Harpoon???

[SFLMAN]

What harpoon works best for Swordfish? Had shot at one at the boat Tue but he wrapped the tip rod and spit the hook.We would have had or hands full because he was green. He came up from 450 and tried to destroy my light.


Sam

[hannaman]

Go to www.swordslasher.com
Scotts makes a great Harpoon for em.

[CaptKen]

I second SwordSlasher
and colapasable for easy storage. Top quality
Ken

[bullfighter]

We third :lol:

[Litetackleredneck]

Were not whaling here... dont waste your money on a harpoon, if you cant get him close enough to gaff you'll have your hands full other wise

[bullfighter]

A harpoon is the way to go. It is much easier to hit a fish with a harpoon then a gaff...especially a green fish. Also, I have harpooned free swimmers which is impossible with a gaff. I have also had a fish, in a tournament, eat the tip rod and immediatly charge the boat. Hit him with the harpoon and put him in the boat, all in about 1 minute. Once he was in the boat we realized he was only barely bill wrapped, if we did not have the poon we would have definetly "pulled the hook".

Before you purchase a harpoon make sure it is weighted at the tip so you can throw it and it will cut through the water (and the fish) without skipping on the surface. I believe swordslasher's is weighted.

As far as having your hands full, the weighted tip makes the harpoon penetrate the fish very well. I hit a free swimmer ten feet deep, the harpoon went all the way through, hit his spine and killed him immedialty, all we did was drive the boat up to him and put him in the boat. The fish was 66inches.

[T7]

www.poonharpoons.com

Check out for a tackle store near you,
New updated web site,

Thanks,

K. Glynn

P.S. Hey drew send me an e-mail, lost your #

[Anonymous]

Take a look at my harpoon, great construction and truely a great buy for the $$. John(Bullfighter) the tip is weighted for better penetration of the water and fish.

[Threesenough]

Take everything you have -Harpoon,Flyer, Etc. When that fish of a lifetime comes to the boat make sure you put everything you have into him.

Once I lost a fish next to the boat by not having the right or enough tools. Hopefully we have addressed that issue.

The old Harpoon/Flyer debate will go on forever. Use what you like or are comfortable with.

[Moppyman]

swordslasher harpoons are awesome

Originally Posted by SFLMAN

What harpoon works best for Swordfish? Had shot at one at the boat Tue but he wrapped the tip rod and spit the hook.We would have had or hands full because he was green. He came up from 450 and tried to destroy my light.


Sam

[kai akua]

just remember that harpoons are not IGFA legal, so if you stick a record fish with one, kiss that record good buy!

[JahMussa]

Not only would it kill your IGFA record... you could actually be fined for using a harpoon as it's not allowable gear for a recreational angler. Harpoons are considered commercial gear.

Here's another thing to consider... would LEO consider a harpoon to be a Spear as defined in the FLA regs??

Spearing
Spearing is defined as "the catching or taking of a fish by bowhunting, gigging, spearfishing, or any device used to capture a fish by piercing its body. Spearing does not include the catching or taking of a fish by a hook with hook and line gear or by snagging (snatch hooking)". The use of powerheads, bangsticks, and rebreathers remains prohibited. The following is a list of species which are prohibited for harvest by spearing. Any other species not listed which are managed by the Commission, and those not managed by the Commission are allowed to be harvested by spearing:

Billfish (all species), Bonefish, Nassau Grouper, Pompano, Spotted Eagle Ray, Tarpon, Spotted Seatrout, African Pompano, Sturgeon, Goliath Grouper, Red Drum, Permit , Manta Ray, Snook, Weakfish, Tripletail, Sharks, Blue Crab, Stone Crab, Lobster. Also: Families of ornamental reef fish (surgeonfish, trumpetfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, porcupinefish, cornetfish, squirrelfish, trunkfish, damselfish, parrotfish, pipefish, seahorse, puffers, triggerfish except gray and ocean)

This sucks and something should be done to educate the "powers to be". A harpoon is just a safe way to handle a swordfish at boat side and should be allowable gear IMO.

[koko]

Doesn't that passage in effect ban gaffing a fish as well? I would contend the fish is captured via the hook in his mouth. The harpoon or gaff is simply used for control. Unless you are free-gaffing/harpooning I would think you are ok.

[JahMussa]

Originally Posted by koko

Doesn't that passage in effect ban gaffing a fish as well? I would contend the fish is captured via the hook in his mouth. The harpoon or gaff is simply used for control. Unless you are free-gaffing/harpooning I would think you are ok.

I totally agree... the point is that the law makers and enforcers don't always see things as we do. From their eyes.. they see a rec boat with a harpoon and a fish that it has been used on. They don't know if we harpooned a free swimmer or if it was done as a means to safely capture the fish after a battle.

As the rules are now... it's illegal to have a harpoon on a boat (that is not a commercial boat).

[CaptainEd]

Do you mean commercial as in charter / head boat? ie.) Like Hanna man's OR commercial like Fric & Frac's or Lightning Strykers?

[JahMussa]

commercial like Fric & Frac's or Lightning Strykers

[RiskTaker]

Thanks Jahmussa for the clarifiation on the Florida statutes, but I think applicable out to 3 miles. We need to iron out that aspect too.


I had heard that there are a few commercial anglers working the waters down here. I didn't know anything about what commercial meant, but Joe McGivern filled me in on some details.

Apparently the commercial fishermen have the same licenses/requirements as the longliner commercial fishermen. But they must catch their fish on Rod & Reel in this area since they cannot use longline gear.

Supposedly that licensing is regulated by a "three strikes and you''re out policy" for violations. So if you were to purchase a commercial license from someone (I guess there is a limited number of licenses available), the amount you would pay could vary dramatically from 0 strikes to 2 strikes.

I do not think that there is any fishing limit by quantities for the commercial fishermen, until the overall allocated quota is filled.
(If anybody is really tuned into the regulations, please feel free to chime in.)

Whereas the charter boats have acquired a 2004 ATLANTIC HMS CHARTER/HEADBOAT PERMIT . And most everybody else has obtained the 2004 ATLANTIC HMS ANGLING PERMIT (Recreational) version.

But I believe the charter boats are also limited to 3 fish per boat/day like the recreationals.

These non-commercial permits apply to the vessel and not the individual angler. There are also other highly migratory species of fish that are governed by this permit too: (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) I think Skipjack and Blackfin Tunas are exempted though.

As for Harpoons : Yeah, we should all petition " to scrub any restrictions on harpoons as we understand that they are presently not permitted for recreational fishermen. " It just seems like such a practical tool for managing a large fish. Even permitting free swimmers to be harpooned, because how many fish will actually be harpooned exclusively? I suppose a few a year but that would be dwarfed by the quantity caught by rod & reel. So why should it really matter? Oh just leave it to a micro-managing legislator.

Yeah and one more thing, since I am in complaining mode now. What''s the deal-y-oh with recreational fishermen not being able to use traps to catch crawfish ""anymore"? This makes absolutely no sense to me. You can manage up to 5 traps for crabs, stonecrabs and bluecrabs. But you cannot trap crawfish? I want to know the knucklehead that wrote up this restriction. Or perhaps the commercial crawfishermen have influenced it to be this way.

I don't have anything against commercial fishermen, unless they are influencing my rights out of my favor. As a matter of fact I am greatful that they work so hard to supply a market of fresh seafood for us. But we should not tolerate any restrictions that steps on the individual freedoms that we supposedly have in a free freedom-partial society. I don''t know Cuban law but I bet Fidel Castro permits recreationals to catch crawfish with traps. I will ask my Cuban friend who just arrived here a few years ago by float: he used to catch a lot of crawfish in Cuba. Let's see if we can get this permission back on the books too.

I think for most of us here, the sea is our playground. Lets play hard. If we want to be robustly regulated we can choose to move into a condominium with an over-zealous condo-association. And remember to wear a cover-up if you go outside and, no PIG for Christmas: its against the rules!

[hannaman]

I have never been busted yet for having the harpoon. It has always been in plain view. Just lucky I guess.

[tunaman81]

Originally Posted by bullfighter

A harpoon is the way to go. It is much easier to hit a fish with a harpoon then a gaff...especially a green fish. Also, I have harpooned free swimmers which is impossible with a gaff. I hit a free swimmer ten feet deep, the harpoon went all the way through, hit his spine and killed him immedialty, all we did was drive the boat up to him and put him in the boat. The fish was 66inches.

Wow...thats is absolutely ridiculous and completely unsporting. Harpooning free swimming swords is also ILLEGAL because that is definately spearfishing, and billfish are not allowed to be spearfished.

[FinalPoint]

I think it is pretty sporty actually.

[tunaman81]

Originally Posted by FinalPoint

I think it is pretty sporty actually.

jamming a fish with a harpoon while it is swimming by the boat, especially when it is illegal to do so, is quite far from sporting

[LETSRIDE]

i 2nd the its pretty sporty. i dont care who you are thats pretty good to free harpoon/gaff them i think it is badass!! it aint wrong until you get caught!

[tunaman81]

Originally Posted by LETSRIDE

it aint wrong until you get caught!

Thats not a good way to look at things...so, in your opinion, no one needs to follow any regulations as long as they think they aren't going to get caught? Its that kind of reasoning that leads to poaching and abuse of the resource.

[kai akua]

hmmmm.

Please dont take any offense RT/FP, its not personal.

are any of you guys familar with stick boats??????? thats how comerical swording is still done over on the west coast (well at least within 150 nautical miles of shore). a big a$$ harpoon and a float. i dont consider that sporty. and i dont see much of a diffrence between a REC and a Comerical guy doing the sticking. thats not to say its not fun. but its not the sporty thing to do.

thats like chuming up sharks and shooting at them. its fun, but it aint sporty. or spear fishing with a scuba tank.

is it sporty for us marlin fisherman, to tease up fish next to the boat and put a flying gaff in him???? trust me we can do that damn easy.

remeber why you are out on the water. its to be sporty and to provide. if you just want to have fun, set up a long line and go to town out on the 45 line. trust me that will provide plenty and you will have a blast sticking and wireing the fish.

once again nothing perosnal. would i have tried to stick a free swimmer... yep.. but i would not call it sporty.

go get em! (with or without the poon)

Robbie

[LETSRIDE]

OK well as far as the legal limits and all i am one who abides by them very well! i dont keep swords under 55in but as far as the throwing a harpoon whats the big deal? i think it would be quite an experience.. i know for sure if one swims in my light close enough i'll do it. i have also free gaffed schoolies near the boat.

[RiskTaker]

Quote from previous post: ""Wow...thats is absolutely ridiculous and completely unsporting. Harpooning free swimming swords is also ILLEGAL because that is definately spearfishing, and billfish are not allowed to be spearfished.

Tuna man: you are exactly correct. It seems to be against statutes to be able to spear Swordfish, even while landing with a spearlike device, one of several species all bundled together in the Billfish category and fairly regulated.

Does SAFETY matter anymore on a boat or is the far liberal reach of PETA clouding everyone's thought processes. Come on man! Laws & ordinances & statutes were formulated to control the masses. When you have smaller masses less regulation is required. (Maybe we need more Terrorists to cull the heard of liberal ninnies.)

Regardless, we should be respectful of the laws that are in place, and avoid poaching: Now it is up to us to properly petition for the right stuff on the books and avoid the frivolous stuff when just anyone says "there ought to be a law for that".

[FinalPoint]

If a fish is lying next to the boat...agreed, it isn't sporty. In Bullfighter's case however, this was a risk. He threw the harpoon nearly 10 feet down. I find it impressive. It is nothing like the stickboat fishery that California has. Of Cali, they see them on the surface. In Bullfighter's case, this fish was not easily accessible, and therefore it was sporty...

[CaptKen]

Originally Posted by tunaman81

Wow...thats is absolutely ridiculous and completely unsporting. Harpooning free swimming swords is also ILLEGAL because that is definately spearfishing, and billfish are not allowed to be spearfished.

If swords are not allowed to be spearfished how come there is a world record catagory for swordfish being spearfished?
also I wonder did you get the IM I sent you a couple weeks back about a 99 lb sword that I witnesed that had ROE in its belly ? kinda blows the theory about a sword has to be 150 lbs to breed.It goes to show that the scientists that write the thick books dont know it all,

[tunaman81]

RT...just to clarify, I was speaking out against spearing free swimming swords, not ones at the end of a fishing line. While there may be a gray area about using a harpoon on a hooked fish, it is definately illegal to spear a free swimmer. I have always used gaffs with swords, but I understand the need to safely control a fish boatside that you are fighting on the end of the line. I am not against using a harpoon to control a hooked fish, although a flying gaff may be just as useful.

Capt Ken...I did not recieve your IM. First off, assuming what you saw in the swords belly was actually roe (may have been another organ) that does not mean that the eggs were mature and fertilized. Some fish have small, immature roe in their egg sacs before they are ready to reproduce. The gonads are always there, but they are immature. It takes cross sectioning of the gonad with a microscope to determine if the ovum are mature. Second, it is not my theory, it has been gathered from lots of data from years of research (not from your so called 'thick books') by people who know a lot more about the biology of swordfish than you or I do. Nobody claims to know everything, but fish under approximately 150lbs have never been observed to be mature (ie have MATURE ovum in their egg sacs).
Lastly...it is illegal to spear billfish in FLORIDA WATERS. I suspect those pictures you posted are probably from somewhere where spearing billfish is legal. Here is a quote directly from Florida regulations:

The following is a list of species which are prohibited for harvest by spearing. Any other species not listed which are managed by the Commission, and those not managed by the Commission are allowed to be harvested by spearing:

Billfish (all species), Bonefish, Nassau Grouper, Pompano, Spotted Eagle Ray, Tarpon, Spotted Seatrout, African Pompano, Sturgeon, Goliath Grouper, Red Drum, Permit , Manta Ray, Snook, Weakfish, Tripletail, Sharks, Blue Crab, Stone Crab, Lobster. Also: Families of ornamental reef fish (surgeonfish, trumpetfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, porcupinefish, cornetfish, squirrelfish, trunkfish, damselfish, parrotfish, pipefish, seahorse, puffers, triggerfish except gray and ocean)

[CaptainEd]

Some good points were made on both sides of the "debate". To me the issue seems cut and dry because of this one fact. It is illegal to spear billfish in Florida waters. But I would like it clarified further. I believe that is a regulation enforcable only in state waters. I'll call NOAA, FMP and mom to see if it's ok to spear a swordfish and then post the 411.

I also want to know the fines/penalties if there are any and will post that info too.

I'm not for or against the use of a harpoon for landing a hooked sword but I think it's important we follow the regulations and laws, like them or not.