Spear fisherman regs kinda Retarded!

[bones]

I was up in SB this weekend and for the last month there has been a real nice DFG lady just hitting up every fisherman who comes in and getting info on their catches of the day. Last week she told me that there were 25 legal halibut taken outside of the harbor but most of them were taken by spear fisherman.I asked her what the size limit was for spear fisherman and she promptly replied "Same as you.... 22 inches".
I then looked at her and asked her how a guy under the water....in murky conditions....hunting a fish that buries itself in sand....can tell if the fish is 23 inches or 21 inches?
She said "I don't know"
It kinda makes me wonder how many shorties get a hole poked through them and then are discarded when the spear dude sees that his judgement was just a little off. It's kinda hard to CPR a fish with a hole through it's body.
Am I missing something or Do you all think that the legal size limit on Halibut for spear fisherman should be maybe five inches larger in order to prevent alot of shorties from dying and early death?

[Sinjin Kim]

I was up in SB this weekend and for the last month there has been a real nice DFG lady just hitting up every fisherman who comes in and getting info on their catches of the day. Last week she told me that there were 25 legal halibut taken outside of the harbor but most of them were taken by spear fisherman.I asked her what the size limit was for spear fisherman and she promptly replied "Same as you.... 22 inches".
I then looked at her and asked her how a guy under the water....in murky conditions....hunting a fish that buries itself in sand....can tell if the fish is 23 inches or 21 inches?
She said "I don't know"
It kinda makes me wonder how many shorties get a hole poked through them and then are discarded when the spear dude sees that his judgement was just a little off. It's kinda hard to CPR a fish with a hole through it's body.
Am I missing something or Do you all think that the legal size limit on Halibut for spear fisherman should be maybe five inches larger in order to prevent alot of shorties from dying and early death?

If spear fishermen had a longer minimum size requirement, don't you think there will more more undersized fish accidentally speared? I think it would be more difficult to see if a fish is 22" versus 25" in the water. I would think a rule of thumb for spear fishermen is "when in doubt, don't shoot."

[Wingnut]

Damn, the poor Halibut have to run that kind of gauntlet just to get to me on the beach? :Shocked: It makes me feel even better now when I release them. :Envious:

[bones]

If spear fishermen had a longer minimum size requirement, don't you think there will more more undersized fish accidentally speared? I think it would be more difficult to see if a fish is 22" versus 25" in the water. I would think a rule of thumb for spear fishermen is "when in doubt, don't shoot."

You do make a good point but I've snorkled many times and most of the spear fisherman working the areas close to the harbor in water 15 or 20 ft are not wearing tanks. So most of them are holding their breath. Oxygen deprevation could definately play a role in regards to judgement of size. After talking to the DFG lady I got this vision of a guy sticking a 20 incher and going ooops.....my bad....and then letting the shortie float to the bottom to become shark and crab food. I guess I shouldn't pass judgement on the spear fisherman until I talk with a few of them and try to understand how they tell if the halibut is legal prior to spearing it. Maybe they spook it first to get a better idea of it's size before chasing it down for the final stick. Time to do some research I think.

[otisdis]

I have always wondered the same thing. I am sure that some people will keep the shorts if they happen to "misjudge" the fish size.

[FishermanStu]

i spear fish and have talked with guys about spearfishing for halibut and most of them say they dont shoot unless they are sure. you have to think most guys spearfishing know about the regs. and of course some probably take a few shorties but dont regular fisherman take shorts too. and i am pretty sure i see a lot less spear fishermen than i see guys fishing with a rod

[fish_sauce]

this reminds me of a conversation i had with a buddy on spearfishing a while back...

he told me that he had "released" about three decent sized fish during his spearfishing outing that morning. confused, i asked him "how the hell are you supposed to safely release a speared fish?"

His reply was "i didn't spear them at all." At first, i didn't understand the notion of swimming around with a freaken speargun if you are not going to use it when the opportunity presented itself...but as i had more time to think about it, and the nature of the sport, it makes perfect sense. It is in the same line as why we catch and release fish with hook and line fishing. The spearfisher has an advantage in that he can be selective about his take, and it is up to his sole discrepancy to practice restraint and good judgement or not. If an individual doesn't have this ability to regulate his own actions, it doesn't really matter what laws you pass or what rules you amend...because they will be broken anyway, the same way that there are hook and line fishermen who keep short fish.

[klocked]

It's amazing just how many large ones are in there mixed in with the shorts. The spear guys have an advantage over fishermen and can be alot more selective. My dad and I used to spearfish down at Torrance Beach close to Topaz jetty and we'd just look for butts that were obviously legal.

And just because we throw LC's at them, it doesn't mean that we will catch or have caught the biggest fish in the area. There's alot of big fish out there that won't find out the hard way what the LC and other unatural presentations are all about.

[klocked]

i spear fish and have talked with guys about spearfishing for halibut and most of them say they dont shoot unless they are sure. you have to think most guys spearfishing know about the regs. and of course some probably take a few shorties but dont regular fisherman take shorts too. and i am pretty sure i see a lot less spear fishermen than i see guys fishing with a rod

You mean poachers right? :LOL:

[one_leg]

You guys are silly. We all carry tape measures, just like you guys.

[Cangler]

You guys are silly. We all carry tape measures, just like you guys.


Do you measure each others ? ....

[so cal shaggy]

Hey guys, just wanted to add to your discussion regarding spearfishing. In Ca freediving is the only way sucessful spearfishermen take large fish. We are very very selective I myself will come home empty handed due to only targeting a specific species and if I do not see that species I do not shoot a fish. Judging the length of a halibut is not very hard and in fact spotting halibut underwater is pretty tough and most if not all persons new to the sport will not see halibut until they have progressed to consistantly being able to take large fish due to being able to see a halibut. Most new spearfishermen need to learn the types of habitat that halibut frequent which only comes from spending time in the water and when the conditions are not good i.e. bad visibility, heavy surge and heavy surf most beginners do no enter the water in areas around breakwaters and jetties so only experienced divers are in the water who have the experience to determine the size of a halibut before taking the shot.

[bones]

I really appreciate all of the input guys!
That's why I'm still a FNN member for the last 4 years. There is a wealth of knowledge here in this forum and I for one will always be learning. I knew that there had to be something I was missing and wanted to further my knowledge. I will stick with the good old hook,line and sinker though....LOL

[Wildhorse1966]

I will stick with the good old hook,line and sinker though....LOL



this is what i said 6 months ago but 2 months ago i took a scuba class and i am now certified i have not picked up my rod sence i got certified the beauty you will see while underwater is unmatched while sitting in a boat shore or pier .. i really recomend you try it out

as far as spearfishing goes .. i cant comment too much i ordered my speargun 2 days ago and i will have it friday but when underwater you will see alot of fish ... and your not going to pick the barely leagal one to shoot you want a challenge so you will try for the bigger smarter one ...

now another reason to dive is because we are 4 weeks away from lobster season i cant wait to start hunting for them