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Self-Made Fishing Spear?

camping

Newbie
Hi,
Earlier this year, I had forgotten to bring my fishing rod along with me to a camp. It was by the riverside and therefore, lots of opportunities to catch fish. I was dejected that I would not be able to catch any. That's when one of my friends suggested we make a spear ourselves.

It took 4 hours to create one but we made it.

What I wanted to ask you was, have you created one ever?

Also, is a 4 pronged one better or a single prong spear? Any ideas?
 

campforums

Founder
Staff member
I can't say that I have, would you mind sharing your method? How well did it end up working for you in the end?

If I had to guess I would think that a 4 pronged one would be better than a single pronged one but also a lot trickier to make if you are limited to the materials and technology in your immediate surroundings.
 

gracer

Explorer
Here in my area, bamboos are basically everywhere especially if one is camping or hiking near the wilderness. This is what some people use as their makeshift spear when they have no regular spears to use. They use a tool called "bolo", which is similar to a machete in cutting big bamboos then they sharpen the edge of the bamboo. They usually use a single pronged bamboo but it is also possible to make a 4-pronged one.
 

missyify

Survivalist
I haven't ever tried that, but I'm kind of interested in making my own bowfishing set up. There might be some youtube videos on making your own spear for spearfishing. I've seen some pins on pinterest about making spears, too.

Sent from my LGLS996 using Tapatalk
 

camping

Newbie
I can't say that I have, would you mind sharing your method? How well did it end up working for you in the end?

If I had to guess I would think that a 4 pronged one would be better than a single pronged one but also a lot trickier to make if you are limited to the materials and technology in your immediate surroundings.
We choose a deceased sapling but a recently deceased one which still had a few green leafs. The trick here is to choose the size of the sapling such that you do not have to carve much out of it and you have to just sharpen it.

Also, we went with the hard wood options like locust to get this done and sharpened it with a knife.

Also, after creating it we fire hardened it, with the fire at the camp. Worked pretty well.

As for 4 pronged one, I have never tried it, I guess it would need better carving.
 

ashley0323

Novice Camper
I did not know making a spear was a "thing". That being said, I have never made one myself. I have only ever seen such a thing on older movies and it seemed to work well.
 

rz3300

Explorer
I really wish that I could say that I have tried this before, but unfortunately I cannot say that I have. It does not sound like anything that would be terribly, difficult, but then again I have not tried.
 

Alexandoy

Pathfinder
The improvised fishing spear I could remember was one made of a small branch. It’s about more than an inch in diameter and the length is 5 feet with one end pointed. That camping was in a dam (water reservoir) where there were lots of fish. However, my fishing spear did not catch any fish because it is too difficult to hit those agile fish. It was a good thing that one of our companions brought along a hook and yarn. After digging for worms as bait, we had a bountiful lunch of broiled fish.
 

ptahm22

Novice Camper
I've made a wooden spear and it worked just fine. Look for live wood or a recently deceased sapling. Carve a sharp point on one end or on both ends. Rotate the spear around the fire to harden it. A 3-4 prongs spear is better for fishing. It always has the highest chance for catching fish. Look for a stick with a wide end, but not too wide. Using a knife and hammer split one of the stick into four. Insert small sticks in between the splits to keep them separated and projected. Secure the small sticks by using a rope or string. Whittle the end of the splits into points. It should look like this:
TMPDOODLE1484898686647.jpg
 
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