Stop fishing then.

Spearing Fish
 

Would someone kindly show me where in the R.I. law that fishing in this manner is legal. I don't doubt those who say it is, well maybe just a little, but I'd really like to know. These guys that go skishing could have a mask, a mouthpiece, a spear, and multi task while there floating around.

Getting Mugged
 

One wrong turn and this post could go south real quick.

Yes - lets keep this as discussion, not a flame war please...

Thanks,

John

LOL..... 3 Pages and still going.....

sol...

its very legal ive ben check by buy game wardens when spearfishing

[To say spearfishing is damaging to the stocks or that it is going to catch all 'our' 5o 's and 6o's is ludacris. Rod and reel and especially fly fishermen are the real problem and the real murders of the striped bass. I counted 4 dead schoolies float by me and clammer in a half hour period why guys up current were catching them.. :hs:[/QUOTE]


Eben,

As far as Fly fishing goes I think that was a very un-educated and fairly ignorant statement. Have you ever tried it? I have subdued bass up to 30 lbs fairly quickly on my set-up. I have released all but one fish this year, and take the time to make sure they all swim away. Fly line rates between 30 and 50 lb test and I rarley go lighter than 30lbs on a leader, sometimes up to 50. Fly rods have more backbone than you think. It is all in your skill fighting fish.You really want to challenge yourself? Take a flyrod into the surf. 60 t0 80 foot distance max. Doesn't get any tougher IMHO. Don't knock it cause it's not your thing. I also like to throw plugs and eels. The flyrod is just another tool, and like any tool you have to know how to use it.

Your totally right, my case of using fly fishing as an example was toatly wrong. RI rockhound has it right by saying light tackle is theone to blame for high mortality.
I do flyfish. not for stripers but for redfish and specs in texas twice a year. its a blast:D
We are all to blame for mortality..
sorry if i offended anyone :hee: .

:bl: :bl:
Glad to here it Eben. It takes a big man to admit he might have been a little hasty. If you do fish with a fly rod and like it, and you are not using it for stripers you are doing yourself a great injustice. There is nothing like a good size striper on the fly, and they take them readily. The fly rod is the perfect tool for fishing current and we all know how much stripes love current. Shoot me a pm and I will send you some killer RI striper flies that you will never see in a shop, and man do they catch. I have hundreds. Worst case you can always use some of them as teasers. Some will be wayyy to big for a teaser though.

Bam
 

Nice Bass

felt kinda bad when he shot it though

Snorkling with a weight belt is tough... to each his own.

It is legal in RI and not in MA. It has been that way for years (can't cite the RI law but found this...http://www.picassoamerica.com/picasso_open_rh.php)
I think it is a sport and I wish it was allowed in MA. As long as he only takes legal fish and agrees to a rec limits I don't have a problem with it. There are not too many guys that can do that.

Didn't look like a world record but it is hard to tell. Have you got a link to other photos?

BTW FishEye was (and still is) quite the free diver, I think he nationally competed some years back....He is from RI.

45 pounder he got back in 1979

20 lb. test line +25lb bass=light tackle.

spearing a stripedbass is legal in RI. think in NH too.

spearfisherman get my respect. it is extremely hard work, dangerous, and friggen cold.

Websight for anyone interested in Striper hunting techniques-

http://www.freediver.net/freedivelis..._stripers.html

I think spear fishing for striped bass is like bow hunting for deer
it takes alot of skill to shot a fish and kill it. I know guys that shot
deer with arrows and had to chase them for miles before they
dropped it is a sport. IMO.

nice job.
thats a sport in my book any day.

i for one don't swim in the salt. i know whats out there :skulz:

spearfishing is legal in RI and NH.i do spear fishing while scuba diving for blackfish,bluefish and fluke in MA. i have only speard a couple stripers free diving in RI got some around 20lbs.the really cool thing about spear fishing is that you can choose how big a striper your going to spear. i also do scuba diving and scout out my fishing spots by day and write down notes on structure on my dive slate.

Sandman asked for a pic, here it is.
Not so sure I like it, looks like they get them every time ? Sure hope not!

Maybe they should have a slot limit for this type of fishing, or for the whole east coast for stripers? Shore or in the water.
VB

how nice putting down fly guys like myself. i like to see you fool stripers when there feeding on 4 inch sandeels. also how can a schoolie be more hurt by a single barbless fly than a mouth full of two sets of tremble hooks :rocketem: . as for you guys putting down spear fishing you try aiming under water while holding your breath.i urge you to try all types of striper fishing- fly fishing,spear fishing,surf casting,troll from a boat.

Again .... forwarded from another forum......

(Here is the fish out of water, to gauge the weight. Sure is a cow, eh?

World Record 60.49 lb BI October 05)

sorry I had to resize the immage.

sol...

Dang! Thats a big one.

Looks like a boat fish to me :rocketem:

slob
 

Slob for sure. Anyone that thinks free diving isn't a sport should try it and they will quickly change their mind. I'm pretty sure he paid his dues for that fish. Try watching and hold ur breath for the entire vid just sitting there!

I don't question the "sport" aspect of spearfishing, I do sometimes question the efficiency with which it removes larger breeding class fish.

I just NEVER see a spear fisher holding a 15 to 20# dinner fish. A friend of mine used to spear fish every day and sell them commercially. He never came out of the water without a fish over 30#'s. Maybe he was just unbelievably good, I don't know.

Are there any regular spear fisherman here? And if so what do you really take from the water and how often?

I agree on both counts. I don't like going above my knees in the salt. I've seen what swims out there too. :behead:

That was sweet.

Only way it could have been better is if he used a hawaiian sling. Spearguns can make it too easy.

Like a well-executed shot in billiards, it looks so very easy...then you go and try to accomplish that same three bank shot and all of sudden it’s a lot more difficult than it looks. The new breed of freediving spearos (including veterans that are 60-73 years old) are taking the sport to a whole other level.

The guys and gals that are competing and blue water hunting these days are serious athletes that put their lives (quite literally) on the line each time they make a dive. Some divers can work at depths over 100 feet and many local divers work 50 and 60 feet in places like the SW Ledge at Block and the rips off Watch Hill and Race Rock. Most anglers wouldn’t want to fall in the water there, never mind diving down 50 feet in current that wants to rip your mask off, in visibility that’s sometimes measured in inches not feet, and where the rocks are festooned with super braid and wire line. Pete “The Greek” who shot the record bass, is a good friend of an old teammate of mine, John Warnock, and he said Pete works hard at shooting only quality fish and pursues them with the same attention to detail that any savvy angler would. It’s all about reading the water, understanding the tides, knowing your boat, having the right equipment and knowing your capabilities. Is this a sport? You bet it is.

Thats what i was thinking about when i saw that clip, u do alot of diving in these places Fisheye, have you ever had any close encounter of the shark kind? That part at the end of the clip when he was swimming up and dragging that bass to the boat, i wouldnt wanna look behind me.....:eek5: :err:

from my experience scuba diving when you intitially go in the water thats when your a little scared of your surroundings, after your down for a few minutes you become more comfortable. I have never been real scared underwater and the only sharks I saw were of the dog fish variety. Granted I wasn't free diving like that guy.

People think its crazy to go out in the water and claim they never would meanwhile you see them dodge several cars on boylston street everyday when they go to lunch. Pick your poison. I would rathe be eaten by a shark than killed by some cab driver who doesn't speak english

I agree with Pete's take. I have no problem with the sport - its like hunting. I have a problem with the ease of taking the biggest fish by this method in a time when I think its pretty clear that we have a big fish deficiency compared to years past.

Its like comparing deer hunting to the hunting of any threatened species. They are both hunting & therefore sports - but hunting deer with a huge population is obviously widely accepted while hunting, say wolves or whatever threatened species, it prohibited.

I don't think spearfishing is really going to contribute to the depletion of big fish. I mean, how many guys are out here doing this? It seems like quite the hardcore sport. I can see spearfishing in the nice warm waters of the florida keys or Hawaii, but to put on a wetsuit and go after stripers in 55 degree water seems a little extreme.

I go fishing from the beach hoping I will be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. I am thinking these guys float around a reef or some other structure till the fish finder goes crazy, jump in, pick out a cow and blast it in the frigging head. Swim to the surface and fire up the grill. Maybe I am just jealous.