SO I am fishing last night and a spear fishermen emerges right in front of me like a god dang horror film scared the crap outta me he had 2 25-30 pound fish. I personally feel like spear fishing for stripers is cheating.

In Mass it is extremely illegal
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I wish it was like that in RI

I'm mixed, it certainly is more selective that what we do.

I think it's more of a skill then dropping eel or pogie on a fishes head. To each his own.
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I DARE ANY ONE ON THE SITE TO TRY BREATH HOLD DIVING. TRY TO HOLD YOUR BREATH, DROP INTO THEIR WORLD AND TAKE OUT THE ONE YOU WANT. SOUNDS EASY RITE???? DEFINITELY NOT CHEATING. SELECTIVE?? YES YOU CAN SELECT ANY FISH YOU SWIM CLOSE ENOUGH TO TO SHOOT. IMO WAY MORE FAIR THAN HUNTING. OR SITTING ABOVE WATER TRYING TO ENTICE A FISH TO EAT. JUST MY OPINION AND I DON'T SPEAR FISH( I JUST THINK STEPPING INTO THEIR WORLD IS REALLY COOL WITH OUT BREATHING APPS)

Skill ? He just needs to learn how to aim under water ? A spearfishermen can actively see
his pray he doesn't have spend a whole night looking for fish he can see if they are there or not... personally I feel like finding fish and knowing how to fish different plugs in the right circumstances is a very hard skill to learn

IF YOUR TALKING AIR TANKS THAN I AGREE,IF YOUR TALKING BREATH HOLD DIVING THAN.... TRY IT. LET US KNOW HOW YOU DID.

Haven't done much spear fishing the last few years and never targeted bass but for those that think it's easy give it a try sometime and I bet your perception of the amount of skill involved will change quickly.
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I wouldn't call it cheating, my view is that it's merely another type of "catching", but more like hunting. For those of us who are more conservative or "catch and release" using rod and reel, we just have a tough time grasping and justifying it.

how do you see @ nite

Once had a couple come by me in an inlet, at night, with high beam lights. Quite unerving. Didn't know if it was a VW beetle or an alien invasion.

Mixed feelings . . . even though I don't know much about spearfishing. I suppose there's some skill involved as the bass may be wary of divers, but I do recall seeing a video where bass swam with a diver hunting lobsters, to the extent that they actually collaborated. Occasionally, the bass would catch one of the diver's discards,and then the bass started directing the diver to rocks under which lay a lobster. Great film footage, but it can't always be that easy.

Mixed feelings . . . even though I don't know much about spearfishing. I suppose there's some skill involved as the bass may be wary of divers, but I do recall seeing a video where bass swam with a diver hunting lobsters, to the extent that they actually collaborated. Occasionally, the bass would catch one of the diver's discards,and then the bass started directing the diver to rocks under which lay a lobster. Great film footage, but it can't always be that easy.

They're definitely not afraid of divers, scuba or not. I've hand fed them lobster tails and after that they will actually try to steal them as you pull them out. The shy ones will stay at arms length and beg like a dog.

Freediving is wicked hard. Imagine starting at above the high tide line, holding your breath, running to the low tide line, cast, retrieve, then run back to the high tide line to breathe again. I do it for blackfish... Using tanks is a different story. Easy.
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Better than the commercial net trawlers that wipe out schools of bass with dead discards...let's start with the top of the pecking order on this one, we can then move onto seals and so on.
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You really think swimming in from shore to try and find fish is easy? Really? Think hard on that one.
Having some diving experience, I must strongly disagree.

On the flip side, the advantages lie in when the fish are not actively feeding, you still have an oppurtunity to land one,,, and that you can target a specific one from the group. Of course this is after you've found them and they hang around long enough...unless you can keep up with a traveling school
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Dead is dead, in my opinion. Hook or spear it is the same outcome. Spearfishing doesn't seem like cheating to me since it takes seems to require more skill than tossing an eel or chunk of bunker. I'd rather them spear a 30" fish since I'd prefer that no one kept 30lbers, but I imagine you have to be careful of getting a 27" when judging size under water.
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I agree that it takes skill to freedive, but it should be outlawed to spearfish with a tank, that can't be that difficult if you can stay in the zone.

check out the world record for breath hold dives. mind blowing whatsome of these humans are capable of

Bunch of friggin elitists :hihi:

Who the #^&#^&#^&#^& cares how they catch there fish as long as they only take their limit.
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I don't think its elitist at all I just think its a difference of opinion.... instantly calling everyone who disagrees make it seem like your a little butt hurt for no reason

THIS IS SICK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF4PN8-2YSk

Crazy video jonser!!... Thanks for sharing! My lungs hurt just watching that!!
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Extremely cool video I don't think the spear fisherman around beaver tail are not on the same level as that guy haha

I don't think its elitist at all I just think its a difference of opinion.... instantly calling everyone who disagrees make it seem like your a little butt hurt for no reason

Instantly assuming I'm a little Butt Hurt without knowing the personalities of the people on this board makes it seems your a little judgemental.

People who know me here know I tend to be a little....ummm.....bit of a wise ass....hence the smiley face. :hihi:

So lets examine how this is cheating. Cheating assumes you are breaking a rule to get a desired result or gain an advantage. Is Spearfishing breaking any rules....No.

Is the object to catch fish...Yes. Are they doing it legally...Yes

One could also argue that it is a more responsible way of fishing.....You are targeting and taking only 2 fish, that you are legally allowed to take....instead of culling through, and potentially injuring, dozens of shorts to get the ones you want.

....and welcome to the board...a lot of interesting characters here....and a lot of fun can be had

Not legal in Mass is it?

Looks like it Passed the House and is headed to the Senate

Legal in NH and RI

No tank, I give props. Especially since he just made a fish bleed instantly making him a shark target.

Though I think we would all look the other way if he gave spots away making our lives easier.....:hihi:

Not sure I'd call it "cheating", it's just different.

Spearfishing, especially without a tank, involves unique challenges that don't apply to surf or boat fishing (having the guts to get in the water, being dexterous enough to move around down there, stealth, etc).

There are advantages to spearfishing...if you see no fish, you know a lot faster than a boat fisherman to stop wasting your time. If the fish are there, it doesn't matter whether or not they are biting. It's also a LOT less pressure on the fish stock, as unlike boat or surf fishing, there is no by-catch, and if a spearfisherman is so minded, he can avoid the breeding size fish, thus guaranteeing no harm to any. Boat fisherman can't say that.

I am a very, very low level beginner. I've only gotten some blackfish. It's a cool activity. I'd say it's more similar to hunting than to boat/surf fishing. I can sure see where a boat fisherman, might not appreciate my being in his spot, but it's not really "his" spot, it's "our" spot.

Spear fishing isn't cheating at all. Cheating is weighing in a fish to win a tournament that was caught by someone else, or getting on the leaderboard for the Striper Cup shore division with a fish that was caught from your boat. Thank God no one on this site would ever do anything like that.

Whoa!

I actually really like the comparison to hunting. Makes more sense saying it like that