Spearing rope

[carver1]

I have been posting it MI for a while, 1st time in the spearing section.... hello everyone!! I was out bluegill fishing the other day and there was a guy on the lake spearing. Talked to him and asked how he did, said he nailed a good 32-34incher but it got off at the hole. I noticed he had his rope tied to the handle of his spear. I told him to drill a hole in the spear head and tie your rope there. That way when he pulls the fish up there is no way the fish can come off...... the more I think of I see more spear fisherman w/ rope tied to the handle. The only thing that keeps from losing the fish are the barbs....... How do most of you guys tie your rope?

[darkhousefisher]

I tie mine to the handle, but I haven't lost one yet.

[RLWagner]

I tie mine at the top of the handle. Never lost a pike till last week when I found the normal 6' water over 8' deep and was unable to pin my quarry to the bottom. It thrashed off before reaching the hole. It is a terrible terrible feeling to leave a pike injured in the water. I mean terrible feeling!!! :embarassed:

[53andout]

I told him to drill a hole in the spear head and tie your rope there. That way when he pulls the fish up there is no way the fish can come off...... the more I think of I see more spear fisherman w/ rope tied to the handle. The only thing that keeps from losing the fish are the barbs....... How do most of you guys tie your rope?

Your advice is good, very good. Go talk to the old timers who are in the know and that's how they do it, for the reason you mentioned. One other reason is when you pull the pike out of the hole upside down they just stiffen up like a big perch.

[carver1]

Your advice is good, very good. Go talk to the old timers who are in the know and that's how they do it, for the reason you mentioned. One other reason is when you pull the pike out to the hole upside down they just stiffen up like a big perch.

I was spearing in some thick thick nasty weeds one day and my buddy was next to me in another shanty ( well 75 yrds away). He speared a pike and you could not even see the spear, the weeds were that thick. He could feel the pike on it, when he yanked the spear out of the thick weeds it pulled the pike off the spear. He had his rope tied to the handle. I speared one in the same weeds and got a bad shot ( 1 fork) but mine was tied to the head. I pulled him out upside down and saw a stiff white belly.... Like you said... They stiffen right up getting pulled upside down

[Higgins]

I was spearing in some thick thick nasty weeds one day and my buddy was next to me in another shanty ( well 75 yrds away). He speared a pike and you could not even see the spear, the weeds were that thick. He could feel the pike on it, when he yanked the spear out of the thick weeds it pulled the pike off the spear. He had his rope tied to the handle. I speared one in the same weeds and got a bad shot ( 1 fork) but mine was tied to the head. I pulled him out upside down and saw a stiff white belly.... Like you said... They stiffen right up getting pulled upside down

I'm thinking of trying this. So I'm guessing that when you lower the spear in the water you should hold the rope firmly along side the spear all the way up to where you hold the spear so as to not let the rope fall into the water and scare away the pike RIGHT  Does it effect the way the spear flies through the water 


O, and it's nice to see some Michigan guys on here      

[53andout]

The line, 3/16 nylon braid works good. Attach the line to the end of your spear with a Boom Hitch http://www.marinews.com/Boom-Hitch-608.php. Now drill a small hole that is something smaller than 2 X the diameter of your line, just enough so you can double the line in to a small loop and feed it thru the hole. The line that goes to the spear head to the loop should be tight, so it runs along the handle. The other end attaches as it normally would to the eyelet in your shed. When the spear is launched, well you can figure out the rest.

I'm thinking of trying this. So I'm guessing that when you lower the spear in the water you should hold the rope firmly along side the spear all the way up to where you hold the spear so as to not let the rope fall into the water and scare away the pike RIGHT  Does it effect the way the spear flies through the water 


O, and it's nice to see some Michigan guys on here      

[carver1]

I'm thinking of trying this. So I'm guessing that when you lower the spear in the water you should hold the rope firmly along side the spear all the way up to where you hold the spear so as to not let the rope fall into the water and scare away the pike RIGHT  Does it effect the way the spear flies through the water 


O, and it's nice to see some Michigan guys on here      

exactly. Coil your rope in front of the hole and when you lower your spear hold the rope firm next to th spear. I personally have never speared pike deeper that 12-14ft of water and usually only 1/2 the way down so the rope has never interferred w/ my throw..... With that being said It could..... Be careful where you place your rope so it does not catch anything. My oponion is it takes the risk out of not recovering a fish..... batting %100 on recovery since I made the switch a few years back

[53andout]

I think where this really plays well is with really BIG PIKE. A 10 or 15 lb fish goes down pretty easy. A 30 pound pike is a whole new ballgame.     

exactly. Coil your rope in front of the hole and when you lower your spear hold the rope firm next to th spear. I personally have never speared pike deeper that 12-14ft of water and usually only 1/2 the way down so the rope has never interferred w/ my throw..... With that being said It could..... Be careful where you place your rope so it does not catch anything. My oponion is it takes the risk out of not recovering a fish..... batting %100 on recovery since I made the switch a few years back

[darkhousefisher]

I pulled him out upside down and saw a stiff white belly.... Like you said... They stiffen right up getting pulled upside down

Make a good shot right behind the gills and they always stiffen up and quit flopping around. 

Here's a commercially made heads up spear.
http://www.mapleridgesports.com/

[RLWagner]

The line, 3/16 nylon braid works good. Attach the line to the end of your spear with a Boom Hitch http://www.marinews.com/Boom-Hitch-608.php. Now drill a small hole that is something smaller than 2 X the diameter of your line, just enough so you can double the line in to a small loop and feed it thru the hole. The line that goes to the spear head to the loop should be tight, so it runs along the handle. The other end attaches as it normally would to the eyelet in your shed. When the spear is launched, well you can figure out the rest.

Thanks fellas!!! I will make the switch I hope by this weekend!!!! Darn terrible feeling to loose one and leave it injured under the ice somewhere!!!

[53andout]

Make a good shot right behind the gills and they always stiffen up and quit flopping around. 

I used to think the same thing... Experience is a good teacher.

[Mule Skinner]

I think it depends on your style or technique of bringing the fish out of the water. First off , I lost a dandy on Mud lake when I was a kid and I'll never forget it. I truely had that bad feeling and ran the scenerio over and over in my mind what I did wrong.

1. take your time. Its easy to get excited and rush to get the fish out of the shack and onto the ice . Slow down a bit and wait , let her tire out  . As long as the tines are penetrated good , she's not going any where. some folks have a 2nd spear as a back up and go ahead and stick that one in it as well if its a big one. I personally don't own two spears or plan on it. It's OK to thrust the spear downward to get a better bite or deeper peneatration, just make sure its in a straight downward motion. Pinning the fish to the bottom is not necessary and lately I've been in water to deep to do so. 

2. If theres more than one person spearing, make sure who ever is up for the next shot is seated closest to the door for a quick exit out of the shanty. This mistake has happened to me also and theres nothing worse than a pike flopping back and forth on the end of your spear while your trying to get around fishing buddies without falling in the spear hole yourself  or the fish flopping off and back into the hole before you get out the door with it. If you spear by yourself most of the time like I do , this is a no brainer .

Now back to the topic where to tie your rope off , at the end of the handle or down by the spear head.

I prefer to tie mine off at the end of the handle, I just practice the above mentioned techniques and when I get ready to pull it out, I lower the handle down close to the ice staying level and even with the ice which brings the tines and spearhead up to the waters surface . The handle is now in a horizontal position not in a verticle up and down position. This method turns the fish on its side almost upside down . As mentioned , they do stiffen up when pulled from the water this way. Basically using gravity and weight to your advantage.

I'm also glad to see a few Michigan folks here.

[Higgins]

theres nothing worse than a pike flopping back and forth on the end of your spear while your trying to get around fishing buddies without falling in the spear hole yourself  or the fish flopping off and back into the hole before you get out the door with it.

If you have a permanent spearing shanty than I can solve this problame for you cause I built a plank in my shanty that once I get the pike up the hole I just put them against the plank and wait until I have every thing ready before I take him outside.

[podunk]

i have my rope tied to the handle. i havnt lost a pike yet. but my spear isn't like the ones you can buy now a days. mine is the old timers kind. once you spear the pike the only way it seems to get it off the spear is by stepping on the fish and yanking several times to get the fish off. you pretty much either rip the head off or clost to that or yank the guts out when you finaly get the fish off the spear. so i guess it all falls on how the spear is made as to wear to put the rope.