Brighton spearo Beginner needs help!

[griff777]

Hi People,
Im a Brighton angler i have a boat in Brighton marina, im very interested in spearfishing as a complete beginner! I know lots of good shallow marks that hold bass, pollock flatties etc....Im quite a good swimmer not sure on breathe holding skills?! I pressume you can get in the water march/april when fish become more abbundent? Any info on boat spearfishing, kit and areas, best tides and depths would be gratefully recieved.
Many Thanks

Griff

 

[devondave]

Boat?
You have a boat?
You know shallow marks for bass and flatties and pollack?
Right then, I'll be your official db stalker from now on.

http://forums.deeperblue.com/uk-ireland/81682-sussex-report-2009-a.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/uk-ireland/86213-sussex-2010-a-4.html

Have a read though these, it might give you a few ideas.
It might be a good idea to do a bit of shore diving before jumping off the back of a boat though.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you like.

And welcome to db.

 

[Tunny]

Boat?
You have a boat?
You know shallow marks for bass and flatties and pollack?
Right then, I'll be your official db stalker from now on.

http://forums.deeperblue.com/uk-ireland/81682-sussex-report-2009-a.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/uk-ireland/86213-sussex-2010-a-4.html

Have a read though these, it might give you a few ideas.
It might be a good idea to do a bit of shore diving before jumping off the back of a boat though.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you like.

And welcome to db.

Count me in on that too!

Welcome to deeper blue mate, any advice you require on anything just ask - there are plenty of experienced Spearo's on here...

Cheers

Ryan

 

[griff777]

Hello chaps!
Yes Dave i have the boat ive fished out of the marina for the past 10 years from 6ft of water to 14/15 mile wrecks, my g.p.s has most decent marks inatalled. I love Bass fishing mainly with live joeys from wrecks also with lures over shallow reefs around rottingdean/shoreham but the idea of being in the water hunting seems exciting. How deep do spearos go, as begginer would the piers be any good ? Ive seen couple of lads in a zodiac spearing on the jenny grounds shoreham (high ground 1 mile out). What guns are good for beginners i.e length, pneumatic? Cant wait untill the flatties start showing in march ......im in boys!!!:t

Hey Tunny ive seen 1 of them in the english channel 7 mile off shoreham wreck city of london google " tunny seen shoreham "
Cheers guys

Griff

 

[griff777]

Is there any dive shops in sussex that sell spear guns and can give info on rigging them up? Any good books out there?

 

[devondave]

Right, well you certainly sound keen enough, that's a good start.

How deep?
Beginners down to around 5m, maybe to 10m for a bit more experienced,
some go a lot deeper. Never dive alone if diving deep, in fact it's better not to dive alone at all, especially when beginning.

Yeah the piers can be productive, the columns give a good reference point, something to hang on to, it can feel a bit 'safer'.
The end of Palace Pier gets about 12m deep though.

Guns.
There are probably more posts on guns than any other subject on db.
But for a first gun around the UK most people would go for a 75cm band gun.
Simple to use, reliable, accurate and not too expensive.
Something like a Cressi Comanche, but there are dozens of others to choose from.

Unfortunately, as far as I know there are no shops selling spearo gear in Sussex.
Some dive shops are starting to sell a few bits and pieces, so there might be one somewhere.
Most of us buy our stuff online but for some things it's better to try them on first, fins for example.
There is a great shop down in the West country, Venture Sports, but it's a long way to go.

Books.
Yes a few books- http://forums.deeperblue.com/beginner-hunting/64516-spearo-books.html
To be honest though db is probably now the greatest repository for spearing info' in the world (let's just say.)
It's a question of using the search button and asking the right things or just ask in a post, someone will know the answer for sure.

Hope this has helped a little, maybe we can catch-up for a dive next year?

 

[griff777]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the help! Ive looked at the online shop and it looks like i can get kitted out for about £500. I think that is reasonable for this type of hobby. I have only recently part exd my sessa cruiser for a beneteua antares 6.80 with 115hp suzuki, should be fast enough plus easy on the wallet, kept all my sussex marks for new plotter. I would love to try spearfishing on a good fishing ground kingsmeer rocks littlehampton bass, bream a plenty during the summer! I will get the kit do some diving training and your welcome to come out in march and show me the ropes mate
Thanks

Griff

 

[Salehthefish]

Hello Griff and welcome on DB

All best

 

[Tunny]

Hey Tunny ive seen 1 of them in the english channel 7 mile off shoreham wreck city of london google " tunny seen shoreham "
Cheers guys

Griff[/quote]


That's not me mate! But intresting to see there's one more of us out there with a love of the water, wonder if his surname is Tunstall too...

If you PM me your email address, I have been collating a word document with loads of useful information and I could send it over to you.

The flatfish are still around at the moment (or were two weeks ago).

But I think I have had my last dive this season until March next year too.

As for kit there is Apnea.co.uk & Venture sports as Dave mentioned spearo.co.uk & Denney diving is another I have used.

75cm again as Dave has mentioned is the preferred gun, I also use a 55cm Mares instinct pro for bad visibility and string weed hunting.

Cheers

Ryan

 

[Jonny250]

Welcome Griff!
Just a thought on the boat spearfishing - i would be interested to hear what others do, but make sure you have a very good float/smb so that your boatman can spot you easily! it's amazing just how quickly a spearo dissapears from view in a few inches of choppy water.
antares 6.80 sounds good! i have a QS 640 which i quite like

 

[griff777]

Hey Tunny ive seen 1 of them in the english channel 7 mile off shoreham wreck city of london google " tunny seen shoreham "
Cheers guys

Griff

That's not me mate! But intresting to see there's one more of us out there with a love of the water, wonder if his surname is Tunstall too...

If you PM me your email address, I have been collating a word document with loads of useful information and I could send it over to you.

The flatfish are still around at the moment (or were two weeks ago).

But I think I have had my last dive this season until March next year too.

As for kit there is Apnea.co.uk & Venture sports as Dave mentioned spearo.co.uk & Denney diving is another I have used.

75cm again as Dave has mentioned is the preferred gun, I also use a 55cm Mares instinct pro for bad visibility and string weed hunting.

Cheers

Ryan[/quote]

 

[griff777]

Tunny i ment ive actually seen a tuna in the english channel it jumped on the surface its documented 2009 adur wildlife with my name, it was around 10kg by eye!! www.glaucus.org.uk/Tunny.htm .
Cheers chaps for info and advice

Griff

 

[agbiv]

Welcome from Texas! I see that owning a boat bring buddys in like vultures to a two day carcass. rofl

 

[griff777]

Chef Al,
Whats your favourite fish recipe mate???

 

[agbiv]

So many fish and only one life to eat it all. My personal favorite is whole broiled stuffed flounder: stuffed with crabmeat/bread/cheese stuffing, 2 large sea scallops, 2 curled 15 ct shrimp wrapped in seeded jalapeno peppers and the lot dusted in japanese bread crumbs. A bit of a chore to make but worth it! I'll post the entire recipe on the recipe thread after the holidays.