BIG FISH riging suggestion

[isibrigade]

So many polespearos have been asking me how to rig a slip-tip to their floatline. Last night, I finally had a chance to draw a diagram up and place it on the website. Go to the bottom of the page.

http://www.gatku.com/index_files/page0014.htm

With this rig, no fish would be too big. The slip-tip becomes seperate from the polespear and the fighting and tension all goes to the floatline/float.

This solves the problem for fish that 'hole-up' or make strong lateral movements creating stress to the polepspear.

I hope it helps those of you I was trying to explain this to over the phone.:D

-Dustin McIntyre

[SnpperWhisperer]

Looks good Dustin, especially for fish that hole up. Keen to hear people's experiences with that setup - how did the spear hang, was it easy to use...

[azspearo]

Nice idea Dustin. I'm going to give this a try on my trip in June, maybe attach a SS eyebolt on the end of the spear.

[kjflyfish]

Dustin, do the length and mass of the spear overcome the steering effect of the angled tip?

[OceanEd]

Dustin:

Nice looking tip. I hadn't seen it before. The one I have was not cut like that.

I don't see a problem with running the line through the end of the pole spear unless it would create problems in kelp? You can also do it without the pole spear being in the equation if you want with a little change. All in all it looks simple and should work.

I like polespearing with a float line. It actually means I can work deeper than if I had the fish on the pole spear because all I have to do is dive down and hit him and then immediately start up without worrying about fighting him at all on the bottom. The one thing I will do in the Bahamas is grab hold of the float line as I start up and try to keep the groupers from then holing up somewhere. Once that happens I have to dive down again, sometimes many times, to get them out of the hole. It's a lot simpler to keep them out of the hole in the beginning if I shoot them out in the open.

[kjflyfish]

Ocean Ed, I sent you a PM.

[isibrigade]

Dustin, do the length and mass of the spear overcome the steering effect of the angled tip?

No 'steering' at all. Remember, a polespear only has to fly 2-4 feet. If this was a tip on a gunshaft, there may be a little allignment problem, since the shaft is thrown much further and isn't nearly half the mass of a polespear.

[patrick]

sweet rig! looks like i gotta rig up for the meet... see you next week sometime. :thumps:

[SnpperWhisperer]

So, Dustin, I too was impressed with the shape of the sheered tip - quite revolutionary, and I imagine quite good for a long lasting point, and as you point out, there's very little deflection risk on a pole spear anyway. But what was your thinking about why it is a good thing?

[kjflyfish]

That's a good question. In addition to performance, I'm sure it has something to do with being unique, sort of like a "market identity."

[isibrigade]

So, Dustin, I too was impressed with the shape of the sheered tip - quite revolutionary, and I imagine quite good for a long lasting point, and as you point out, there's very little deflection risk on a pole spear anyway. But what was your thinking about why it is a good thing?

SnpperWhisperer,
Thanks for the compliments. I am always commited to innovating the traditional hunting tools we have today. I am proud of this tip as it has tested well and is a bit different from your traditional tips.

To answer your question,

For one, it is extremely easy to sharpen with a few swipes of a file. From a boat, I would say that many would appreciate how easy it is to file to a sharp edge.

Secondly, you're correct, it will last a bit longer than the traditional conical point. There is more 'meat' along the sharp edge allowing it to be a much stronger and long-lasting point. When hitting a rocky reef with the traditional point, all the force is exerted and absorbed by one small pin point.
With the syringe-cut tip, there is more surface to absorb the impact.

Thirdly, it is sharper than a traditional point. The angle is more accute than the traditional 35-45 degree cone edge and allows for quicker penetration.

Fourthly,
KJFLYFISH,
You're right, this style tip hopefully has become our 'market identity.' Not that it matters in terms of spearing more fish, but I think it looks quite attractive. :D

[PV_Spearo]

I thought about that setup a few years ago, but when you shoot the spear, are you not having to drag the whole floatline forward throught the water??

Thats why we usually tie the float line to the front part of the rubber, so you dont have to drag your floatline forward when you shoot.

[OceanEd]

PV:

You are right about the drag from the float line having to be overcome in one way or another. One way is using the Manny Puig method of tying the line to the end of the rubber. If you use this method and shoot big fish, however, you might want to insert Dyneema line through the middle of the rubber and putting enough in there so you can still get a full pull on the rubber. In this way you are not relying on the rubber alone.

Another method would be to have the float line in the hand that is pulling the rubber forward. If you have a long pull (on my poles it is about 5 feet) then as the pole travels forward you have that much distance before the drag from the entire pole is a factor. You can cut this down even further by having the first 10 feet or so of the float line made out of thin, strong, line like Dyneema. The biggest problem with this is that when you are pulling a fish up by the line, once you get to the thin diameter and slippery Dyneema it is harder to grasp it without it slipping through your hands.

[Seth]

i use a speartip cut like that on my cave gun, if you want some long term feedback on how it holds up, well, its the best tip design if your hunting around rocks IMO, in cave hunting id say i hit the rocks on almost every shot, and havnt had to resharpen in ages.. when sharp, the tip slices through fish really easy also ;)

[isibrigade]

I thought about that setup a few years ago, but when you shoot the spear, are you not having to drag the whole floatline forward throught the water??

Thats why we usually tie the float line to the front part of the rubber, so you dont have to drag your floatline forward when you shoot.

Yes, it isn't clear in my diagram, but the idea is that the dyneema/floatline would come up the shaft with your band. You can tie it, but this would kind of defeat the purpose of the floatline seperating and being able to slide freely on you polespear.

Hope this helps.
-Dustin