Spear building advice?

[S. Haynie]

Hi,

Just getting started and I'd like to make a smaller scale pole spear. I'm fresh water for now but wouldn't mind the option of taking a salt trip. Mostly shooting from my kayak.

In looking at spear prices I saw a huge range.

Some of the more reasonable one are solid fiberglass. I'm also into the DIY thing. Have a lathe and good tool skils as well as knowledge of adhesives and such.

I want to start with a shortish, smaller one. Are these materials ok to use and which is prefered? Or Tube?

Google good winds dot com.


Also how do you get a fish off and onthe stringer?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[Johnoly]

Also how do you get a fish off and onthe stringer?

I'm not a pole spearo so maybe others have good advice.

To put a fish on the stringer, I use a 'one handed ' stringer. You can find them on the web anywhere. I open the stringer with one hand while I have the fish pinned to the sand with my left hand in his gills. I put the pointy tip of the stringer into his eyes and then out the other eye while my spear is still in the fish. Only after you have the stringer secured to yourself or a float, do I then remove the spear and continue the dive.

You might also incorporate a quick release on the stringer incase you get dragged down the reef by a shark and can let go easily then.

 

[S. Haynie]

Ok, so pole spear building is at the moment not worth while. I found a 6' JBL on Amazon with free shipping for cheaper than I can build one for raw materials cost. However this was my as yet unproven design. Curious to know what you guys think.

Fiber glass tube 1/2" I/D for the first 2/3.

Fiber glass solid 1/2" rod for the last 1/3.
(I actually get this locally at the farm supply for 2.49 for 5'
stiff stuff too, it's white. Store is Theisens).

A fiber glass ferule over the joint. Part numbers will be below. SOME minor working of the glass is necessary to make some parts fit. I have a lathe but it could be done with a file and a wooden jig.

J.B. Weld over the joint under the ferule and slip in sleeve.

A 3" section of seamless stainless tubing with a 1"coupling nut (5/16 thread)welded in on center.(you could cut $8.50 but also some fwd weight by just welding in a stainless 6mm bolt).

The I.D. here is a tad small for the tip of the solid rod so again you'll need to sand/file and J.B. weld it on. Also J.B. weld or faster drying marine epoxy can be used to make a sculpted transition tip.

I also considered using a through pin here. drill through everything cross wise at the tip say 1/8" and counter sink both holes. cut a piece of 1/8" brass rod a little long and slide it through. peen both ends over on an anvile or heavy plate and a curved hammer till its tight and locked. File the excess.

The "travel pole extension tip" threads onto the welded tip and your tip of choice will thread onto that.

Again. sub the nut (which is pricy) for a stainless screw at 6mm and choice of tips will fit directly on. This will cut some weight off the front end for better or worse.

Having never polespear fished before I don't know if a more dense weight foreward design is even desireable. I know that it's good for arrows. where most of the weight is in the tip. Ancient crossbow bolts were actually turned and sculpted to give more density and mass (with a lifting body design) at the front.

Under water I have no idea. But we aren't shooting the pole 200 yards are we? I'd think max killing range is 2x pole length provided the band comes off your wrist cleanly. Other wise kill zone is within the length of the pole pluss a small margin. So I may have over thought it a bit. I know it needs to be rigid and have enough mass to punch through, big carp in my case. What I don't know about is if the mass design will cause tailing and such.

I know hawian slings and many spears are more or less uniform density/weight down their length. Slings are simply a long stainless rod with a point and a flopper.

Before I decided to go the pole spear route I made a minature Hawian Sling with a rubber band, BBQ skewer and pen tube using a kite string to work on a retrieval system. I got it to puncture a card board box the length of my garrage away and not foul the string on a consistant basis. Water would create drag on the retrieval string and shorten effective range bat as a sense of a small scale version I think it worked.

That might be cheaper to make also but the Pole appeals to me more.

my cost break down.
Fiber Glass tube black pull truded $8.99
60" X .602" O.d. X 4.999 I.D
Good Winds
item 7037

Solid Fiber glass 1/2" Rod
48" black $4.49
Item 007362B

Fiberglass ferrule connector $0.79
black
.602" O.D. X .500" I.D.
item 007119

FASTENAL $2.37
5/8" Stainless steel steel tubing
I.D. .495"
Sold by the inch for a 3" piece
item 0950746

Stainless coupling nut 5/16" $8.11
1" long
item number 77943

scubasworld
Spear tip $9.99
travel extension $9.00
wrist sling $7.95

Marine Epoxy putty (J.B. Weld) $4.50

$56.19
shippings $12.00
$68.19

 

[S. Haynie]

Oh, thanks for that tip above. Sharks aren't a concern, however gettign tangled or caught in fast current and tied to a big fish is.

the local carp are really big. I'll try to get my first few kills up.

I'm actually a bit nervous about this. Unless you spine them or brain them in the shot they don't just flop over dead. I'll be in my kayak most of the time shooting down or out to the sides. I'l need to learn to manage the fish and my gear and such. Think everything through. Have a plan.

I had visions of being attached to the spear which is attached to a big carp that takes off and crosses UNDER the kayak = swiming Scott probably tangled in paddle keper rope, spear rope and dumped gear.

I'm thinking of clipping off the spear with 20' - 30' feet of line to the fwd 1/3 of the kayak and just let go of the spear and let the fish drag me around untill I can get the rope and manage the situation. Then there is no real leverage to flip me. I manage the rope till the fish is drained, get it close, brain it and string it, then God knows what.

Mostly we have real low visability. So free diving isn't really an option. Luckilly my prey loves super shallow water.

 

[cmburch]

I made a pole spear from some round aluminum stock. Tapped threaded holes in the ends and connect with threaded stainless steel. I bought a JBL polespear slip tip for it from LeisurePro.

Ray Odor
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I sometimes use a 35' floatline tied off to my board.

 

[S. Haynie]

What is the deal with float lines? I'm in fresh water so I think it needs to be really thick duty. The stuff costs almost as much as the rest of the equipment togeather. Then the floats are unexpectedly pricy.

I'm suprised someone hasn't made a float that doubles as a gear case. A good rubber gasket would make it all work.

I understand why it needs to float. And I assume that the float lines are bungie types to asist in fighting fish and wearing them out. But couldn't you use tie in a section of surgical tube to a floating utility rope and get the same benefits for much less cost?

I understand why the line needs to float. It will prevent tangling on structure and diver entanglements mostly.

 

[S. Haynie]

Yea I did some more looking and found that allot are solid alluminum. I got to looking at my lathe and I don't really have the capcity to work long pieces on the end for boring and such. Well I guess I could make a stabalizing jig. I can't just slide the pole throught he jaws and out the back side. A keeper pin in the pully assembly blocks access. The hole is small anyway.

Afer looking at my JBL I know I could make workable spears at home. I may make a few. I'd prefer bright colors somewhere near the end to help finding it in murky water.

 

[S. Haynie]

Ok, So I spent a little more time sourcing materials and provided I'm not making one at a time or buying materials for one at a time it begins to make sense. Also I bought an attachment to allow me to mill some of the parts on my own lathe. That helps allot.

After getting my JBL in I realized I may have been over thinking things. Or not. IT was really light but you are supposed to flood it with water to give it the mass it need to punch through. I'll find out soon enough.

The most striking thing is that the stainless threaded tip is just an epoxied extension through an aluminum tube, Feels fairly thin walled. Super simple design. Looking at several Gat-Ku and Christ and others online I begin to think that I wasn't too far off. Mass ratios may need moving around. I plan to go ahead and make 2 or so. My thinking is that I can use T - 6061 aluminum and turn/bore it for a stainless shoulder bolt which will be epoxied in. That tip will also epoxy over the shaft tip with a pin. I also found aluminum and stainless tube sleeve at a bit better price.

What would be sweet is to make anadized aluminum parts in the hunting camo colors. I know splotchy patterns can be made. A fly reel company does it (loop?). I wouldn't be above painting the shafts also and then clear coating some how.

In looking at allot of fiber glass rods I found that some were aparently reliably smooth and others had splinters that hurt. I'd hate to get that from fireing.

Of course I only need one but shipping will be the same one materials for three or for the one so for a little more I'll make the extras and see if anyone is interested.

 

[ecnal]

I've only been spearfishing for a month or so, but I just make mine out of wooden dowels. :\

4 feet long, poplar. I drill a hole into the end of it, cut the head off a drywall screw and thread it in with pliers. Then I sharpen the dowel around the screw, making a few cone shapes into it as I go. A hole gets drilled into the end, and the surgical/workout band tubing goes through there.

I spear pretty shallow waters, maybe 5-15' deep. Mostly tautog and flounder. The screw really helps if I hit a rock (common when spearing flounder around here), it takes the brunt of the impact. After five to ten dives (snorkels), the screw usually ends up breaking out to the side. Then I redrill, rescrew, and resharpen. I can do that about three times before the spear gets too short to use. Then I buy a new one at lowes for under $2. The sling gets transferred to the new spear.

Sofar this year, I've spent no more than twelve dollars on quite a few spears, including the tubing.

 

[S. Haynie]

I'm having problems with my shaft bending, NOT from fish going nuts while attached but from teh impact I think.

I found a few more sources for carbon and wrapped braided carbon tubes. Tehre is a reason those carbon spears are so expensive. Raw materials for 48" is as much as some of the aluminum completed spears.