#65060

David H
Moderator

[edit]  2. Bøje sat fast i bæltet. YES, buoy should be at the belt and NOT at the speargun… A dropweight is probably the best option as it can be used also for fishing purpose and can be quickly released if needed[edit]

A Combo Drop Weight-Flasher Setup

So, an update. I’m still stuck in the Philippines but at least I can go spearfish whenever I feel like it (though not where ever as some spots are closed – beaches are closed and their access roads, too so spots near beaches are off limits for now).

I have been using a regular float line attached to the gun just out of habit. Mostly from Indonesia, I think, where a big fish can swim in front of you even if you were planning to catch pan sized dinner fish in the shallows. But here, nah, not so much of a “risk” of that happening so lately, I have been leaving my 25m floatline at home. I still wanted to my 11l inflatable float for visibility but then I thought, let’s give this drop weight system a try. For the line, I am just using my simple, home made flasher and it works really well. My flasher line winds onto a small fishing net float the size of a 0.5 Coke bottle and has perhaps 200g of lead at the flasher end. I just clip the 11l float onto the flasher line.  We don’t have much current nor waves here, so the 200g has been enough to anchor the float. I can also just clip the flasher to my belt for long swims – no sharks here, either so that’s prolly safe, t00.

I have used this for just two days so far, but I have really grown to like it. I can still use the flasher for flashing by just shortening the line a bit or I can use it as an anchor by extending the line. I don’t have one of those crazy step ladder flashers. They are too big and expensive for my taste and they would likely tangle on the reef much easier. My flasher is a so-called Buzz Bomb made from potato chip bags. It’s sturdy and even though it gets treated harshly when used as an anchor it has held up fine.

Of course, for the diver, this system is not as safe as being connected directly to the float line but the visibility is still there as long as you don’t stray too far from your float and it’s just a nice and relaxing way to dive. Mark your area and explore it before moving to your next place.

Also, the anchor being a flasher is actually pretty nice as I can spot it easier. This actually makes a difference when dropping it onto the bottom where placing it on a sandy patch in between the coral makes it a whole lot easier to retrieve than if it was on the coral itself. And if you used it to mark a spot close to, say, a hole where you saw a grouper, then having the “flasher anchor” also makes it much easier to find your mark on the bottom. Mind you, as this is a flasher, the line is much, much thinner than a regular float line – I am using 1.25mm red mono but it’s easy to loose sight off.

One improvement I am thinking of is to change the last meter of line at the flasher end to cable. That way, the line can’t be cut by the reef when you anchor the flasher. I actually lost a flasher in Indo because of this (we anchored a flasher on a pinnacle so we could find it the current and bad viz, but the current and waves eventually severed the line).

Shooter & Shooter - Fotograf & Spearo