Need advice on freshwater gear?

[volktron58]

I want to take up the sport in southern indiana lakes, but dont know where to start. Gear advice, tips, anything will help. Thank you in advance for your reply. I have a great private place to go if anyone is a hunter near evansville, IN.

 

[JPPLAY]

My advice is to find out what kind of visibility you can expect. If it around 10 feet or less get a 75 cm Euro Style gun. If it is more then 10 feet regularly you would mostly be best served by a 90 cm. Omer sells good guns for the price.
I would look at getting a 5 mm custom freediving wetsuit as it will keep you warm in basically all conditions. Good gloves and good socks are a must if you plan on diving in any cold water. I use 5 mm socks and gloves mostly but have cheap 3 mm for warm days.
I would suggest a good float with a dive flag. Again Omer sells nice ones. I would suggest you use a float line as you won't be worried about dropping your gun and not finding it. You don't have to worry about kelp so a reel isn't needed. Get a longer line like 100 feet on a spool or some other device where you can choose how much line is free. Omer gives you one when you buy the float they also give you a cheaper floatline but try to invest in something decent or make your own. If you want instructions message me. If you have any more questions please post or message me.

 

[volktron58]

The lake is approx 16 acres and a maximum depth of 29feet. Not sure on the viz but in the spring and fall you have no trouble seeing the bottom in detail at 10feet or so. My lake was stocked in the 1940's with catfish from the Ohio River and I just have to investigate. The contour varies around the banks there is prob 4 or 5 acres that are 20 feet plus in depth. The lake is private so I really dont plan on sticking to the fishing regulations in Indiana so panfish, catfish, bass, all could potentially be targets. I would say the majority of my fishing will be for suspended fish in less than 15feet of water with viz being 10feet or less. Thank you very much for your intial advice on gear maybe this update will give you a better idea of what i will be doing.

 

[sanso]

I posted some info on a suit that I got for freshwater diving in this post. I can only recommend it. You'll probably want to get camouflage lining on the outside, but for the rest, this will likely be a good choice.

And don't forget to order socks and gloves with the suit. - Elios socks and gloves are the best bang for the buck.