Plug this
 

If you have direct cable, check out the following link that will take you to
an actual underwater clip of the world record Striper on spear being taken.
What I am hearing is that this fish was taken about 2 weeks ago off Block
Island and was 60.5 lbs. Looks to be in 20-30' of water. No way to tell
the actual size. ( forwarded from another forum )

http://www.renepotvin.com/peteworldrecord.wmv

sol...

Not trying to stir anything up but is that legal?? Nice fish...

Geez, let me see ... get a speargun, shoot a striper, oh and call it fishing.

Where is the sport in this?

It's like being at the arcade at the mall on one of the games they have there, only you shoot sharks ... not ferocious and deadly stripers.

Real sporting of the guy to give the striper a fighting chance, guess we're all doing it the wrong way guys.

I think I'll take my chances and enjoy the fight the right way (rod & reel) when and if I ever get into something that big.

This guy should be great at the local turkey farm for Thanksgiving, he can pick his turkey the same way he picked the striper.

Real sporting ...not! :mad: :lossinit:

Teaser, how is this any different from hunting deer, bear, turkey, or any other animal one would hunt and shoot shoot? Have you ever been out there in a wetsuit diving? My guess is that you ahve not after your assisnine response.

Anyway, congrats to the hunter/fisherman.

I'm with Tlap on this one.

Which fish "suffers" more the speared one or the one hooked on rod/reel?

Which deer "suffers" more the one shot with a wooden/aluminum shaft or a 30/06 round to the skull?

Sorry teaser but you need to re-evaluate the way you view nature,fishing and definitely about the food you consume.Simply put you got it way wrong.

gonna have to agree with tlap and bw on this one. notice, he was not SCUBA diving, he was free diving... SCUBA would definately be a little unfair to the fish, but still, no different than hunting deer, IMO.

_Z_

afaik, yes it is completely legal in RI, illegal MA, not sure about CT.

_Z_

To answer you're question, yes I have been out there in a wet suit, I dive alot off Cuttyhunk.

I do not hunt nor do I have any interest in it, I never found it all that exilerating to kill an animal that I am not going to eat.

And before you say or think it I'm not a tree hugger or a member of P.E.T.A.

I fish for enjoyment not profit, I don't knock anyone who does it for a living nor do I take aim at guides for hunting, everyone has to make a living.

I just stated my "opinion" which I believe I am entitled to as everyone else, so before you get heated as it seems so easy to do on this site lately, whether you agree or not it doesn't matter to me, it was meant as that ... just my opinion on the subject.

Man, 60lbs is massive. Most of the bass in that school looked around the same size too..... :fishslap:
Id be scared to do that there tho, in deep water like that with a huge fish towing and spinning behind me :err:
Nice fish neway u look at it!!

"I think I'll take my chance and enjoy the fight the right way(rod&reel)"............

Why is rod/reel the "right way"?

If you think spearing and bringing in a big fish is even slightly easy.........

that school was enormous :D really nice looking fish

I think T-Lap and I and a few others discussed this subject awhile back.....I must agree with T-Lap as it is just as sporting as fishing rod and reel imo....its not my way but I can relate with someone who chooses this as their sport just as hunting is not for me but I find it fascinating and do understand how folks enjoy the sport. Man must put food on the table....this is just one more way to do so.....as long as it is done correctly and the fish is consumed I have no issue with it.

Teaser is also entitled to his opinion though perhaps a bit hair triggered with it I understand where he is coming from.

That fish just curled up and died the moment it was shot, no fight, just instantaneous death.

Well congrads to the spear fisher, I think I'll stick with rod and reel.

I think that is the skill of it. If you shoot it wrong you are dragged all over on a single breath of air. and he is deep. look how long it takes him to swim up to take a breath.

I think a lot of the 'sport' is just having the physical ability to swim down there, tolerate the pressure, hold your breath that long, and still get off a good shot. I bet that 95% of us aren't in any shape to do that right now and I bet 75% of us never could do that.

I speak for experience. I used to swim competitively for many years and used to free dive to catch crawfish. Now it's sad that I get winded from sprinting to catch the bus!

That was cool!!

Nice shot as well!

Did I notice he was diving without a tank?

It would be even easier with a tank full of air waiting for a fish to swim by, seems kinda tough without a tank as you can only stay down for so long.

It would have been even better to see him with the fish on shore.

breath hold spearfishing is very sporting.that guy put a lot of days on the water to get that fish.anybody that think its like shooting fish in a barrel need to try it some time.good for him!

I'm neutral on this...
 

but as far as tanks go... I've talked to a numer of spearfishers/hunters. If you use a tank the fish are GONE. At least that's what I've been told

I didn't intend to start an argument, nor advocate spear fishing. I posted that link because I was encouraged by the size of all of those stripers, only a couple of weeks ago, just off Block Island. And it is a cool perspective.

If we talk advantage -- fish vs. man...wouldn't the fish have the advantage if the man is underwater with no tank...when we get to breath and fight (fishing from the surface) then it is more equal fight.

sol...

Spearing aint my cup of tea; but thats a nice fish either way...
to each his own; a dead bass is a dead bass, and while I'd prefer that 60 to have ended up on my line, it's still caught... props to him on a good clean shot, right in the spine, quick death....

It was a nice fish and that was certainly a school Id like to toss some plugs at but I have trouble believing that was the actual 60. Didnt seem to have the girth one expects of any fish over 50 and didnt seem all that long in comparison to the spear itself, tho I know those guns come in different lengths. Tough to know for sure without any firm reference point to judge size.

I've never seen a 60#er in person, probably never will, but I was thinking the same as Vermonter. Maybe the belly/girth doesn't sag as much as I thought it would is because water is supporting it? Whatever, fish is a beauty and it died quick. Give the guy credit for getting down to them, when I was a kid I busted my eardrum and now I can't dive more than ~10 ft. I can see how some disaprove, but I think it it falls under ethical hunting.

i used to spearfish alot in highschool so let me stop some misinformation right now.. 1st a fish under water looks smaller than it does out of the water... 2nd, you get to chose what fish you kill for dinner, while a rod and reel guy has to cull until he gets something he can legaly keep. 3rdly, there is no catch and release.. you go out and shoot a fish or 2 then you are done. Fourthly and most importantly, if you think that is not sporting, i would like to see someone stand on the high tide line, hold their breath.. run down to the water, cast, reel, hook a fish, land it, then drag it back to the high tide line...... all while holding your breath.

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:

Careful nebe;
fly fishing aint all bad, I dont think we should generalize; ultra light tackle is what does the damage, especially in warm water when the mortaolity rate is already high....

80% of the guys that i see flyfish are using ultra light gear.

sorry i broke my silence :fishslap:

Almost 36 hours....not bad! :bgi:

Agree... Getting a fish in quick and turned around fast on crimped barbs is better for the fish than sporting it with ultra-light gear - fly or spin...

As for Spearfishing - seems sporting to me. As for ethical or not? Well, it's legal...

Sol - I don't think this was a hijack or start of a fight but I can see how this would be a contentious issue.... THanks for the link...

had to add my ten cents..

see ya :cheers:

I was agreeing that fly is usually light tackle; but wanted to say all ultra light, not just fly... this applies to guys releasing lots of big fish on 15lb spin gear on live eels; and doing it daily as a charter captain.....

Hard to believe that is a 60# fish. It looked very thin with no gut but there is nothing in the video to give it perspective.