spearing tips??

[scruffy]

hey. just getting into doing some spearing. wondering if any of you guys have any tips. i've been out once this season, with success. but wondering if i can be doing anything else to draw some more pike in. using a red/white classic decoy, about 9". jigging quick, wide circles, then letting it settle to a deep stop, or bring it up shallow to a stop. any reccomendations on techniques? i had one come in and nail my dec, never to return. then a bit later, one came in and hit it, then slowly swam back in. that's the one i got! was such a rush to see them both. appreciate any tips.

thanks,

matt.

[HUSKIN FORA MUSK]

Scruffy,

This is what has worked best for me in the past:

Find a nice drop off next to a weed bed. Set up in 6-10' of water depending on clarity. Sucker on a safety pin type harness about 1/3 of the way down to the bottom on the left side of the hole. Artificial decoy on the right side of the hole about 1/2 way down. Work the artificial about every 15 minutes. This is the hard part. Most people work the artificial too much. The fish will come in much slower if you work the artificial every now and then. You'll see more fish if you work the artificial every 2 minutes, but almost none of them will be coming in at a speed slow enough for a good spear release.

Work the decoy in a nice swooping circle varying the speed and depth. Work it for about a minute and just let it drop to its natural position. Its best if your artificial spins slowly when its sitting. This is caused from the line untwisting from the swooping circiles. Many times the slow spinning brings in fish alone. Also, if the fish comes in and doesn't like the artificial, lots of times the live one brings them in instead.

Once you have a fish you want to spear coming in at a decent speed, wait until the fish is almost directly below you. Lower the spear into the water gently until you're a few feet above the "shoulders" and throw your spear.

Some think its necessary for the fish to hit the bottom before you pull them up, but if you use a high quality, sharp spear this is not at all required.

Good luck spearing!

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[scruffy]

huskin:

hey. thanks for the info. never used a live decoy. will give it a try. do you ever have the live ones eaten? would be exciting to see anyways...

[HUSKIN FORA MUSK]

Scruffy,

The live ones do get eaten, especially if you doze off or aren't paying close attention. If a fish is coming in on the live decoy, you can raise it up slowly away from the fish. The fish will usually follow making it easier to spear since its closer to the water surface. If you don't want to spear the fish cause its too big or too small, you can whirl the artificial at them real hard, and it will scare them off. Otherwise, if the fish is just hovering, waiting to pounce on your live decoy, you can very, very, very gently lower the spear and just give them a slight tap on the back. This must be done only if you can hold onto the spear the whole time. You wouldn't want to injure the fish, or even break its skin since this could even kill the fish. Just a few more thoughts for you. Good luck and have fun.

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[scruffy]

huskin:

thanks for the tips. will keep them in mind. hopefully this weekend i'll get out.

[Crappiechaser]

Im just starting and have a few questions. How do you get the block out of the water? Were do you put it when your done? Then how do you mark the hole so no one gets hurt?

Thanks

[HUSKIN FORA MUSK]

C.C.

Once you have block cut out, hit it in the middle with a chisel to chop it in half. Push the end of the block closest to the middle of the hole down, so the other end kind of pops out at an angle. At this point, just push/slide the block up and onto the ice. Repeat with second piece. Otherwise use ice tongs rather than the push/slide method. Just be sure not to get too close to the hole and fall in. Once the ice block is out of the hole, chop it up into small pieces with the chisel, so snowmobiles, wheelers, or cars don't hit it. Finally, once you decide to move, and there's an open hole, just break a small branch off a tree and stick it in the hole, so some of its visible above the surface.

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[D-Angler]

I find it easy just to push the ice block under the ice. This way you do not have to work very hard to get it out and then worry about chopping it up so no one will hit it.

[HUSKIN FORA MUSK]

All,

I don't like the idea of pushing it under. Just one more thing in the water that might make the fish avoid swimming to the hole. That's just me though; you can take it or leave it.

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[Crappiechaser]

How do u do a live bait harness?

[Redhead76]

-Crappiechaser-

All you have to do is stick it throught the top of the back so that it hangs horizontally. Make shure that you don't stick it through the back bone.

I also have my own queston. I was out to day and had a northern come in and then back out not giving me a shot. I had both a chub and a decoy down. It came in towards the chub and then backed off. I was wondering what to do to keep the fish coming.

[mnmuzzleloader]

The best thing I have used I have found an old ice tongs at a fleet market, I know you can find some new tongs at bait stores. I use a 4"laser and cut two holes and then use my ice saw for the rest of the cutting, I can usually get the block back in the same way I took it out. I also use a spearing chub and a wooden decoy I usually switch decoys every half hour or so to give them something different, I realize that they move much slower in the winter, but the new decoy will usually see action sooner than the older one, it is all a case of timing you can have them come in and look at a empty pop can on a string!! so anything is possible

Good Luck

[rscabin]

D-Angler I agree with you.

HUSKIN FORA MUSK I'll leave it. I have been spearing for a long time and always push the ice block under the ice. It has never distracted the fish from swimming to the hole.

[D-Angler]

If you push the Ice chunk down, come back a couple days later and put a camera down you can hardly see it. I have used this way for over 15 years, I do not think the fish can see it from the bottom. I have even had to the whole chunk move out of sight within 2 hours-- must have been some good current moving through!!