Patent ID: 8544455

Claim:
Apparatus for attaching a spear to a spearfishing gun by means of a line, the apparatus comprising, in combination: the spear comprising an elongate shaft having a point attached to one of two ends thereof; and at least one barb member pivotally attached to the shaft adjacent the point, each at least one barb member having a respective closed position in which no portion of the respective barb extends outward from the spear shaft by more than a selected barb distance; a protective member having a low flow resistance and attached to the shaft between the point and the at least one barb, the protective member extending outward from the spear shaft by more than the barb distance; a stopping member attached to the shaft at a selected position more distal from the point than the at least one barb, the stopping member extending outward from the spear shaft further than does the protective member; and a linking element having an attachment eye having a diameter selected so that the eye can pass over the protective member but not over the stopping member, the linking element further comprising an attachment point for the line.