I am new to this sport though I have been fresh water diving in freshwater lakes and ponds for several years. Last summer I began hunting with a homemade pole spear and am looking to upgrade to a small speargun for this summer. I live in Michigan and will mainly hunt yellow perch, and pan fish in a small lake with low vis (9 ft on a great day). The smaller the gun the better, The pneumatic Mares shortie (19.5 inches) is the smallest gun I could find. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as to pneumatic or band gun, as well as any information where I could purchase a small gun <22 in. Thank you for any help!
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Newbie looking for SMALL gun
- Thread starterbobith
- Start date
Thread Status: Hello
, There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Lookout or perform a search for the member under the name of 'spaghetti', he is a proud user of a small pnumo, and i haven't heard a bad word about it. I'm pretty sure its the mares midi sten. He is your man so drop him a pm. Also there is a thread somewhere on here about a guy using a small pnumo for a large american rockfish species (i can't remeber the name now) so have a look for that.
Hope it helps,
Huw.
Hope it helps,
Huw.
yes, I'm the proud owner of a SMALL gun, my wife can witness! :chatup
Now on the serious side, I have a Medisten 70cm, a Tempest 50 and I had a Rafal 42cm which I sold last week.
I don't think that your quest for the world's shortest gun (i.e. SeacSub Asso 30 cm) is the best choice. There are just a few and very technical hunting situations in which a 30cm or 40cm airgun is the best choice: shooting small fish or eels into holes or into kelp. But for any other purpose, their range is way too short to be taken seriously.
If I were you I'd buy at least a 70 or 60cm, which are small enough for doing the hole/kelp job, but still have a decent shooting range. I can suggest a mares Medisten (70cm) or Ministen (58cm), an Omer Tempest of Sporasub Stealth in the same size.
The above is just a general advice, but I don't know the particular environment in which you hunt, so I have no presumption I'm giving you the proper advice you need. Moreover I have some 20 years experience in hunting perch in lakes, but I don't know if the american ones behave the same. Our italian perch DO NOT stay motionless in the kelp: this is the behaviour of pikes (but you need a bigger gun for them, at last a 75), carps and other fish of the same family (cyprinidae). Buy a 70 is my final word.
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--I'd also be happy to discuss freshwater hunting techniques if you want, comparing the american lakes to our alpine lakes. Would be interesting
Now on the serious side, I have a Medisten 70cm, a Tempest 50 and I had a Rafal 42cm which I sold last week.
I don't think that your quest for the world's shortest gun (i.e. SeacSub Asso 30 cm) is the best choice. There are just a few and very technical hunting situations in which a 30cm or 40cm airgun is the best choice: shooting small fish or eels into holes or into kelp. But for any other purpose, their range is way too short to be taken seriously.
If I were you I'd buy at least a 70 or 60cm, which are small enough for doing the hole/kelp job, but still have a decent shooting range. I can suggest a mares Medisten (70cm) or Ministen (58cm), an Omer Tempest of Sporasub Stealth in the same size.
The above is just a general advice, but I don't know the particular environment in which you hunt, so I have no presumption I'm giving you the proper advice you need. Moreover I have some 20 years experience in hunting perch in lakes, but I don't know if the american ones behave the same. Our italian perch DO NOT stay motionless in the kelp: this is the behaviour of pikes (but you need a bigger gun for them, at last a 75), carps and other fish of the same family (cyprinidae). Buy a 70 is my final word.
--
--I'd also be happy to discuss freshwater hunting techniques if you want, comparing the american lakes to our alpine lakes. Would be interesting
Spaghetti never ceases to amaze! There are several forum members in Wisconsin that might be able to provide insights on the mid-west/Great Lakes. Fondueset, for example, helped me out a lot with gear info. when I was starting out. You could try searching on Wisconsin.
hahaha reminds me of a friend of mine, he went to italy and called me saying "i bought a great speargun" so im thinking omer, seatec, C4 etc... so he shows up at my house, and brings out this little pistol (an Asso 30) my first reaction was "wheres the rest of it"rofl
Joe, the best looking fish are often the best tasting (with many exceptions, tho). So if the american yellow perch (Perca Flavescens) tastes the same as our european royal perch (Perca Fluviatilis), well I can tell you that it's one of the best tasting freshwater fish.
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Filetti di persico al vino bianco (very classic and simple recipe):
Gut the perches and drop them in hot boiling water for just 20 seconds, then quickly pick it up and scale them (the hot water trick is just to make scaling easier, since they have very small and tough scales).
Cut away head, tail and spine, to make clean fillets.
Cover the fillets with white flour.
Put thinly chopped wite onion and garlic in a pan with a "film" of olive oil and a "nut" of butter, light the fire and, as soon as the butter has melted, drop in the flour-covered perch fillets and add a pick of salt and pepper.
Soon as the heat rises up, pour in a glass of DRY white wine and let it steam off for ten minutes, then you're done.
Wine suggestion: Muller Thurgau, or a fruity rosè of your choice.
-Non-alcohol variant: same as above, cook with lemon juice instead of wine.
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I have a 75cm sporasub black viper it's dead accurate all the way out to the end of it's double wrap line and has shot clear trough every fish I have ever speared including 5lb carp. For your situation I think that a 50 (or was it 55)cm would be just about perfect for you.
Colt 45 you're spot on: I too use mainly a 75 bandgun in freshwater, alternating with a 60cm or a short pneumo just in case of very short visibility, or for "specialized" tasks like hole, high grown kelp or eel hunting.
I don't say that the very short ones (40<--->50) are useless: they must have a place in a spearo's gunbag. But again, they're useful only in some particular situations and one shouldn't rely on them as his main weapon.
For availabilty of short airguns in the Usa, send a PM to forum member ZOHARA (search him in the member list). He's the Mares/Sporasub representative for Usa and a very helpful guy.
this asso 40 that i am is a very versatile weapon, but is good only for the bentonic flat fish [like turbot]
because he has no such a good direction you cannot spear a fish who-s far than one-one and a half meter [althought i was lucky once and i shooted a mullet at 2 metters with her]
for speedy fishes at least a 70 cm gun is nedeed
because he has no such a good direction you cannot spear a fish who-s far than one-one and a half meter [althought i was lucky once and i shooted a mullet at 2 metters with her]
for speedy fishes at least a 70 cm gun is nedeed
I agree - Yellow perch are excellent eating - they and Walleye (like a giant perch) are, in my opinion, the best eating fish in the great lakes. I would advocate a 75cm or shorter eurogun for that application. Possibly with a trident head - since Perch are not very large.
A 75cm euro would give you quite a bit of versatility in terms of range - though it would not be as easy to maneuver as a small pneumatic I think it would still work quite well.
A 75cm euro would give you quite a bit of versatility in terms of range - though it would not be as easy to maneuver as a small pneumatic I think it would still work quite well.
Thanks alot for all the help and advice! I have been researching the asso 40 as well as the Mares Jet42. If anyone has any expierence with either of these guns I would love to hear what you have to say. I really like the asso but I cannot find a website in or near america that sells them (shippings a killer!). Also I found these intresting guns Order Form They even make a 10 inch model! Thanks again for all the advice!
i have both asso 40 and asso 75
there are both powerfull air-gun....and i like them because there are simple....
the asso 75 is in two kind....with 2 scale of power for charge
avoid as possible this one....better are to be with no scale mechanism, for that is a less mechanics that can brake....
there are both powerfull air-gun....and i like them because there are simple....
the asso 75 is in two kind....with 2 scale of power for charge
avoid as possible this one....better are to be with no scale mechanism, for that is a less mechanics that can brake....
I use a Sporasub 90 in Wisconsin...wish I would have purchased a shorter one, but I try to go where there is better visability than 10'.
My son has a 75, which he likes very much.
For the most part, if I know I am just after perch/panfish, I will use a poll spear...much quicker reload.
Just my 2 cents.
Good luck.
Gene
My son has a 75, which he likes very much.
For the most part, if I know I am just after perch/panfish, I will use a poll spear...much quicker reload.
Just my 2 cents.
Good luck.
Gene
Bobith, for me you should NOT buy the 40cm.
Buy at least a 58cm Mares and you won't regret.
Not to be argumentative with the other members who posted in this thread, but come on guys, Bobith said he has never owned a speargun before, and he's asking for our advice: let's keep him on track.
I know as you all know that a 40cm airgun has its place in a spearo's gun bag, BUT you know and I know that it's just a specialized tool, good only for a limited range of tasks, and in no way can be taken seriously as your primary and ONLY gun.
Buy at least a 58cm Mares and you won't regret.
Not to be argumentative with the other members who posted in this thread, but come on guys, Bobith said he has never owned a speargun before, and he's asking for our advice: let's keep him on track.
I know as you all know that a 40cm airgun has its place in a spearo's gun bag, BUT you know and I know that it's just a specialized tool, good only for a limited range of tasks, and in no way can be taken seriously as your primary and ONLY gun.
I agree!! I haven't ever owned a pnumo, but the first gun i ever bought was a 40cm beauchat gun... and i saw anything close enough to shoot and certainly never hit anything with it! I then jumped to a 90cm ad have never looked back... it has given me the ability to learn hunting skill and awareness of fish, and to hunt effectively. Since then i have used the beauchat for hole fishing with sucess... however had i not learned what makes a spearo a spearo on a decent length gun, then i doubt i would have ever shot a fish!
Seriously mate... consider a little more length!
Huw.
I live in Michigan as well - I mostly use a Riffe MT0 with a very light shaft. I also now have a pneumatic as my long range gun. Visibility where I dive is normally at least 30 or 40 feet. For lake diving with 3 meter viz I would suggest at least a 70cm pneumatic - I think an 85 would be even better. I used pneumatics about the size of a cyrano 850 when I was a kid in that kind of visibility. The guns are very easy to maneuver and something like a cyrano 700 or 850 will give you range for those clear days. The lighter, faster shaft will be better for small fish. I think you will want a gun that is fairly accurate and emphasizes speed over hitting power. This is why I suggest the cyrano - which uses a lighter shaft than the others and is designed for range. If it's pneumatics you are after - I agree with spaghetti - at least a 70.
A 75cm euro gun is also a great option. It may seem long at first but as you get used it you'll find they are very easy to maneuver and they shoot a light, fast shaft. You can also lower the profile with shorter shafts. A very adaptable piece of kit that will serve you under a variety of conditions.
Spaghetti (spelled TZCHBHAKQHETI) dives in similar conditions and his recommendations are excellent - though you may want to leave out the wine for the first few dives.
A 75cm euro gun is also a great option. It may seem long at first but as you get used it you'll find they are very easy to maneuver and they shoot a light, fast shaft. You can also lower the profile with shorter shafts. A very adaptable piece of kit that will serve you under a variety of conditions.
Spaghetti (spelled TZCHBHAKQHETI) dives in similar conditions and his recommendations are excellent - though you may want to leave out the wine for the first few dives.
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Thanks again for all of the advice. I think maby a good option for me right now might be to invest in a decent pole spear (the one I use now is homemade) just to get me started. Then as I get more expierence in the water with fish movement and habbits I should upgrade to a 75 gun or so. Fondueset those are some great pictures, do you know any good dive spots in Lake Michigan, I live in Holland.