fish lost

I did exactly the same thing twice last year with two nice big mullet.

I then posted up on the forums about it and was advised that you should never put any pressure on the line (if you can avoid it) after shooting a fish, particularly mullet as they are very soft-bodied.

So these days I have developed an almost instinctive reaction of dropping the gun as soon as I have shot a fish, even if it is a shot clean through the gill plates. My gun is attached to my float line so I know I won't lose the fish, and after dropping the gun I immediately swim to the fish and grab it with a finger and thumb around the gills and mouth. I then quickly kill it with my string through the head. Then I string it either through the head or through the eyes - that way you don't risk it falling/ripping off the stringer.

Hope that helps. I haven't lost a single fish since developing these habits.

Gun attach to float ... Drop gun and swim to it. Have not last a fish since I was given this advice.

I don,t always like the hassle of a float so have my Omer set up wih a reel. I shoot, let it take some line and then swim to fish along line.

Are they ripping off, or sliding back over the spear? When you grab fish if it is on the spear and not line I put a hand on the spear so it can,t slip off if I fail to grab its gills.