born2fizh

anyone gigging anything in perdido

fishFEEDER9697

yeah, I gigged this last night... I guess it's legalas it wasn't onfwc's list of prohibited species to "spear".



weighed 13.33lbs on a cert-ed scale.

team lite line

dont get caught it is in the striper bass family

SeminoleSpearer

For future reference, the striped bass are regulated as a freshwater gamefish here in Florida, and gigging them is illegal. However nongame fish such as sucker etc. can be giggied in some areas but I don't know why anyone would waste their time.

fishFEEDER9697

<SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400">ooh, I'm not really versed in freshwater regs. Here's the applicable and available rule. Anyone want to "take a stab" at what this means?

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SeminoleSpearer

Basically that means it is illegal to harvest any freshwater fish (Game or nongame) by jug fishing (Free floating unattached device), by shooting them with guns, explosives, electrical shock, poison, or spearfishing (spearguns and underwater diving).



However here are the rules for nongame fish.





Nongame fish may be taken:



? By bush hook, setline or trotline baited with cut bait or other substance; but not including live game fish or any part of any game fish; bush hooks, setlines or trotlines (limited to 25 hooks total) are permitted for taking nongame fish for personal use, but only in those areas where trotlines may be lawfully used in accordance with the Wildlife Code of the State of Florida. Refer to the Commercial Freshwater Fisheries Rules and Regulations Summary.



? By manually operated spears, gigs, snatch hooks, crossbows or bows during daylight hours except on the Jim Woodruff Dam spillway, in Dade County canals south of C-4 and east of L-31N or L-31W, and at the spillways of the Eureka and Rodman dams. Nongame fish may be taken at night using gigs or bow and arrow.



? Nongame fish may be taken by the use of cast nets in the Northeast Region, in Citrus and Glades Counties, and in the Southwest Region, except that possession or use of cast nets in waters adjoining Saddle Creek Fish Management Area, Polk County, confined by Morgan Combee Road, U.S. Highway 92 and Fish Hatchery Road are prohibited.



? Using a bow and light at night. Night bowfishing tournaments do not require a permit in the Northwest Region.



? By netting and impounding at night from Sept. 1 to May 1 in specified waters in northwest Florida. Nets used to take nongame fish in these specified waters must be less than 100 feet in length, have a minimum 3-inch stretched mesh and shall be continuously attended to ensure immediate release of any trapped game fish; contact the Northwest Region office for details.



This is taken directly from the FWC site and reflects the most current rules.



Here is a list of the nongame fish,again taken from the FWC site.

Nongame Fish-bowfin, common carp, catfish, pickerel, eels, gar, threadfin shad, gizzard shad, shiners, tilapia (Nile perch), killifish, suckers, topminnows and fishes not listed as freshwater game fish and not taken for sport. Note: alligator gar require a permit to take. Note: Alligator gar require a scientific collector's permit to take.



One other important note again from the FWC site.



Spearfishing: Use of any hand or mechanically propelled, single or multi-pronged spear or lance, barbed or barbless, to harvest or attempt to harvest any marine species while diving in freshwater is prohibited.



Spearfishing for mullet in freshwater is prohibited.



This means, if you are in freshwater and you encounter a marine species that is legal to spear you can't spear (as in with a speargun or pole spear) it. However I do believe you can still gig it because it says "while diving"



That is the only part I'm not sure about. Maybe next time I run into an FWC officer I'll ask him.



Alright I took "a stab". Now as a side note, I'm only back on spring break this week and I don't have a boat so I'm stuck the sound for gigging. I have heard it's been pretty cold so is it still worth making a gigging trip or should I wait untill next time I'm home.

fishFEEDER9697

Thanks, man.

I went last one night week and only got 5 or 6. It looks like they're either slowing down in my area or they're modifying their behavior to mitigate their deathat my hand. If the weather cooperates, I was planning on poking around sometime this weekend.

sdsmith5150

Hey guys...Take a look at this light I came across. Let me know what you think.

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SeminoleSpearer

I like the simplicity. If anyone makes one let me know how it works.

sdsmith5150

some local guy in AL started building them. They have been very popular there. 251-367-3127 is the contact number.

good luck!