Pole spear

A pole spear is a two-metre shaft with a loop of rubber at the back end. You stretch the loop over your hand, hold the shaft at the front, and let go: the rubber drives it forward a metre or so. There is no trigger, no line, no reel, and no range to speak of.

That is the point. A pole spear only works on a fish within arm's reach, so it forces the diver to learn stillness and approach, and it is a fine tool for octopus, for fish in holes, and for anyone who wants to start without spending on a gun. It is also quiet, and in thick surge or a cave it can be handier than any gun.

What matters:

• Length: 1.5 m for holes and octopus, 2 m as an all-rounder, 2.5 m and more for open water.
• Material: fibreglass is cheap and heavy; aluminium is light and bends; carbon is light and stiff and costs the most. A two- or three-piece pole travels well and is what most people buy.
• Tip: a three-prong (paralyser) tip for small fish and octopus, a single flopper tip for anything worth eating whole. Threaded tips let you change.
• Rubber: a loop of 14 to 16 mm latex, replaced each season like a gun band.
• A wrist loop or a lanyard at the back so that the spear is not lost when you let go to handle a fish.

A pole spear does not replace a gun for a spearo who hunts seabass and dentex. It is a second tool, a first tool, or the right tool for a specific job.

Two metres for a start. Cut the rubber loop so that it is stretched hard but not fully at full extension of the arm.

Rinse, check the joints between sections for corrosion and grit, replace the rubber each season, keep the tip sharp.