shark shield

[Badone]

Well guys why don't we take all the variables out of spearfishing. Lets have 3 metre guns so we can shoot fish from the surface then all the old fat guys can get fish as well, also we can breath up on oxygen before each dive then we will have 3min bottom time, in fact why dont we just power-head all the sharks from our local area then we can just spear to our hearts content without having to give the noahs a thought at all.
U/w photography fair enough but when you are out there as a predator give the fish and the oceans a chance. I have jumped out of the water many times because the sharks were getting a bit angry and most times there have been fish everywhere ( hence the sharks). If I had a shield a would have just flicked the switch and kept spearing.
Shark dramas are part of the beauty and thrill of the sport. You clowns who need a shield to get in the water just want the easy side of spearing without any of the risks.

[Nathanrb4]

Would you wear mozzie replant if you were in a Malaria infested country Badone? Or do you think bee keepers should tend their hives without their smoke and head nets?
Its a safety thing the same as any other if you ask me. I wear a harness when im up a tower at work even though i hear stories from the old guys about how when they were young " we only had ourselves to keep us safe". I wear a seat belt when im driving even though granddad thinks they are against natural selection.
Put it down to us being sooky or taking the thrill outta the sport (i still get a kick outta it) but i'll put it down to not wanting to risk not being around to look after my kids ect.

[cuzzamundi]

I've personally never bothered.

What's the range of these things? A few metres? Fifty metres? 200? Am curious to know...

Cuzza

[big_steve001]

hey guys some very good information everyone has, each to there own i guess. i went for a spear this morning and used the shark shield off my float and it worked a treat. i had 2 encounters from the toothy kind and they within about 10 meters of my float and did the bolt.

cheers steve

[finding_time]

hey guys some very good information everyone has, each to there own i guess. i went for a spear this morning and used the shark shield off my float and it worked a treat. i had 2 encounters from the toothy kind and they within about 10 meters of my float and did the bolt.

cheers steve

\]
Good to hear it worked out for you Steve! If you own it you may as well use it , the world needs it's Rambo's i guess but in the end Darwin theroy will take care of them . Yes Badone i'm refering to you and btw i think sharks are a small danger when spearfishing compared to the ever present danger of shallow water blackout!

Ian

[Badone]

Nathan you cannot compare mozzie repellant with a shark shield. If you wander thru the mangroves you will get bitten but if you dive smart you can avoid most shark problems. The fish have little enough chance as it is without making it any easier.
Ian, I think I am about as far from being Rambo as you can get and if you think that is why I think shields are a waste of time then you have completely missed the point. There are a lot of new divers out there who don't give this sport much thought and go and buy all the gear and kill the shit out of anything that swims in front of them in the interests of getting a feed. They get rushed by a shark and are in the shop the next day spending $600 on a shark shield. Better they take the time to get to know how sharks behave and when it is maybe a good time to call it a day rather than just flicking a switch and continuing on their own merry way. I have two kids who both spear and hopefully they will learn to respect the dangers of the sea rather than just spending some money so they don't have to deal with them.
I do agree that SWB is far more dangerous to young and inexperienced divers and once again can be avoided if people are taught to dive correctly.
Your darwin Theory is taking its time to work on me btw, I started spearing when I was 12 and will turn 50 next year.... Simon.

[Defore]

Badone maybe you should take the variables back one further and get rid of the speargun and only use a handspear like we use to use when I first started.

I never did say I used the shark shield while spearfishing. I have not actually been spearfishing for many years, but I might get back into it one day and I probably would use it now. (I like the idea of hanging it off the float)
My old hunting grounds was at the tip of the York Peninsula in South Australia, White Pointer country. Back then at the age of 15y I actually got dragged backwards in the water by a shark grabbing the fish hanging off the float. This was also the first time we had ever used a float to hold the fish, normally we would just tie them off our dive belts and drop them back off on the rocks when we had a few.
After that we always used a float.

I don't care if you use a shark shield or not, your choice, but it p*sses me off when some one will bag someone else for trying to feel safer in the water.
I believe everyone should enjoy diving and will highly recommend any product which makes that person feel safer.

I have dived in some very questionable waters, but not because I wanted to brag that I was a hero, but because there were things there that I wanted (scallops, abalone, crayfish) in water with the visibility so low you had to feels along the bottom to find what you wanted. This was in waters where a 5m white pointer had been sighted three weeks earlier, we just weighed up the chances and went for the dive, did we feel safe, shit no, but we still went.
Today I would use the shark shield in this situation, but even then I would still be shitting myself incase the shark had not read how it was suppose to be scared of the shield.

I do not believe a shark shield would make spearfishing any easier, it still takes a lot of skill and deep diving ability to get that great fish, but I do believe it makes it safer.
It is the shark that is not seen, the one that swims up from behind that is the biggest danger. This is the one that has began to stalk you while you are swimming happily along. Luckily these sharks are far and few between.
The ones that come in from the front can be hit with the spear, or in my case the camera.

Ian

[Badone]

Hey Defore, that is my point exactly. If you are willing to scratch around in low vis in white country then that is your choice and hopefully you were rewarded with a good feed of crays and abs. If we all had shark shields then every man and his dog would be in there with you and it wouldn't be long before your feed of crays would become very rare... is this what you want?? I somehow don't think so.
I would never bag someone for trying to be safe but I draw the line at using expensive equipment as a substitute for a lack of knowledge or as a means to get a load of fish when ordinarily they would be put out of the water by the sharks. Some days you just have to pack up and go home without a feed because the sharks/ocean have a win. That is the way of spearing...We had to move 3 weeks ago at Brennans when a biggish curious white showed up for a look.
I do agree with you that the shark that gets you will be unseen. That is why I try to dive in sharky areas only when the viz is good. I have aborted many Fraser/ DI spearing trips because the water was too green and we knew the Bullies were thick. $200 in fuel for no fish but you win some and you lose some.
I also spent 3 yrs in SA catching crays/ abs and Kingies off Cape Jarvis/ Victor Harbour. Was interesting diving.
I have also heard that the shields have a very limited effect on Whites and large Tigers btw so maybe they just lull you into a false sense of safety.. Nice shot as well.. the colors look good.

[devocean]

When you have a 4 metre tiger shark coming at you - anything is worth a try

[finding_time]

I have also heard that the shields have a very limited effect on Whites and large Tigers btw so maybe they just lull you into a false sense of safety.. Nice shot as well.. the colors look good.

Not true!

In the episode i detailed earlier the Tiger departed the area instantly the device was turned on, and as far as Whites go they work well enough on burlyed in sharks and even when the shield is deployed at the last second the White will turn away from the bait ! They did notice that once the shark had the bait in it mouth turning on the shield was ineffective so i guess the lesson is if you have one leave it on! A mate of mine was a pro ab diver and swore by his , he has never seen a white whilst his unit was on , yet this was a monthly event before he started using the units. They work well on all sharks but do have down sides and the boot they can give you is one!

Ian

[Defore]

Hey Defore, that is my point exactly. If you are willing to scratch around in low vis in white country then that is your choice and hopefully you were rewarded with a good feed of crays and abs. If we all had shark shields then every man and his dog would be in there with you and it wouldn't be long before your feed of crays would become very rare... is this what you want?? I somehow don't think so.

I wouldn't be worried if every man and his dog would be in there. There were still strong current, surges and low vis.
I would be more upset if someone had been attacked by a shark.
People are going to strip an area whether they have a shark shield or not, it is the person not the device.
But people are turned off diving by others who tell them they are weak if they wore a shield.
I know some people who have an unnatural fear of sharks and will not go deeper than their waist (don't have the heart to tell them people have been bitten by sharks in knee deep water), this is not just spearfishing but even just snorkeling.
If a shield gets them to enjoy diving then I am all for it.

In a previous thread you told me to harden up, but as you can now see I have already been there, done that and some times go chasing sharks.

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...40#post1178440

I didn't worry about it (I have nothing to prove to anyone) but here someone was asking a simple question about a shark shield and you and 1770Josh came in with the harden up mentality which was not called for.
If you don't want to wear a shield that is fine, I'm not going to think you are an idiot for placing yourself into unnecessary danger, is it possible for you not to think someone is not tough enough because they do want to wear one.
If not, is it possible for you not to attack them in a thread where they ask for assistance with one?
I hate to see when someone is turned off from the pleasures of diving.
(Have now stepped off my soap box)

I have also heard that the shields have a very limited effect on Whites and large Tigers btw so maybe they just lull you into a false sense of safety.. Nice shot as well.. the colors look good.

The jury is still out on this one.
It appears questionable if a shark shield would stop one of these sharks in full attack mode, if the shield had only been turned on once the shark attacked.
They seem certain the shark would not begin the attack if the shield was already on. BUT I am not planning to test this.

I have seen sharks in a feeding frenzy, they are totally mental and require a slow retreat while keeping an eye on as many as possible and not letting them get behind you.

Another diver is always advisable (preferably a slower swimmer)

Ian

[nigelr]

Some great points made by both sides in this excellent debate!
I guess if you want to use one, do so, if not don't. Who gives a #$%^ what anyone else thinks.
Personally I like the idea of the taxman ruling the reef, ie when the anxiety level gets too high exit the water. But then if someone gave me one, I could find a use for it. And it wouldn't change my very conservative fish-taking habits. But I am an old man, and a bit fat, and I don't kill fish to inflate my ego or for the 'fun' of it.
In a bluewater scenario, the possibility of 'the one you don't see' is amplified.
I have only seen a few shark frenzies, and thankfully from safe vantage spots.
Those suckers are so unbelievably fast and powerful when in kill mode, I don't think even a shield would stop them.
Cheers.

[Badone]

If anyone is offended by being told to harden up then what can I do.
My point (made badly perhaps) was that substituting technology for hard learned common sense and sea-wise knowledge is not right and is the easy way out and not, imo, the way people should approach this sport. Spearfishing is inherently dangerous and the challenge is to dive within our limits and respect these dangers. Spending money on a shark shield because you don't want to lean how to avoid/ survive a shark encounter goes against everything that I believe this sport is about. Throw your shield away Steve and learn to dive within the limits of the ocean and all that are in it.
The day I think about strapping on a battery and flicking a switch before I hop in the water is the day I take up x-box as my new sport.

[Horse]

Badone

What are your gun and fins worth? Is it OK to spend nearly $1200.00 on a gun or $400-$800 on a pair of fins to give you a bit of an advantage when $600 to make your sport safer and more enjoyable is not fair on the fish. I think the risk factor of sharks is greater for new and inexperienced divers and the learning curve you describe could be fatal for someone.

Do you wear a wet suit in winter? I suggest you dump it and "and learn to dive within the limits of the ocean".

I respect your personal choice to shun the device but please don't denigrate others for their choice in the matter. I for one think they are a great bit of kit and would seriously consider one if I was to get back into the sport.

[DAZMC1]

Badone

What are your gun and fins worth? Is it OK to spend nearly $1200.00 on a gun or $400-$800 on a pair of fins to give you a bit of an advantage when $600 to make your sport safer and more enjoyable is not fair on the fish. I think the risk factor of sharks is greater for new and inexperienced divers and the learning curve you describe could be fatal for someone.

Do you wear a wet suit in winter? I suggest you dump it and "and learn to dive within the limits of the ocean".

I respect your personal choice to shun the device but please don't denigrate others for their choice in the matter. I for one think they are a great bit of kit and would seriously consider one if I was to get back into the sport.

Well said. Iv,e been spearing for 25 years and I,m not too tough to wear a shield although mine spends most of its time inside the boat because it hurts when it boots me. I guess I should do what Badone says and harden the f### up. Maybe thats why he doesn,t want to wear one aswell. I will tell you now that they work but they really piss sea snakes off when they try to wrap around them.