aluminum or fiber glass

[JHO007]

I have an assortment of them from 5ft fiberglass with the paralyzer to an 8ft aluminum with a twin barb rock point spinner tip. I would say that the paralyzer is only good for smaller fish. I'm not saying that you cant take big fish, but its harder.

http://www.spearfishing.cc/Pole Spears.htm

That is the best bang for the buck polespear you will ever find. And its made by a spearfishing legend with great customer support.

By the time you buy a fiberglass/JBL aluminum pole spear then get a good tip for it, you can have the Ray Odor one and then some.

If you wanna spend more there is a Gat-Ku, Manny Puig, Henley, or Rydel.

But that is probly more than you wanna get into.

For most fish you will probably run into the Ray Odor will work great and last for years.

Jason

 

[dumpsterDiver]

The spearfishing site above has the best aluminum pole spears for the money available. I carry it as a back up on nearly all scuba dives. This pole spear is much stronger than the jbl pole speat, which you can easily prezetel with on big fish. Unless you are flying, I see no good reason to get a 3 piece pole spear, it just makes it mor expensive and provides a failure point.

 

[Nautical Dreamer]

I highly recomend the Ray Odor pole. Exelent quality, fast shipping, and great price. If money is no object the best pole spear out there is the Many Pug but you could get 2 or 3 Ray Odors for the same price.

 

[musicalmike]

All of these responses giving you the differences between the two are correct. You also need to take into consideration what your shooting, how big is the fish,and how far away it is? Are you really going to travel with this spear on a airplane? Do you NEED a breakdown? It is cool how little space they can take up, but what if you accidently drop one of the treaded ends onto the cement and disfigure the threading? This kind of part is not readily available at most stores. Eliminate variables and you have less of a chance with a problem resulting. I'm not saying this will happen but it can. A solid one piece 5/8"diam spear is usually sufficient. Are you going to be an avid pole spear fisherman or do you plan on shooting fish further then 6-8'? If so, don't waist your money on a pole spear (as they are real limited in terms of range) and get speargun.

 

[Surface Tension]

Don't use the solid fiberglass as they flex and are not accurate. I was just in the Bahamas and got to use a solid aluminum and also a hollow JBL. Although the solid would have more power it was MUCH slower because it was heaver and did not have the range. The hollow shaft was also easier to grip and did not fatigure my hand as much. I would go with at least 6' JBL with a breakaway tip.

 

[JHO007]

The fiberglass ones will flex, but it is predictable. Meaning you can become accurate with a fiberglass polespear. They are not the best, but i wouldn't call them inaccurate.

And as far as skipping the polespear, and jumping strait to a gun I wouldn't entirely agree with that. I have noticed that as a generalization,(remember exceptions to every rule) people who polespear first are able to sneak up on fish better than those who don't. It teaches you patience and stalking skills.

There are area's that the polespear isn't a practical tool, but for the most part It will get the job done.

 

[aowdan]

my fiberglass (if used without gloves) leaves shards of glass in your hands for weeks:no . for some reason, even with gloves i have not used it for about 6 months

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I have a gun, but when I want flounder, the polespear is my goto tool. There is no substitute for the polespear for certain catch.

 

[Chad Carney]

A simple twist will stop a flexible polespear from bowing.

Light spears, whether aluminum or fiberglass, are very fast and good for small quick fish like snapper.

Heavier poles are much stronger, but slower. I've got a Ray Odor 3-piece.

In clear water I prefer a Hawaiian sling.

Chad

 

[Mambo Dave]

A dive buddy has a super-nice collapsable (sp?) aluminum pole spear (ot sure of the make, it threads together, and is black), and I have the general yellow fiberglass spear with a paralyzer tip. Both are 8-foot long.

Here's what I've noticed: The fiberglass bows on the initial shot, seemingly absorbing the slightly off-angle force being applied to it from the strap. I feel that it is due to this ability that it is more accurate than the aluminum pole spear. Both of us are more accurate with the fiberglass one, but for any big fish I'd surely want the aluminum one.