Any one ever try spear fishing?

[Profishing]

I have been researching ice decoys and spear fishing darkhouse fishing ectect.From what i gather it
was quite popular in the USA but not as much in Canada. I know our regs here dont allow it. But if you think about it
a good spear angler could be more selective in the fish he or she harvests. Ya
its cool i like the fact that some of the older guys use to make thier ice decoys and the metal spear heads. Some of the ones i seen looked like fine
peices of art! One that sticks out in mind that i did find
was decoy that looked like a small muskrat or beaver pup. Must have been a few huge pikes in that lake for that old guy to decide to make a beaver to get the attention of a pike.lol sheesh.
Anyhow just wondering any of your guys on here ever try spearfishing? OR have any pics
old decoys? Sure would like to see them thanks im trying to start a collection of them.
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[gdn443]

I've seen these in some antique stores and didn't know what they where used for. You could try ebay to find some for sale. Now I'll have to find some to add to our collection. I've speared carp as a young fella from a canoe. But thats not legal here in CT.
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[Flagmanonice]

Here in Minnesota , you can spear pike , and rough fish . My dad had his sear house out in front of his home on the lake , and had top walk around 5o yds to get to it ! When ever I would go visit , I would take a couple of hours and go sit in it , but if I had bait , I would rather sit in there and look down that 2 by 4 ft hole and watch the fish come in and hit ! I cant say that spearing is more effective for select harvest or not , but I know once you spear them , theres no letting go ! The sport shop in town here has a very good selection of decoys , plus they have decoy shows where some of them bring hundreds of dollars , just like collecting baseball cards ! Oh Ya , my Dad heads down to Texas for the winter now , so its been a couple of years since I've been in a spear house , but I just got back this morning with Thunderboy ( his birthday today) , from fishing in a angling house , and yes , he out fished the old man , he caught supper , not bad for a 9 yr old !! Gee , I'm getting old !! LOL !!

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[davetclown]

[font "Garamond"]Around the Great Lakes and in upstate New York, a lively ice fishing culture was in place by the second half of the 19th century. The scene was so active and so disturbing to some parties that ice fishing was outlawed for everyone except certain Native Americans on their reservations in 1910.[/font][size 1]

[/size][font "Garamond"][#ffffff][size 2][#000000]The beginning of the Great Depression saw the end to this prohibition as economic conditions created a need for new ways of creating income and securing food. Ice spearfishing was resurrected into a major enterprise for both sport and sustenance, with carvers and fish decoy users active on the lakes and rivers of[/#000000] [/size][/#ffffff][/font][url "http://www.fishdecoy.com/michigan.html"][font "Garamond"][#0000ff][size 2]Michigan[/size][/#0000ff][/font][/url][font "Garamond"][#ffffff][size 2], [/size][/#ffffff][/font][url "http://www.fishdecoy.com/Wisconson.html"][font "Garamond"][#0000ff][size 2]Wisconsin[/size][/#0000ff][/font][/url][font "Garamond"][#ffffff][size 2], [/size][/#ffffff][/font][url "http://www.fishdecoy.com/minnesota.html"][font "Garamond"][#0000ff][size 2]Minnesota,[/size][/#0000ff][/font][/url][font "Garamond"][#ffffff][size 2] [/size][/#ffffff][/font][url "http://www.fishdecoy.com/newyork.html"][font "Garamond"][#0000ff][size 2]& New York.[/size][/#0000ff][/font][/url][size 1]

[/size][font "Garamond, Times New Roman"][#ffffff][size 2][#000000]The decoys produced during the depression ranged from[/#000000] [url "http://www.fishdecoy.com/native.html"][#0000ff]Native American[/#0000ff][/url] [#000000]designs in unpainted native woods to idiosyncratic Americanized forms in woods and other materials which were brightly colored and lavishly decorate[/#000000][/size][/#ffffff][/font][size 1] [/size] [indent]

[font "Garamond, Times New Roman"][size 2]These are the collectible decoys which are familiar to sportsmen, art collectors and students of folk and vernacular art today.[/size][/font][font "Garamond, Times New Roman"][#ffffff][size 2] [/size][/#ffffff][/font]

[url "http://www.fishdecoy.com/"][/url]

click on this decoy for the whole story on the begininng of the decoy [/indent]
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[bdn06]

Outstanding link, Dave, thanks!

I have kind of spear fished--when I lived in Arkansas, the gar used to come up this canal that came out of a power plant on Lake Dardanelle. At night, they would surface, skimming the water for minnows. I gigged one that was about 36". Kind of a waste, though, as I didn't eat him, and not much sport in it. My bad. I've wondered about it in fresh water creeks that hold larger trout, just as a means of harvesting food if necessary, but I prefer to catch them on a rod [cool]
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[davetclown]

Thanks.....

sitting in an ice shanty looking down a hole and watching the fish sucking down a few brews, catching a foot ball game on the radio is a past time in its own.

those guys who are realy looking for the score sit there in silence. sure is a nice break from listening to the old lady and kids screaming and fighting over borken christmas toys...LOL....

pike are taisty if you pick the smaller ones, I am not to fond of the big ens.

I prefer sitting out on the open ice. rod in one hand and a tip up set out a ways.

I will say this, spearing though the ice is not as easy as it sounds. you can spend days and never see a single pike. and hitting one that is down 6-10 feet takes a fair amount of pratice.

if your gig is to heavy you end up cutting the fish in half, if it is to light the fish swims away long before the spear ever gets there...
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[UpNorthMN]

As flagman already said we can spear Northern Pike here in Minnesota. I don't get out to do it alot but a little bit here and there. I got one last year right around 12lbs, I wish I would of had a camera. Though most were in the 5-8 lb range.
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[davetclown]

8 pounds is about the biggest I have ever come up with, either by line tipup or spearing, I have seen bigger, I have had bigger on my line but they keep breaking my 4 pound test line....[laugh]
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