Home made stringer

So...when I am spearfishing I often end up pretty far from my board or yak and don't like having to swim all the way back and unload fish every time I shoot one.

I am too scared to have the stringer around my waist and last week when a big seal bum rushed me I was glad there was no fish hanging between my legs! 

I wanted something that would keep the fish with me, but not have them actually ON me.

I tried for awhile just stringing the fish on the float line and tying a knot in it to keep them from sliding all the way down and away. Didn't really like that and thought the gills/teeth might puncture the tubing.

Then I started using a big pear shaped locking carabiner to attach the line to the gun and clipping the biner thrugh the fishies eyeballs...worked prety good and I could fit about 4-5 rockfish on one big biner. But it made the fish bunch up right at the biner and they would get caught and snag on kelp all the time.

Bought a nice stringer and tried using it between my line and gun, but the spike dangled and I was nervous it might stick me.

http://www.neptonicsystems.com/stringers.htm

So I put the stringer on my board, and just got some spectra cord with a loop tied on each end and clipped that between my gun and line. Worked OK, but was a PITA to feed through the fishies gills and out the mouth.

Yesterday I took apart a ball point pen, cut off the end, ran the line through and tied it back up. Clipped this between my gun and the float line. Worked great today and was very easy to string up the fish, and does not hang or dangle like the spike on a "real" stringer. When I shot a fish, just unclipped the stringer from the line, ran it through the gills and out the mouth and clipped it back to the line.
 
If you try this though make sure you have a carabiner or clip between the stringer and float line or the fishies will still slide up the line.

Little ghetto looking, but works for me and thought some of you guys might find it interesting!!
 

Sincerely,

Jim

Nice I pictured something like that with a long steel 6" to push through the gills.

Nice innovation, Jim!

And I have a tip for what you can do with your stringer if you're afraid of it stabbing you. What you can do is get an old band, and cut a few inches off it. Then you can wedge the point of the stringer into the center of the rubber, thus covering the tip. When you need to string a fish, you can remove the rubber and put it back on when you finish stringing the fish.

I solved the problem by just pushing the shaft all the way through the fish and sliding them up the shooting line and reload like they weren't even there. Having a couple wigglers also attracts other fish.  When I got two or three fish I'll swim them back to el yak, dead fish cause alot of drag, not the best for breathold diving.

Last time out the seals were ganging up on me , I tried making under hunter grunts to intimidate them and they left but came back with more backup...moral of the story is : seals don't play

Last time out the seals were ganging up on me , I tried making under hunter grunts to intimidate them and they left but came back with more backup...moral of the story is : seals don't play

I want a video of you making underwater hunter grunts dude...put that stuff on YouTube!

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Next dive - Video capture Andy's underwater Manly Grunts - check!

Yeah, I am going to have to change to string type also.. I am not liking the lug back also.

yea geoff you might be able to hear the grunts if you dont edit the video with a bunch of hello kitty theme songs.

yea geoff you might be able to hear the grunts if you dont edit the video with a bunch of hello kitty theme songs.

Oh damn!!!!!

Yeah geoff...I think we may need a musical intervention for you!!
 
 
Sincerely,

Jim