Spearfishing Float Line
Spearfishing Float LineKeep Connected to Your GearThere are a wide variety of spearfishing float lines made from different materials - which can be broken down into 3 basic categories:
Braided Style LineThese lines are very strong, highly durable and are made from nylon or other strong materials. This makes them ideal for use in the sea as they will last a long time. They are also ideal for diving reefs where they will come into contact with rocks and other obstacle which won't cause them much damage. They are very light and have little to no appreciable drag through the water. This kind of spearfishing float line is most likely to be your cheapest option for connecting your dive float to your speargun.I recommend you start with a 10 metre (30 foot) line until you start to dive deeper - this is a practical length for diving around reefs and learning how to keep all you gear working together effectively. A 30 foot line is very easy to manage and is less likely to snag or tangle allowing you to concentrate on your diving and hunting. As you progress to lower depths, you may need to look for a longer spearfishing float line - longer lines of 50 feet or more are more difficult to manage and show the limitations of this style of float line. They will often get tangled up, and are prone to snagging on rocks and in weed when diving reefs. One of their key problems is that they are not highly buoyant - so as you dive deeper and longer, you will have an increasingly long trailing line behind you which can easily get snagged. This can be very frustrating when you are at depth and have to try and unsnag your spearfishing float line from a rock! Lines in TubingThis spearfishing float line is made up of a length of tough tubing with a high strength line threaded through the middle. This is a more expensive option for your spearfishing float line - but definitely worth the investment if you regularly dive more than 30 feet and spear around reefs. This type of spearfishing float line is very buoyant due to the air which is sealed inside the tubing, so that the line will stay vertically above you as you manoeuvre around rocks and obstacles. This markedly reduces the chances of snagging your line and therefore allows you concentrate more on your hunting!This style of float line is also extremely strong and allows for a small amount of stretch by the tubing – the line inside will have a small amount of slack to allow the stretching to occur. Hunting larger reef fish like yellow tail requires the ability to control the fish to stop them tearing out your spear by diving to rocks – this style of spearfishing float line is ideal as you can put the brakes on the fish by tensioning the line as the fish tries to run. Tip - you can easily add a brake to this type of spearfishing float line by adding a short length of line to your float, then attaching a shark clip to the end. You can then stop the line running by attaching the clip to your main line. When fighting a fish - squeeze the shark clip and pull more line through (releasing the clip to apply the brakes).  50ft Float Line 
Bungy Style LineRubber float lines have the ability to stretch far greater than all the other types of spearfishing float lines. This makes them ideal for blue water applications where you are hunting large game fish like Tuna or Marlin. Powerful fish can put your float line under immense pressure in short bursts which can tear a spear out - a bungy spearfishing float line will minimise this effect by stretching in response. Bungy style lines however, are not suited for spearfishing around reefs, as they will damage easily when rubbing against rocks. If you enjoy hunting for the larger reef fish like yellow tail – you will be unable to stop them running to the nearest rock and busting off your line!SummaryBraided style line - fine for starting out for shorter lengths, reef fishingLines in tubing - intermediate/longer spearfishing float line for reef fishing Bungy Rubber line - blue water big fish. |
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