# Losing pike from spear



## deerhunter2881 (Sep 7, 2010)

Last 2 times I’ve went spearing I’ve made solid hits and while retrieving my spear the pike has got off the spear and escaped. My spear has good barbs and it usually takes both feet to remove the fish from my spear. Any help is appreciated


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

deerhunter2881 said:


> Last 2 times I’ve went spearing I’ve made solid hits and while retrieving my spear the pike has got off the spear and escaped. My spear has good barbs and it usually takes both feet to remove the fish from my spear. Any help is appreciated


Easy does it recovering your spear....gently ,gently.
Or ,pin them to the bottom and leave them a while.
Or ,add a bridle to your spearhead to allow turning it then bringing it up tines first.
You claim good barbs ,but a picture would confirm it.
Consider the damage created , and what is actually holding your fish after.


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## deerhunter2881 (Sep 7, 2010)

Waif said:


> Easy does it recovering your spear....gently ,gently.
> Or ,pin them to the bottom and leave them a while.
> Or ,add a bridle to your spearhead to allow turning it then bringing it up tines first.
> You claim good barbs ,but a picture would confirm it.
> Consider the damage created , and what is actually holding your fish after.





deerhunter2881 said:


> Last 2 times I’ve went spearing I’ve made solid hits and while retrieving my spear the pike has got off the spear and escaped. My spear has good barbs and it usually takes both feet to remove the fish from my spear. Any help is appreciated





Waif said:


> Easy does it recovering your spear....gently ,gently.
> Or ,pin them to the bottom and leave them a while.
> Or ,add a bridle to your spearhead to allow turning it then bringing it up tines first.
> You claim good barbs ,but a picture would confirm it.
> Consider the damage created , and what is actually holding your fish after.


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## deerhunter2881 (Sep 7, 2010)

What is a bridle and how does it work


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## maddiedog (Nov 21, 2008)

I'm not sure but feel like the big barbs and flat stock open holes. I have one spear it happens with.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

See the flat slices cut through fish?
A fish run through up to end of tines has gaps as wide as barbs and tines.( Center tine excepted ,but consider the slice of the trhree center tines and what is left to hold with).
Don' t do it ,or take insult...but removing everyother tine ,and doubling barb lengths might hold better. Your heads design is more knife than harpoon. Different purposes.

Native used a variety of types . One single tine with multiple barbs for fish was one type. For muskrat ,a single tine and barb. Accuracy matters when basically harpooning ....but tine and barb design does too. Consider the Eskimo " toggle" type ,how it evolved ,and why it works ...


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## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

A round tine spear with poor barbs will hold a thrashing fish better than a flat tine spear with giant barbs.

You're getting poor penetration, or the barbs aren't gripping anything on the pull because everything has been destroyed. 

Plus, think of what happens to a square hole with thrashing - it becomes a round hole. A round hole with thrashing stays a round hole. 

My suggestion is only take close shots with that spear, and throw like you're trying to cut the fish in half.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Barbs can be cutting like a pull saw too. They are not dull sided or blunt/ shelf topped between tine and barb tips.

A bridle is a loop of stout cordage secured to head to tie too. ( Vs drilling a hole somewhere.) Rope must then run along shaft of spear to end of handle ,a rubber band can hold it to handle end when set to allow releasing after fish is speared. Consider just doubling rope section near end of spear and putting the loop under the band.
By lifting spear from head end ,fish are gravity driven ( in theory) towards handle. Plus being disorientated.


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## Mr. Botek (Mar 15, 2011)

What Waif was attempting to say is tie your rope at the spear head. This will allow the fish & spear to turn over and come up point first on the retrieve for less thrashing. Hold the rope along the spear shaft with your throwing hand while dropping it. 

The next alternative is to take a file and round the tines above the barbs. 

Last resort, purchase a round tine spear.

Join us in the Darkhouse spearing sub-forum for more helpful tips.


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## deerhunter2881 (Sep 7, 2010)

Thank you everyone for the advise. I do think a new spear is in my future. I’ve been using this one for about 4 years now and this is the first I’ve had this problem and hope it’s the last. I’ll definitely try the bridle technique and be more gentle


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## junkman (Jan 14, 2010)

When I was a kid my Dad speared pike in the winter.From what I remember he would always get a gaff hook on them as soon as he could.The gaff he used was as long as the spear.


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## Austin Kopas (Jan 2, 2018)

There's a thousand ways to skin a car but I like to hold the spear i, one hand and the slack line i, the other. When I spear a like I dont let it touch bottom. Of it tries to swim I I use the rope to let it pivot. Once you can grab the spear keep it verticle until the pike is at the surface. I then pin the pike against the ice as I pull it out of the hole.... Pinning it to the bottom works well but makes a mess


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## maddiedog (Nov 21, 2008)

ausable_steelhead said:


> How many fish are wasted spearing every winter? I always cringe reading posts like this. That fish has got to be dead after being stuck, then ripping off.


 How many steelhead die from being overplayed and hooked in the gills? Crap happens. Part of the deal. Nobody does it on purpose.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

ausable_steelhead said:


> How many fish are wasted spearing every winter? I always cringe reading posts like this. That fish has got to be dead after being stuck, then ripping off.


You expect a study of what happens to dead fish here? 
Cold water preserves some winter kills. Multiple creatures eat dead fish into spring and beyond. Even pike do.
How many are wasted? I have no idea. Have not seen any in over 40years as a result of spearing through the ice, yet.........Though did not inspect all dead fish spotted for potential cause of death. 
Have seen dead fish as a result of other known ,and unknown causes though. 
One lucky young bow was freed from a mono tether to a snag one Jan. or Feb.. Not sure how it fared after,would you know ?
I did not go online and ask how many others had such fates. Maybe I should?


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

It was a simple question. No reason to get so defensive over it. I’ll just get rid of it, and you can carry on.


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## Mr. Botek (Mar 15, 2011)

ausable_steelhead said:


> How many fish are wasted spearing every winter? I always cringe reading posts like this. That fish has got to be dead after being stuck, then ripping off.


Actually, it makes us that spear cringe a little as well. Nobody regardless of the method that they prefer to fish, wishes to lose a fish that they would have kept, and know that it will likely "go to waste". I put that in quotes because the reality is that is won't go to waste, it just won't be consumed by a human. Other animals, microscopic to large, will use that fish for sustenance.

People that spear through the ice hate to lose fish. That's why we work so hard together to help each other prevent it by improved equipment and methods. 

I won't go into an us vs. them debate, it's enough to say that all angling methods have fish mortality that aren't consumed by people. It is our goal as a spearing community to not pit one angling group against another.


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## maddiedog (Nov 21, 2008)

ausable_steelhead said:


> It was a simple question. No reason to get so defensive over it. I’ll just get rid of it, and you can carry on.


If I could change mine I would as well. Didn't mean to come off strong. It's the one thing we really all work to not have happen. Same as archery hunters trying not to lose a deer.


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## springbobberdown (Jan 10, 2012)

Tie off at the head and practice your throw, (I did most of practicing after I was done for the day and didn't care about spooking fish) because there is a little different rope management, and retrieve slow. I haven't lost a fish that was hit well in a few years. Upon impact the weight of the spear spins the fish upside down. This causes disorientation and also now has the weight of the fish being supported by the head of spear, not the tines. Keep at it. Several great spear makers on the dark house forum.


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