Practicing spearfishing means rehearsing your free dive, your shot, and your range judgment before the trip, the same way a bow hunter shoots targets long before the season so the shot is automatic when it counts. Most people assume you only spearfish once a year and cannot prepare, but you can. On this How 2 Tuesday my friend Captain Tony Young of Forever Young Charters explains how to rig a simple target in a swimming pool and practice your shots so you close the gap between trips.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Captain Tony Young's method is to rig a target in your swimming pool. Take something like a Speedo kickboard, tape or draw an X on it, drill two holes, and run mono to a weight on the bottom so the board levitates a couple feet off the floor in the middle of the pool. Then practice your free dive: hang on the bottom for thirty seconds to a minute and a half and take practice shots at the X. It will not replace ocean time, but it keeps you sharp with your gear and closes the gap between trips.
Because both reward repetition and both often give you only one opportunity. In bow hunting you dial in your gear and distances and practice every type of shot so you can execute cleanly on a single chance at an animal. Spearfishing is no different. As an ethical hunter you want to make the shot count, kill efficiently, and not waste the one opportunity you may get. Tony treats the two the same way, and a lot of his clients spend the first part of a day in shallow water getting their shots solid before they go hunt fish.
Tony has new divers hold the speargun and then walks the shaft out along the boat so they can see the actual distance, since one of his boats is 36 feet long. Everything looks a little closer and bigger underwater, but it gives them a real reference. He also has them shoot the gun once or twice underwater if it is new to them so they get a feel for it. His simple rule: as soon as you can pick out detail on the fish, like the teardrop on a dog snapper or the blue marks on a mutton, you are usually close enough to shoot.
A pole spear, or Hawaiian sling, is what Tony's clients use when they are getting ready for a Bahamas trip, where you can only free dive with a pole spear or sling rather than a full speargun. In the Florida Keys he mostly uses spear guns, but when prepping someone for the Bahamas he goes through all their gear, makes sure everything is good, and gets them solid on their shots. They spend a lot of time in 35 to 55 feet of water targeting easier pole-spear fish like mutton snapper, mangrove snapper, and red grouper.
It varies by species, which is why range practice matters. Mangrove snapper are a blast because they come straight in, curious, then hover a few feet away before turning sideways and taking off, so you can shoot them three or four feet away. Mutton snapper keep their distance and make you work for a closer approach. Free diving gives you the longest hang time on the bottom, which you need to ease in close. Learning each fish's comfort zone is part of what practice teaches you.
One thing I picked up over the last few years is bow hunting, and in bow hunting it is crucial to dial in your gear, your distances, and practice in every condition and every type of shot. The more you practice, the better you execute on the one chance you get at an elk or a deer. Spearfishing is no different, but people overlook it because they only do it once a year. You can absolutely practice. I set up why that matters in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here are the steps I walk through in this How 2 Tuesday. I cover the detail behind each one in the episode.
I unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
Captain Tony Young keeps it simple. Rig a kickboard with an X and some mono to a weight so it floats off the pool bottom, then practice your free dive and shots at it. He has clients who do a lot of trips with him spend the first part of a day just doing this in shallow water, free diving or scuba, before they go hunt. It really pays off. Tony walks through the exact rig in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Range is everything, the same as in bow hunting. Tony walks the speargun shaft out along his 36-foot boat so divers see real distance, then has them shoot once or twice underwater to get the feel. His rule of thumb is that when you can start to see detail on the fish, you are close enough. Different fish let you in to different distances, and learning that is part of the game. Tony explains how he coaches it in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Note that the original audio version of this episode is no longer available, but the full conversation with Captain Tony Young lives in the video above, so press play and watch it there.
Practice your free dive, build a pool target, and learn to read the fish, and you will be a more ethical, more successful spearo when your trip finally comes. Tony is a good dude. You can find him at Forever Young Charters in the Florida Keys.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
spearfishing · Captain Tony Young · Forever Young Charters · Florida Keys · bow hunting · pole spear · Hawaiian sling · free diving · mangrove snapper · mutton snapper · red grouper · The Bahamas · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
Captain Tony Young runs Forever Young Charters in the Florida Keys, where he guides fishing and spearfishing trips and coaches divers on free diving, shot placement, and range judgment. He prepares clients for everything from Keys spear-gun hunts to pole-spear and Hawaiian-sling trips in the Bahamas. You can find him on Instagram as Captain Tony Young or at diveyoung.com.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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