Size of spear hole?

[Caleb S]

After reading through all of the posts I am thinking about giving spearing a shot. I have a frabill cub portable which is black and should be dark enough. The only thing is the holes in the floor are not very big. I don't have the house accessible right now but guessing they must be 12"x24". I really don't want to cut up the floor of my house but is that going to be big enough?

My thought was to make due with the house, use my auger and chisel to make a hole, buy a decoy and give it a whirl. I basically would like to just go and sit in the house and see what it's like. May sound crazy but I was thinking of just sitting in the house without a spear to at least get a feel for what its like.

If I don't have a spear on my person I don't imagine I need to buy the spearing license? Might just drop down a decoy and an angling line and see what happens.

[sandbagger]

Caleb: Great questions. I am just getting back into spearing after doing a bunch of it when I was a kid. For the last few years I didn't have much access to a spearing house and I didn't want to keep a lot of pike. So as an alternative, I would go to lakes I knew had good populations of pike and sight fish for them in my one-man Frabill flip-over shelter (I still do this). This allowed me to get my pike fix in a catch-and-release format.

Here is the set-up I like to use: I cut an 8-inch hole with my auger, than double or triple its size with my ice saw. Another option is to just drill two auger holes side by side or four in a square pattern. It's amazing how much even one additional 8-inch hole next to your first 8-inch hole opens up your visibility into the water. Once I get my hole cut, I use a 24-inch medium-action rod and spinning reel outfitted with 20-lb test power pro line and a steel leader. I use either a large jig or a plain treble hook with a spinner attached and tip it with a shiner or sucker minnow - shiner's usually work better. I usually set up in 6-12 FOW near a green weed line. Set your bait about half-way down the watter column and keep your bait moving.

If the fish are active, you should see a lot of them. I actually like this technique as much as spearing because you really get to study the behaviors of the fish. Some will come in and just hammer your bait, while others will come in slowly and just lip it. Another bait that I have had success with is any type of bright-colored Gulp (4 inch power grub, 6-8 inch worm). If you use that technique and find the fish come in, but don't hit it, tip the end of the hook with a crappie minnow or wax worms (keep your Gulp on the hook too).

Good luck!

[Caleb S]

sandbagger,

Thanks for the info. Angling in a spear hole will be about perfect for me as I prefer to catch and release. Kind of hard to do with a spear. I'll be able to get the thrill of watching them come in, nail the bait, bring em in the house and still let them go back to get bigger. Cant wait!

[sandbagger]

Yeah, it is a blast. Doesn't matter what size they are. When they come and slam a bait, the adrenaline gets a rushing.

[bassNspear]

you dont really need alot of space to cut the whole. If you have a 4x5 you should be ok cutting with a 8 inch auger and saw.

The bigger you cut it, the better you can see!

[Caleb S]

My house has a plastic floor and the cut outs are about 12x24". I was wondering if that size of a hole will reall give me a large enough viewing area.

[Fish Toys]

Caleb I would try it out first to see if you like it and if not start cutting to make it bigger.

[merkman]

My house has a plastic floor and the cut outs are about 12x24". I was wondering if that size of a hole will reall give me a large enough viewing area.

I have a 4X6 canvas house with a 20 X 42 inch hole in it.

I picked up an 8X8 Northlander this summer.

It had two 19X32 inch holes in it.

I wanted to open those holes up.

Well I got lazy and just decided to try it first.

I am glad I tried it before cutting.

My advice is to try it out first and see what you think of it.

And as far as sight fishing goes you would be amazed at what even some of those little 6" perch will come up and try to do to a decoy larger than them. Lol

Decoys will attract fish of all types.