Pole spear intro

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Trey9123

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Location
Greenville, South Carolina
I'm in the market to get either a pole spear or a Hawaiian Sling and I do not know which one to buy. I really don't know anything about either of them, but I would like to learn to get fish without a gun. I do most of my diving off of SC so my targets will be hogs, spades, flounder, sheepsheads, and grouper up to about 15 lbs or so. If you have any recommendations on which one I should order, please send me a link to it, and give me a reason why you think that that one is the best. I have also heard that they make some which have a trigger mechanism which holds the spear in the cocked position until you are ready to fire it. If you know anything about this I would love to know how they work. Thanks.
 
I'm in the market to get either a pole spear or a Hawaiian Sling and I do not know which one to buy. I really don't know anything about either of them, but I would like to learn to get fish without a gun. I do most of my diving off of SC so my targets will be hogs, spades, flounder, sheepsheads, and grouper up to about 15 lbs or so. If you have any recommendations on which one I should order, please send me a link to it, and give me a reason why you think that that one is the best.

Check with the local dive shops. My guess would be pole spear. Hawaiian slings are more appropriate for clearer water.

I have also heard that they make some which have a trigger mechanism which holds the spear in the cocked position until you are ready to fire it. If you know anything about this I would love to know how they work. Thanks.

That's called a speargun :)
 
Trey,

You wouldn't buy a car without a test drive or marry someone without at least one date?

I teach U/W Hunter and always encourage new hunters to try each of the tools before they buy. Get your hands on a pole spear and a sling and play around with them your local pool/pond/lake or whatever shooting at practice targets. Get a feel for the effort it takes to draw and the max effective range you feel comfortable with.

Most people who hunt tend to favor one tool or another to the point of religion and will never be talked into even trying any other device. Which is fine if that works for them - try talking to folks in the Middle East into changing their religion through some amazing new argument - not gonna happen.

In any case most folks make these decisions without ever trying out the gadgets in practice. Instead they jump in the water line up on a fish and miss that first "huge" fish firing it for the first time. Then they decide it's crap and go back to whatever they are most comfortable with.

Personally, if I am going deeper and know that I may have the chance at a larger fish like grouper I tend to stick with the tried and true band gun. When we are inshore and "meat fishing" just to fill the freezer I find the pole spear or sling to be much simpler and easier to manage on smaller fish like hogs and snapper.

Also, check in with the crew over at spearboard.com and you will get more advice on this topic then you ever imagined possible.
 
I went ahead and ordered the Ray Odor for $60 shipped. It definitely seemed to be the most bang for the buck. I'll let everyone know what I think about it after I have given it a try.
 
Trey,
I've used both a hawaiian sling and various pole spears. Personally, I took to the pole spear simply because that is what felt right for me. I really enjoy the challenge of spearing with a pole spear. At times it can be much more challenging than using a gun but I find it much more rewarding when you land a nice fish. I also have a Ray Odor that I have had for quite a long time and I am very happy with it. Here is another recent post about pole spears that you might find useful. If you ever go spearing in the Bahamas you will have to do it freediving and with either a pole spear or a sling so practicing with these is time well spent.

Be sure and show us some of your fish when you get a chance to use it.
Also, what kind of tip did you go with?

-Chris
 
I have not ordered a tip yet. It comes with a single flopper, I was debating if I should order a paralyzer tip and a slip tip as well. What do you think?
 
I think you will be just fine with either one. I personally prefer the paraylyzer tip but there are many people that use the single flopper succesfully too.

There are pros and cons to either tip course. The paralyzer tip will go through the bony head like butter which facilitates getting a kill shot on larger fish. The down side is that they can slide off easier so you need to pin them down immedately and grab them by the gills. The single flopper does not penetrate a bony head as easily as the paralzyer but if you get the flopper to pass through the fish has little chance of wiggling off the spear. With either tip it is good practice to pin the fish down immediately after spearing and grab the fish by the gils ASAP.
 

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