spearfishing with kayak

[mundial]

i found it really nice and fun way, also for the kids and fishing
my question is how are you going for hunting ??
do you use a boat or kayak maybe you just dont need nothing to go on
eyal

 

[DeepThought]

How about an option for "I can't afford anything"?
Congrats on the new purchase, I expect a report after some trials.

 

[Huan]

Deepthought is right , There is a big difference between "don't need" and can't afford. I myself would love an Ocean kayak Scrambler or Scupper Pro but I am afraid funds con't permit at the moment.

 

[Amphibious]

one of these days I'll buy an Ocean Kayak... one day....

 

[Huan]

I guess we are all in the same boat than?

 

[Poida]

Or maybe Huan, the same kayak.
Also I would think it would depend where you live.
A place with deep drop offs close to shore, why buy a kayak.
We have deep water 500 - 600 metres from shore so I use a Diveyak.
Somewhere where there are lots of coral reefs or islands off shore, I guess an ocean kayak would be the go.

 

[portinfer]

This is interesting as I was thinking of / am trying to buy a boat at the moment. Not too expensive to get a super dinghy here (15ft or so open boat with 7hp to 15hp outboard - all the fishermen use them for potting and so on).

But then thought of transport (well it is about 15m to the local beach ) and storage and maintenence ....

Anyway then I remembered a post from someone about kayaks (Pablo ? maybe) and thought that that might be a better solution - so I guess I'll do some reading on that.
Basically looking for a craft that will get me out to some outer reefs that are possibly a hassle to swim to when the currents change - ie you just want to cruise out there, fish for a few hours and then cruise back knowing that you dont have to worry about currents and getting tired swimming (9m tidal range - so tide is def. a consideration...)
Cheers
Ed

 

[Oldsarge]

Well, my old pickup is reaching the point where, even though it works, parts are becoming an issue. That means new wheels. (S**t! I hate car shopping) One potential replacement is the new Ford Freestyle and one of its selling points is that if you drop the back seats and the passenger front, you can put a 10' kayak inside. Imagine, no roof racking. All the dive/hunt gear including kayak inside with you. And kayaks would be kool off the Kalifornia Koast where the kelp beds are kontinuous. Well, they aren't really but I couldn't resist. :naughty. I think a kayak is a great idea and a lot cheaper than a boat.

 

[Amphibious]

Oldsarge, my last freestyle Kayak was a Riot "Disco". at 6'2" it would fit in my front seat

I have been looking hard at a little 4x4 Ford Ranger.... need someplace to put my kayak & Moose

 

[Jon]

I have a couple of boats.

I bought an Ocean Kayak Scrambler over 10 years ago and still have it. You can surf waves on it when the wind is right out on Lake Michigan, or just throw it on top of the car and drive to any small lake and launch it. It has plenty of room for fish and gear, plus I can drag it along with me while I fish. If I am going to work a certain area for a while, or it's really windy out, I can just anchor it with the small folding anchor that I have for it. It's even stable enough for me to stand up in!

I decided a couple of summers ago to get something faster, so I bought a Futura Surfski. Its fast and has a rudder, but not as stable as the Scrambler. It does have a hatch in it, but can't hold as much gear as the scrambler. I bought it more for just the fun of paddeling rather than actually spearfishing off of, but it can be done. It is made out of fiberglass so I have to be a bit more careful with it compared to the scrambler as well.

Ted bought a tandem Ocean Kayak a couple summers ago. This allows two of us to load up on one boat and go out spearing. It has come in very handy on some of the more "exclusive" lakes around here. Those are the ones completely surrounded by multi-million dollar homes and only one public boat launch- which is either a foot path through the woods or a flight of stairs! Once you get the boat down there you realize that you need to paddle across two small bays that are only 2'-3' deep to get out to the main lake. This is enough to put off mst divers, but we have been well rewarded to make the journey by basically two of the few divers whom ever dive the lake- let alone spear there! :thankyou

I say get one. They last, practically, forever. You can throw them ontop of any small car and just go. There's little in the way of upkeep. You can load them down with lots of gear- or fish! Plus, if the wind is really kicking you can surf them!

Here's some shots of me, in the red, and a dive buddy of mine, in the yellow, as we take our boats out on a windy day in Lake michigan. I've also included a picture of our two boats. I have the 10+ year old scrambler and he has the brand, spanking, new Scupper TW out for it's first voyage.

Jon

 

[Jon]

Here's a couple of shots of Tedski and I going out on one of the more "exclusive" lakes.
Try as they might, those rich people just can't keep scum like us off of their million dollar lakes. :wave

1-Unloading the car and loading the boat.

2-Lanching the boat down a flight of stairs

3-Finally getting ready to dive in one of the nicer lakes around.

Jon

 

[Oldsarge]

Colin,
I can't help think you mean Kayak or moose. Now in a F150 you could do both but a Ranger might be just a bit tight. No worries, though, I can't imagine diving during moose season anyway, weather-wimp that I am.

 

[Amphibious]

no no no, Kayak AND Moose. Kayak on the roof, moose in the bed. how do you think you get into all those little swamps to find Mister Swamp Donkey?

Jon - Great pics!! if you would have planted your paddle and slammed down you bow you could have Wave-wheeled that one! (bottom left pic)

 

[Oldsarge]

OOO-oh! Moose hunting from a kayak? Very cool. I absolutely have got to get retired so I can knock off this Africa routine and hunt like normal people. Don't use a .405 Winchester lever gun, do you? Wear red suspenders and brown dungarees? Knee-high L. L. Bean's ?

:rofl :rofl

 

[Jon]

Thanks,

That photo was of my buddy, Gert. He was having kind of a bad day that day. Everytime he turned around he was getting hammered- so I just kept on snapping pictures.

Jon

 

[Amphibious]

OOO-oh! Moose hunting from a kayak? Very cool. I absolutely have got to get retired so I can knock off this Africa routine and hunt like normal people. Don't use a .405 Winchester lever gun, do you? Wear red suspenders and brown dungarees? Knee-high L. L. Bean's ?

:rofl :rofl

.450 MArlin lever gun, no suspenders I do have a Brown Felt Bailey hat I wear

 

[mundial]

hiya friends
first of all big thanks to jon and the wonderfull pics :king
its nice to know that more people use kayaks , and in what a way!!!!
here for going deep you need to swim a 300-500M to reach 10-8M
that takes alot of energy
but it shoore payes we have now a lot of amber-jacks and one of my friends
took out a 50Kilos one amber-jack by freediving spearfishing from kayak!!

i use to had a boat with 2 partners that we went on scoba together but from
the day i started on freediving spearfishing they didnt anderstant my point
"no spearfishing-scuba " (in israel its ilegal ). we had a 13feet boston whaler
also the boat cost a lot the maintenence and transport
make me think in a good kayak
http://www.kayaksforsale.com/website444_208.htm
http://www.fkpfishing.net/index.html
i used to go diving with my friend kayak cobra tourer
after thinking and searching lookind at almost all models and manufacturs
i have decided to buy the cobra fish 'n' dive kayak ....
this kayak is almost like a boat big and stable lot of space even for 2
weight capacity 600lb-272kilos!!!!!
http://www.cobrakayaks.com/fishndive.html
with almost no problem with maintenence and transport
also its fun sport for all the family

 

[paddythefrog]

I've been contemplating getting one of these for the best part of a year now to get to those places that are just a bit far off but don't really require a boat, those rocky points that are always that big-long-tiring swim to get to.
Well, not really tiring but enough to take a couple of seconds off your first few aspetto and possibly more depending on your level of fitness

Can't afford one right at the minute but that should change before the Summer months get here! The more I think about it, I find myself thinking it's probably a better idea to try and continue saving for a small zodiac or similar instead.
I had the funds for one last Summer but the couple of dive shops that sold them only had inflatable versions! I don't know about anyone else but inflatable, prickly, sharp, fishing, spearing and potentially even longer swims from the shore should it go pop just doesn't go down too well with me, what do you think? :hmm

Especially given the price tag -- around the €400-500 if I recall..

[edit] just after checking out some of those kayaks and they're very nice indeed, seems to fall in line with the price they were charging for them in France. I'll be searching again in the months coming up to Summer and hopefully find a decent rigid that isn't too heavy if indeed I do go for it, very much undecided.

 

[mundial]

no no no, Kayak AND Moose. Kayak on the roof, moose in the bed. how do you think you get into all those little swamps to find Mister Swamp Donkey?

Jon - Great pics!! if you would have planted your paddle and slammed down you bow you could have Wave-wheeled that one! (bottom left pic)

some people do hunt from kayaks for those exect reasons mate
look at the link
http://momentoffame.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=9286&sort=1&size=medium&cat=528
more
http://momentoffame.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=9281&sort=2&cat=500&page=1

 

[cdavis]

Those lake pics looked like some very clear water. What was the vis?

Connor