Spearfishing for carp

M
MikePierce170
FINALLY, I was successful spearfishing for carp (the proper way). This has been a long time coming and also marks the first time I've been able to dive since breaking my hand over a month ago. It felt so good to finally be back in the water hunting for fish again!

This body of water initially caught my eye from Google Maps. It's closely connected to the Columbia and as we all know if it's connected to the Columbia it should theoretically hold carp. When I pulled up to the lake I had a quick chat with this older guy getting out. He said he'd never seen carp here but plenty of smallmouth bass and walleye. He asked me how I was going to fish for carp and I told him either by bow or by spear lol. He raised an eyebrow and told me if I see any walleye to just give them to him hahaha. Since I'd never fished this water before I asked about the depths and he gave me a quick layout of where the shallow and deep spots were.

Once he pulled out I launched my boat and found a spot that looked good and anchored up. On my first dive I saw a few trout and a smallmouth. Then on my second dive I spotted my target and blasted him. I was so excited! Once I got the fish back to the boat I had to take a moment to marvel at my accomplishment :lol:. The rest of the day went really well. Visibility was in the 6-10ft range depending on location. I didn't get a chance to look at the water temps but my deepest dive was 29ft. Although carp are bottom feeders I found most in shallower water and also suspended just above the thermocline. In fact one of the bigger ones I shot (15.75lbs) was hanging out with 2 other carp right above the thermocline. I ended up sneak attacking them like a god damn ninja from underneath. Poor guys had no idea what was coming :D. I also set a new personal best! My biggest carp taken is now 18 pounds. He fought like a champ too.

I did learn a couple valuable lessons though. 1.) ALWAYS have a freshly sharpened spear tip when fishing for carp. There were a couple carp (like one in the video) I shot that either spun off or didn't penetrate deep enough to hold them. 2.) NEVER head shot a carp. I have a good habit of shooting fish in the head because it wastes no meat and can also kill them instantly. Carp, however, have a head made entirely of thick bone! It took me quite a while to pull my spear out of the first one. I learned my lesson after the second carp and began shooting them in the body haha. It made retrieving the spear much easier. Plus, they seemed to fight a lot harder too. And 3.) ALWAYS make sure you've got an empty SD card in your GoPro before recording. My dumbass forgot to erase the previous trips footage which is why I only ended up capturing a few shots. Sorry guys, next time! And trust me there WILL be a next time very soon. [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i244.photobucket.com\/albums\/gg3\/Ginna_may\/Dziekuje.gif"}[/IMG2]

 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: igquick, OnTheFly, FishFinger and 2 others
E
eugene1
Good sized carp there, and it looks like you got that spear fishing dialed in pretty well.

Nice hat too, "Carp on the fly". And John Montana wept. LOL.

On a more serious note, glad your hand is healed up, how did you break it? I'm envisioning a massive punch to an opponents face?

Best & you always post good stuff!
 
M
MikePierce170
eugene1 said:
Good sized carp there, and it looks like you got that spear fishing dialed in pretty well.

Nice hat too, "Carp on the fly". And John Montana wept. LOL.

On a more serious note, glad your hand is healed up, how did you break it? I'm envisioning a massive punch to an opponents face?

Best & you always post good stuff!

Thanks Eugene1. I broke my hand training for a fight I had scheduled at the end of this month actually. It happened little over a month ago when I was sparing. We were wearing all the typical safety gear but I still managed to break my hand throwing a left hook to his head. Oh well, I'm on the downhill side of things now.

And yes I have my spearfishing dialed in. In fact it's been dialed in for awhile now. I typically spearfish out in the ocean where visibility can be upwards of 20+ft on a good day. I was fortunate enough to have "workable" viz in this particular location. I'll be trying other spots soon too.

I sent the picture of me wearing John's hat to him lol. He liked it.
 
O
OnTheFly
Excellent Mike! The knife stab was a video bonus! As promised, I will rep this one after I spread some around. Who wants a free rep?
 
M
MikePierce170
OnTheFly said:
Excellent Mike! The knife stab was a video bonus! As promised, I will rep this one after I spread some around. Who wants a free rep?

LoL thanks. I thought you'd appreciate the 3rd picture where I blew the carps face out with my spear :D
 
E
eugene1
Right on, Mike!

MikePierce170 said:
Thanks Eugene1. I broke my hand training for a fight I had scheduled at the end of this month actually. It happened little over a month ago when I was sparing. We were wearing all the typical safety gear but I still managed to break my hand throwing a left hook to his head. Oh well, I'm on the downhill side of things now.

And yes I have my spearfishing dialed in. In fact it's been dialed in for awhile now. I typically spearfish out in the ocean where visibility can be upwards of 20+ft on a good day. I was fortunate enough to have "workable" viz in this particular location. I'll be trying other spots soon too.

I sent the picture of me wearing John's hat to him lol. He liked it.
 
GraphiteZen
GraphiteZen
Spearfishing for carp... LOL
 
Last edited:
GraphiteZen
GraphiteZen
What depth is that? Looks about 15' - 20'? Pretty cool stuff!
 
M
MikePierce170
GraphiteZen said:
What depth is that? Looks about 15' - 20'? Pretty cool stuff!

I was diving between 10-29ft. Probably gonna do it again on Friday haha. It was such a blast.
 
GraphiteZen
GraphiteZen
MikePierce170 said:
I was diving between 10-29ft. Probably gonna do it again on Friday haha. It was such a blast.

It looks like so much fun. I have no diving experience with tanks, but I do go down the Siletz a lot in my Kayak with just a mask, snorkel, and some fins to dive for crawdad. Of course I have my own system, with mesh bags, and buoys, and smashed up chickens and all- it's SO much fun. I get distracted though looking for gear hahah. But what you're doing that would be like the primal hunt, way more fun than snatching crawdads! haha
 
M
MikePierce170
I'm not on tanks either. I'm just freediving bro. I haven't been scuba diving for awhile. You could use some of these carp for crawdad bait :)
 
GraphiteZen
GraphiteZen
MikePierce170 said:
I'm not on tanks either. I'm just freediving bro. I haven't been scuba diving for awhile. You could use some of these carp for crawdad bait :)

Oh I know you were freediving, I guess I figured you have experience diving because I have seen threads of you in the salt doing this stuff, which seems a little riskier. Anyhow, pretty cool!! And yes on the crawdad bait, lot cheaper and a lot more fun to *buy* haha
 
M
MikePierce170
You're right, I do have dive experience. And yes I do this out in the ocean as well, which is amazing. It's only riskier because white sharks swim around haha. At least in the freshwater around here I know nothing can eat me.

My goal this summer is to dive freedive with a whale. I came close several months back. I'll make sure to get video :)
 
M
MikePierce170
Lol what a dummy. I NEVER dive with shark bait tied to my waist. In all honesty we're not on their menu. But when you tie a typical meal to your ass, sometimes you'll get bit. Your friend was lucky.
 
GraphiteZen
GraphiteZen
MikePierce170 said:
Lol what a dummy. I NEVER dive with shark bait tied to my waist. In all honesty we're not on their menu. But when you tie a typical meal to your ass, sometimes you'll get bit. Your friend was lucky.

Well it was my cousin's buddy, I don't know the guy, but I'll admit that was also my first thought hahah. It's bad enough having to haul your body around, that's too much bait as it is! At least that's what your head is telling you!
 
I
igquick
damn that's some crazy footage; Im thinking of saving up for a go pro now
 
M
MikePierce170
igquick said:
damn that's some crazy footage; Im thinking of saving up for a go pro now

It would be a great investment for you igquick. Then you won't have strange ladies with their crazy commentary rambling on while you reel in a fish lol. I'm sure if you check Craigslist you can find something in your price range. Definitely get the GoPro 3+ if you can afford it. I'm still working with the GoPro 2. I'll be upgrading when I can though.

Tomorrow I'm headed to the Lagoon to see if I can find some fish :). I heard visibility was in the 12ft range, which would be awesome!
 
Admin
Admin
GraphiteZen said:
Spearfishing for carp... LOL

Be careful, dude! What if Mike will close his spearfishing for carp season and open his spearfishing for dudes, hanging on the poles and joking, season? )
 
GraphiteZen
GraphiteZen
Anatoliy said:
Be careful, dude! What if Mike will close his spearfishing for carp season and open his spearfishing for dudes, hanging on the poles and joking, season? )

lol yeah we do hang on the poles and joke around a lot... And hang out on the ground and joke.. and hang out in the bar and joke. He shouldn't have a hard time finding us. lol
 
Admin
Admin
GraphiteZen said:
lol yeah we do hang on the poles and joke around a lot... And hang out on the ground and joke.. and hang out in the bar and joke. He shouldn't have a hard time finding us. lol
:D
 

Similar Threads

Top Bottom