They don't have to be hungry

[Keeptrying]

I wonder how deep they are?

Oh man.

 

[squirrel]

Beaver Lake is the one to go to for stripers but they just got a new record out of Bull Shoals which has fewer of them, but he was 68+ lbs... Big fish! I have been told that they hear the gurgles and clanks that go along with all the crap on your back and do not come near scuba people, from what I have seen I have no reason to doubt this is true.

At the same time I know people who free dive the same stuff I scuba and they never see them either, hence my theory is that they largely are suspended eating the huge balls of shad over the 200'+ depth. Most of the guys who kill them (and they taste worse than shit, Ive been told) go to 30-60' over much deeper water. They then just hang out and hope they come in to be shot.

There is one fella I would love to hook up with and pick his brain, his reputation is legend. Most of the spearos are just barstool blowhards when you get down to brass tacks, similar to many in all the outdoor sports.

If I lived there I would no doubt chase different stuff for the sport as a guy can only eat so much wally, Big crappie of 15" + are very challenging as are the big cats of 50-100 lbs. The white bass and wipers are fun as hell but not challenging in the least, but a 24" wiper will wrap you up... they fight like hell even with a head shot.

A 15-1/2"erK1900C2619_1000142 by squirrel2012, on Flickr

And for pure fight these are hard to beat, and they get HUGE! (Buffalo) and of course the carp are fun but just garden fertilizer.

The hat is not for sale and that is not joy it is pain (note no gloves)

IMG_5358 by squirrel2012, on Flickr

 

[Goatshoes]

That is one fat carp.

Regarding stripers: I have never targeted them while spearing but this is what makes sense to me. Use your sonar to find the bait ball with marks in below or around the ball at a depth that you are comfortable diving to. It doesn't matter if the water is a thousand feet deep. It only matters how deep the marks are. Then drop through the middle of the ball and hang out as long as you can, safely. Go back to the surface, breath up and repeat.

If it is anything like yellow tail, you will see the bait feeding into the current if any and then for no apparent reason they will scatter. Keep your eyes peeled in the direction that they ran from. Something is coming and the bait will feel it long before you see it.

If you are targeting big fish, you most likely need to rig with a reel or a break-away system.

 

[LuketheDog]

I used to spearfish when I lived on the coast. It was always a great time. I used a 6' Hawaiian sling with a breakaway tip on it for bigger fish. The big prizes were calico bass, halibut, yellowtail, and white sea bass. We'd usually take some marinated wild pig meat, fresh tortillas and salsa, and do surf-n-turf on the grill when we got out of the water. Folks would just wander over to see what the great smells were, there were never leftovers.

 

[squirrel]

That is one fat carp.

Regarding stripers: I have never targeted them while spearing but this is what makes sense to me. Use your sonar to find the bait ball with marks in below or around the ball at a depth that you are comfortable diving to. It doesn't matter if the water is a thousand feet deep. It only matters how deep the marks are. Then drop through the middle of the ball and hang out as long as you can, safely. Go back to the surface, breath up and repeat.

If it is anything like yellow tail, you will see the bait feeding into the current if any and then for no apparent reason they will scatter. Keep your eyes peeled in the direction that they ran from. Something is coming and the bait will feel it long before you see it.

If you are targeting big fish, you most likely need to rig with a reel or a break-away system.

I think your technique would work fine, and I think it would be the best way to target the huge wally that call the lake home. Just my theory but I think the huge ones seldom come in to shore to rest, they just suspend at thermo over the deep stuff following the shad balls. If I had more time there I have an idea I could drop on a knotted line and have the boat Nazi troll me around with an electric motor following the shad. Of course my methods are great for as many 22" as you care to clean, and the ones over 23" start to go way downhill as far as table fare goes, over 26 and they are not good for any but the in-laws

 

[Keeptrying]

Anyone been hunting? We are diving this morning. Clear water, calm. Beautiful morning.

 

[squirrel]

Went for a week in June for the opener. 75 mile long lake was 40 feet high and murky as hell, did manage to score on lots of fish, but small wally at 19-20 for the most part. Biggest was 23" but saw a whopper with a 21" already on the spear ( I was concentrating on the shot, saw him in the periphery and turned after my spear was full, closer to 30 than 25 I'm thinking) Got a 16" crappie and of course some trash fish. Decent spearing but poor diving overall, with poor vis and flooded man eater briars ripping the shit out of ya. Way better than working though. What r u after?

 

[Keeptrying]

Anything that holds still.

Wife killed a smallmouth buffalo this morning. I just missed. Now have hurt feelings and am hiding from the sun.

 

[Goatshoes]

Nice going guys. Keep posting the pics and stories.

 

[Keeptrying]

Dang! Wife outfished me again last night. Lots of wind kept us from getting to the point we really wanted to hunt so we settled for some bays we had never checked out. Torrential downpour last night and this morning mucked up the water so we are done. Fun trip even if the fish were scarce. First time here this time of year.

 

[squirrel]

Last installment of this season, it was the flip side of filling an elk tag too early. The visibility was very harsh but other than that an awesome time, tons of fish, beautiful weather, warm water (though the southern boys thought it was nuts to jump in that cold stuff).

Lots of 13.5" - 15.75" crappie came in in schools of 20+ (of course you only get one!) and the wallys were fat and numerous with limits of 22-23" being the norm, with one 25" and one 27" being the highlights. Lots of trash fish to keep the buzzards happy with an exceptional buffalo hit and lost, probably 40#+, those brutes are about like shooting an armored vehicle, anything other than a perfectly placed shot is a "glancing blow".
Untitled by squirrel2012, on Flickr

Untitled by squirrel2012, on Flickr


Untitled by squirrel2012, on Flickr


Of course the dead fish pics are about as much fun as the "gripngrin" stuff, the real show is when schools of 22" bass are swirling all around you and 20 crappie are hovering above while a 23" wally is circling wide, in and out of the murk, fun stuff.

 

[1_pointer]

I think I could get a kick out of doing that. I'm also pretty sure I'm too cheap to gear up to be able to do that...

 

[squirrel]

I think I could get a kick out of doing that. I'm also pretty sure I'm too cheap to gear up to be able to do that...

Pretty much like anything else, your first fish costs a few grand after that they are quite economical...

My buddy just bought his own cascade system (for filling tanks) he said yeah the first tank of air cost $5K after that they have been about a buck.

On the dives when it feels like you are in the fish tank at bass pro, its worth it.

BOAT= Break Out Another Thousand.

 

[Keeptrying]

Awesome. We are switching to scuba. Hopefully lessons over the winter. Free diving is fun, but risky and really challenging.

 

[squirrel]

You'll take to it like "fish to water" the key to scuba is to already be completely comfortable in the water. People that are promised how "cool" it is to be a diver when they can barely dog paddle are the ones who wash out or worse yet become a statistic when something goes wrong and they panic, as mentioned above by me n goatshoes... because if you do it long enough something will go wrong. First rule of spearfishing is: You must violate the first two rules of scuba, never hold your breath and always dive with a buddy.

Free diving is great but it is very dangerous in poor vis/cluttered waters, which pretty much describes where I dive, trot lines are killers. One dive last week I was in 18" vis @ 35' and tangled up in a cedar tree/fish attractor. EASY to get rattled when You get your feet tangled and you cant even see them. To make it worse my left knee was all puffed up and so sore I could barely kick with it, but hey, I had to go get that "free meat"!!

No fun going on a dive trip and sitting there on top tossing peanut hulls on the water.

Saw no big cats probably due to the poor vis, they aint stupid after all. No white bass either just those pesky wallys and crappie... you know "trash fish".

Met with an editor for a day of driftwood hunting and he wants me to write some spearing stories, I warned him it will light a fire under the asses of some fishermen if I tell some of the better true ones, they get jealous as hell.

 

[Keeptrying]

Ya, we are good in the water. In regards to panic, I got tangled in my flag line last summer. On the surface, nothing to be concerned about. I was really surprised at the emotions that went on with it. Very frustrated even as I was recognizing my overreaction. Was interesting to reflect back upon, but scary at the moment.

 

[1_pointer]

Pretty much like anything else, your first fish costs a few grand after that they are quite economical...

My buddy just bought his own cascade system (for filling tanks) he said yeah the first tank of air cost $5K after that they have been about a buck.

On the dives when it feels like you are in the fish tank at bass pro, its worth it.

BOAT= Break Out Another Thousand.

'Tis what I figured. Maybe after I get through spending money on kids and bird dogs...

 

[squirrel]

They were fasting again this year but it did not save them. Best of trip was 24", LOTS OF 22-23" White bass galore to make for good viewing, Huge spawning 10" + sunfish were there to bite your fingers if you trespassed in their circle of the nest. Thermo was shallow at 10-12' which made for very fun diving.