# Walleye spearfishing world record taken at Deer Creek



## ShaneA

Im the lucky new record holder, and wanted to give to everyone an account of the great day I had last Saturday. Please no negative comments. 

Being a single guy I spend every about every spare second I have fishing, hunting, or spearfishing. My trunk always contains a float tube, dive gear, and camo for every opportunity I get. I'm lucky to live close to Deer Creek so when I get a half day I usually spearfish there, because the fishing is only so so. This year alone I've dove every single foot of its shoreline. I've learned a lot about walleye in the process as well. My conclusion... they dont follow any rules, and they will frustrate you. If you put in enough time, like hundreds of hours you can be rewarded. Saturday my two friends and I payed the price and braved air temps in the 30's and water temps in the 40's to clame my prize. It was the only fish taken that day, but nobody was complaining. Location...secret, depth 18 ft. My hog went 13.18 lbs on a certified scale beating the state (11 lbs) and world (12.6 lbs) records.


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## PBH

great fish!

I'm curious, especially with tiger musky spear fishing. How do you determine the length of a tiger musky prior to spearing it? For instance, the statewide tiger musky limit is 1 fish over 40", which applies to Fish Lake. So, how do you determine that the fish is over 40" prior to spearing it?


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## ShaneA

Thanks. Its pretty easy to not take more than one +22 inch walleye, because its rare you'll ever find more than one that big... or one for that matter. Its a little harder for musky because 40 inches is bigger. Since the water is so clear at Fish Lake its you can tell if you just take a second to eye it. Of the ten or so I've seen only one was big enough. She went 42 inches and 21 lbs.


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## PBH

thanks Shane -- so, the next question that keeps popping in my head is: What happens if you do spear a fish that is under the size limit? Sink it? Or, keep it and take your chances? (I'm assuming that size estimate mistakes happen occasionally...)


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## FishMogul

I guess it's safe to assume you don't practice C&R ...


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## EmptyNet

Nice fish! How did that big hog taste.


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## ShaneA

PBH said:


> thanks Shane -- so, the next question that keeps popping in my head is: What happens if you do spear a fish that is under the size limit? Sink it? Or, keep it and take your chances? (I'm assuming that size estimate mistakes happen occasionally...)


I'm way too poor to risk it, the answer is you dont shoot if its close. Plus, I want to be a good ambassador to spearfishing and people are always watching me to see what im taking. To be 100% honest a made one small mistake because i misinterpreted a rule, but when I realized my error I contacted the DNR, but they were understanding.


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## pkred

Nice wally!


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## Fishrmn

Congratulations on the world record. That's cool. Don't let 'em give you crap.

Playin' "Devil's Advocate" here PBH. What do you do with a 19 inch trout at Minersville reservoir that is bleeding from the gills? I know you use only artificial flies and lures. Maybe even single, barbless hooks. I'm sure you know how to handle fish to minimize damage. But it happens sometimes. I realize there ain't much chance for catch and release with a speargun. _If'n I was gonna try for a 40 inch muskie with a speargun, I'd spend some time lookin' at 40 inch objects underwater until I was confident that I could tell the difference between 38 inches and 40 inches. If'n I was gonna try to get a 24 inch, 4 point muley buck, I'd spend some time lookin' at muley bucks until I could judge a 24 incher from say a 22 incher._ Then, when I was sure that I was lookin' at one that was big enough, I'd pull the trigger.

Mistakes happen. And we are all capable of makin' a few.

Fishrmn


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## ShaneA

FishMogul said:


> I guess it's safe to assume you don't practice C&R ...


False, Its called shooting them with a camera.


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## PBH

Fishrmn -- The rules at Minersville say to release the fish, bleeding from the gills or not. The answer to your qustion is a very easy one: I release it without hesitation. Some mortality is not always a bad thing for fisheries, especially some fisheries with restrictive regulations. So, releasing a mortally wounded fish back to the water only to die isn't always a bad thing.

However, there is a difference in angling with traditional equipment vs. spearfishing. When angling with traditional equipment, we don't always have the ability to determine which fish takes our bait. That is simply part of fishing -- luck of the draw. However, spearfishermen DO have a choice. They have to pull the trigger. They have to determine if the fish is big enough before they ever "take" their fish -- traditional anglers determine if the fish is big enough after.

I appreciate Shane's willingness to discuss it. I'm not attacking him -- I'm simply curious. I know how often I've "guestimated" a fishes size, only to be off by 2 inches. Being off by 2 inches when spearing a fish could be a costly mistake! Shane sounds like he's probably a pretty honest person, and a good steward for his sport.

I know that mistakes are made. We all make them. Thus, my second question asking what happens when a spearfisherman makes a mistake? I think Shane handled the question adequately. (actually, I think he handled it better than you!)



shane -- I'm sure that I speak for many others: post more pics! The underwater pics are awesome, and I know that many of us would like to see more!


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## Fishrmn

> So, releasing a mortally wounded fish back to the water only to die isn't always a bad thing.
> The rules at Minersville say to release the fish, bleeding from the gills or not. The answer to your qustion is a very easy one: I release it without hesitation.


The rules say you can't have a muskie under 40 inches in your possession. If it's bleeding you release it. If it took a great big topwater jerk bait with three treble hooks, or got speared doesn't enter the equation. If you don't have a cradle, and get it tangled in a net doesn't enter the equation either. You do the best you can with what you've got. If you're going after muskies with rod and reel, you invest in the tackle and invest the time. If you're going after them with spearguns, you invest the time to be able to judge.

Shane did handle it well. (Actually, I wondered why you posed the question) Being off by two inches when keeping that fish is actually the costly mistake. Spearfishermen have an obligation to be able to judge whether or not the fish they shoot are of legal size.

Mistakes are part of the universe.

Fishrmn


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## wyogoob

Congratulations! That's a great fish. 

Thanks for posting. 

And yes, more underwater pics please.


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## ShaneA

Thanks, glad to see some people enjoy the pics. Here are a few more. I have some others but i'll have to down size them first.


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## EmptyNet

More dead carp please. o-||


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## ShaneA

EmptyNet said:


> More dead carp please. o-||


How about 4,000 lbs taken in one day at Deer Creek?


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## Nor-tah

That carp pic with all the blood is AWESOME!! The chillin fish on the bottom are cool too. I thought it was really hard to stalk in on fish underwater?? Thats what the other spear dudes were saying?? Those shots look like they are pretty relaxed...


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## ShaneA

Insider secret, the longer you stay down there perfectly still the closer they come. Another secret, It helps to have a nice zoom on your camera, haha.


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## FishNaked

That is way cool and nothing to be ashamed of...those that question the fishing methods are just haters anyways. How big was that monster carp you are holding? We bow fish some big carp...top out at 40 lbs. +/-...but that guy looks big!


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## ShaneA

FishNaked said:


> That is way cool and nothing to be ashamed of...those that question the fishing methods are just haters anyways. How big was that monster carp you are holding? We bow fish some big carp...top out at 40 lbs. +/-...but that guy looks big!


That was a Starvation Reservoir carp, biggest in utah. We dont get 40 pounders here, but sometimes around 30. That guy was about 25.


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## 1morecast

Nice pics!!! I was born and raised in Hawaii, and spear fishing was just as popular as rod and reel. I'm glad you care about the regulations and abide by them, I know this is a tough sport because in Hawaii there are really no special rules against spear fishing.


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## The Naturalist

Wow! :shock: That's a nice fish. Congrats. Did you pass on others that day? How clear was the water that day 18 feet down? Did it come to you, or did you have to put a chase on it?


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## Treehugnhuntr

Free diving?


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## ShaneA

The Naturalist said:


> Wow! :shock: That's a nice fish. Congrats. Did you pass on others that day? How clear was the water that day 18 feet down? Did it come to you, or did you have to put a chase on it?


Nope, three of us went out, and it was the only one taken. We saw a few more, but they were too fast. Visibility was around ten feet. Sometimes the its clearer the deeper you go. Its darker, but your eyes adjust after a second. I let it come to me. Its counterintuitive, but you'll rarely get one chasing. Just a long, long breath hold.


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## ShaneA

Treehugnhuntr said:


> Free diving?


Absolutely


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## Dannyboy

I used to spear fish a lot growing up in Hawaii and it is one of the most fun sports ever. I mostly used the Hawaiian spear and not the spear-gun but i liked them both. Good job and nice fish!


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## wyoguy

ShaneA said:


> FishMogul said:
> 
> 
> 
> I guess it's safe to assume you don't practice C&R ...
> 
> 
> 
> False, Its called shooting them with a camera.
Click to expand...

 Great answer!


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## duct tape

That's incredible! Way to go! I dive in Mexico and have all the gear minus a wet suit. We should go sometime, in warmer weather.


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## EmptyNet

What do you do with all those carp? Fish tacos? :lol:


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## tuffluckdriller

AWESOME!!!!! Good Job!!! I'd love to have that record! or any other spearfishing record!!!!!


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## FishNaked

Dead rotting carp make for great bear bait! :O•-:


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## sawsman

Nice walleye! Congrats!

It's good to see you're out doing some carp management as well.


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## tuffluckdriller

Spearfishing is definitely fun and challenging. It's not just fish in a barrel. Not even close. 

Kudos for the great walleye. 

I wonder how many rod & reel anglers do any carp management, and how much do they do?


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## sfy2004

4,000 LBs of dead carp? wow, must have been quite a day. would you mind hitting Utah Lake and adding 3 zeroes to that tally? great pics by the way.


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## Keystonecop

WOW, that just kicks butt man. That must take a lot of talent and skill to do!!


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## Pez Gallo

great fish. Not a fan of trophy freshwater spearfishing though. But I'm not a fan of conventional anglers taking trophies out of lakes either. (unless the fishery is overpopulated) It hurts the genetics a ton to take out one trophy vs. taking out a bunch of average fish.

Thanks for getting the carp though. That probably helped balance the damage of taking that walleye.


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## The Naturalist

sawsman said:


> Nice walleye! Congrats!
> 
> It's good to see you're out doing some carp management as well.


Yep, probably not even a dent in the carp population. Although, IMO, it is good to have carp in some of these bodies of water. They provide a great forage for the pelicans, commorants, etc., which would otherwise be taking large amounts of the more popular game fish.


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## Brooks Rees

Nice! You made the Roughin' it Outdoors Snapshot of the Week!


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## flint

Trophy fish and animals have the same genes when they are small as they do when they get large. By the time they reach true trophy size their genes have been passed on many times. Often they are past prime breeding age. Taking some of the oldest and largest fish and animals has little impact on the overall population.


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## colorcountrygunner

Hey congrats on the record man! What all kind of equipment do you use when spear fishing? I see you wear a wet suit and snorkel gear and have a spear gun. What else goes along with the gun as far as projectiles, tips, and such? Spear fishing looks like a riot! Also are there any special regulations to be followed aside from those that you would follow fishing with a rod and reel?


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## cpierce

Do you have problems with boaters when you are out snorkeling?


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## poiboy

ShaneA, congrats on the accomplishment. I love seeing your spearfishing pics, I miss doing this back home in Hawaii. I have never considered doing this here in Utah, I'd freeze out there. I stick to the river banks instead and cast the rods. Again, congrats.


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## firemanbubba

Great job on taking the state and world record. Congrats! My question is how much meat do you loose on the fish when taking them in that method? Is it like big game hunting and you try to hit them behind the gills to save as much meat as you can? Just curious. A dead carp is a good carp!


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## ShaneA

colorcountrygunner said:


> Hey congrats on the record man! What all kind of equipment do you use when spear fishing? I see you wear a wet suit and snorkel gear and have a spear gun. What else goes along with the gun as far as projectiles, tips, and such? Spear fishing looks like a riot! Also are there any special regulations to be followed aside from those that you would follow fishing with a rod and reel?


Unfortunately spearfishing is like fishing, and it requires more gear...and money than you think. Everytime you think you have everything you need, you find something else you NEED. I dont even know where to begin as far as everything you need. If you want to find out everything you need I would go to underwaterdynamics in Orem or neptune divers in Salt Lake. They have the good stuff.

There are very specific regulations that should be followed with exactness layed out the the Utah fishing regulations handbook(available online as well). There are only certain lakes, species, and time periods to spearfish.


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## ShaneA

firemanbubba said:


> Great job on taking the state and world record. Congrats! My question is how much meat do you loose on the fish when taking them in that method? Is it like big game hunting and you try to hit them behind the gills to save as much meat as you can? Just curious. A dead carp is a good carp!


Thanks. The loss of meat is minimal if you hit them in the fillets. If you have an accurrate gun you can pretty much pin point the shot. I like to aim right behind the eye and a little up. It'll usually put'em to sleep instantly. Gills is good too though.


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## luv2fsh&hnt

Congratulations Shane!


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## ShaneA

luv2fsh&hnt said:


> Congratulations Shane!


Thanks man, next spring I'll put you on some carp.


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## luv2fsh&hnt

ShaneA said:


> luv2fsh&hnt said:
> 
> 
> 
> Congratulations Shane!
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks man, next spring I'll put you on some carp.
Click to expand...

I am looking forward to it.


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## smittyts

Congratulations! That fish is a beauty. Thanks for the post and the pic.


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## eli1535

Nice work man! You're a rockstar....teach me the ropes sometime.


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