A Quick Fishing Spear or Frog Gigg

Mistwalker · Apr 21, 2009

I was messing around in the back yard yesterday checking out my nephew's new Ka-Bar, man that was a lot like visiting with an old friend, and made this. Still haven't tried it out yet, there is a little more whittling to do as I need to thin down the tines a bit. Maybe I'll get to try it out this coming weekend.

The tree I started with

Chopped it near the base

and got this

a little bark removal a small piece of cord...maybe two feet... and some whittling and I made this

myright · Apr 21, 2009

I've never been spear fishing, but that looks like it would work really well. It's nice and long seem to be spaced perfectly to grab fish with.

Cool to see your nephew is a knife guy as well !

caine · Apr 21, 2009

Looks like you had fun. Looks great

Diomedes Industries · Apr 21, 2009

Should you put barbs in the end - or are just careful when flipping it out of the water?

TF

tonym · Apr 21, 2009

Nice job!

But if you need a spear that large for a frogs by you, I would keep my ass away from the water!

midnight flyer · Apr 21, 2009

tonym said:
Nice job!

But if you need a spear that large for a frogs by you, I would keep my ass away from the water!

I gigged a lot of frogs in my youth.

I agree with you! I am afraid a frog that was large enough to need a gig that big would take it and use it on me!

Robert

H-Minus · Apr 21, 2009

Thanks Mistwalker! The Ka-bar is my favorite knife, And I absolutely enjoy your posts and reviews. I really like to see classic military knives like your SOG, and the Ka-bars bein put through their paces. I've used the Ka-bar knife the most out of every other knife in my life (due to Military service), and to this day it remains my "go to" knife. Thanks again for a great post. Al

Mistwalker · Apr 21, 2009

Hey..lol, I said there was more whittling to do and thining down the times a bit. We do have some large frogs here, some that stretch out to around eighteen or twenty inches... but It's designed so I can use one tine or two depending on the size of...whatever. That was just a spur of the moment quick project brought about by old memories. I think maybe I'm going to look for another wood to make one out of as that is Mimosa and one of the tines is brown on the inside. It would still work but I want to make a couple more in different configurations anyway. Years ago I used spears like these to gigg fish in tidal pools down in Florida. Used to use a single tine version for gigging crab, we would drift over them in the seaweed beds in the shallow waters along the edge of the bay.

Mistwalker · Apr 21, 2009

H-Minus said:
Thanks Mistwalker! The Ka-bar is my favorite knife, And I absolutely enjoy your posts and reviews. I really like to see classic military knives like your SOG, and the Ka-bars bein put through their paces. I've used the Ka-bar knife the most out of every other knife in my life (due to Military service), and to this day it remains my "go to" knife. Thanks again for a great post. Al

The Ka-Bar is a blade I am more than a little familiar with. I carried one for years. My dad was a Marine who grew up in Florida during the depression, so when he started teaching me "survival" skills he used his Ka-Bar when he used a fixed blade. Later after I broke my Buck 119 he sent me a Ka-Bar. I liked the handle a lot better than the stag handled Edge Mark I had bought, the leather was much more comfortable. I was taught a lot of my wilderness skills by men who were combat veterans. I had two uncles that were also involved in teaching me. Pete Carried a Randall #1-6 and Dave carried what I'm pretty sure was a 5th Group knife though he never called it that...just said it was a knife he got while he was in the Army. I was ten, eleven, and twelve so I had no clue of such things at the time.

Runsalone · Apr 21, 2009

Is that poison ivy in the second pic or a little box elder? The tiny saplings always trip me out.

H-Minus · Apr 21, 2009

Seems like you've been taught a great deal by a great many men that knew how to use and depend on their knives Mistwalker. You are in deed fortunate. Keep'em coming! Al

benchmadebob · Apr 21, 2009

Runsalone said:
Is that poison ivy in the second pic or a little box elder? The tiny saplings always trip me out.

i dont think its poisin ivy but i could be wrong?

Longknife3 · Apr 21, 2009

H-Minus said:
Seems like you've been taught a great deal by a great many men that knew how to use and depend on their knives Mistwalker. You are in deed fortunate. Keep'em coming! Al

+1:thumbup:!! Be sure to keep passing that knowledge on!

Brad "the butcher" · Apr 21, 2009

Love kabar's, one lives in the door of my tacoma with a wetterlings behind the seat.

The best gighead I have used was a large nail bound to the end of the stick or 2 for forks, make a 45% notch a half inch up the nail tips with a hatchet for a "barb" and sharpen the tips up. I have used this to makeshift arrowheads as well when I was young for gophers and rabbits.
Can't take credit for the notch, got that idea last year from a backwoodsman article. Practicing last summer I speared one squawfish baiting a school with bread off a dock. They were not to smart unlike the trout on the bottom, but still took over an hour of trying and many throws. The 8 or 10 incher could not wriggle off the gig, I was impressed. I now keep a couple of 4 inch nails in my survival kit.
Great pic's again Mistwalker.

Carolina River Rat · Apr 21, 2009

I used one almost identical for flounder last summer. Works great until you try to stab it through an oyster bed, then you have to whittle the points down again.

evbouret · Apr 21, 2009

Try tying off the sapling about a foot down from one end to keep the tree from splitting. Then split the end at 90 degree angles (in an x) and split down to your lashing. Take an appropriately sized rock and force it in the center of the (x) until it splits the prongs at the desired spacing. Tie again to hold the rock in place and hold everything firmly. Then sharpen the ends and you have a proper 4 pronged spear!

ZombaiO · Apr 21, 2009

Great pics as always !
I have a KA-BAR,but it's 2 mm narrower thanks to my poor sharpening skills

I think the edge has too big shoulders and needs some thinning to become more usable

TheGame · Apr 21, 2009

I like that. I usually make my own spears for spear fishing as well, but none really look that good. Maybe I should try and use a Ka-bar and do it?

Thanks for sharing, I think I am going to try a two prong spear next time I head out as well.

Mistwalker · Apr 21, 2009

Thanks all of you for your input and comments.

Runsalone said:
Is that poison ivy in the second pic or a little box elder? The tiny saplings always trip me out.

We have a lot of Box Elders here, I think that's what it is. If it is Poison Ivy I'm not allergic to it.

H-Minus said:
Seems like you've been taught a great deal by a great many men that knew how to use and depend on their knives Mistwalker. You are in deed fortunate. Keep'em coming! Al

Not really all that many, just a handful who were really good with theirs. Much better than I am but the learned under much different circumstances.

I know, I am very fortunate. Looking back even with all of the really screwy parts of my life I wouldn't trade any of it for fear of loosing the good parts and great things I learned.

Longknife3 said:
+1:thumbup:!! Be sure to keep passing that knowledge on!

I'm trying man, I'm trying...still experimenting too lol.

Brad "the butcher";6745647 said:
Love kabar's, one lives in the door of my tacoma with a wetterlings behind the seat.

The best gighead I have used was a large nail bound to the end of the stick or 2 for forks, make a 45% notch a half inch up the nail tips with a hatchet for a "barb" and sharpen the tips up. I have used this to makeshift arrowheads as well when I was young for gophers and rabbits.
Can't take credit for the notch, got that idea last year from a backwoodsman article. Practicing last summer I speared one squawfish baiting a school with bread off a dock. They were not to smart unlike the trout on the bottom, but still took over an hour of trying and many throws. The 8 or 10 incher could not wriggle off the gig, I was impressed. I now keep a couple of 4 inch nails in my survival kit.
Great pic's again Mistwalker.

Nails are very useful for a great many things...just not always available.

Carolina River Rat said:
I used one almost identical for flounder last summer. Works great until you try to stab it through an oyster bed, then you have to whittle the points down again.

Oyster beds are rough on things...especially boat bottoms and bare feet. But I do so love Flounder. Lucky you...seldom even get it here at my grocers.

evbouret said:
Try tying off the sapling about a foot down from one end to keep the tree from splitting. Then split the end at 90 degree angles (in an x) and split down to your lashing. Take an appropriately sized rock and force it in the center of the (x) until it splits the prongs at the desired spacing. Tie again to hold the rock in place and hold everything firmly. Then sharpen the ends and you have a proper 4 pronged spear!

Thanks, I was already thinking of doing that but with a section of a smaller sapling rammed down in between the tines. I am going to be playing with different fishing spears for a while to come.

TheGame said:
I like that. I usually make my own spears for spear fishing as well, but none really look that good. Maybe I should try and use a Ka-bar and do it?

Thanks for sharing, I think I am going to try a two prong spear next time I head out as well.

Thanks, glad you liked it.

I think up to a point the more prongs the more chance of success