Lake Superior?

[Freedive WI]

Two of my freediving buddies and I just spent over 4 hours in the water last Saturday spearfishing. Water temps were in the high 40's and air temps were in the high 20's.

We all wore freediving wetsuits and stayed in long enough to fill the coolers full of fish. One of the guys plays underwater hockey with us and wanted to try it out. He brought along a neoprene drysuit to wear and it worked for about 2 hours. After that, he put on the extra 5.5mm freediving wetsuit I had along and stayed in another two hours. He was amazed that you could actually stay warm in a wetsuit and is now looking to buy one.

We freedive all winter long. I have also dove, in a wetsuit, in many of the Great Lakes. Both Fred and I freedive under the ice and you can stay pretty warm IF you have the right suit.

I am just using stock freediving suits right now, but plan to upgrade to a custom Elios suit in the next year. Fred has had pretty good luck with his.

Don't worry if you don't have the money to get into scuba diving. Get a good freediving wetsuit, a pair of freediving fins, and you'll be set to dive year round- plus have a LOT of cash left over for your next trip.

Jon

[mnj1233]

Only thing I would add is to wear a Hooded Vest. Ive found alot more comfort without the squirts of cold every time I turn my head to far.

[EsoxLucius]

What kind of fish were you spearing?

[Freedive WI]

Freediving suits don't need a hooded vest since the hood is already attached and there are no zippers to let water in. If I don't flood my suit with water at the start I can stay totally dry under my suit to depths of up to 60'.

We were spearing mostly crappie and bluegill, with the occasional perch. Later on in the winter we'll spear a small carp, or two, for smoking.

Jon