b'Feature equipment, and can work around the weather, winter can be a fantastic time for spearfishing.Diving in summer is usually an enjoyable experience, spearfishing in winter, however, is a different story. Freediving puts a lot of stress on our bodies, and this only increases when diving in cold water. To spearfish safely and efficiently, we must understand the effects that cold water has and know what signs and symptoms to be wary of in wintertime.COLD WATER EFFECTUpon submerging our faces in cold water, a bunch of receptors and nerves tell our brain that we have contacted water, initiating physiological changes in our body in order to help us hold our breath and protect our vital organs. This is known as the mammalian dive reflex.On a normal dive, our heartrate begins to slow by 10-25%. This reduces the rate oxygen enters the bloodstream, which allows our body to conserve oxygen for our vital organs to use. These effects are magnified in icy water and as a result, our breath Dan holds up a couplehold time is reduced as our body fights of solid snapper after aeven harder than normal to fight off successful winter dive. the cold.T his summer has been one to remember and Im sure many of us felt like the hot blue water, big fish and endless sunny days were never going to end, but then we got to April. The days rapidly got shorter, the weather was around the dial and the blue water slowly drifted away.The fish are usually slower and theres a noticeable lack of school fish in the colder months, but on the brighter side, winter offers the best visibility of the year and the fish that are around are usually bigger. If youWinter means clearer water visibility can manage the cold, use the rightfor spearfishing if the weather holds.42FISHING IN GODZONE MAGAZINE'