Darkhouse Spearing Photos Gallery

[Dooley87]

Big carp from Saturday

[Dooley87]

My girlfriends wall mounter from two weeks ago. I was going to go set a tip up out deeper for walleyes when I heard something fall in the hole, I asked if she dropped a fishing rod in the hole and that's when she started yelling, it hit me that noise was the spear going through the water. I ran back to the house telling her to drop the fish down and pin it on the bottom. The way she was yelling I was positive it was a huge fish with a bad shot. I opened the door and stared down the hole expecting to see the fish on the bottom. I couldn't see a thing. She told me hey up here and I looked up her holding up the spear with this gorgeous 39" 17 pound pike. I couldn't believe my eyes and best part was she did it all on her own. When she handed me the spear her hands where shaking uncontrollably. It's getting mounted with a replica spear of mine and a replica decoy and it also had a jig in the corner of it's mouth and that's going in the mount too. When I went back to pick up the tip up I realized I pulled it half way back to the spear house when I was running back lol. Great day on the ice.

[3xasmany]

Dooly, You going to get a replica of the jig too so I can have it back. Sorry couldn't resist.

[Dooley87]

What are the chances, was that your jig?

[3xasmany]

No, just messing with you.

[Dooley87]

Lol

[pikestabber]

My girlfriends wall mounter from two weeks ago. I was going to go set a tip up out deeper for walleyes when I heard something fall in the hole, I asked if she dropped a fishing rod in the hole and that's when she started yelling, it hit me that noise was the spear going through the water. I ran back to the house telling her to drop the fish down and pin it on the bottom. The way she was yelling I was positive it was a huge fish with a bad shot. I opened the door and stared down the hole expecting to see the fish on the bottom. I couldn't see a thing. She told me hey up here and I looked up her holding up the spear with this gorgeous 39" 17 pound pike. I couldn't believe my eyes and best part was she did it all on her own. When she handed me the spear her hands where shaking uncontrollably. It's getting mounted with a replica spear of mine and a replica decoy and it also had a jig in the corner of it's mouth and that's going in the mount too. When I went back to pick up the tip up I realized I pulled it half way back to the spear house when I was running back lol. Great day on the ice.

Awesome fish and awesome story! I laughed about the tip up...no excitement there, right? And she made a nice shot!

I have to ask about "pinning the fish to the bottom" though... Has that worked for you in the past? My experience with big fish on the spear is that it's better to hold the rope and let it swim around until it tires, taking care to make sure the weight of the spear is on the fish (i.e., just a touch of slack line, not a tight line) and then pull it up (sometimes you get lucky and can pull them up right away before they realize their stuck, but that's risky). I have been with a couple guys that let their big fish hit the bottom, and both times the pike used the bottom as leverage and twisted off the spear (and these were weighted spears with good barbs). I'd hate to see you lose a trophy... Maybe those couple times were an anomaly, but for me it's always worked to swim the fish... The old timers I know say to tie the spear up so it can't touch bottom and just let them swim on their own until they tire, but I'm too chicken to try that!

[Dooley87]

I don't get enough time on the ice and don't make enough bad shots on big fish to be an expert but I have had it save me once when I hit a 35" far back, dropped it to the bottom leaving the handle straight up which "pins" the fish to the bottom then I hit it again with another spear. If I made a bad shot I'd never want that fish swimming around with the spear opening up the hole leaving a possibility for the spear to pull out. Too much torque on a fish with one tine in it and 5' of handle moving around opening the hole up.

Check out fear the spear on facebook. This topic comes up often and everytime they say pin it to the bottom and spear it again.

[pikestabber]

Check out fear the spear on facebook. This topic comes up often and everytime they say pin it to the bottom and spear it again.

No doubt if you make a bad shot and have a back up spear... I mean do you still drop them to the bottom after a good, clean hit behind the head? I know what works for me. Just curious about what others do and how it works for them. I've not lost a well struck fish by letting it swim. I guess a part of that has to do with different bottom structures... I spear some areas with a good deal of mud, and the last thing I want is a fish flailing down there and clouding up the hole so I can't see what's going on.

[Ole #1]

I'm from the Iron Range and the old timers in my family say to let the fish lay on bottom after you spear it. It's worked perfect for the fish I've speared, including the big ones. It does cloud up the water, but that usually brings more activity.

[Dooley87]

Nope with a good shot I pull them right up. I've only dropped one to the bottom once

[hawkeye43]

That is a pretty nice fish, that would make anyone get the shake.

[Early Riser]

Here are a few shots taken with my cheap slider cell phone from lakes north and south of some fish that were left to swim:

Upper 30" range near bottom in 10.5' of water

Around 30" in upper right corner

big fish mouthing the decoy 8' down

mid 20" fish near the top

[shamalex72]

Nice pics ER.

[MJ1657]

Cool pics Early Riser.

[merkman]

Way to go ER

it is good to see you promoting look and release!!!!

-Merk

[MJ1657]

Had this big girl hang out for awhile. Grabbed my sucker once then just hung around looking. I hope she comes back tomorrow when I have some friends with.

[eyeguy 54]

congrats to your gal Dooley ! dandy fish

[jasonmichalski]

My new personal best with a spear, 38"

[pikestabber]

That's a dandy! Nice job, Jason!

[jasonmichalski]

That's a dandy! Nice job, Jason!

thanks!!

[minky]

Very nice fish, congrats!

[eyeguy 54]

congrats on the PB ! nice pic with the decoy

[Betterlabs]

Pics from this spearing season!

[9tine]

What happened to this page?  Activity really seems to have dropped off this year.  Here's a picture of the somewhat modified heavyweight spear head for 2016.