Hunt sea bass, swim with basking sharks and catch your first lobster! Everything is possible along the beautiful coastline of the UK.

Swim in the UK’s clearest waters and explore this underwater adventure playground first hand, safe with the knowledge you are being looked after and being professional trained to be an effective underwater hunter.  In our spearfishing courses we coach everything you need to know from the correct freediving techniques to understanding fish behaviour to allow you to hunt each different species proficiently.

Spearfishing sustainability and responsible food sourcing:

Something that will always stand out when you meet a new spear-fishermen is the pride we all have in our ability to source our own food responsibly in a sustainable way.  With rod and line, nets and long liners, there will always be bycatch.  This is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while catching certain target species and target sizes of fish, crabs etc. Bycatch is either of a different species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juvenile individuals of the target species. The problem with by catch is that 99% of the time they are returned to the ocean dead.  An unknown fact in the UK is that for every wild court fish you see in the shops, 2 other fish have died as a result of bycatch.

Spearfishing is the most selective and thus sustainable form of fishing in existence and we produce next to zero percent bycatch.  The reason is clear.  As a spearfishman you will target only the fish you want to eat.  Our spearfishing courses will train you to identify and target only the correct species, at the correct size.  You to will be able to hold your head high knowing you are doing your bit for sustainable and responsible food sourcing.

As soon as you take up this sport and see first hand the beauty of what we have around us, you will have an overwhelming feeling of responsibility and accountability for the oceans and marine life around your local area and beyond.

What’s covered in the spearfishing course?

Safety:

first and foremost its safety, not only for our day together but passing on the knowledge so you can progress safely yourself.

Freediving:

At the heart of every great spearo is a great freediver and this is where your journey begins.  We will cover:

• Safe weighting for various depths of hunting.
• Breathing techniques – learn how to relax, control your heart rate to extend your breathe hold.
• Equalisation methods to dive deeper without ear pain.
• Duck dive technique to start your descent while conserving as much energy as possible.
• Correct finning form – be as efficient as you can to maximise your descent while conserving oxygen.
• Breathing exercises (apnea tables) you can train at home to improve your bottom time.
• Blackout risks and understanding your body’s response to diving at depth.
• Rescue techniques to recover and revive a blacked out diver.
• Dealing with cramp while at sea.

Understanding and practising the above will without a doubt make you a better spear-fisherman and increase your bottom time dramatically, while making you feel more comfortable at the various hunting depths.

Spearfishing:

Once you have got comfortable with the freediving aspects of the course we progress on to the fun part of finding something for dinner.  You will find that spearfishing is incredibly instinctive, each one of us has these instincts ingrained into our DNA through millenniums of evolutionary hunting and survival.  We will combine this with experience and knowledge to make you an effective underwater hunter.

We will cover:

• All aspects of our spearfishing gear and how to use it to its full potential.
• How to use different guns for different situations.
• Speargun accuracy and shot placements.
• How to find our prime targets, their legal minimum sizes and bag limits.
• Different species behaviour and how we use that knowledge to hunt them.
• How to use the different types of kelp and underwater terrain to locate different species.
• Multiple approaches to hunting, body position, profile awareness and stealth techniques.
• Safely hunt holes and caves.
• How to perform a stealth duck dive (advanced)
• Hunt in currents and the extra danger that presents (advanced).
• Safe float line management to avoid the dangers of line wrap (advanced)
• How to locate lobsters and edible crabs plus their safe removal.
• Fish dispatching, preparation and cleaning.
• How to effectively use a dive knife, what each side of the blade is for and how to use the spear removal tool
• Ocean awareness and dangers.
• Sustainability and the environment.