NSP:170 Brian Fern | Hawaii's Unkolearnuhow

Interview with Brian Fern Today's interview is with Brian Fern, aka @Unkolearnuhow from Hawaii! He has a genuine wealth of knowledge on gear and diving from his almost 40 years of spearfishing with a particular mindset towards sustainability and safety. In Hawaii, spearfishing is seen as more of a lifestyle than a sport - that shows in the way he speaks about spearfishing and guides others into it. He is a big advocate for buddy diving and gives us some actionable tips on how to dive safely and more effectively, how to handle Noob Spearos that don't know much about safety and how to confront experienced spearos that have unsafe dive practices. He even has some advice on avoiding and treating ciguatera poisoning! Have a listen and let us know what you think! We need to get Brian back for a 2nd episode, we didn't have time to get through everything we wanted to speak about! Important times: 00:13 Intro 01:50 Spencer Allen on 99 Spearo Recipes 04:53 Hello and welcome Brian! 06:24 Spearfishing in Hawaii is more of a lifestyle than a sport 08:08 Hawaiians seem very connected to their environment, is this true or just the tourists view? 10:40 Invasive species 12:25 Ciguatera poisoning 13:34 What was your experience of that and how did you treat it? 16:11 Alcohol and coffee making the symptoms worse 17:11 When did you start spearfishing? 19:12 Pole spears 21:42 There's no such thing as a shit fish, only a shit cook - do you agree? 22:17 Staple fish species 23:40 You have super clear water which presents it's own challenges 25:40 How did you develop your freediving to be able to hunt those fish and be safe? 28:50 "I want to dive like Ryan Myers - how long will that take me to learn?" 33:10 Learning to be patient 36:15 Diving with better divers 38:37 What about diving with someone that doesn't listen to good advice? 40:32 Learning through time and observation - how to not suck at spearfishing 41:30 Diving with bad buddies - have a game plan on the shore 42:54 How do you dive with people who can't dive as deep as you can? 44:10 How do you confront experienced divers that have bad dive practices? The dangers of experience and ego 47:40 Wrapping up buddy diving - have a partner that's at or just above your skill level 49:18 Struggling to do one up and one down? Dive with 1 gun! 51:51 Understanding variable conditions - what do spearos need to understand about reading conditions? 54:03 How do people find spearing mentors in Hawaii? 55:59 Spearfishing clubs 57:27 How do you confront people that have decided that they know enough? 58:16 Conditions: you need to learn from local divers - talk to life guards 01:00:03 Online weather resources 01:00:56 How do you know when you are too deep? 01:03:22 The right equipment for the right job 01:05:19 Financial barrier to entry - if you have the wrong gear, you are risking your life 01:08:21 Mannysub - what do you like about his gear? Premium gear that's been well designed with great customer service 01:11:14 Rollerguns 01:14:57 Before hunting with a new gun - DO SOME TARGET PRACTICE - properly powering your gun 01:18:16 Pipe guns vs wood guns 01:20:00 Price is a big influence - rigging and using your speargun is a big thing to learn. Mannysub gives you instruction manuals with their spearguns 01:21:32 Mannysub roller conversion kit - Brian is the US and Hawaii rep 01:23:04 How do people reach out and find you and your gear? Rollerspearguns.com and unkolearnuhow.com 01:23:56 We are out of time - thanks for being on the show! 01:24:44 Outro Listen in and subscribe on iOS or Android https://link.chtbl.com/Download_This_Episode Important Links @unkolearnuhow on Instagram @unkolearnuhow on TikTok Brian's Youtube Channel @manny_sub on Instagram Unkolearnuhow.com Rollerspearguns.com Noob Spearo Facebook Community Noob Spearo Instagram Noob Spearo Partners and Discount Codes Adreno Spearfishing – Buy your spearfishing equipment here. Use the code NOOBSPEARO save $20 on every purchase over $200 at checkout – Flat shipping rate, especially in AUS! Neptonics Spearfishing and Freediving – Use the code NOOB10 to save 10% off anything store-wide. Free Shipping on USA orders over $99 Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code NOOBSPEARO at MANSCAPED.com! #ad #manscapedpod KillShot Spearguns | Simple, Effective, Dependable Wooden Spearguns. Use the Code NOOB to save $30 on any speargun:) Adam Sterns FreedivingFamily.com use the code SPEARO to get 20% off any course and the code NOOBSPEARO to get 40% off any and all courses! Penetrator Fins Use the code NOOBSPEARO to save $25 on the full Penetrator Spearfishing Fin Range here. Immersion Online freediving classes | 28-day Freediving Transformation (CODE: NOOB28 for 15% off) | Equalization Masterclass – Roadmap to Frenzel | Free Courses | Freediving Safety Course | How to Take a 25-30% Bigger Breath! How To Freedive | The 5 minute Freediver | Break the 10 Meter Barrier – Use the code NOOBSPEARO to save $ Old Man Blue | Wickedly tough and well thought out gear! Check out their Lobster Bag HERE Noob Spearo MAD GEAR | 'Spearo Dad' | 'Girls with Gills' | 'Jobfish Tribute' The Best Place to Find Fishing Buddies and Fishing Trips | Fishing Trips (fishingtripsapp.com) Spearing Magazine Subscribe to the best spearfishing magazine in the world. International subscription available! Audible.com Get a free audiobook along with a 30-day trial here. Listen to 99 Tips to Get Better at Spearfishing