me and my family go up to the outer banks a few times a year and stay on the Pea Island over the Orgean Inlet Bridge. were going up there the weekend of Nov 2 and since i havent been spearing long this will be the first time spearfishing up there.
could i get some advice and tips about spearfishing upo there from you seasoned divers? any locations that are accessable without a boat? also i was wondering what kind of fish would i run into?
is there any spearers that might want to have a good laugh showing a newbie the ropes that weekend?
i know the bridge is a good place to spear but the current seems pretty scary most of the time. i also hear there are some inshore recks somewhere along the coast..>???

thanks

GitaGrip

There is the boiler wreck right off of Pea Island. You can see it sticking out of the water across from the Ranger station. It's shore divable too. Vis is very hit or miss. I've heard stories about resident bull sharks, but all second hand. When it's good, it's good.

Triangle Wrecks at 2nd St in Kill Devil Hills are marked with a buoy and are right off the beach. Easy shore dive in the right conditions, but again vis is very hit or miss.

If you hit some sort of vacation miracle, Oregon Inlet may be divable (good vis and long high slack), just be very careful.

Typical trio of fish: Tautog, Sheepshead, Flounder. Other fish are around, but these three can be had even when the vis sucks. Spadefish are around too, but if it's so bad that you can only get a spade, it's probably more fun to do statics in the pool :D (with a buddy of course)

NC Shorediving is governed by tide and wind. Definitely know when high slack is.

Oh, and bring a file to sharpen your spear tip ;).

If you want a trial-by-fire, Outer Banks diving is doing an overnight trip that week. Also, I think Spearit (a decent drive south) has room for another (check other posts).

thanks for the replies.
? what do you mean by high slack?

do you think its a possiblility that i will run into spadefish schools out there?
is it the time of year when they are schooled up?
i have very limited equipement and experince so ill probably stick to shore dives while im up there.
i have a JBL 6 foot pole spear that is dieing to taste flesh.lol
ive been diving a handful of times at the masonboro jetties wiht limited success due to vis. but last time i went i dove on a lone spadefish, it was freakin awsome seeing him, gave me new hope.lol
i releashed my pole spear on him but it was a bad hit and he quickly swam off my 3 prong tip. since then i have rigged a barbed tip onto my spear so i hope that will help me keep big fish on.

since i am low on funds i attached one of my old bowfishing arrows to my pole spear as shown in the pictures. it seems to be set well and ive done some testing on it to see if it can handle abuse and it held up fine.
i know it look rigged out but its better than cusing up a storm when you lose your first fish.lol

While that seems to be quite creative, you do realize that JBL makes more than one tip for your polespear right?

It's just my opinion, but that is the worst arrow head ever put into production. You're going to have problems putting that thing through a fish with a stock JBL band.

i also had another ? that yall might be able to help me with. how do i change the sling on my spear? its attached weird and i cant figure out how to replace the sling.
i have a roll of tubbing just like the kind on the spear so i can cut lengths of it.

yea i know they make different tips for my spear but i was trying to make one without spending the money. im cheap and broke i know.lol
but if its not going to work then its better to just go buy one.
thanks for the advice.
like i said im new so i wasnt sure if it would work. i figured if it would hold a 35lb grass carp then i might get by with it.
thanks for all the inputs. i really want to be ready this week.:thumbup:

Yeah, it will usually hold, but your polespear isn't moving anywhere near as fast as the arrow is off the bow. That tip is not very sharp and hard to sharpen and those barbs sticking off the side slow penetration as well. Add to that all the resistance of the line you have wrapped on there, slowing the thing down more and throwing off the angle of penetration, and you have a pretty messed up spear.

Hell, give it a shot. I could be wrong about everything and often am.

thanks for the advice. i will probably go ahead and get me a real tip.lol
which tip do you reccomend for the JBL?

See if you can find a #820 or #825. http://www.jblspearguns.com/spearpoints/non_rotating.html They make some slip-tips that are alright, but I think these are the best bet. I forget what size the thread is on that spear.

In the polespear section, several guys gave me some good advice:http://spearfishingplanet.com/showthread.php?t=294