b"However, when there is no rain and swell ruining the visibility then winter can offer very still and calm conditions which means you will have crystal clear water.If you are only just getting into spearing, then you may not want to splash out on a specialised suit. In this case a 3/4mm surfing wetsuit will suffice and adding a hood or hooded vest is essential. As skiers, snowboarders and surfers know, heat escapes from your head, fingers and toes so covering up is vital to staying warm. This is no different to being under water.On the topic of staying warm it is important to be warm and dry, so keep your health in check when you're not spearfishing. Over winter, I indulge in hot drinks, including honey ginger and green tea. It's also good to drink lots of water to help with your ear and sinus health. Avoiding dairy and gluten when you can is another way to keep your sinuses clear. If you do end up getting sick it's important that you don't dive, any congestion in your ears is bad for diving and pushing through the pain can cause headaches and long term damage, it's simply not worth diving with a cold so rest up and dive again when they are clear, it sounds cliche but it's important to listen to your body, squeaky painful ears are a sign of congestion which will get worse with repetitive dives.FISH NUMBERSOnce you have the right gear and are feeling fit, healthy, and ready to take the When the water temp drops, fish likeplunge into some cold, clear water then tarakihi move into shallower water. dont expect to see huge schools of fish like in summer months. Although the visibility is better, there are generally not RIGHT WETSUIT and have a hood attached. An ill-fittedas many fish around.They are however of The most important part of your kit insuit will allow cold water to constantlybetter quality as they have been feeding winter is your wetsuit. Made of thickflush through your wetsuit loweringup for winter. Fishermen will tell you that open cell material a spearfishing suityour core temperature and not allowingbite times are shorter, and they need to is made specifically to keep you warmwater to warm your body and do itsuse more berley in the shallows. This is no yet still be flexible. Wetsuits work byjob. A quality wetsuit must be matcheddifferent to spearfishing, the fish will be allowing a small amount of water towith a thick pair of neoprene socksrelatively scarce so if you do use berley or be trapped between your body andand gloves to keep all your extremitiesground bait ensure you use plenty of kina. the suit which then warms over time.warmer for an extended period andIt is also relatively safe to use fish again In winter a 5mm or 7mm is the idealmake your winter spearfishing a lotnow that most toothy predators have spearfishing suit, it should fit perfectlymore enjoyable.headed offshore for the winter. /FISHINGINGODZONE37"