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2013 at 10:35am
| I think big tuna (like those!) or blue / black marlin are about the only fish that'd have me reaching for a woody with slip tip. Stripies don't seem to give anybody too much trouble by comparison. |
Posted By: fish food
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2013 at 11:33am
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theres.a.small.reef.off.my.local.about.20.minutes.out.thats.gets.inhabitated.by.black.marlin,frequently,from.100kgs.sort.of.thing.up. its.a.small.coral.reef.surrounded.by.deep.water i.thought.id.have.a.crack.at.one.my.set.up.will.be.riffe130,flopper.shaft.(breakaway?)Large35litre.float,floatline.25mRA.bungy,line.is.a.normal.rope.floatline going.to.be.better,is.a.marlin.likely.to.head.for.the.coral?or.go.deep?anyone.shot.a.marlin.near.reef.before? ive.seen.what.happens.to.the.RA.bungy.when.a.doggie.has.wrapped.it.on.the.reef, |
Posted By: steepNdeep
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2013 at 4:19pm
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Nick - Yeah, they'd be pretty useless if they're only lung filled... I was hired to guide that tuna trip & had my woody built specifically for the trip. Dave, apparently your stripey was bigger than average... Congrats! Funny thing - I just had beers the other day with an associate of mine that speared a decent blue on a shorey. I just checked & he shot it with a RA130. Hahaa. He ended up 2km out to sea & luckily hitched a ride on a passing boat. Got his moneys worth on that fish! (He now shoots timber. ;-)
------------- Protecting Our Fishing Rights - Together " rel="nofollow - www.Outdoor-Alliance.org |