Pole Spears

[kevtron]

I'm just getting interested in learning more about spear fishing, and came across some stuff on pole spears around some random sites. A couple said that they were good for beginners to use because you really had to get closer and learn the fishes movements more with them. Yet there isn't much info here about them.

Do people tend to not really use them as much? Are they really much more difficult than a gun? Is one type pretty much the same as another?

One thing that seemed cool about poles is their packability. I'd really only be able to do my diving/spearing while on holiday so the easier it is to put in my pack the better.

Cheers

 

[myfish]

I use one for night diving.
Way easier than any gun but at night you do get much closer to various fish.

Because, for accurate shots you really need to let go completely it could potentially be easy to lose it outside of your light bubble but...

Shoot and learn to grab the band at it's extreme. That or attach a light lanyard which kinda defeats the object of having a simple line free and load free system of the polespear in the first place imho.

For our waters I have used various poles successfully for various flatfish, red mullet, thin lipped mullet, Bass, Cuttlefish, Gurnard etc...

By daylight however, it would not be my first choice outside certain situations.

 

[hteas]

They are harder to use, as you mention, but they will make you a better hunter, and , in the hands of a good hunter, are extremely lethal.
A good one can cost over $200 with tip, so are not toys. There are some really good spearos that use them. Some of them have completely given up on spearguns to focus exclusively on their pole spears.

I use one on a regular , but not exclusive basis. I made an 8 foot 3-piece aluminum 3-prong, and have purchased an 8 foot GatKu and a 7 foot Ray Odor. The GatKu is faster, but the Ray Odor really hits hard. Both work quite well for rockfish here in Alaska. I use the 3-prong for pike unting in the lakes

 

[killertuna]

Hi Energy, I'm one of those guys that has completely given up on guns. I have large quiver of pole spears, but my favorites for the reef are my 8' and 10' Gat-Ku's. The best resource I can think of for pole spear knowledge is at Spearboard.com. There's an entire forum devoted to pole spears to read up on all the different brands, technique, etc.

 

[kevtron]

ooo fantastic! cheers!