Help, my pole spear sucks!

[Jason IR-2010]

I made my first pole spear the other day and it not really good at all.

As I am flat broke I had to make do with what I have around the house. It's made from a broom handle (about 4 foot long and 3/4 inch diameter), three 5 inch nails, epoxy , 30lb fishingline backing, pvc tape, a length of hurley (an irish field game) grip, an old bungie and a surfboard leash. Total shop cost 4 euro.

When I put it all together it seemed nice and rigid and easily penertrated 5mm of wood at 3 feet.

So I then tried it out in the sea BUT thats when it all went wrong. The spear had almost no range, after 2 feet it would completly stop. The nails I used are mild steel so they complelty flatened when the spear hit a rock and they have also started to rust. The old bungie cuts into my hand, even when I wear a heavily padded glove.

So I have a number of questions to ask
1. Did anybody find there first spear to be similary lacking range.
2. Is the spear too short at 4 foot (visibility is good at Hook Head, Ireland. So thats not an issue).
3. Any sugestions to solving my problem?

I'll try and get some photos of it up.
Thanks,
Jason.

 

[hteas]

The length really is too short. A 4 ft spear is shorter than anything I know of, unless you find a fish in a cave and can put the tip next to the head of the fish you plan to spear. Beyond that, I would suggest a way of putting 2 sections together and make a longer one.
As for the bungie- I doubt you can get away without coughing up with enough to buy some proper pole spear band (3/8")

 

[Jason IR-2010]

Thanks for the help. I have absolutly no money so I have half made another pole spear made from a section of stainless steel wire, the stainless telescopic shaft from a golf club and I'll make a flopper barb out of aluminium sheet (1mm thick). I'll then epoxy some M8 nuts into the golf shaft and epoxy a length of M8 threaded bar into another broomhnadle that I have . That should then give me a combined pole of about 7ft.

I have one more question though, how far back from the tip should I the flopper tip?

Thanks,
Jason.

 

[monchan]

there are lots of ways to make cheap poles, but you really do need proper rubber to power them. Here are some sites (sorry they are in japanese) just look at the pictures to get ideas. Do you have any friend s that can weld, old steel or stainless pipe can be had for a song, or ask around you never know what your friends are hoarding. On the first site you can see some are made from lenghts of bamboo. can usually be bought from a garden centre quite cheaply.

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‹›“Ë‚«EƒXƒsƒAƒtƒBƒbƒVƒ“ƒO‘‡ƒTƒCƒg MOGULER'S DELIGHT look under equipment second picture with the rusty prongs.
http://www.garakutabako.net/spear/diy_mori1.htmlmade from second hand golf clubs

I would get away from using nails though, check out your nearest home centre
see what you can find. brainstorm abit with some local friends they might be able help get an idea as to what material could be boughgt cheap near you or an uncle who is a ritired builder and he has this shit laying around.

 

[hteas]

Jason,
I'd go about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) back from the tip.

The new length sounds a lot better than the original.

The old timers used truck innertube for bands. Try a tire shop for a source of a blown out tube. You can also use multiple bands of inner tube if you can find a source and you need more power.
At full stretch (as much power as you can hold) your hand should be about the middle of the spear.
When using a pole spear I dive to the bottom, then pull it back and hold for the duration of the dive.

Good luck with the project

Howard

 

[Jason IR-2010]

Thank you all for the help, I'll make the barb out of some aluminium sheet I have (1mm thick), so it won't rust.
Thanks again,
Jason
.

 

[monchan]

Thank you all for the help, I'll make the barb out of some aluminium sheet I have (1mm thick), so it won't rust.
Thanks again,
Jason
.

rust is not a problem on the barb/ prong. it helps keep the fish on, and it wont hurt you either. aluminium would be too soft, I would think.

 

[hteas]

If the aluminum is too soft, flatten a tin can, and cut it out of that. Still on the thin side, but tougher than aluminum

 

[shrek]

do you have recyling stations where you are? here in new zealand we have these centers next to the tip and you drop anything you think can be reused
any how you can find alsorts of gems at these places and the aluminum poles and stainless shaft are quite often in the bin at our local one !
definatly a cheap option for making alsorts of things
for example body surf board at surf shop $200 on special at the wharehouse $50
at the transfer station 50cents
so go digging and go nuts!

 

[bobdonny]

you gotta post a pic, hurley grip and all

My polespear is 6ft and is considered small, its more usual to have them fo to 7,8,9ft.

 

[Wasted Seaman]

Some of the best starter pole spears i constructed in my youth were made with a golf course flag pin. (Late night visit to one of the local courses) They were fiberglass were a perfect length and you could glue or through bolt a home made tip on to it.
You aren't going to do better than a store bought power band though. It's hard to duplicate the power with anything but good surgical tubing.
you will have no greater satisfaction though than that of spearing your first fish with a weapon that you constructed from scratch. Good luck with it.

 

[Mark Lamont]

Good luck in advance. Your spear needs weight to it and hence the solid fiberglass or steel tube pole. Aluminum is really not the right material for a speartip as mentioned and I agree that hard is better even if it rusts. One of the benefits of pole spear fishing is that you are close to the prey and can at times pin them to the bottom or a rock. So then you might focus on making your spear and scrounging some surgical rubber. The longer the stretch in the rubber, the longer the distance the pole will travel.
Have fun with it. My first pole spear as a kid was a broom handle and a tip from Thrifty Drug Store. It didn't work very well but I was the terror of the shoreline poking at everything in sight.

 

[Jason IR-2010]

Well number two is finished. It's 7 and a half foot long. Breaks in two, via a threaded bar. The tip is stainless coated steel and the barb is aluminium. i will get some photos of the two up tommorow hopefully.
Thank you all for the help, it should help me get those timid 7lb mullet that are very plentiful around where I live.

 

[bobdonny]

good luck man, let us know how u get on!

 

[Mark Lamont]

Now comes technique...........good luck and happy hunting Jason. Send a photo the 10 lb. mullet since I don't know what a mullet is.

 

[Jason IR-2010]

Here they both are. The smaller one is the first.

 

[Jason IR-2010]

As you can see the hurley grip is not very bulky and offers fantastic grip, both wet and dry. Are those nails rusty enough !

 

[hteas]

jason,
The nails look like they're getting there. Never too much rust. It helps hold the fish on.
You're liable to lose a few nails, though. that's where the greatest torque hits when a fish is on, unless you wrapped the nail heads with wire beneath the tape.

Why the leashes? You aren't likely to need them. I find that I never have let loose of a polespear band when I shot a fish. It is easy to hold on to, and there is less complication to cause problems.

Howard

 

[Jason IR-2010]

The tape is 30lb fishing backing coated in epoxy, it's not going to fail! The leash I use so I can climb up rocks, as I can stick my fins onto the spear and I feel more secure with it incase I do sting a large fish that may pull the spear out of my hands.

 

[bobdonny]

They look very interesting, have you had much success?