I was advised to ask you guys.

[volktron58]

I would like to take up freshwater hunting here in southern indiana but info is hard to come by. The lakes i will be hunting are private one is 16acres with a max depth of 27feet bluegills,bass,crappie, catfish may all be potential targets. Viz is best in the spring and fall 10 or more feet at times. I would guess that suspended schools of panfish,crappie in less than 15feet of water would be ideal for hunting. The lake has an abundance of catfish in the 8-12 lb range aswell. Advice on gear will hopefully eliminate the expensive trial and error game. I have little knowledge on fins,masks or guns. Any advice on hunting these types of waters or fish would also be great. I am located in southwestern indiana 5 min. from evansville if anyone reads this and will be nearby. Thank you in advance for your replies.

[Fondueset]

Hi,

For those conditions I suggest a 75cm eurogun - the Omer Cayman comes to mind and is sold in a few different flavors - depending on your budget. It is a very well reviewed gun and the size is right for your conditions.
In fact you could do a lot worse than Omer gear across the board. The alien is a popular and almost universally comfortable mask and they've got a good range of fins. I do a lot of business here spearfishing gear, spearfishing equipment, spearguns, shop online
Cressi Garas are also good fins that are inexpensive and there are quite a few good masks out there. I use an alien and a Cressi Matrix - but I strongly advise trying the matrix on to make sure it fits. The Alien is a better bet if you can't try it on first. (of course most places will take them back - but you're out shipping)

[JPPLAY]

You already got my opinion on gun sizes.
The Omer Cayman is too expensive for a 75 cm. Make sure you get the lower version of the Caymen not the HF. The special design of it to be stiffer is not needed for what you would be doing with it. Get something cheaper and in aluminum so you don't have to worry about scratching it. The standard Caymen or if you can find a T-20.
I shoot a Beuchat 90 cm but I got a good deal on it and until you get picky about what you shoot then you can spend the extra money. I have also learned how to handle the gun in low visibility situations but a 75 cm would be handy.
Good spearfisherman can win in competitions with basically any brand of speargun. It comes down to your skills. As you get better you will be able to get away with shorter guns as you will be able to get closer to the fish.
I can't comment on the fish you are hunting as I haven't hunted any of them unless by panfish you mean perch. Just go out and dive. Don't be afraid to try new things all the time and when the day is good to try other techniques to see if they work as good or better. Just because something didn't work once doesn't mean it won't work latter.

[Erik]

Not much different from hunting elsewhere really. Just make sure you have float, stringer, knife and a shorter line from the gun to the float than if you were in the sea. 40' is lots if you're in the shallow stuff.
Good hunting
Erik