Spearfishing for Beginners — What You Need to Know Before Your First Dive

There is nothing quite like being underwater with nothing but the sound of the ocean around you. Spearfishing is physical, meditative, and genuinely one of the most addictive things I've ever done. I grew up near, never in the ocean, and had no idea what I was missing. Here's everything I wish someone had told me before I got in.

Spearfishing on the Great Barrier Reef

Go spearfishing with someone who knows the water

My partner grew up in the ocean , not just swimming in it, actually in it. Spearfishing, diving, knowing where to be and where not to be. Having someone like that beside me on my first dives wasn't just helpful, it was everything. They can read a current, and notice things that take a while to learn yourself.

I appreciate not everyone has that person and that's okay. My honest recommendation, book a beginner course (it can be spearfishing or freediving). A good instructor covers safety, technique and ocean awareness in a way that would take you months to piece together alone and you'll probably meet some future dive buddies.

You need to be calm in the water when spearfishing

Open water is a different world. Currents, surge, low visibility, things that move. If the ocean makes you anxious on a normal day, spearfishing will amplify that. Sort your ocean comfort first. Everything else builds on it. Calm is everything underwater, panic burns through your oxygen faster than anything else. If your a little nervous, dive a few times without a speargun until you start to feel a little more calm.

Shallow water is harder than it sounds

Everyone says "start shallow" and I get why but here's what they don't tell you. In shallow water you're positively buoyant, which means your body is constantly fighting to float back to the surface. You'll need weight to get down and stay down, and even then it's a battle. Two metres isn't going to teach you much.

Negative buoyancy, that moment where you stop fighting the water and the water stops fighting you, is what you're working towards. It usually kicks in around 8-10 metres. Once you feel it, you'll understand why people get hooked. Dive at a depth that actually gives you room to learn, not just hover at the surface.

Negative buoyancy is the moment everything changes. Once you feel it, you'll understand why people get obsessed.

Never dive alone — even when your not a beginner

This isn't a suggestion. Shallow water blackout (losing consciousness on the ascent with no warning) is real, silent, and fatal without someone there watching. It doesn't matter if you're only going to five metres. It doesn't matter if you've done it a hundred times. Always have a buddy, always have eyes on each other, and make sure someone knows where you are. No exceptions, ever.

Breath hold is a skill, not a talent

I used to think some people just had good lungs, while some are naturals most have trained. The urge to breathe isn't actually about oxygen running out, it's your body reacting to CO2 building up. You can train yourself to relax through that feeling. Start on land, lying still, and practice slow exhales. The more relaxed you are in the water, the longer you'll last.

Mask fit is everything

A leaking mask will ruin every single dive. Before you spend anything, press a mask against your face without the strap and breathe in gently through your nose. If it stays on with no hands, it fits. If not, keep looking. When you jump in the first time, check your mask first, nothing ruins a dive more than when someone cant participate because they have a leaky mask. Fins and a wetsuit matter too but nothing ends a dive faster than a mask that doesn't seal. Borrow gear to start if you can. Once you know you love it, you'll know exactly what you want to buy.

Learn to read the water before you look for fish

Where's the structure — rocks, reef, drop-offs? Where would a fish actually want to be? Whats the current doing? The ocean gives you clues if you slow down enough to look. New divers spend all their energy looking for fish and miss everything the water is trying to tell them. Learn to read the conditions first and the fish start to make sense

Everything feels magnified underwater

Distances are longer than they look. Time feels different. And fish are almost always smaller than they appear underwater. Don't shoot a fish just because it's there, be selective, know your local size limits, and respect what's in the water. The ocean gives back what you put into it. Take care of it and it'll keep giving you reasons to go back.

Spearfishing is one of those things that sounds intimidating until you're in the water and then it just makes sense. It's physical, it's meditative, and there is nothing quite like being that far under with nothing but the sound of the ocean around you. Get the safety right, go with the right people, and give it a proper go. It gets addictive fast.

The information in this post is based on personal experience only. Always dive/ride within your ability, follow local regulations, and seek qualified instruction.