Spearfishing in the PNW?

J

JesseC

Smolt
I like to pick up a new immersive hobby every couple years. I think spear fishing looks awesome, but I have some newb questions.

1- is there a good pnw spearfishing forum
2- any good books focused on the pnw youd recommend?
3- what thickness wetsuit would make our frigid waters bearable? It looks like the most standard is 3mm, but they jump all the way up to 9mm.
4- in terms of gear what am I missing?
-speargun
-wetsuit, snorkel, fins, gloves
-weight belt
-diver buoy
- lanyard to attach speared fish to
- a humongous knife
- underwater flashlight for creepin under ledges?

I have a rad ocean boat - if someone is into spearfishing, I’d be happy to take you out just so I can watch and learn.
 
JesseC said:
I like to pick up a new immersive hobby every couple years. I think spear fishing looks awesome, but I have some newb questions.

1- is there a good pnw spearfishing forum
2- any good books focused on the pnw youd recommend?
3- what thickness wetsuit would make our frigid waters bearable? It looks like the most standard is 3mm, but they jump all the way up to 9mm.
4- in terms of gear what am I missing?
-speargun
-wetsuit, snorkel, fins, gloves
-weight belt
-diver buoy
- lanyard to attach speared fish to
- a humongous knife
- underwater flashlight for creepin under ledges?

I have a rad ocean boat - if someone is into spearfishing, I’d be happy to take you out just so I can watch and learn.
Click to expand...
To my knowledge, most spearfishing around here happens with a scuba tank on the back. I've seen it mostly done for lings in reefs about 50ft down. They're hiding in cracks and the water is cold and a little murky, so they use tanks to be able to stay down. I'll poke around some buddies and see what I can find out. This info applies to the san Juan region, not sure how they boogie down south.
 
I use a 7mm wetsuit in Southeast Alaska for diving and changing the zincs on my boat. I wouldn't use less than 5mm. I think most in Alaska use a dry suit and many here do as well.
 
When my dad did it back in the early 80s it was a scuba thing, weight belts, murky low visibility, cold. Not to mention being in really good shape, he was fresh out of the Navy and BUD/s. I have seen several old photos of some nice speared lingcod and they also used to scoop up Dungeness crab. Speaking of they, you need a dive partner, knowing next to nothing about diving I know that's one of the cardinal rules. I think they went off the jetties at all the local bays. He also dived in the sound, I remember him telling me about seeing a salmon on the bottom with a perfect circle eaten out of the middle of the body, then noticed the humongous octopus attached to it, perfectly camouflaged...
 
Scuba qualified in the 70's, free dove for abs for a long time, conttinue to snorkel dive and sling hunt in warm water.
Your most important piece of equipment when tank diving is a buoyancy compensator, the only way to control your dive, and your emergency exit back to the surface if shit hits the fan, never dive without it.
Wetsuit thickness all depends on where and when. Oregon surface temps can range from mid 40's in winter to high 50's in summer, and always colder the deeper you go, 7mm is pretty standard, can always heat up with a Thermolution heated vest ,which I've used for mid winter surfing.
Best spear fishing will always be on either the rock piles or jetties, the jetties best hunted on the oposite side of wind and swell, providing better visibility and less current. Guns vary from single band to industrial strength multi-band that can kill anything.
Diving in the PNW is serious biz, and never done solo. Visit a local dive shop, find out about the dive clubs, talk to ttheir members, they will give you the 411 on gear, locations, and group dive events which are the best way for the inexperienced to go.
 
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Check the OR regs.
There is some bass spear fishing that can be had in a couple of rivers.
If you dive in the salt I would use 7mm or heaver. Fresh water is warmer during the late sprig and summer/fall months..
 
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