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Are the size regulations different? How do you ensure you shoot a legal sized fish? You can't exactly catch and release a fish with a hole in it, or can you?

That would stress me out!

Ooh look, a Grouper. Hmm...is that 22 inches? well...*squint* *head-cock* Might be. Probably...BOING. Dang! 21.5!

I guess it just takes a ton of practice but I'd love to know more from some experts.

Or do they let you put the tape measure on them before you spear them? LOL

WolfeMan wrote:Are the size regulations different? How do you ensure you shoot a legal sized fish? You can't exactly catch and release a fish with a hole in it, or can you?

That would stress me out!

Ooh look, a Grouper. Hmm...is that 22 inches? well...*squint* *head-cock* Might be. Probably...BOING. Dang! 21.5!

I guess it just takes a ton of practice but I'd love to know more from some experts.

Fish size regs. are the same above and under the water. There are a lot of other regs that apply to spear-gun hunters but size is not one of them.

just like hunting a WMA...

Don't say, I thought that was a third point on the right antler...make sure it is legal before you pull the trigger

I have marks on my gun at the various lengths. Anyone who says they haven't shot a short fish is lying. However, the rule of thumb is, if it looks like the fish is huge, then it is probably just legal.

Yeah, the margin for error is painfully nonexistent. How likely is a speared fish to survive?

So, if you shoot a fish, and it measures short under water...do you just unspear it and let it swim/limp away? I feel bad when I haul up a short snapper with his guts hanging out of his mouth. Sucks...

My buddy shot a 33" gag about halfway back and it tore off the spear. Fast forward a year later same place and I spear a 34" gag with a healed up calcified place where the spear was. So if you hit no vital organs, they will survive.

Yes if you hit a small one, you take off the spear and let it go. It won't go to waste. And now you have a frame of reference for the rest of the dive.

WOW! That's awesome.

Tom is right i have been spearfishing for about 11 years and still to this day I will still slip everynow and then and think one is big enough and he will not be. but you will get a good idea after a few shorts. only shoot the real big ones. rule of thumb if you have to question the size then he is prob to small so let him go!! hope this helps you out

Tom Keels wrote:My buddy shot a 33" gag about halfway back and it tore off the spear. Fast forward a year later same place and I spear a 34" gag with a healed up calcified place where the spear was. So if you hit no vital organs, they will survive.

Yes if you hit a small one, you take off the spear and let it go. It won't go to waste. And now you have a frame of reference for the rest of the dive.

Found this to be true last week. We shot 3 different gags that were huge (barely legal according to TK.... ) and they swam off. The shots were "through & through" on a free spear (no cable) with only 1 band We actually saw 2 of the fish later when we swam back to the structure, but they stayed out of range. They looked to be just fine....

The ones we got with the cable spear also looked fine.....on ice