Spear Shafts & Tips

Most Southern California divers shoot 6.5 mm to 7 mm shafts. A 6.5 mm shaft is lighter and faster for calico bass, halibut, and sheephead on shorter guns. A 7 mm or thicker shaft holds up better for yellowtail, white seabass, and larger fish on longer guns.

No more than 9 inches of overhang past the muzzle, and that includes the tip.

Spear shafts vary in four main ways: American vs. Euro, how the bands attach, the tip setup, and the diameter.

American vs. Euro. This is the first thing to match, because it is determined by your gun's trigger mechanism. The two are generally not interchangeable, so always match the shaft to your gun.

• American square notch shafts have a square notch at the rear where the shaft locks into the trigger. They are the classic American style and come in a wide range of diameters, from 9/32" (7.1 mm) all the way up to 3/8" (9.5 mm) for big game.
• Euroshafts are cut for European style trigger mechanisms. They tend to run slimmer, typically 9/32" (7.1 mm) to 5/16" (8 mm), for speed and a flatter trajectory.

How the bands attach.

• Shark fin tabs: raised tabs on the shaft that the band's wishbone hooks onto. These pair with Dyneema wishbones and are the standard on most modern shafts. Some shafts, like Riffe's M-Tab Euroshafts, use larger tabs designed for more band stretch and power.
• Band notches: notches cut into the shaft instead of tabs. These pair with metal wishbones.

Tip setup.

• Hawaiian flopper: a sharpened tip with a hinged barb built into the shaft. The go-to for most reef and kelp fish.
• Double flopper: two barbs for extra holding power on bigger or harder-fighting fish.
• Threaded: the end is threaded so you can screw on a slip tip or other interchangeable tips. Best for big pelagics. Note that threads vary: American style shafts commonly use a 24 thread, while Euroshafts commonly use a 6 mm metric thread, so your tip has to match your shaft.

Diameter. Thinner shafts are faster, flatter-shooting, and lighter, great for reef and kelp hunting. Thicker shafts carry more power and hold up better on large pelagics, but need stronger bands to push them.

Not sure which shaft fits your gun? Bring in your gun or your old shaft and we will match it for you.

A flopper shaft has a hinged barb that opens on the far side of the fish to lock it onto the spear, and it is the standard for most reef and kelp fish. There are single floppers and double floppers in different configurations.

A slip tip detaches from the shaft and keeps the fish tethered between the tip and the spear with a piece of cord or cable, which holds better on large, hard-fighting species like tuna and big white seabass.

Threaded shafts let you swap tips. They are typically paired with a slip tip and a breakaway setup, but can be used with a flopper tip too. If you plan to shoot bigger fish and pelagics, definitely go with a threaded shaft.

A breakaway setup is used when hunting large pelagic species. When you shoot a fish, it stays attached to your spear, not to your gun.

How it is rigged: on a standard setup, the shooting line runs from the shaft, through a shock cord (bungee), and attaches to the gun. On a breakaway setup, the shooting line and shock cord connect to a line release on the gun instead. The line release is then connected to a float line and float, often with an additional loop of line in between.

What happens when you shoot: once the fish is hit, the line releases from the gun, completely separating the shaft from the speargun. You are left holding your gun, and the fish is on the float line, fighting the float instead of you.

The advantage: with a standard setup in the kelp, the gun can get hung up while the fish is pulling against it. That puts a lot of pressure on the fish and can cause the shaft to tear out. With a breakaway, the gun is out of the equation, so the fish fights the float and the kelp has less to snag.

The disadvantage: once the shaft breaks away, your gun is no longer attached to anything. In the heat of the moment, it is easy to lose track of it, so keep a firm hold or clip it off before going after the fish.

We can rig your speargun either way, or set you up with multiple shafts for different situations, here at Blue Water Hunter.

Yes, and you should. A sharp tip penetrates cleanly, holds fish better, and reduces the chance of a fish getting away wounded. Plus it is quick and easy.

A file is the easiest and safest option. Work in one direction, following the tip's original angle and shape. Most tips are three-sided (tri-cut) or a single cone point (rock point), so keep that profile as you go.

A grinder is faster, but go slow and use light pressure. Too much heat can take the temper out of the steel and leave the tip soft. Dip it in water often to keep it cool.

Check your work: a sharp tip will catch on your fingernail instead of sliding across it. On flopper shafts, sharpen only the point and avoid grinding near the flopper or rivet.

When to sharpen: touch up your tip after every few dives, and always after it hits rock, sand, or a hard object.

Shooting near rocks or reef: if you are shooting at fish around rocks, accuracy matters more than ever, since a miss can blunt or bend your tip in one shot. Rock tips are made with a harder, sturdier point that holds its shape better when it does hit rock, making them a smart choice for reef and rocky bottom hunting.

When to replace a tip: replace any tip that is bent, cracked, or ground down so far that it has lost its shape. A damaged tip will compromise your shot; it will not fly straight.

Or let us do it. Blue Water Hunter offers tip sharpening and replacement, and we carry replacement tips, rock tips, and slip tips in the shop.

Small bends can often be straightened, and that is better than nothing, but a shaft that is even a bit off will fly off target. Shafts should be professionally straightened.