Gun setup and yellowtail

[Dyllan]

Howzit guys, I've been spearfishing for a good couple of months now and have shot the average fishes (hotties, jutjaw etc) but I'm wanting to change my setup for when the yellowtail come to visitdocument.write('/images/emoticons/f10.gif'); .

Now I have a RA caranx 1.1m reel gun with a 20mm band, which has served me very well with the ''smaller'' fish species. Im contemplating buying a 7.5mm spear with two 16mm bands for the yellowtail and I can also take one band off to hunt hotties etc.

Is this a good setup, really would like as much input as possible and I would also like to hear what setup you guys (and girls?) use for spearing yellowtail.

Now to my 2nd question...when do the yellowtail start arriving in our waters by cape point?

Thanks guys

 

[Patrick]

PM Miles or Eckart. They both have good experience with spearing tail. Hard to predict when and where the tail will pop up. Last winter saw a good run off Dassen, the year before that was Rocky Bank

 

[scaley character]

imho a 1,2m gun is ideal with 1 x 20mm rubber.especially if you are on and off the boat chasing the terns.you need to load quick and dive. rolling out your bouy and rope takes very long as well.every diver seems to have a different system. a reel gun with a bungee attaching your gun to your belt works well ,but not for the inexperienced. it can be dangerous without the bouy.at dassen the tail are generally smaller and you can pull them up quickly.
a good method is to let your bouy and rope out as the boat is moving.roll your rope up on the gun. it saves some time before you climb back on.

generally the tail are at dassen when the water is relatively warm.that should be any time when the s easter doesnt blow.so summer is out.
in false bay the s easter warms the water and you find the tail more in summer months.this year the weather is all mixed up. hope that helps.

 

[eenvoet]

Hi,
On where and when the fish will arrive is impossible to predict at the moment.
On the gun, what you have is good enough. Myself prefer a 1.1 with a reel on it and it works like a bomb. Instead of connecting the reel gun to your belt with a bungee, rather use belt reel. The reason I say this should you shoot a big tail and you get a muzzle wrap (which happend to me on 12mile at Struis) its bye bye gun and maybe even yourself. I use the belt reel which rob allen makes and it works perfectly.

 

[Metro]

Howzit Dylan,

As per Eenvoets input, i agree, 1.1m reelgun, single 20mm and 7mm spear, you cant get a better setup.

 

As per the belt reel option, since you sound like you've just started and since the tail in the W.Cape are generally small fish (besides those at struis). I'd say dont waste the loot on buying the reel, unless you are persistant on targeting those large fish at Struis on a regular basis and or you are diving +20m. Rather for the mean time, be meticulous with winding your dyneema/black polymer back onto your reel by adding some sort of pressure to prevent the line from biting in and jamming the reel. Yes, the muzzle wrap was a large issue for me and i have had fun and games being dragged around by large tail at Cape St Francis until i bought the low profile from RA, works like a charm and the low profile muzzle is inexpensive as compared to the kitted out belt reel option.

 

All the best china

 

[miles]

Hiya

Just to add to what the others have already said, 1.1m gun is perfect for local waters. A 1.2m is slightly better at Struis, where the water is generally cleaner and the fish alot bigger. The longer gun simply gives you more range.

My favourite yellowtail gun is my 115cm Rabitech with an Omer reel. 7mm spear and a single 20mm band, reel is loaded with 3mm parachute cord (thats the cheap normal line bought at any hardware store). The parachute cord on the reel is easier to grip, as its thicker and not so slippery like the 2mm dyneema i used before.

Single 20mm band with a 7mm spear will give you enough power, yet be quick to load, which you'll soon find out, is a BIG advantage when a school of yellowtail is around you...........

If you want to be safe, add a short peice of float rope to your gun, like 6-8m with a small egg float on the end. I use a thin 8-10mm bungee of 8m long with a small egg float. Should your reel jam, or line get tangled, you can still let go of the gun and still have some floatline to save your fish and gun.

My 8m bungee tied to my gun stretches to 16m, plus the guns length of 1.15m, plus the spear and shooting line, which is around 4m, gives you a total of around 21m. So, your reel can get jammed up and you'll still make it to the surface with your small egg float, in 20m of water.

I also started diving with no reel, just that short 8m peice of bungee with a small egg float. Easier to load, doesn't tangle so much, as the bungee is so short and very easy to use. Cheap too!!

 

[Eckart]

Dyllan,
if you are in the southern suburbs come pop in and I'll show you what I use and give you a few suggestions.
As everyone mentioned a 1.1 is a great all rounder gun! and a single 20mm rubber will give you all the power you need.
I personally use a 1.2 with a 20mm rubber and reel and I've had no issues.

To find tail...well now there's a mystery! Keep watching the offshore section on sealine and you need to slowly start building up contacts that can give you reports and also experience so that you know what conditions to be looking for in the weather charts.... problem is that everything can be perfect but if the fish decide to stay home... but once the yellowtail bug has bit! it's all over!!
you will spend hours looking at charts, phoning people, begging guys for a spot on a boat, day dreaming.... it's all you will want to do... we are all sufferers!