first spear fishing adventure

[Muskysucker]

Well I am packed and ready to go on my first spear fishing adventure THIS IS GOING TO BE A BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MN HERE I COME!

[MJ1657]

Good luck! I'm sure you will have fun.

[TylerS]

Be sure to tell us all about it when you get back!

[Acemac]

pictures or it did not happen!

[merkman]

Good Luck!!!

Be safe and know before you throw!!

Hope you have a great time!!!

[Gordie]

welcome to the Hso Family and this new addiction we call spearing Good luck and....

KNOW BEFORE YOU THROW

[Kiecker]

I am new to Spear fishing and I LOVE IT.

I have only been out once and speared a 28 1/2 inch pike. Thats the only one we saw but it was one of the most fun things i have done in a long time. We rented a house from Woodlands Resort at devils Lake and were spearing in 5 fow. I am taking the wife up there on the 30th.

Does anyone have tips on decoy colors or techniques, I am a rookie and am trying to learn this awsome sport so any thing helps.

[pikestabber]

Welcome to the last hobby you will ever pick up!

My favorite color for decoys, in order: Red head + white body; chartreuse; black and silver. I also have one I made that is white with black tiger stripes that the fish have really responded to this year. Two Daredevils (without hooks) hooked together are a nice lure, too, when used sparingly.

Let the fish tell you what they like, and use a live sucker along with your decoy (if allowed, that is--not sure of the rules on Devil's Lake), and don't be afraid to change decoys/colors fairly often. Many times fish hang outside your hole but don't come into view until you try a color they respond to for that day. The next day may be different...let the fish be your guide.

Some days I jig my decoy every few minutes; some days I barely touch it (and I mean maybe a few slow circles per hour)--it just depends, again, on the mood of the fish. A good thing to remember is that in 90% of cases, if your decoy is sitting still, the fish will come in slow. If you are actively jigging, the fish fly in fast. Everyone can attest that a motionless decoy can still get hammered fast, but few would say a fast-jigged decoy brings in a slow fish! Slow fish = quality shots.

Be sure to start out your decoy SLOW every time you begin to jig--even if the fish like it fast that day, you never know when one is close that you might spook by jigging to fast to start. You can increase the speed after you get it going. Try putting your decoy a foot or more below your live sucker, too, to appeal to fish at different depths, and remember to run you decoys at mid-depth or higher, at least to start, as fish look UP to scout for food. Experiment with depth, as needed, if you are not seeing fish within an hour, or so.

As far as depth, 5' of water seems shallow to me for this time of year (I have been seeing a lot of fish this week, and I am in 18 FOW), so don't be afraid to go deep if you can see in a greater depth and if you aren’t seeing fish in shallow (warning: nothing is more boring than not seeing bottom and not seeing fish at the same time, so go deep in clear enough water to see bottom).

Finally, remember that you can lower your spear into the water A WAYS without spooking fish. The biggest rookie mistake I have seen is people trying to hurl their spear from above the water or throwing it too hard. Let the spear do the work—somewhere between that “home run swing” and “just letting go” of the spear is a nice, easy gliding controlled throw that hits the mark almost every time. Practice is the only way to get better. Take that extra second too—the first instinct is to rush, but as in hunting, a split second to gain poise and really dial the shot in will make all the difference—fight the urge to rush into a throw, if time warrants, and it usually does.

Also, be sure you know what you are throwing at and that you intend to kill it—“spear and release” isn’t a school of thought anyone should subscribe too!

Good luck. Let’s see some pictures and get a report when you get back!

[shamalex72]

(warning: nothing is more boring than not seeing bottom and not seeing fish at the same time, so go deep in clear enough water to see bottom).

thats for sure.

[browning_gold]

Finally, remember that you can lower your spear into the water A WAYS without spooking fish. The biggest rookie mistake I have seen is people trying to hurl their spear from above the water or throwing it too hard.

That is something I cant agree with more! Nicely said!!

[Kiecker]

Pikestabber:

Thank You so much for the info.

What size decoy should I be using? Since this is my first season I do not have any of the equipment yet, but i plan on buying it. Is there better brands of decoys or are they all pretty similar? I am pretty limited on funds so i was wondering what the best choices would be, I think I will start with 2 decoys. Is there 2 that would be a good start for all situations?

The resort we were at had a daredevil blade connected to a spinning motor that spun the blade at 25rpm. Is this a good tool to us along with the decoy or should I stay with just the decoy?

We used both of them at the same time on the first trip, but it seemed like a lot of activity in the hole and maybe that hurt are chances instead of helping. As for activity in the house does talking or listing to the radio softly affect the fishing?

Thank You again for your help. I will defiantly let you know how it goes when we get back.

[merkman]

Very nicely said Pikestabber!!

[merkman]

What size decoy should I be using? Since this is my first season I do not have any of the equipment yet, but i plan on buying it. Is there better brands of decoys or are they all pretty similar? I am pretty limited on funds so i was wondering what the best choices would be, I think I will start with 2 decoys. Is there 2 that would be a good start for all situations?

[browning_gold]

I use about a 9" red and white decoy 90% of the time (preferably red and white especially if the water is not crystal clear)I personally prefer wood carved decoys but have used bear creek decoys (plastic) in the past with excellent success. If I were you I would either use the daredevil with a decoy or a sucker on a harness with a decoy.. I usually set my sucker below the decoy about a foot or two.. I rarely run one decoy in my hole.. As far as noise is concerned I always have a radio going in my house and can have normal conversations without any suspicion to the pike.. The one thing that you need to avoid is making loud noises on your floor or ice which the pike can hear very easily!!

Good Luck!!!

[Gordie]

Originally Posted By: pikestabber

(warning: nothing is more boring than not seeing bottom and not seeing fish at the same time, so go deep in clear enough water to see bottom).

thats for sure.

you can see bottom and no fish and its just as bad as not seeing bottom. but today for instance I was in 7 fow and couldnt see bottom but I saw 15 snot rockets,1 bow fin and bunch of perch now that was fun.

Welcome to the Hso family and the spearing forum this is a great place to share and get some really great info on how to,what to,where to,about spearing.

Dont be afriad to try new stuff decoy color can be as personal as the person spearing but some guys say that certain ones are better than others but I say the one that is working at the time im seeing pike is the best color. today was red/white /chartuse tomarrow could be differnt. the basic colors to me are the old stand by red/white Chartuse/red orange/yellow then we could get in to spoons and spinners but just take it a little at a time then once you really get the itch it doesnt seem to matter you'll want every decoy you see even if you've already got the same ones

Good Luck

[Gordie]

The resort we were at had a daredevil blade connected to a spinning motor that spun the blade at 25rpm. Is this a good tool

I think this is one of the best tools there is for spearing. besides inorder to find out how good a tool is you gotta use it

I would start out with red/white and chartuse and /red then build from there

.

Most off all just have fun

[MJ1657]

Take an old teflon frying pan and drill it full of holes. Works really good for getting slush and ice chips out of your hole.

[Kiecker]

Thanks for the advice guys I cant wait to try it again!

How should I set up the Daredevil spinner and the decoy? Does it matter what depth they are at and should they be at the same level?

[Huey]

I would have the decoy and the spinner at different depths. Put one a foot or 2 higher than the other.

Because of the way I set up my darkhouse, I'll put the decoy deeper and towards the far right corner of the hole and spinner higher and towards the closer left corner.

Good Luck.

[GoneFish'n71]

Take an old teflon frying pan and drill it full of holes. Works really good for getting slush and ice chips out of your hole.

I got a big minnow dip net like they use at the bait shops. 3 or 4 swipes clean the hole.

[Laska]

I got a big minnow dip net like they use at the bait shops. 3 or 4 swipes clean the hole.

[gatorslayer]

deep fryer basket ...depth of decoys should coincide with depth of water and skill level

[merkman]

I have several ice scoops.

The traditional fishing ice scoop.

A foldable plastic shovel with holes drilled in it.

A net

And a Doty's Darkhouse Dipper.

I like the Doty's Darkhouse Dipper if augering holes where there is allot of slush and ice chips in the hole but it can be a pain to carry around.

I prefer the net when it comes to ease of carrying, and overall use.

IMHO

If you have space go with the dipper or deep fryer baskets if you like to pack light not much beats the net.

[Muskysucker]

Well the weekend went great. It is by invite only to the White fish chain of lakes better known as the White Fish Open. It is a spearing competition for decoy carvers. I spent the weekend with some of the best decoy carvers from MN MI. You can see pictures from years past on the NFDA wed site (nfda.tv).

I did well for my first time I got a 24” northern and a 22” whitefish. I mist 2 more northern one was very nice and 5-6 whitefish. They are hard because they never stop. I am going to try to add pictures of both fish. All I can say if any one said this was a easy sport they just need to go out and try. I know it will humble them fast.

[shamalex72]

Muskysucker, did you have a little mishap with a knife while you were there?