Spear recommendations?

[MuddyRubberDuck]

What is the best pole? any recommendations on material, size, tip, ect? Give me a quick rundown on what makes a good or bad pole spear.



Thanks
Neil

[SnpperWhisperer]

Mate, that's like asking what is the best speargun! I have 3 favourites depending on what I am hunting, and I feel they are all the best for that particular environment.

Where are you, what do you hunt, and what is your skill level? This answers will decidde what is the best spear for you.

[MuddyRubberDuck]

I'm huntin east coast florida. Anything from sheepshead, hogs, jacks. Viz ranges depending on if I'm in Ponce, Sebastian, or west palm. Skill is new. I have never used a pole spear.

Thanks
Neil

[a.s.alvarez]

I like the Manny Puig and I know Snapper does as well. For Florida I like a 6' pole with a 30" shaft with flopper. For any fish from 1lb to 30lb. Arron crist (on this forum) also makes a GREATpole spear. My 2cents. Go to the Blue wild expo an check them all out next weekend.

[SnpperWhisperer]

"Give me a quick rundown on what makes a good or bad pole spear"

Well, here is my effort....trying to keep it unbiased because there are a number of brands that are just as good as each other.

Tips are really important. Multi prong tips slow spears quickly and do not have the holding power on large fish that is required. But they hit small fish really well, lock them up, and miss less often (ie shotgun approach compared to a rifle). I like these best on fish up to say 5 pounds, which is quite alot of my hunting.

Single flopper heads (with a long flopper like a euro gun has) do not slow the spear and yet they still offer very good holding. These are ideal from 1 to 30 pounds of fish, which is also alot of my hunting. There are options in this category that are modern high power spears, all of which are a vast improvement over the old ones we knew as kids.

Sliptips offer the best holding power. I use these when hunting fish 15 pounds and over. They do need a heavy spear to drive them in far enough, and this is where the modern heavy duty spears really perform exceptionally well.

Length is important too. I find a total length of between 8 ft and 8'6" is a really nice length for reef fish of all kinds - I would not want anything shorter. Most of the modern quality pole spears seem to start at about this length except for specialist applications like getting fish in holes, taking tako in Hawaii, etc.

For larger fish, which are usually harder to get close to and which require plenty of weight to punch through the fish, a spear of 9 to 11 ft overall length can be used. These are unwieldy on the reef and woudl smash tips up badly in the rocks, but they are great in open water.

The big game spears available tend to have a thick aluminium stock and a screw-in steel tip section. These are driven by thick rubber, often about 12.5 mm or 1/2 inch (heavier than standard pole spear rubber available in most dive stores which is about 10 mm). This heavier rubber is required to get the spears moving, and can be pretty tough to load, so the grip of the spear needs to be properly thought out and often customised a bit.

It's a goood idea to start out with something small and lightweight like a Hawaiian 3 prong and start over - shoot all the small fish you started shooting a gun with. Then get a bigger spear and have a go at some of the larger stuff - you often have to be lucky to get bigger fish on a pole spear even when well set up for it. You certainly have to be patient as many fish swim past \that you cannot possibly get. I tend to be more modest in what I expect to bring home than with a gun. But then again, often the fish we overlook with a gun are still great eating. I'd rather get a humble reef fish for dinner with a pole spear than a gamefish on a speargun, any day.

[MuddyRubberDuck]

Wow, thanks, I couldn't have asked for a better explanation. I really appreciate it.

[benjaminserrano]

Originally Posted by SnpperWhisperer

"Give me a quick rundown on what makes a good or bad pole spear"

Well, here is my effort....trying to keep it unbiased because there are a number of brands that are just as good as each other.

Tips are really important. Multi prong tips slow spears quickly and do not have the holding power on large fish that is required. But they hit small fish really well, lock them up, and miss less often (ie shotgun approach compared to a rifle). I like these best on fish up to say 5 pounds, which is quite alot of my hunting.

Single flopper heads (with a long flopper like a euro gun has) do not slow the spear and yet they still offer very good holding. These are ideal from 1 to 30 pounds of fish, which is also alot of my hunting. There are options in this category that are modern high power spears, all of which are a vast improvement over the old ones we knew as kids.

Sliptips offer the best holding power. I use these when hunting fish 15 pounds and over. They do need a heavy spear to drive them in far enough, and this is where the modern heavy duty spears really perform exceptionally well.

Length is important too. I find a total length of between 8 ft and 8'6" is a really nice length for reef fish of all kinds - I would not want anything shorter. Most of the modern quality pole spears seem to start at about this length except for specialist applications like getting fish in holes, taking tako in Hawaii, etc.

For larger fish, which are usually harder to get close to and which require plenty of weight to punch through the fish, a spear of 9 to 11 ft overall length can be used. These are unwieldy on the reef and woudl smash tips up badly in the rocks, but they are great in open water.

The big game spears available tend to have a thick aluminium stock and a screw-in steel tip section. These are driven by thick rubber, often about 12.5 mm or 1/2 inch (heavier than standard pole spear rubber available in most dive stores which is about 10 mm). This heavier rubber is required to get the spears moving, and can be pretty tough to load, so the grip of the spear needs to be properly thought out and often customised a bit.

It's a goood idea to start out with something small and lightweight like a Hawaiian 3 prong and start over - shoot all the small fish you started shooting a gun with. Then get a bigger spear and have a go at some of the larger stuff - you often have to be lucky to get bigger fish on a pole spear even when well set up for it. You certainly have to be patient as many fish swim past \that you cannot possibly get. I tend to be more modest in what I expect to bring home than with a gun. But then again, often the fish we overlook with a gun are still great eating. I'd rather get a humble reef fish for dinner with a pole spear than a gamefish on a speargun, any day.

This guy's answer may have saved you from buying the wrong polespear for your experience level.This guy know his stuff!!