Posted by David Stephens on 29th Oct 2020
Which Speargun?
Spearguns
What gun is best for me?
Spearguns can be and should be very simple, our best advice is to keep things simple but effective.
You will see a lot of manufacturers with weird and wonderful spearguns which In our opinion over complicate something which doesn’t need to be! Certainly for the UK.For example roller guns.
For a mid range decent gun prices will start at around £100, going upto circa £200 for a higher end setup (bit more for some Carbon guns)
We suggest a either a simple light aluminum barrel gun, or carbon (but not necessary if you go for a light aluminum setup), with a single 16mm rubber, 6.5mm spear.Size wise in the UK, upto a 90 (this is the length of the barrel), will be more than sufficient.
Sometimes we get asked about spearguns people have seen for £500 and even over £1000 and want to know if it will help them catch more fish!In reality in this country the answer is no, the person behind the gun is far more important!
Power
More power certainly isn’t always best!Many guns come with thick double bands and thick spears, as they are designed for blue water fishing for example, where they are shooting large fish.With increased power you increase recoil which effects accuracy.In this country 99% of the time the fish being caught will be under 4/5kgs, so power isn’t an issue.
Length/Size
The key to the length of speargun is to have the right size gun in your hand at the right time as much as possible.With spearfishing in the UK, this can be quite tricky due to the changing nature of the ground and conditions.Our suggestion would be if your fishing in clearer waters for Pollack/Bass etc then edge towards the 90, if your in lower viz and fishing in holes etc you would want to be around a 75.Saying that a 75 is more than capable in clearer waters.
In an ideal world you would have both a 75 and 90, and switch depending on the conditions etc, but financially this isn’t always possible.So consider your area for visibility/ground for which is best for you.As a generalisation a 90 for the west country and 75 for the east and you won’t go far wrong.
You will see some people suggesting a longer gun will mean you can shoot fish further away, which is true upto a certain point.The issue with this is, you are relying on the fish being out in the open (back to the right gun at the right time), and also with our visibility in this country if you need to use such a large gun to catch fish it could well be your technique/hunting skills which require adjusting/improving first.
Also its worth mentioning a 60, which is great for hole fishing.
Who uses what?
All the top spearos in the UK have a very similar setup to what’s been mentioned previously.
We are very lucky in the UK where, several previous British Champions are active on social media and would be more than happy im sure to pass on their experience/knowledge in this department.One thing you will notice more than anything is the simplicity of the setup, and also how similar they are (no coincidence!) – also its worth mentioning in European/World championships again you will see nearly all the competitors with very simple/similar setups.