Pole spear?

To all the spearos, just wanted to ask a general queston. I'm slowly getting into spearfishing and wondering about guns. Does anyone use  pole spears? If so, what do you think about using a pole spear as compared to a spear gun?

Thanks.

Z

aaah pole spears, i think they can be fun for poking in holes but a speargun would guarantee a good landing more than a pole spear. i used a pole spear for 2 trips and both times the pole spear didnt have the range and effect as a speargun shaft. nothing like a shot to land a fish and secure it.

many people have tried landing large lings only to have the polespear prongs bounce off their gillplates.

there are guys who love them and specialize in using them like retrosub.com . im not as good as they are: )

when breath holding and using a pole spear it really decreases my bottom time. down to 5 seconds. a speargun is a lot more effortless and you dont have to hold the sling taught while diving.

borrow a speargun if you can and take it out for a day. you might like it.

If you don't know if spearfiching is for you, start with a polespear, then if you like it buy a gun.
Polespear is an inexpensive way to get into spearfishing.  They are generally cheaper than spearguns but more challenging in getting the fish.The tip will make a big difference in keeping or loosing a fish.
As compared to guns polespears have less range, less penetration and could result into more lost fish.
Guns are more versatile, easier to use, they will give you beter range and accuracy.
For Norcal, polespears will work just fine on bottom fish - Polespear will hold Cabezone and lings once you pin them down ( which can be challenging on larger fish). You will get midwater fish such as olives and blues but the larger ones ususally stay on the outside therefore guns would work better.
Good luck!

What worked for me is a solid aluminum polespear made by Ray Odor. It packs a much heavier punch than the normal fiberglass polespears. Plus the solid aluminum polespear doesn't bend like a banana when you cock it so you don't need to twist the spear while cocking which is a major pain in the back. I've landed some big fish with it. I also know people land halibuts with it. You will want to use some good tips for the big fishes. You can order the polespear at spearfishing.cc, Ray Odor is a great spearo, he landed some 70-lb fish with his own spear. The spear is pretty cheap too. Another good spear is Manny Puig spear made by Omer. I've heard a lot of good things about it but it's much more expensive than the Ray Odor spear.
It's actually more fun to get fish with polespear instead of speargun. You will have to get closer for the shot, it's sort of looking eye into the eye, then let it fly. It evokes more primitive hunting instinct. With speargun, it's more like playing computer game when you can shoot it over some distance, but you do have a much better chance of getting a skittish/bigger fish with a gun.

Polespears work okay on rock hugging fish, and since they fire at pumpaction speed rather than muzzleloader speed, you can get one or more followup shots if you miss.  They're particularly effective when used with scuba gear because you can more or less pitchfork the  fish into a gamebag.  With a gun you'll spend more time loading than hunting.

Polespears have a 1-5' range - from your hand.  But most spearguns have a 4-15' range from your hand because the spear is in front of your hand rather than behind.  When freediving, that extra 4-10' of range means you can work in water that's 4-10' deeper, and at least on the north coast, if you can see it you can probably shoot it with a gun.

If you tend to get seasick, reloading a speargun is a pretty bad activity for seasickness (much like tying rigs on the kayak is), so you may want to start with a polespear if that'll be an issue because you'll be able to stay in the water longer.  At the very least you should start out with a single-wrap eurogun to minimize the fiddling because it'll take a while to get accurate with it.  Multi-prong tips are good for beginners too (esp for polespear) because they add an inch or two of forgiveness in the accuracy department. 

Awesome! thanks so much for all the advice. A polespear sounds just about right for me now. I've been a swimmer / surfer all my life so holding my breath underwater is second nature. I'm gonna also basically be going for RF so the polespear seems suited to that. I'm sure it's gonna be a real challenge since you need to get really close to the fish. On that note, what would you guys recommend for pole spear length? I'm guessng the longer the more range so better. Are there any cons? Thanks again!

Z

Awesome! thanks so much for all the advice. A polespear sounds just about right for me now. I've been a swimmer / surfer all my life so holding my breath underwater is second nature. I'm gonna also basically be going for RF so the polespear seems suited to that. I'm sure it's gonna be a real challenge since you need to get really close to the fish. On that note, what would you guys recommend for pole spear length? I'm guessng the longer the more range so better. Are there any cons? Thanks again!

Z

personally i have a 5 ft polespear becasue vis in these waters isnt always that great, especially north of the bay. in terms of speargun length, a 75 cm and a 100 cm gun is perfectly suited for all hunting in our area.

i had a 55 cm gun but found myself wanting at least a 75 for carmel and monteey. up north a 75 is good all the time.

it would be hard for me to recommend a polespear even for first time spearing, i would huff the difference in money and spring for an entry level speargun. by the time you see the third fish get wounded and swim away injured you are gonna want something to really stick it into them right the first time and not allow for them to leave. even with guns people lose fish, i just lost one last weekend but with a polespear its more common.

see if you can borrow a gun and a polspear, i bet you'd be set on the latter at the end of a couple of hours worth of diving.

I started with a pole spear and ended up losing a huge ling at Franklin Point because it bounced off its head.  A year or two later my sweetie got me a Mares piston gun, The Frontiersman I think.  I got some lings and cabs with it and it was great, but it broke down and I couldn't get it fixed.  I got another smaller Mares gun at one point, but it too ate it.  I'm hard on equipment and my tidepool adventures are better suited to a pole.  I think both are good, and it depends on the situations you'll be in.  If you'll be in nice clear water then definitely borrow a gun (rubber band guns are the preferred weapon of choice for the pros I think).  If you're tripping around in the rocks and not to deep then a pole may be your favorite.  I did get a ling with the pole, but, as Damdan noted, I had to pin it after spearing it so it didn't get off...

Happy hunting!   

Oh, and a 6'er is what I prefer.

I love my pole spear. I hear alot of mixed feeling about them, but they are truly a great time. I have several guns as well. I would have to say that the guns are more of a sure thing but the poles are a lot more of a challenge.

Thanks again guys! I really appreciate your advice!! I'll be geared up in no time.. 
There's a bunch of other questions I have about spearfishing but will leave those for when I'm on the water.
Hope to hook up and spear some fish in the future.

Z

it would be hard for me to recommend a polespear even for first time spearing, i would huff the difference in money and spring for an entry level speargun. by the time you see the third fish get wounded and swim away injured you are gonna want something to really stick it into them right the first time and not allow for them to leave. even with guns people lose fish, i just lost one last weekend but with a polespear its more common.

see if you can borrow a gun and a polspear, i bet you'd be set on the latter at the end of a couple of hours worth of diving.

I have mixed feelings about this one.  The range on a polespear is limited, but that's not necessarily a bad thing for a beginner.   I've seen just as many fish lost by new divers with spearguns as polespears.   Growing up in hawaii, most divers start with a polespear.  This allows the diver to learn the basics of diving and how to stalk & get closer to the fish instead of taking hail mary shots.  The end result is a more well-rounded diver. 

The only reason I would NOT recommend a polespear here is the kelp.  Moving a longer polespear around in the stuff can be problematic... though coils of loose mono from a speargun are not much better.

I also agree that big lings may pose a problem for polespears, but the huge one that Mario bounced a shot off of was with a new polespear he was testing out.  He has landed several other large ones without any problems.  Also... a new diver won't typically be coming across lings that large    

I've been putting together some polespears as well as rigging up one of the carbon ones Mario made for me.  I thought it'd be nice to go back to my roots & use them for most of my norcal diving.   



Zee, I got some extra stuff I could lend you - check your PMs

Just reading through some of these old threads and here is some advice for all you pole separ hunters. Use two bands instead of one. You get twice the punch and on the lings you get pentration. But still pin them.
I love the challenge of a pole spear.

I've used a polespear with very little luck and retired it to become a frog gig . Went to a single band gun , don't even remember the brand after all these years and the sticker did not last long , I removed it and painted the gun .

The one thing I did that I really liked was to shorten the rope to one loop , much easier to load and still around 6' or a bit more of range from the trigger . I have to get closer ( good thing - not too hard ) and very seldom miss . I also a multi tipped head for everything but halibut , which get single tip with a toggle that opens when it goes through . Never have gotten a shot , so not sure how that one works ?

I have both but like the simplicity of the pole spear.
I put a double wing tip on mine to keep from having to pin fish down (a few more misses but you have faster reload time).