Spearfishing is also often referred to as harpoon fishing. However, the official name of the sport is specifically Spearfishing. Spearfishing takes place with free diving equipment, ie you are under the surface for as long as your own lungs give up. A responsible diver will never fish with dive equipment.
In Spearfishing, the catches are often quite small, but for the enthusiast, the sport gives it even more. Even seeing clear water, a large school of fish, or a big pike that you just didn’t quite have time to shoot may be enough to be a highlight of the day. Of course, with training and learning the lifestyles of fish, your catches will increase.
Spearfishing is, believe it or not, a sport. In Finland, eight competitions are usually held during the year. In addition, the best are the Nordic championships, European Championships and possibly also the World Championships. In Finnish competitions, the mood is usually quite good and even a beginner should participate: competitions are the best place to learn the sport.
Basic equipment and a harp added with a knife are enough to start Spearfishing. However, for safety reasons, it is also good to equip a surface buoy. In addition, you’ll quickly find that the water is relatively cool even in summer, so a good stretchy wet suit will make your pursuit much more comfortable.
For more information on Spearfishing, see (limited, in finnish language) Wikipedia . You can better access the sport and its secrets by reading and following the (finnish) forum . In particular, the “general” section of the column is lively, even in winter. The forum is maintained by Team Kampela, which is Finland’s only diving club specializing in Spearfishing.
If interested in the sport, the freediving department will provide additional information and intro. The easiest way is to send an email to kilpailu(at) saimaannorpat.com (replace (at) with @).