fresh watter FAQ's

[colt.45]

scence there are allways newbies like me comming to this site I figured it would be nice for simplicitices sake to have a FAQ's section for getting started

[colt.45]

I'm 14 so i'm on a really low budjet what would be a good gun for 1-40 lb fresh watter fish. bass, carp, catfish, walleye, striper, and whatever else can be found in utah lakes. advice on a spear head would be good and i'me also looking for a good wet or dry suit (surface temp is almost never over 70 F in the lakes that i live by) and a knife. Any sugestions would be welcome.

[Galser]

For such lakes really usefull would be some powerfull pneumatic speargun.
Really I like self-made guns from Yuri Gladkov, Nikolaev city, Ukraine.

[StretchArmStron]

must me nice to have 700 bux to play with. Get a 5 or 7mm wetsuit (picasso, omer, spiros, elios to name a few). As for a gun, what is the visibility. I will go ahead and suggest a 75-90cm omer or Eurogun. Cressi Gara2000 hf fins, and a rife stubby spearfishing knife. I like the picasso air snorkel, not so sure about their masks though...might want to try an omer alien.
check your regulations on spearing freshwater fish. very few states allow you to spear catfish (mine does:-)

you can make your own floatline and float. do a search on this site for either one.

[feign]

I agree with Stretch, except don't get the 2000hf fins. They are very bad for surface work and you will do a lot of that with spearing. Other plastic fins that would be good....not totally confident to recommend a pair except I think the sporasub h.dessault would do well.

Lee

[StretchArmStron]

I've had 2 sets of the 2000's, I lie them and do a fair ammount of surface swimming, they are hard on the calfs and give you a workout but you get used to them. Depends on the money you want to spend. The picasso start fins are also an idea.

[unirdna]

Utah, eh? Well, it might not get warmer than 70F, but I'm betting your lakes (or is it lake? ) doesn't freeze either. Coldest of the year 50F or so?


Riffe Competitor
#00 ($230) or #0($270) Hawaiian, NOT threaded, double barb.

Sporasub dessaults $120

Picasso or Elios 3mm nylon outside wetsuit $200

Cressi Superocchio or Lince mask $40

Snorkel $10-20

Knife - something small and flat - $30-40

Gloves (3mm - with some kind of grip surface kevlar/rubber) $30

Socks (3mm) $20-30

Belt (rubber with a buckle - Sporasub Marsellaise is nice) $30

Weights (10-14 pounds lead - 2 lb weights) $20-30

Outdoor (brand), 36 inch, mesh bag - $15

Sporasub torpedo float - $20

Omer fish stringer - $20

DIY floatline - $20

Total = Around $800, guess you need to keep an eye out for bargains

Have fun. Be safe.

Ted

[Jon]

Ditto to what Ted (unirdna) said, but to save a bit of money you may want to get a simple Euro guun- no longer than 75cm. If you sniff aorund Ebay you should be able to find a used one for under $100.

I've used the Sporasub and the Cressi fins and the Sporasub are much more comfortable, plus you can change out the blades later on for something fancier.

3mm suit should do the trick, but no wamrer than a 5mm is needed.

Jon

[colt.45]

Thanks guys Im thinkin a 3mm wet suit a 90cm sporasub black viper and for a mask and fins just what ever I can pick up. For a knife I was thinging of just using the one I allready have, it's a verry sharp folding bench made with a semi serated blade, and how mutch do I need a weight belt and gloves?

[Jon]

You'll need a belt, but not as much weight as you think. gloves are pretty important if your going to do qnything in cold water, or at least for spearfishing when your grabbing onto your catch.

A rubber belt is the best thing for freediving, and even scuba diving if you ask me, but a simple nylon scuba belt will get you started until you can cough up the cash for something better.

Jon

[colt.45]

actually unrdna in the area where I live, about 45 minutes soulth of salt lake it is not unusal for it to get as low as the negitive teens in the winter and out of our lakes (deer creek ,strawberry, jordenel , starvation, red fleet, flaming gorge, pelican lake, to name a few) it is not uncommon for most if not all of them to freeze over. The olny one I can think of right now that doesn't is lake powll down in southern utah and arizona.

[colt.45]

thanks Jon visibillity is about 15-0 feet depending on wich lake youre in and fish (especially carp) can be up to or over 30 lbs how will a black viper handle that?

[Jon]

You can shoot plenty of 30 pound carp with a 75cm black viper- just aim right behind their boneplate of a head.

If the water gets that cold I would invest in a 5mm suit right away and use it year round- you can always pull the hood down and flood it with water if you get too hot in the summer time. It will keep you warm throughout the year. With a suit that thick you WILL need a weightbelt.

Jon

[colt.45]

thanks jon but the reason I was thinking 3mm was because the hunting season here olnly lasts trough the summer months and with school and all that's really the olnly time i could go any way