Date: 5/30/2017
Contributor: Dave Gleeson

Gear Review

Hammerhead MV3 Action Mask (GoPro Mount Mask)

The number one requirement of any mask is of course, to not leak. I’ve been diving since I was 15, and have never been able to get a mask to seal well on top of facial hair.  I expected more of the same from the Hammerhead MV3, but was pleasantly surprised when I logged an entire day of diving and didn’t experience a single leak! The soft silicone skirt is comfortable and conforms to the face extremely well.

In addition to a great seal, the MV3 sports an integrated GoPro mount that’s perfect for spearos who like to record the day’s dive (that’s most of us, really). Prior to using the Hammerhead, I used a head strap to hold my GoPro in place while diving. I sometimes missed out on footage because the camera was tilted too high or too low, and more than once I’ve lost a camera off my head after the strap slipped off due to waves. Neither of these things are a problem with the MV3, as the mount takes all the guesswork out of recording spearfishing footage.  This is arguably the best feature of this piece of gear, and is reason enough to try it out.

The MV3 is a low volume mask, and I had no trouble equalizing the small air space on my deeper dives this past weekend. I did notice that the lens profile seems to be wider than other masks I’ve used, which allowed for a wider field of view. I liked this, because it eliminated the “tunnel vision” effect that other ultra-low volume masks can produce.

Another super feature is that HammerHead also offers an LED light that mounts directly to the GoPro type mount on the MV3 Action Mask. Excellent feature for those hole hunting fish and lobsters in rocks and caves. The LED light features 3 brightness settings, strobe and the housing utilizes GoPro style battery and hardware... a big + ! Comes with battery, charging cord, mounting screw and clip in mount for piggy backing GoPro on top of light if desired (although it would be rather tall).

My overall impression is that the Hammerhead MV3 is an excellent piece of gear, and is something that should improve the comfort and ease of your dive. If you’re in the market for a new mask, or want a more secure way to record your footage, give it a try.

Dive Safe,

Dave Gleeson 

www.davegleeson.com

May 21, 2017 Newport RI Spearfishing Report - Mike Chace

Date: 5-21-2017
Location: Newport RI
Report Contributor: Mike Chace
Notable Gear: HammerHead Benthos 5mm Wetsuit & HammerHead Raptor 95cm Speargun

My phone had been buzzing with good reports from the previous couple of days from friends. This member of the Tog Cult was EAGER to get in the water and see some fish. I set aside some time from the busy days and nights that had consumed my time in the NEF shop for the past couple of weeks. I try to always put my customers needs before my desire to get wet so this had kept me out of the water from hunting some fish for at least 14 days. When i began checking forecast Saturday and saw that the wind would lay down and come out of the NE Saturday morning i thought we might have a great shot at y first dive on the outside of Newport the following morning. Thanks to my good buddy Eric for getting free to go diving with me and luckily the forecast held true and we arrived to unload the kayaks to an image of flat surface conditions and clear water.

We paddled out a short distance to a rock pile we thought might be holding some decent fish. Upon sliding over the side of the kayak I began to chuckle and yelled over to my dive buddy Eric who was getting ready that we had 20 - 25 ft visibility. This was about the beginning of slack tide turning low to incoming at 10:30 a.m.

There was many tautog about. About four minutes into dive I descended to backside of a ledge and as I got settled on the bottom I immediately saw a bass about 32" come in quick to check me out and dart off. I held off on the shot thinking he had to only be the first, wait wait wait the others will come in. During the next 2 hours I saw only one other schoolie size bass. The tautog seemed to be everywhere, many males in the 15-16 inch range out roaming about and the big females tighter to the rock piles and holes.

Then a northern puffer fish presented a shot. I knew that my son Ethan would be excited to eat them, and if there is one there should be more here. It takes a couple to make a meal due to size. Nope, no others. Northern puffers are not poisonous FYI, and the body meat tastes much like a shrimp.

I had already harvested one 17 inch blackfish about 20 minutes earlier when I dropped down the backside of rock drop off to see a much larger tog dart off from the crevasse in the rocky bottom and head around me to my 6:00. I decided to not to chase him because that rarely works out well and surfaced. Recovery breath and breath up trying to hold my position against the mild current by watching a landmark I picked out on the bottom to focus on. Guessing an approach to where I thought the fish headed to I slowly dropped down the front side of a ledge hoping that when i came around the rock he might be held up there. When I rounded it there were at least 5-6 mid size females slowly kicking about and beginning to scatter when I noticed a much larger set of chins under an overhang about 12 feet away. I gave two kicks towards him and as he started to come out and see what was approaching him and slightly turned (as if to dart out of there) which provided me with a shot through the gill plate.

Well as decent size tautog usually do if you do not stone them, he began his crazy twisting death roll they do as I am swimming up to him and as I get two feet away I feel the line go limp. I look under  the rock overhang and see my empty shaft lying there. $%^# ! "He tore off I thought to myself". Well as I surfaced and began to reload the gun and started to drift backwards a little I picked up on some movement out of the corner of my left eye and notice it is a nice size fish. I think "It can't be?" And begin to reload the gun quickly but only loading one band this time. As I kicked over I noticed he was nose down with tail up between some rocks directly on the backside of the rock I had shot him under. As he tore off he must of swam out the backside exit and I think at that point he was stunned and hurt and stopped there. I waited a few seconds hoping for a more clear shot free of the rock behind him so I did not blunt my shaft tip. Then I saw an angle shooting down on him from above that would be clear and shoot. 
 
As I strung him on the stringer I thought I was lucky bugger to not have lost him after the shot, a second shot almost never happens. I will take a little luck whenever I can get it. I thank Eric Cadorette for being a great dive buddy to get out with and for taking the still shot of me from his GoPro for the report. Eric harvested a couple of really nice tautog also, so we both had happy stringers.

We can only hope the conditions can hold off for another week and maybe by next weekend see some great bass here for Memorial Day weekend. Cooking up the first fresh blackfish of the season for the family was a treat. I am very anxious to get in another dive this weekend.


Another Day Another Gift from Mother O, a great way to start off the season.
Mike

May 18, 2017 Scott Bianco Spearfishing Report - 19.26 lb Tautog !

Date: May 18, 2017

Report Contributor: Scott Bianco

Thank you to Scott for graciously taking the time to give us a report of him freedive spearfishing that 19.26 lb Tautog !  Can I call it TOGNASAURUS ?

It all started with a text "got time for a quick after work dive?". After a long day the last thing I felt like doing was trailering the boat down and taking a beating from the south gusting wind. After much debating I decide why not lets do it. At the ramp I almost called it while looking out at the gusting wind figuring there wouldn't be much vis. Brian convinces me to make the boat trip and we head out. Once there we anchor in some shelter from the wind and suit up. Conditions aren't the best, south wind with an outgoing tide, the top five feet had a brown haze making the vis about 2 feet but opening up to great 8' vis below. 

As we swim away from the boat and towards the rocks Brian says to me go left and he will go right. I head off to the left and start to make my first drop of the evening. I start my decent and about 3 feet down I notice a white chin through the haze passing me on my right shoulder. I level off and remain motionless, only moving my eyes to track the fish. The white spot barley visible passing in front of me towards the left, then circles back to dead center.

The words of a great dive friend going through my head ,don't move anything don't move your fins relax and be part of the ocean. I was able to see a little patch of white belly behind the white chin so I knew from the spacing that the fish was of good size.I kept my gun pulled in tight to my body making sure not to "track the fish" waiting patiently for the fish to turn and become centered in front of me. I shot between the two white patches and the spear landed center mass and the white spots stopped moving instantly. 

I swam up to it and got a solid grasp on the barb end of the spear and pulled the fish in tight to my body and started swimming it up to the rocks. Once  I had a grasp on the fish it came to life like they usually do, but this one was different I knew I had something bigger then I have ever shot before. With a good amount of struggle I manage to get me and the fish on the rocks and out of the water. Seeing the fish out of the water really hit home fast just how big this fish really was. I held on with both hands for a few minutes till I knew the fish was dead. The ocean offered up an amazing fish to us that evening. Fish prints will be made to honor the life of the fish.   

Scott Bianco

May 18, 2017 Narragansett Bay Spearfishing Report - Ricardo Cruelles

Date: 5/18/2017 

Location: Narraganssett Bay

Report Contributor: Ricardo Cruelles

A QUICK LUNCH BREAK DIVE!

When the mercury hit 99 today in RI’s Capital City, I knew it was time to get down bay and hop in for a quick lunchtime dive. I met up with @roosterman at the agreed upon spot, we suited up and jumped in, not wasting any time. 

The water temp was about 56 degrees, very comfortable with a 5mm suit, viz was very nice for the bay, although when the tide started ripping in it went dark quickly.

On the way to one of my faithful spots, I decided to dive under some structure and, much to my surprise, a legal bass came at me like a WWII Kamikaze….. BANG! That was definitely his last mission! A nice start with an early bass in the stringer. I continued on with my swim and made a few dives on decent piles of fish. We were being selective so we made a few more dives before taking our limits of tog. One of the fish went to 9lbs today.

The wind and the tide kicked up and we knew it was time to get back to work, but not before harvesting enough mussels for a nice meal. Mike was on a mission to win a bet he had going with boys, apparently the 1^st one to get a Sea Robin was to be the winner, well, he nailed a nice one within 5 minutes of being in the water!

Weather looks ok this weekend, with the exception of some wind moving in, I say find some lee and get in there! It is definitely fishy out there and the water is starting to warm up nicely. Lots of schoolie size bass with the occasional larger fish mixed in, I even saw a couple schools of scup today!

Thanks to @roosterman for couple of the pics and congrats on some tasty sea robin table fair.

Pura Vida!

Ricardo