Questions on Spearing

[Guest]

Crappie Jigga;

We went to Waubay about 3 years ago. Then word got out about the great perch bite. We went out there in the fall, to find approximately 500 plus boats (4 people per boat), all taking their daily limit of 25. The perch bite was so insane, that all we had to do was drop a jigging spoon without bait and you would get about 4 hits before you would connect. We had our 50 perch (2 of us) in about 2 hours. The graph got so full, that we couldn't read the bottom.

However, boats were from NE, IA, SD, MN, ND, WI.

It was litereally fished out and they had to put emergency regs to stop the over harvest. The pike fishing is still good, along with great walleye fishing. However, because of slot limits, be prepared not to take too many walleyes home...........

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Let 'em go so they can grow!!!

[crappie jigga]

Big G
You should see the perch now... We have been fishing that area for about 6 years now, It was pretty sad to watch that place get pounded the way it did, and to watch it go down hill... The state finally dropped the limits to protect the populations... We were just up there on the 1st of Jan. Did really good on perch, "you should see the size of those things now" unreal, they are hogs... Not near as many as when you were there of course, but it was fun...
Going to try spearing on a local lake Saturday, the northerns have been crazy in it for the last couple of years... The walleye guys have had a belly full of 'em breaking lines and spooking other fish... I'll see if I can help'em out alittle....
Later

[Guest]

Wow! Big perch, eh?

A buddy of mine lives on Big Stone. He went to Waubay for a couple of hours, but not much action.

I plan on hitting it mid-March. That is when we do best for the pike.

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Let 'em go so they can grow!!!

[Guest]

Good point tdk.

With the underwater camera, I've caught small sunnies, only to watch them go belly up after several minutes.

Not all fish from CPR are released and survive. Everyone knows that.

The problem with the majority of the people against spearing, is the small percentage of people that does harpoon big fish.

Know one can argue that it isn't very sportsman like to harpoon a trophy fish.

Think about it....
"Hey 'Bob', how did you get that big pike that you have on the wall?"

"Well 'Mike', I shoved a harpoon through it's back!"

Spear all the eaters you want. I think I can speak for most people, that they don't have trouble with that.

I personnaly get my rush watching those big fish on camera. I know what you mean. When they roll in, everything else leaves in a big hurry.

It all reminds me of "Finding Nemo", when the big Cuda rolls in at the beginning of the movie. That is exactly what a pike does to its prey. Very fascinating!!

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Let 'em go so they can grow!!!

[tdk]

I have to agree with a lot of people about how exciting it is to see a big northern come flying in and hit your decoy minow. I've let my sucker minow be taken away by a big slimmer just to watch nature in action. Anybody that would be excited by that needs to have their pulse taken to make sure they're alive. I've had people say that it hurts the population by spearing, how many of those fish caught on a tip up survive after laying on the ice for a couple of minutes. They may swim away, but do the survive the ordeal.

[Guest]

I have taken many large Northern Pike in northern Mn. years ago. The thrill of watching them come in will never go away.
I hope people do not abuse this sport so I can do this with my kids and there kids.
One or two on the wall is all thats needed. The rest are in the pickling jar. I believe we are all out here for the same thing...Enjoyment. And a few fish.

Throw your spear straight....The Poacher man

[Warbucks]

Can somebody tell me how many spearing license's are sold in Minnesota, and how many fising license's are sold?

[Buzzer]

In the 1950s when I was a small child I remember my father tieing a rope to me and to his chair leg so I would not fall in the spear hole. He used to sit and carve his own decoys and use tin from coffee cans to make the fins. He had and old phonograph player that you wound by hand mounted on the ceiling of the shack. To this he had a golfball painted half red and the ball would set and spin and it was by far the best decoy he said he ever used. Although I came from many years of spearing experience I am against this form of obtaining fish. I owned a bait shop for 7 years in Minnesota and would not sell spearing licenses. I do not believe that spearing is a sport as I do not believe we should allow deer hunting from airplanes. I could use the same lame excuse as some of these posters used its the best form of catch and release. I seen some big deer today but I only shot one trophy buck from the air and let the others go. Spearing should be illegal. Spearing is not gaining in popularity for good reason. If you want to practice catch and release spearing use a plunger.

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((TIP) "Turn In Poachers"
1-800-652-9093
24 Hours a Day_365 Days a Year

[rscabin]

Any one seeing anything in the spear hole. Been out and have not seen anything come threw. Thanks

[mwal]

I've speared for many years but not every year as well as my share of tipup fishing. Many people are anti spearing because of the lack of knowledge of the sport. Spearing dosn't have that many participants and many lakes have spearing banned. Look at Mille Lacs are there more big notherns since the spear ban no. I catch about the same amount each year. Who kills more fish spear 3 and leave or catch and release 10 in subzero weather. Fishes slime freezes imagine what it does to their eyes and gill tissue while unhooking and releasing. I encourage every spearer to invite a non spearer into the shack. its like another world. Much like sitting on a deer stand. Enticing a pike in and fooling it with a decoy then not spearing it is just as exciting as spearing it. I bet most of the pike speared are 2 to 4 lbs not the harvest of giants as is beleived. These are just some of my thoughts on spearing I wish all spearers as well as ice anglers good luck and a safe ice season.

Mwal

[bieganekbaitco]

I've speared Redlake and Island lake by Northome for 28 years. I believe that MOST spear fisherman take there sport seriously and use good judgement. But like any pastime, there are a few who ruin it for the majority. I enjoy getting away from the crowds of people to enjoy my family and friends. I'm waiting for a 50"er in Red, he's there. Last Spring a friend who owns a rice paddy north of Waskish found a dead pike along a creek with its head eaten off, and the fish measured 48". I never seen it, but it fuels my fire!!!!!

[Nels]

I found these stats on the MN DNR HSOforum. I haven't located Spearing Stats, but I am guessing it is a very small fraction of the angling licenses sold.

Minnesota is first nationally in the sales of fishing licenses per capita.
Fish species: 158
Fishing waters: 3,800,000 acres
Fishable lakes: 5,493
Fishable streams (cold and warm water): 15,000 miles
Trout streams: 1,900 miles
Trout stream improvements: 410 miles
Trout lakes rehabilitated: 134
Warm water lakes rehabilitated: 79
Average number of fish stocked per year:
Walleye Fry - 250 million
Walley Fingerlings - 2.0 million
Walleye Yearlings - 54 thousand
Walleye Adults - 32 thousand
Northern Pike (fry,fingerlings & adults) - 1.2 million
Muskellunge (fingerlings) - 32,000
Largemouth Bass - 7,500 (fingerlings and adults)
Smallmouth Bass - 30,000 (fingerlings and adults)
Channel Catfish - 100,000 (fingerlings and yearlings)
Bluegill - 40,000 adults
Tiger Muskellunge (fingerlings) - 2,000
Trout -
Fish hatcheries: 5 coldwater ( trout and salmon), 12 cool and warm water (walleye, muskie, catfish, etc.)
Walleye rearing ponds used annually (on average): 325
Northern pike spawning areas used annually (on average): 10
Harvest
Sport Fish Harvested:
Walleye - 35 million pounds
Northern Pike - 3.2 million pounds
Panfish - 64 million pounds
The most caught fish:
1st: Panfish
2nd: Walleye
3rd: Northern
Record fish:
See check the current state record fish list.
Sport fishing expenditures in Minnesota: $1.58 billion
Commercial fish harvested: 4.5 million pounds
Minnow industry:
Minnow dealers: 386
Minnow retailers: 920
Licenses
Licenses sold in 2002
Annual special angling: 6,086
Permanent angling: 658
24-hour angling: 54,353
Resident individual angling: 392,238
Resident combination angling (husband and wife): 192,404
Resident senior citizen angling: 96,528
Resident individual sports (Includes small game and angling): 105,881
Resident combination sports (Includes small game and 2 angling): 81,878
Resident lifetime angling: 878
Resident lifetime sports (Includes small game and angling): 991
Nonresident individual angling: 55,591
Nonresident family angling: 30,213
Nonresident 14-day couple angling: 29,350
Nonresident 7-dat angling: 74,731
Nonresident 72-hour angling: 46,615
Nonresident lifetime angling: 11

I have only been spearing a couple of times in the past 2 years. I have only thrown the spear once, and did not connect.
I myself wouldn't throw a spear at anything over 30 inches, just as I wouldn't keep one over 30 inches caught by hook and line.

I don't understand people who are anti spearing - A limit is a limit, and I have talked to many more people who got their limit while angling, than people who got a limit while spearing.

Also, during the winter, you can angle with 2 lines set a ways apart, but a spear hole only covers one spot, and it is too much work to be mobile in a spear shack.

Each method of harvest (Angling, spearing, rifle, shotgun, trapping), requires its own set of skills and knowledge. Trying to compare these methods to each other will often accomplish nothing, but hopefully will allow one to reach a certain appreciation for each of the others.

Nels
Good luck in however you legally harvest
your game.

[Bruce Mosher]

Have any of you tried out a Teaser Box. They really work great too. It is a motorized box that turns a flashy colored spoon (very slow) that attracts Northerns and alot of other Game fish. It seems to mesmerise the fish. We even use them in an extra hole just to attract Crappies. Then we catch them in the surrounding holes. One thing to remember is to have a snapswivel at the Teaser shaft and another snapswivel hooked onto the Spoon so it doesn't twist up your line. Check out the Mini Teaser at www.todaystackle.com

[fishvince01]

My dad has used a teaser box with a big daredevil without the hook tied on the end of it. He said it brought in norhterns and bait fish and when the bait fish would scatter he new a norhtern was approaching.

[cjnelson]

There are so many posts about how "ILLEGAL" or wrong spearing is. I think most of the people that have posted really dont know much about spearing. I do both and have fun doing both. People have said how unfair it is to spear a fish. Well look at all the things anglers have now. The Vexlar (SP?), underwater cameras, GPS, ect. Boy that takes skill to use those things to catch fish. If you ask me they should all be illegal. Next thing anglers will get legalized will be TNT. Light fuse, chuck into water, let it blow then pick out what you want. Pretty much the same as the vex and UW camera. I have also seen a poat about spearing reducing the pike population?!?! I would put money on more pike are injured/killed by anglers than by spearing. How many hammerhandles have been pulled thru the ice, fumbled around out of the water, have hooks way up inside their mouth/throat fished out, then get thrown back?? Spearing you dont have to worry about that. If a hammerhandle slides into your hole jig your decoy a little to chase him off. No damage to the fish. Sounds like spearing might be a little easier on the pike if you ask me. I really dont think spearing will be made illegal for many many years.

Go out on the ice, fish how you like to fish, and quit whimpering and whining about stuff you know nothing about.

BTW this isnt directed at you crappie jigga.

[spearingboy]

Quote:

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In the 1950s when I was a small child I remember my father tieing a rope to me and to his chair leg so I would not fall in the spear hole. He used to sit and carve his own decoys and use tin from coffee cans to make the fins. He had and old phonograph player that you wound by hand mounted on the ceiling of the shack. To this he had a golfball painted half red and the ball would set and spin and it was by far the best decoy he said he ever used. Although I came from many years of spearing experience I am against this form of obtaining fish. I owned a bait shop for 7 years in Minnesota and would not sell spearing licenses. I do not believe that spearing is a sport as I do not believe we should allow deer hunting from airplanes. I could use the same lame excuse as some of these posters used its the best form of catch and release. I seen some big deer today but I only shot one trophy buck from the air and let the others go. Spearing should be illegal. Spearing is not gaining in popularity for good reason. If you want to practice catch and release spearing use a plunger.<P>------------------<BR>((TIP) "Turn In Poachers"<BR>1-800-652-9093<BR>24 Hours a Day_365 Days a Year

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Mr. Buzzer, I don't know where to start. Well, first off spearing is probably the sportiest of sports there is out there today. When you think about it it's probably one of the sports out there today that you actually have to work to be successful. You chisel your hole, then cut it with an ice saw. Have you ever cut through 2ft. of ice with a saw when the wind chill was below zero and then pull the chunk of ice out either with your hands or a ice tongs.? Most likely not because it's more of a sport to use you vexlar and glow jigs right? Then it's up to your decoy to bring the fish in. You can't move around much because it's not easy as augering 8" holes in the ice. It's a litte different when it's 28" x 32". As far as your little blip about

"I could use the same lame excuse as some of these posters used its the best form of catch and release."

Well let me tell you I have gotten some very cool pictures and even video film of northerns down my spear hole without spearing them so to say that spearers use the "lame excuse" that it's the best form of C&R is a lie. Just about every guy that has posted on here that spears has said that they've watched lots of fish swim by in their hole.

Lastly Buzzer maybe the reason spearing is losing popularity is the same reason as duck hunting and every other hunting and fishing sport is losing popularity is because of the Playstations and Nintendo games out there and the parents that are too busy to take their kids out on the weekends. Or, could it be that it's easier to use your vexlar and other technologies to take fish???? Just something to think about.

[mnmuzzleloader]

I don't know if spearing reduces the northern population, I have speared for 8 years and have had a real blast watching the big ones roll in and roll on out of the hole, We fish Cedar in Scott County for muskies in the summer and we can't even get a pike to bite and spearing has been restricted for the last couple of years with the introduction fo the tiger muskie, where have they gone??? not spearers taking them out that is for sure!! Spearing is a tradition and doesn't effect population as much as people think, the same game pigs that take over harvest by spearing are the same ones that overharvest or fish out of season any way. Enjoy the sport

[Mike89]

Good thread Spearing boy!!! I like your words!! Later, Mike

[psegriz]

Whom ever said they should limt the # of fish taken over 20 lbs to 1-2 a yr.

I got this to say I've speared close to 30 yrs and haven't taken one over 20 lbs. If someone does do such a thing I'd like to tell them to quit taking them 1st. Then let me know where their at so I can go there spearing and I'd bring the camera to video tape the big bruisers playing cat and mouse with my decoy. Sometimes they play for few minutes other times they won't play at all. Just because they dissappear don't mean they are done. I've had them dissappear and a couple minutes later they will come in like a frieght train from no where. I've had them hit my decoy so hard they actually bent the conduit pole that was holding my collapsable up. After that I had to do a little remodeling on how I held my decoy in place. Talk about a rush.

The biggest difference between angling and spearing is when your spearing your actually hunting. As with any kind of hunting if you don't want to take an animal you don't pull the trigger. (In this case throw the spear) I will guarentee the fish never gets hurt that way, just swims away.

Now I'm going to say this it's very important to use a good high quality spear. Anyone who spears or is thinking about it. Do yourself a favor and the fish a favor, buy something of quality. The stuff you buy commercialy is good for a couple yrs if at all, after that it works as a walking staff. Yea good ones cost more but would you go deer hunting with birdshot? If you just want to try it without the investment go with someone. Those ones where they cut at an angle into the tine and bent out for the barb are not even worth calling a spear just scrap iron.

[Mike89]

Your sheet is very well spoken Griz, hopefully people will realize we are not out there to take anything and everything!! I like the 3 pound area for my eating tastes. The most fun is like you said watching them rascals fly from only knows were and BANG everything explodes including my heart!!! Mike

[efgh]

There is nothing that I know of that causes your heart rate to increase as fast as it does when a big pike enters your spear hole, grabs your decoy and leaves in a blink of a eye, you probley will not have a chance to spear it, but what a memory, two years ago I had 3 pike in the spear hole at the same time, fishing the Gap on winnie,smallest was about 7-8 lbs. just watched, never took any, they stayed down there 3-4 min. Gad what a memory.

[Fish'n guy]

3 pike at one time WOW that would be awsome to see!!! Not to change tthe subject but I today I went out and right away I had one that wasa probably 12lbs come in and kill my sucker and I didn't have enough time to spear it, so after it felt tension (by almost pulling the rod and me in) it let go and took off is there any way to coax them into returning, because I had a daredevil without the hooks down right next to it and was hoping that the flash would bring him back but it didn't. Nothing came for along time untl it was almost dark and a monster that had to be 16-18lbs poked his snout into my hole but wouldn't come any further so I stopped my daredevil and set the rod down to position my spear, but when I stoped the daredevil the pke turned away. Is there any way that I cold have got him closer to get a shot? I have a Shapell house and the spear hole must be smaller and if I would have had a hole in the other spear hole (2 spear holes in the house) then I might have had a shot or do you think that this would not work. Thanks to any help!!! GOOD SPEARIN!!!!!!!

[psegriz]

Sometimes by changing something you can get them to come in like the spinning daredevil. Othertimes that will spook them. Normally is what i'll do is to VERY slowly lift my decoy up if that gets him to come in a little then i might again real slow pull it not up but away from him. by that time he'll usually be right where ya want him or he might think hes a train and try to run away with it. It's kinda hard to say you've got to go by the fishes reaction and you'll never do it right all the time. That's what makes it so interesting trying to figure out whats going to make them tick that particular day.

[Early Riser]

I have to agree about spearing being a legimate and rewarding sporting pursuit. I started spearing this year after over 25 years of tip-up fishing. It is pretty easy to go out and catch a lot of northers with tip-ups. Even with the quick strike rigs and circle hooks, some of these fish are stressed and are probably are not going to make it, especially the larger fish that tend to be harder to land and handle correctly. If you catch a fish, unhook it and it is bleeding its chances of survival are lowered. Big fish held vertically, out in the cold for even a minute or two, let alone for pictures, or for an ice tournament weigh-in have had their survival chances compromised.

Now with spearing you have to put in a lot more work. First you have to pick a good spot because you are not going to want to move too quickly after you have to cut, sawed or chiseled a 2'by 2-3' hole in the ice. Even in -10 yesterday morning I was sweating in a light jacket. Pick the right decoy and then you wait while observing God's wonderful unwater world. You will see bugs, perch, bass, sunfish and who knows what else! When a pike does show you don't always have an easy target. You are surprised and excited, then you collect your wits and get the spear ready. If make any noise or too much movement from above the fish may leave as quickly as it appeared. If you pick a good shot, the fish you have chosen to eat is likely to be harvested cleanly. You can be very asured that the fish you don't want to take are alive and well, unlike some of the released fish from angling that you can't help but wonder about.

I believe in the regulations it states that each angler or spearer is allowed only one fish over 30" in the daily bag. There is no party fishing allowed in spearing.

I don't have anything against tip-up fishing or spearing if they are done within the law, with good sportmanship and with great appreciation of our natural resources.