# Spearfishing Walleye/Burbot in Saskatchewan (w/ videos)



## Squeeker

One of Saskatchewan's little known secrets is that it is pretty much the most liberal place in North America for underwater freshwater spearfishing. You can shoot any species that can be caught with hook and line. No restrictions on which lakes or whether you are using SCUBA vs freediving.

I'm sure many of you have hunted around the Lake Diefenbaker area, here are some of my videos from there. It is one of my favourite locations to spear fish. Water that we swim in is relatively cold all summer (10C or 50F). March spearfishing in this lake is the best (where it isn't frozen over) and water temperature is a bone chilling 1.5C or 35F.

A burbot and a couple of walleye become that night's supper:





Some shots are easy, others are not. This one was not. Had to chase full out for about 30 seconds and then still take a shot while fish was swimming away.





Another shot.





No shot here, but big walleye. Smaller walleye is somewhere around the 55-60cm mark.


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## Duckslayer100

WOW  Amazing videos! I'd love to try that sometime! Can't shoot walleyes around here, but I've heard of some divers who spear carp and such. That has to be a riot. Good work :beer:


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## Squeeker

Are you not from N. Dakota?

Just had a quick peek at the regulations, maybe these are old, dunno...

Underwater spear fishing shall be open only in the following areas:
1. The Missouri River, except that portion of the Missouri River from the Garrison
Dam downstream three miles to the southern boundary of the US Army Corps of
Engineers Downstream Recreational Area;
2. Lake Oahe, Lake Sakakawea and the open fishing areas of Lake Audubon;
3. Devils Lake;
4. Spiritwood Lake;
5. Stump Lake

Underwater spear fishing - all species (game and non-game) except the following may be taken:
largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, muskellunge (pure and hybrid), paddlefish, pallid sturgeon,
and shovelnose sturgeon

According to the regs, you can do it at night too with the use of lights...I'd give my left nut for that opportunity up here in Sask!


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## Duckslayer100

Well I'll be dam*ed  I didn't even realize that! Ha! I bet I'd get quite a few COs called on me if I tried spearfishing walters in Devils Lake this spring! I knew we could bowfish at night, but didn't know about spearfishing! Oh man I bet those eyes glow to beat the band! That would be friggin' sweet...

Sooooo...how would a man go about getting together a starter kit for this underwater spearfishing business? :wink:


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## Duckslayer100

Just found an interesting hiccup with the law...looks like I need to be SCUBA certified before I can underwater spearfish. That seems strange, especially if I'm only freediving. They mention SCUBA several times in the law, almost like they never considered a person would do this holding their breath.
What do you make of it Squeeker?
****EDIT*****
Scratch that. Those must be old regs. The ones on the G&F site say nothing about SCUBA now. 
So in that case, I'll ask again, can you set me up with some gear Squeeker?!


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## carp_killer

gunattic is from nd and he also does lots of underwater spearfishing maybe he knows more about the ND laws?


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## Squeeker

I'd definitely say one of the things that you can buy that will have the largest influence on your experience would obviously be your gun. Avoid N. American made guns such as JBL and A.B. Biller, they are big, clunky, and have penetration problems due to their design in speartip. You can certainly stick a lot of fish with either one of those guns, but your experience will be much better if you go with a Euro gun such as a Rob Allen:
http://www.roballen.co.za/

I own one of all 3: a 20" JBL, a 42" Biller, and a 70cm Rob Allen.

Definitely gear your gun to the visibility you have in the lakes you spearfish. No point in having a really long, powerful gun if you can't see the end of it. The Rob Allen 70cm in my opinion is the best all-around speargun of the Saskatchewan prairies. Pretty much like a 30-06, ideal for anything and everything.

Head over to Deeperblue.net, there's a TON of good information there contained in the forums and guides.

Wetsuit-wise, depends on the type of water you are swimming in. I have a double layer BARE wetsuit that has served me well over the last few years, and when I flood it with hot water (that I haul out there), I can get a few hours in the water in 34F (1.5C) water.

Gloves/Mask/Hood/Boots/Fins - head to your local dive shop and try them on. They are so different for each individual as we all have different shapes of faces (for mask), etc.


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## Squeeker

Duckslayer100 said:


> Just found an interesting hiccup with the law...looks like I need to be SCUBA certified before I can underwater spearfish. That seems strange, especially if I'm only freediving. They mention SCUBA several times in the law, almost like they never considered a person would do this holding their breath.
> What do you make of it Squeeker?
> ****EDIT*****
> Scratch that. Those must be old regs. The ones on the G&F site say nothing about SCUBA now.
> So in that case, I'll ask again, can you set me up with some gear Squeeker?!


I noticed this too but didn't know what to make of it. Must be old. Go figure, completely a$$-backwards to the rest of N. America. SCUBA is the more restricted method over free-diving (skin) anywhere else there is a restriction to begin with.

I've never used SCUBA before, so my limit is about 30 feet on breath-hold. From what I have read it really doesn't give that much of an advantage anyways for any fish within your diving range. Too many bubbles that scare away fish. Free-diving = no bubbles and sometimes a point-blank shot when you're able to catch up to them.


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