Spearfishing in MN

[jasondbaker]

I actually saw somebody doing this. He would take a spool out with fishing line and a hook on it. Once he hooked a fish he kind of flew it around like a kite.

[shamre]

If anyone is looking for a good spearfishing book to read i would highly recommend "The helldivers rodeo", it was a very funny and action packed read. True story also, at least thats what they claim. ;D

[Freedive WI]

That book is full of a bunch of deep-air dare devils. It should not be considered a blue print for spearfishing- or even deep diving.

A much better book would be "Last of the Blue Water Hunters" by Carlos Eleyes. Or "Bluewater Hunting" By Terry Mass.

Terry Mass is a very nice guy, who also knows a LOT about freediving and spearfishing. There is even a documentery out that he made about Blue Water spearfishing.

Carlos Eleyes had many different books out that deal with freedivng and the sea at large. He is a very good underwater phtographer whose specialty is black and white images.

Jon

[shamre]

Don't get me wrong, i was not recommending the book as a how-to on spearfishing, but more of an entertaining read. 8)

[Freedive WI]

No problem,

It's just that spearfishing gets a bad enough rap as it is, and it doesn't need to be picutred in that light.

The "Last of the Blue Water Hunter's" book is really a good one. It goes through the authors child hod and learining to dive form his dad. It then follows the history of freedivng/spearfishing on the West coast. Intertwined withthis is the Author's attempt to live, for one summer, completly off the sea by spearfishing and trading some of his catch for rice and veggies. It's a pretty good read.

The author no longer spearfishes since he almost died from ciguartia (sp?) poisioning while living, and spearfishing, in the South Pacific.

Jon

[MNLakeDiver]

as to exporting carp to Europ thats where they came from and in Germony carp are a firmer fish and better tasting then the local garbage eating carp

[shamre]

I have never spearfished but have been hunting all my life. How is it different shooting underwater? Is it harder to have a more accurate aim? Is there any recoil? What size spear/speargun do you use to penetrate the local rough fish?

[wtdrm]

I dove the Crosby pits alot last year. One thing I noticed that alot of the grassy vegetation is gone. I think thats why the vis was a little poorer last year. I call the fisheries department up there and asked them if they had any reason why. The head of the dept did not have any idea but was very interested becasue he did his doctoral thesis on the pits. I suggested to him that I had seen many more carp ore grass carp than I had in years past. He said there were no grass carp in the pits. I dont know enough aboput roughfish to tell the different types apart. However I know I saw more roughfish around than I had ever sen before. I even mapped out a contest to try and get a lot of people together to try and reduce the amounts of rough fish. I am still open to try something like that. Anybody else interested.
CJ

[AandA]

This reply is basically in line with the humorous earlier reply from "igtoofar." It really has nothing to do with spearing but rather with legally angling for fish.

I've hand-fed many fish underwater over the years. Most bass and sunnies will take small crayfish and night crawlers right from my fingers. I've even gone so far as to, upon my return to the boat, drop a crayfish or night crawler down with a hook and line and catch some of these same fish.

I understand from DNR enforcement that angling underwater is in fact legal here in Minnesota. I'm quite curious if anyone has actually tried underwater angling? I've never actully heard of anyone doing it. I'd be most interested about the safety issue of entanglement and the rather challenging problem of trying to unhook a fish underwater.

[Freedive WI]

I've known divers to angle underwater. The trick was to use a short pole, like an ice fishing pole, with a short line, about the length of the pole, to keep the line entanglement issues to a minimum.

We've been trying to hand feed muskies lately with small bluegills that we shoot. They won't take them from our hands yet, but they might if we keep at it.

Jon