Who makes Spears.

[Ryleyboy]

If anyone had any tips on making spears like what woods and how to make a strong point on it please share this info. with me.:)

[canid]

i like to use hardwood saplings or sucker shoots under 2" diameter at the bottom, and around 1" diameter at the top of whatever length you would like the spear to be. i try to avoid any significant branches, as each branch tends to decrease the diameter of the trunk above them. this allows you to find fairly even diameters throughout the length. with soft hardwoods like maple, alder and poplar you can usualy get 6-7' shafts from 1.5" to 1".

i strip these of branches with a knife and then debark them. after this i remove any knots with the knife by scraping to flatter out any high spots and then gently turn it over a fire to help dry it out and harden it.

the point can be anything from a sharpened tip [not so strong] to a fire hardened tip, where you continue to cure the tip over the flame untill it begins to char, scrape it clean again and repeat, untill most of the moisture is driven off, and then touching up the point to desired sharpness.

you can additionally haft a point of some other material, such as metal or wood tines for spearing small game, reptiles and fish, with or without barbs, or add a single point of a stronger or sharper material such as metal, bone or knapped stone.

[Sam Reeves]

i strip these of branches with a knife and then debark them. after this i remove any knots with the knife by scraping to flatter out any high spots and then gently turn it over a fire to help dry it out and harden it.

the point can be anything from a sharpened tip [not so strong] to a fire hardened tip, where you continue to cure the tip over the flame untill it begins to char, scrape it clean again and repeat, untill most of the moisture is driven off, and then touching up the point to desired sharpness.

Have you ever tried to carve a barb in a spear made this way for the sake of fishing? I thought about it but never tried yet.

[canid]

i've tried a hand carved wooden barb on the main point of a hardwood spear for spearing salmon when i was a child. it didn't hold up to the tough sides of the fish, and i would now only try either barbs of a smaller diameter [to offer less surface area, and hence less friction for penetration] or use a more durable material. at least for fish of that size [15-20lb].

[Sam Reeves]

i've tried a hand carved wooden barb on the main point of a hardwood spear for spearing salmon when i was a child. it didn't hold up to the tough sides of the fish, and i would now only try either barbs of a smaller diameter [to offer less surface area, and hence less friction for penetration] or use a more durable material. at least for fish of that size [15-20lb].

Around here a 20 pound fish is a whale...

[canid]

yeah, alaska salmon are probably pretty rare in georgia.

my preffered barb material for a fishing spear would probably be heavy gauge steel wire, but i don't get much spear fishing done since i was little.

there are several split barb type fishing spear designs that work great if one is using all natural materials, such as those of split green wood tips whoe's barbs slip around the fish and use the barbs to retain them in that manner.

http://www.sd52.bc.ca/fnes/pdf/salmonsample.pdf [is easier to show an online example]

i want to do some proof of concept pictorials on some of these hunting and fishing technologies [even though they are largely time proven by various primitive/aboriginal cultures already] because i think it would be fun, and might be encouraging to some people online who are dubious about how effective these technologies are. from what i've experienced so far, they are definitely harder than using modern manufactured products.

[Army Ranger Rick]

In regards to your question in making spears....you might be interested in this article I've written that's listed on my website. If you want to know the name of my website and where this article appears, you'll have to contact me as it's against the forum rules here to list my own website in a posting. Unless someone else here wants to post my website URL for me.

I'll try to post the photos that appear with my article too, but if I can't, because I'm not a computer guru and I don't know much about computers. You'll have to go to my site to see those photos.

Here goes, I'll give it a try....

Spearing fish can be a challenge and fun. To successfully spear one it depends on the width & depth of the water + the size of the fish you're trying to spear + the type of spear head + your patience & throwing skills = fish meal.

But first let me tell you a story about a fella who goes by the name of "Buckshot." He once sent me a video showing how he uses “snare wire” to catch fish. Yep, you read right, a wire snare. And in his video he shows how he attaches the wire snare to the end of a stick and then goes walking through some water at night with a flashlight.

And yep, he sure did catch a bucket load of fish with his wire snare and stick and it was pretty impressive too. But the fish he was catching looked like they were either spawning upstream, trapped in creek or at some fish farm. Hell, there were so many fish in the water he didn't need his stick & snare wire he could have caught’em with his bare hands. They were every where!

Now there’s no way in hell you could use his technique in a real world outdoor survival situation unless under similar conditions. If anything, I did find ol’Buckshot’s video amusing and entertaining.

Anyway, getting back to how to spear fish. Have ya ever tried it, to spear a fish in a creek or pond? What pisses me off is the way some of these other survival sites and handbooks make it sound so easy to do. And what makes matters worse is they don't even teach you any techniques in how to practice and become proficient at it. Well let me first tell you what you need. Yep, you need a straight sturdy stick, one that is not too thick, not too thin and then you need to sharpen one end of the stick to a point. But don’t make it too pointed & thin or it'll break almost every time you throw it. In which then you’ll be spending most of your time re-sharpening it than trying to spear fish with it.

Here, check out some of these sample fishing spear heads and points. NOTE: Mulitple spear points work best because they’ll give you a greater chance in spearing a fish. The only reason why I used bamboo sticks in the photo is to show you a bit more clearly how to make'em. And what I highly suggest you pack & carry are afew assorted size cement nails and not wood nails in your survival kit so you can attach the nails to the end of your wooden spear. So in the event you hit something hard in the water like a rock your point(s) won’t dull or bend. To learn more about how to attach and use cement nails as spear and arrow heads, go to my “survival weapon” page.

The best place to spear fish is obviously where you see fish swimming, duh? And preferably where fish are restricted like in shallow & narrow water and NOT in deep wide bodies of water where they can easily get away from you. When trying to spear fish it’s best to be on shore instead of standing in the water to avoid casting your shadow [in the water] which will spook & scare fish away. And when on shore you need to take preferably a kneeling position to reduce casting your shadow in the water and so the fish don't see you on the shoreline too. And then all you gotta do is wait until one comes within spear throwing range, aim slightly "below and forward of the fish" and throw your spear. And here's why, check out the photo.

The reason why you want to aim "slightly forward" of the fish is to try to counter his quick forward movement when the spear breaks the surface of the water. But this slight forward lead will also depend on the depth of the water, the size and type of fish you’re trying to the spear. And the only way you are going to learn how to successfully spear fish is by trial & error or by making some spear fishing targets out of wood like in these in the photo. That’s right, they’re just cut out pieces of wood in the shape of a fish. Then all you gotta do is drill a few holes along the bottom portion and attach some weight to them so they’ll float upwards and you can see’em to practice spearing’em. Pretty good idea, huh?

Now here's a spear you've probably never seen before, it's my own concoction and it seems to works pretty good too. But to make one you'll need a few large fishing hooks, and so if you've got some spare room in your survival kit, pack three large size fishing hooks. Then all ya gotta do is make a wooden fish spear and attach them about 2-3 inches above the spear point by tying and embedding them into the wood. Then should you miss a fish with the main spear head/point, you got a second chance in "snagging" the fish with one of these hooks. Or if your lucky enough to spear a fish with the main spear point, some of these hooks will help keep the fish on the end of the spear point. If you only have a few medium size fish hooks, they'll work provided you bend out the barbed hooks a bit so they can snag a fish a bit more easier. If there’s a lot of grass, weeds & vegetation in the water, be careful or the hooks could get snagged and come off.

There's another way you can catch fish and it's called "snagging." All you gotta do is attach one or several fishing hooks to the end of a stick and when a fish is within range...


..all you gotta do is quickly reach out and "snag it" up on shore just like this. Or you can attach a hook to the end of your fishing pole to snag your fish when it's near. But I much prefer to use a spear and wait for some good size fish to come by.... ..and if you're patient like me you just might be lucky to spear a fish for dinner.

[Ryleyboy]

thanks everyone... would spear fishing at a green lake that fish are not visible be impossible or is there a way to spot them out.. i go to emma lake, sk and the water is green and dirty and you cant even see the bottom at three feet of water.

[Army Ranger Rick]

What you can't see - you can't spear, buddy. Same goes for hunting (but NOT trapping) small game in thick brush, you can't shoot something that you can't see. Though you can try scaring'em (small game & fish) out.

Sounds like you'll have better luck using a hook & line than a spear. Or you could try carrying and using a few M80 cherry bombs, that'll get'em to the surface on their backs real fast.

I once taught a class in the Army in how to get a bucket load of fish with just a little bit of explosives. And nope, not by using any hand grenades or C4 explosives neither. I even demonstrated how to do it and got a standing ovation from the troops when they saw all the fish come floating to the top of the water.

This story is in one of my Ranger Digest handbooks, I don't remember which one it's in, I think it's in my Ranger Digest VI book.

Speaking of fish, what a coincidence, that's what my Italian wife is cooking for dinner right now. Buon appetito everyone!

[Rick]

Sorry. Bad advice on the explosives. IF you were in a survival situation AND that's the only option you had THEN maybe. How many does it kill that don't come to the surface. How many other aquatic creatures were killed that you'll never know about. Indiscriminate killing of wildlife isn't justified. That's why fishing with explosives is outlawed in every state.

Speaking of states. I'm in a state of making grape jelly in my American kitchen. You all come back now, hear?

[Army Ranger Rick]

LOL, don't worry Rick, I wasn't serious about packing M80 cherry bombs in a survival kit. And sure hope no one else here took me serious neither. I was just kidding around, though you can make some poisen from some crush shells and then...oops, better not post that here or someone might try it.

As for that Army class I gave in how to use a little bit of explosive in getting a bunch of fish to the surface....that I WASN'T kidding about. The nice thing about using a little bit of explosive in a deep creek, stream or river and the fish are at the bottom of the pool, there's no loud BOOM or a BIG SPLASH.

A little bit of explosives at the bottom of a deep pool of water where the fish are will only produce a silent thud and a bunch of bubbles. The fish aren't killed, or at least most of them aren't, they're just stunned and that's why they floated to the top of the water. That is until my students plucked'em from the water, gutted, cleaned and then had'em for dinner that evening.

Anyone here ever served in the Army or Marines and went on a training exercise and hunted small game with a rifle cleaning rod? We use to do this all the time when I was in the Army, they don't issue you real "ball" ammo during training exercises (duh) just blank ammo. Then all you gotta do is take one section of your metal cleaning rod and shove it down the barrel with a cleaning patch to hold it down inside and you're ready to go hunting for small game out in the field.

Though the company supply sgt and arms room guys didn't like us using our weapons and cleaning rods this way....

[warman87]

arnt there plants that have the same affect as dino-mite the explosives take the air out of the water that is what causes the fish to be stuned and come to the surface right i could be wrong if so correct me

[canid]

yes, such plants are often called barbasco, and include any plant containing significant quantities of saponins, natural soap compounds which absorb through a fish's gills and block the uptake of molecular oxygen. these short acting poisons will incapacitate nearby fish and cause them to float to the surface for collection, generally killing relatively few of them.

it is illegal to fish in this manner in much of the world, and like explosives should be used only in an emergency.

[canid]

by the way, the effect of explosives does not work on fish by taking the oxygen out of the water, but causes a compression wave of concussion, which is readily conducted by fluids such as water that do not readily compress. because there is less compression, the radius of the shockwave propagates farther than in air, but also causes somewhat less trauma, killing and incapacitating fish, but not rending them to shreds unless they are rather near the center of the explosion. it does kill more fish.

[Ameriborn]

Back about 9-10 years when I was about 9-10 I was in a creek and there was a salmon there. Yes, in Ohio, a creek.

Anyway, I tried to spear it and then I got my dad and he tried but we couldn't get it. Of course, my brother went down in there and caught it with his hands, but..
(We had it trapped in a rock structure)

[Omid]

Tie a knife to a stick...

Saw that in Africa episode in Survivorman.

[crashdive123]

Tie a knife to a stick...

Saw that in Africa episode in Survivorman.

Throw spear......miss animal......spear goes over cliff......voila - no knife.

[Rick]

Throw spear......hit rock......break blade......voila - no knife.

[crashdive123]

Yep....either way, no more knife to sharpen the end of your spear and make as many as you want.

[canid]

that would solve my problem of having too many spears lying around.

[Rick]

Canid - You can stand as many of them up as you want. That way you won't have too many lying around.;)