Well I have spear fished before with just a 6 foot hawaiin sling type spear with the 3 prong tip in cuba and japan. I know you shouldn't run before you can walk so I was going to start out targeting smaller fish like sheephead and that size range. And my budget probably around 300-400 and I primarily fish dana point. I figured I would ask here because I see people talking about spear fishing every now and then and figued it would be a decent place to start, with the wealth of knowledge about fishing floating around here I assumed I could at least get pointed in the right direction.

First thing you should focus on is a proper freedive suit. They are completely different than a surf or scuba suit. You feel like you are wearing nothing and you are more warm and comfortable than you could imagine.
You need to be very comfortable so you can keep your heart rate down(breath hold) and stay in the water for long periods of time. You're looking at around $300 or more for one.

You get cold very quick being completely under water and don't forget the icy thermoclines.

I've taken newbies out several times ...they'd say "Oh...I have a real good 5mm surf suit" and after one hour they are hating life shivering uncontrollably...you can't concentrate and stalk fish like that.

Don't think you're gonna be blasting wsb and yt right away unless you can swim down to 60 feet and cut them out of the kelp and the 7gills are becoming more and more of a problem in LJ. Stick to reef fish and halibut and lobster in the winter for awhile. For which a polespear or small gun is fine. If you catch the addiction, you'll soon have weapons of all sizes.

ps- don't forget that bass are now 14" and they look bigger underwater so a 15" almost looks like a monster.

You'll shoot your eye out!
 

As far as advice goes and considering getting into the sport---^^^^ this right here. The man knows what he's talking about.

For me, I was 100% positive that I wasn't going in the pole-spear direction. Although, that's great advice for someone who's still gauging their level of interest. At least there's a minimal investment if you change your mind. Which is a plus.

Spearfishing's fall-out ratio is probably ten times that of kayak fishing (which is fairly high itself). At least that's been my observation. Guys spend a couple thousand dollars just to realize it's not for them. All the time for that matter---which is something easily capitalized upon if you're willing to buy used gear.

Used gear, in my opinion, is the way to go if you're getting into spearfishing. Hell, it's pretty much the way to go for anything. Buy top brand gear for pennies on the dollar---what else is there to explain? If it looks new and works like new, go for it!

I also knew that I wanted a gun capable of taking down large fish (trophy Yellowtail, White Sea Bass and Halibut). With my budget I knew that I could only afford one quality gun. For me, it really made sense, to buy a gun that I could easily sell for what I originally paid. And that would really be my best advice to anyone considering the sport. Beyond, of course, diving safe. That's what I did and have no regrets.


I'll leave the light on for you, bus kid---shot this puppy a few days ago.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall...0/FILE0135.JPG
The thought of you getting dragged 95' down into the bulll-kelp (attached to this thing) would be a sight! :D

It has happened to a few guys over the years, some even lived to tell about it. Stay safe, never exceed your limits.

In that price range, start with a rear handle euro style rail gun. Typically they have two bands, but a long band pull length which gives you decent range (10 maybe 12ft max). Avoid a breakaway/floatline setup for your first rig. Go with a reel setup... its much easier to manage in the kelp.

Wetsuit buoyancy and weight selection is critical. In the kelp, I try to use a weight with which I'm neutrally buoyant at about 15-20 ft depth. This means you will be sinking when you hit 25 ft depth, keep that in mind. If you are too buoyant you will have to struggle to get down the first 10 feet of depth. This will use up your oxygen and scare the fish.

Before you go stalking your prized trophy, make sure you have the physical ability to land it. A static breath-hold (resting heart rate, sitting on your couch) of 3-4 minutes translates into about 1-1:30 minute of downtime while diving. This can greatly decrease based on your heartrate and surface intervals. Spend three minutes the surface for every one minute you're under.

Hope this helps, I know its a late reply.

Check out the Mako site, great gear at a great price. Their pipe guns are priced nice, get at least a 110 cm for WSB or yellows, the suits they make are yamamoto neoprene good quality stuff. I ended up making a gun for reef diving which has worked pretty well for me. But like darkhorse said, the fallout rate is quite high so there is tons of lightly used gear on spearboard for sale.