Spearfishing dive buddies - MT, WY, CA

[kad11]

Anyone interested in linking up for some breath-hold spearfishing this spring and summer in MT and WY? I'm in Billings and dive many of the reservoirs within a 3-4 hr drive.

I'm also planning to make a trip to SoCal this summer if the state ever opens back up... hoping to hunt the Channel Islands and Palos Verdes if anyone's interested.

 

[LuketheDog]

The Channel Islands have awesome spearfishing, I used to go out there once in a while to surf and fish/spearfish, it's a special place...Have fun

 

[kad11]

The Channel Islands have awesome spearfishing, I used to go out there once in a while to surf and fish/spearfish, it's a special place...Have fun

Awesome! Did you target any species specifically, or just enjoy all of it?

I'm especially keen on getting after some wsb - they seem like the ocean's equivalent of still hunting elk in the dark timber.

 

[theat]

I love spearfishing, but unfortunately the part of the state where I live has very few places it is legal. I usually make a couple trips over to the Seeley area to go after pike every summer. Is the water clarity decent in the reservoirs where you go? The lakes around Seeley seem to be very dark, and once you dive down 8-10' you can't see more than a few feet. Makes it pretty tricky to find bigger fish.

 

[kad11]

I love spearfishing, but unfortunately the part of the state where I live has very few places it is legal. I usually make a couple trips over to the Seeley area to go after pike every summer. Is the water clarity decent in the reservoirs where you go? The lakes around Seeley seem to be very dark, and once you dive down 8-10' you can't see more than a few feet. Makes it pretty tricky to find bigger fish.

MT regs are better for spearfishing here on the eastern half of the state, but WY is awesome and pretty much let's you shoot any game fish that you're allowed to take with rod and reel. Trout, walleye, bass, perch, pike, etc are all pretty much fair game...

I've found decent vis at the northern end of the Tongue River Reservoir around the island. Lake DeSmet in WY has really clean water although you can easily blow your visibility up with the silty bottom if you pull up from your dive too hard. I usually had 5-10' of visibility at 30' first thing in the morning, but it goes downhill pretty quickly once boats start running up and down. I'd like to check out Buffalo Bill, Boysen, and a couple other spots in WY this year.

I'm planning to get in the water right after the ice melts this spring to hopefully find better visibility - runoff and then late summer algal blooms make timing a little tricky over here.

Glad to hear there are other guys on here spearfishing. I'd love to find other guys to dive with as it'd be fun to push time and depth a little knowing someone's got your back...

 

[birdman27]

Have fun. The Channel Islands are great (in fact I am going to Catalina in early February). I have been doing a bit of spearfishing in NorCal, but on SCUBA so I can go with my wife.

 

[theat]

MT regs are better for spearfishing here on the eastern half of the state, but WY is awesome and pretty much let's you shoot any game fish that you're allowed to take with rod and reel. Trout, walleye, bass, perch, pike, etc are all pretty much fair game...

I've found decent vis at the northern end of the Tongue River Reservoir around the island. Lake DeSmet in WY has really clean water although you can easily blow your visibility up with the silty bottom if you pull up from your dive too hard. I usually had 5-10' of visibility at 30' first thing in the morning, but it goes downhill pretty quickly once boats start running up and down. I'd like to check out Buffalo Bill, Boysen, and a couple other spots in WY this year.

I'm planning to get in the water right after the ice melts this spring to hopefully find better visibility - runoff and then late summer algal blooms make timing a little tricky over here.

Glad to hear there are other guys on here spearfishing. I'd love to find other guys to dive with as it'd be fun to push time and depth a little knowing someone's got your back...

Wow, wish Montana would follow Wyomings example and open up more areas to spearing. I have been trying to gain some traction within FWP Fisheries to at least allow pike spearing in a few rivers and reservoirs in NW Montana, but it doesn't seem like something they are interested in doing. Frustrating, since they keep complaining about pike harming native species and want them gone, but sure make it hard for guys to make a dent.

If I can get over to your side of the state this summer, I'll let you know and maybe we can meet up and go on a dive.

 

[LuketheDog]

Awesome! Did you target any species specifically, or just enjoy all of it?

I'm especially keen on getting after some wsb - they seem like the ocean's equivalent of still hunting elk in the dark timber.

I usually targeted calico bass and halibut but wasn't picky, I found that if we were in an area good for calicos we'd see lots of other fish too. We shot a ton of surf perch and corbina along the coast just because they were easy to find and plentiful. The white seabass were pretty hard to come by, I never found one of the real big ones, but I also never used SCUBA gear so that made it much harder to get after those.

 

[kad11]

Wow, wish Montana would follow Wyomings example and open up more areas to spearing. I have been trying to gain some traction within FWP Fisheries to at least allow pike spearing in a few rivers and reservoirs in NW Montana, but it doesn't seem like something they are interested in doing. Frustrating, since they keep complaining about pike harming native species and want them gone, but sure make it hard for guys to make a dent.

If I can get over to your side of the state this summer, I'll let you know and maybe we can meet up and go on a dive.

Sounds good!

 

[kad11]

Have fun. The Channel Islands are great (in fact I am going to Catalina in early February). I have been doing a bit of spearfishing in NorCal, but on SCUBA so I can go with my wife.

That's awesome! I remember you posting a cool blue lingcod a while back.

I wish I could get my wife in the water - she watched Jaws at too young of an age and it still haunts her, haha. My 4 yr old will definitely be getting after it when she's a bit older though - she's on her way to becoming a little fish.

 

[kad11]

I usually targeted calico bass and halibut but wasn't picky, I found that if we were in an area good for calicos we'd see lots of other fish too. We shot a ton of surf perch and corbina along the coast just because they were easy to find and plentiful. The white seabass were pretty hard to come by, I never found one of the real big ones, but I also never used SCUBA gear so that made it much harder to get after those.

That's really cool - I've heard the calico are exceptionally good eating. Everything I've gathered makes the wsb hunting sound extremely difficult, but I'm excited to start the learning curve!

I'm just itching to get back to the saltwater and enjoy a whole new environment. I grew up spending 2 weeks each summer in Key Largo offshore fishing and snorkeling every day, but we never did any spearfishing.

 

[kad11]

I just got back from CA and had an awesome time at the Channel Islands exploring Anacapa and a little of Santa Cruz. My 3-day live aboard trip got turned into a single day trip last minute due to new, more stringent Coast Guard enforcement of fire watch regulations so I had to scramble to fill in the days I had for diving. I ended up tagging along on a scuba boat (Spectre - highly recommended) my first two days and then hunted off the Peace with six other guys on Day 3.

The first day was all Anacapa MPA so no spearing. My diving was pretty rough on Day 1 since I hadn't been in the water since August 2020. Day 2 was on the west end of Anacapa so I spent the day playing fetch with a set of flashers looking for yellowtail - unfortunately the yellowtail didn't cooperate but it was an awesome day of diving. I was hitting 55-60' very comfortably, my bottom time improved dramatically from Day 1, and everything was just clicking. Day 3 was on the Peace with 6 other guys. We dove 2 spots at Santa Cruz and 1 at Anacapa looking for wsb. No one saw or heard any wsb and the only fish that got a ride back to Ventura was a 15# halibut. Despite the slow hunting I had an absolute blast and can't wait to get back ASAP. I got to dive with sea lions, bat rays, tons of reef fish, and a 6-7' sevengill.

I'll try to add some pictures soon.

 

[kad11]

Here are some crappy stills pulled off knock-off gopro footage. These images obviously don't do the place justice and the viz was generally much better than these pics indicate...