Interview with Paul Rodriguez
Today’s interview is with Paul Rodriguez of Hot Rod Spearguns! A well traveled spearo that has a passion for making great spearguns, he gives us his best advice on designing and building a speargun and he lets us in on a special project he’s busy with… a travel speargun! It breaks into 2 parts for easy travel and fits back together into a powerful and effective speargun to take with on holiday! All this and more! Is Cobia the best eating fish? Or is it African Pompano? Maybe it’s the Jobfish! Some robust conversation and interesting insights into the different types of spearfishing in different parts of the world. Also, some great advice for hunting Dogtooth Tuna! Enjoy the episode and let us know what you think!
Important times:
- 00:13 Intro
- 04:30 Hello and welcome Paul!
- 05:25 You have invented a travel speargun that comes in two parts? How did this come about?
- 08:55 How do you build your spearguns?
- 10:40 R&D in spearfishing is long and expensive. How do you protect your IP?
- 12:55 How does the speargun join back together?
- 15:35 Mono or dyneema? What length and how strong?
- 18:30 Line management and avoiding muzzle wrap
- 22:00 Simplicity is your friend – form follows function
- 27:20 Tell us about your spearfishing story! Where and how did you start?
- 29:40 What is the best all-round speargun size?
- 32:20 Roller’s throw the shaft far but lack penetrating power. What do you think?
- 34:30 Old school vs new school mentality
- 37:10 Where are you spearing these days?
- 37:37 Tell us how you process Cobia?
- 40:30 Palm sugar for ceviche and smoking fish changes the game
- 43:10 Rubbers/Power bands – what do you see?
- 44:40 Most consistent setup uses 14mm bands
- 49:00 What is a species what you love to target? African Pompano
- 50:45 Besides the thermocline, what else do you use to target them?
- 52:40 What are you looking for in weather? Water temp and wind
- 56:05 As you’ve traveled over the world, what things have you learned about planning a trip to go spearfishing?
- 58:05 Spearfishing in the Philippines
- 59:10 What’s the most special fish you’ve ever lost?
- 01:00:25 Green Jobfish is the best reef eating fish
- 01:07:05 Tough or scary situations
- 01:11:30 Having good dive buddies is the most important dive gear
- 01:13:20 Good buddy diving is also great fun
- 01:14:10 Funny stories
- 01:18:22 What’s in your dive bag? JBL Mask, white snorkel, Waihana wetsuit, medium to soft blades, Garmin Mach 1, handbuilt dive knife, Travel Hybrid 120 speargun
- 01:23:44 Gyotaku is a great way to memorialize special fish
- 01:25:20 Spearo Q&A
Listen in and subscribe on iOS or Android https://link.chtbl.com/Download_This_Episode
Important Links
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- Spearing Magazine Subscribe to the best spearfishing magazine in the world. International subscription available!
- Audible.com Get a free audiobook along with a 30-day trial here. Listen to 99 Tips to Get Better at Spearfishing
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