New Hunter

[Duits89]

I am planning to go spearfishing for the first time and had some questions. I am going to go to a small gravel pit near my house. I was wondering where in the lake I should look for fish when its this cold?

 

[kalin]

Welcome....and hold on...Is it a private lake??? Spearfishing is not legal in IL. Do you have all needed gear for a cold dive??

 

[Duits89]

Yes, its a private lake. I have all the gear needed I have been diving for a while, but just got into spearfishing. Is it better to focus on structure or since its this cold will the fish be deep in the lake? Spearfishing is legal in Illinois its just restricted to a few areas and only rough fish can be taken.

 

[Whopperhead]

duits89 - if it private "I THINK" you can pretty much shoot what ever you want. But as far as fish location- it depends- They should be deepER around 15-30'. They will hang around structure/vegetation. It's not frozen over? how is the vis? How deep is the Pit?

 

[fleshy]

Exactly how private is it? As Ive said before Ive shot gamefish, but the lake is in the middle of a 40 acre wood, and its also privately stocked, as in we buy the fish, and therefore they are my property, and we can do as we see fit with them, aka shoot them.

 

[Duits89]

The gravel pit is owned by my family and we also stock it. The pit is 25 feet at the deepest. Vis was 15' in the fall. The lakes around here have all frozen and then reopened. So right know almost no lakes have ice on them.

 

[Whopperhead]

Sweet- Well, jump in and take a look- but I would guess they are hanging by structure or deep. Let us know what you end up with.

 

[fleshy]

25 isnt bad, give it a go, let us know!

 

[Duits89]

Finally got a day off work and the lake was froze solid. Sucks I couldn't go, but thanks for the tips.

 

[Whopperhead]

Speaking of NEW Hunter (s) - They have switched my rotation at work. So, I am working with a different group of people and there are several on this rotation that always wanted to try this "spearfishing thing" so, hopefully this summer that can give it a go- They are decent guys and will be great additions.

 

[ILDiver]

Duits89, once it thaws we can look at getting into Clinton Lake with pole spears sometime. Other than that, you should come check out the Freeze-A-Palooza in Feb in WI and meet some of the folks from this section.

 

[fleshy]

We need to have a northern event. Door county? Sheboygan? Wed love to jam with you, but with work, school, and athletics, its hard to get two or three hours south of here. :head

 

[Whopperhead]

I would like to see a door county event- maybe a 2 or 3 day event. Camping, lake mich, green bay - would be a lot of fun! You going to be around WI still in the summer?

 

[fleshy]

That would be awesome. Peninsula state park is great, but hard to get into. The thing about the bay is that it is not nearly as clear as the lake side, but you have panfish and the such on the bay side. I love diving off of Jacksonport, great vis, but almost no fish. A few lone carp, and a couple small mouth bass.