Cornwall 2007!

[James T]

I love my gloves. I bought a pair of kevlar weave diving gloves for spearing - they do not tear, or wear out (so far...). They have become really flexible and keep my hands warm and protected except recently when the water was getting a bit chilly on my extended trigger finger.

I would not do without them - partly for the reason mentioned above in terms of handling spiky fish, partly for not stabbing myself when dispatching (If I make a bad shot and the fish wriggles too much I have slipped on accasion with my knife) but mainly because I kept wearing out the fingers of my softer gloves holding on to rocks and reef in the current or when I am trying to work my way through small caves/openings or when I am slightly underweighted.

The other reason I like to wear gloves is I get some arthritis in my old wrists when they get too cold - so the extra layer staves this off.

My tuppence worth

 

[Huw]

Cheers for the info guys, its all good, and like you said foxfish, gloves seem to be an issue of thinkness more than anything else. I just looked through the DB store and apneac.co.uk, and saw loooads of pairs of different thicknesses etc. Its hard to decide on wht to go for, as i mainly want them for protection and a little bit more warmth, however, i am really set on not loosing too much manoverability, and so was thinking that perhaps 2-3mm would be alrite. What thickness are you guys using?

Huw.

 

[fearthespear]

I use cheapo 'throw away after a season' 5mm's. My hands get cold easily and tend not to work so its vital to keep them as warm as possible! I can't grab fish if my hands are cold and also i'm a bit of a ditherer worrying about spikes, claws etc!! Thick gloves mean there's no messing about for me. Also good from a humane point of view as a speared fish isn't suffering for so long. I guess it all depends on what helps your confidence...

 

[spearheads]

I just looked at mine and they are 3.5 mil. Im still diving now and my hands still stay warm (ish)
Also you could use just one glove on a hand for holding onto fish and reefs, I'm always grabbing on to rocks on shallow dives gloves stop you getting stung or cut.

 

[Huw]

I just looked at mine and they are 3.5 mil. Im still diving now and my hands still stay warm (ish)
Also you could use just one glove on a hand for holding onto fish and reefs, I'm always grabbing on to rocks on shallow dives gloves stop you getting stung or cut.

Thats exactly what my buddy does, and goes gloveless on the trigger hand. I think a nice pair of 2mms will give some protection and warmth and leave enough freedom to move well. Especiall seeing as i have never used gloves before (other than trying my buddys), then 2mms will seem thick enough for most things. My decision to turn to gloves came last season when a bass struggled backwards further into my fist that was clenched around its 'neck' and resulted in a gill covering slicing right into my finger :ko

Cheers,
Huw.

 

[spearflap]

does anyone know what the riffe masks are like, thinking of a viso for small faces, got an omer eclusive which is great and super fit, just fancy a clear mask as well but cant find the omer abyss anywhere.hope to be in by end of march/april. i use 2mm cressi gloves good and cheap..

 

[badlander]

MASCARA OMER ABYSS EXCLUSIVE / MED MIMETIC / OCEAN

Don't know if this is any help.

 

[Pinggene]

I got some (3) fingered 5 mm custom sized gloves from Elios for cold water...I've been told they are the ticket to staying warm...have not had a chance to use them yet.

Gene

 

[Huw]

does anyone know what the riffe masks are like, thinking of a viso for small faces, got an omer eclusive which is great and super fit, just fancy a clear mask as well but cant find the omer abyss anywhere.hope to be in by end of march/april. i use 2mm cressi gloves good and cheap..

I just got a riffe naida for xmas, but havent got it wet yet, so i can't post a proper report; however i can definately say that i am very impressed with the build quality and the softness of the silicone, also it sits very well on my face with no felt pressure on any part of my face... unlike my old mask. But as i say... take this with a pinch of salt as i havent actually used it for an extended period of time.

However if you are set on finding the omer abyss, i would say keep an eye out on ebay.com to see if one pops up that could be sent over here for a reasonable price.

cheers for all the help with gloves guys... im just really hoping for good viz and conditions in a month or so ( once the suit arrives )

Huw.

 

[nickever]

Hi there, I have been spearing in cornwall for the past three years but only in the summer months. Can't wait to get back in and was wondering if any of you knew what it was like at this time of year? Any fish about? I mainly go southcoast - praa, porthleven, mounts bay etc area. If not now -how soon?!!

 

[Huw]

Hi Nickever,

first off welcome to the forums! Secondly, i'm afraid that at this time of year, the fish are pretty scarce, although if you see any, then they are usually a fair size. As you have probably read from badlanders trip reports - amoung others, our catches and sightings seem to have dwindled off into nothingness, with the last sighting of a fish being a dead gurnard rofl.!!!!!!!

I myself am wondering how long it is untill we can get back into decent vis and fish, and it seems that easter time should be ok, perhaps a little sooner.

I am also on the south coast, although up in Fowey... so a little distance from you. If you havent done already, the Cornwall 06 thread has some really good reports, and discussions, techniques, pictures and catches etc that i'm sure wuld provide you with some light reading over the next few days . Just use the search function of the site.

Cheers,
Huw.

 

[badlander]

took the boat out today for the first time,pretty relieved to find it all works pretty well,like all boats it shrank by half when it went in the water and 3 people spearing on it would be an intimate affair but two would be fine.
Found that it can be carried fairly easily to the water which is an added bonus....in short....stoked!
Just going to start going back in spearing now when conditions allow....can't handle just sitting around waiting!

 

[Huw]

Thats good news about the boat mate, and the same as you i just cant wait to get back in. I have spent the last week or so watching spearfishing videos over and over, and i just cant wait much more. As soon as this suit arrives and the viz is clear, i will be in there like a flash!

Am i right in thinking that no one here on the Cornwall thread hasnt had a 2007 bass yet? I may read up on the gurnsey boys and the devon lads... see if anyone has seen any yet.

Huw

 

[Old Man Dave]

In Guernsey we have had one of the worst winters for diving for many many years. The wind has been unrelenting and I can't remember such a long period of bad vis.

Last bass on the spear was caught by me on a night dive on 28/12/06 along with a couple of plaice, a turbot and a sole. That was my last dive. Since then I've caught a bass, rod fishing off the shore using a surface popper lure on 6/1/07 and another bass about a week later by the same method.

Ed (Portinfer) saw a couple of bass about a week ago on a night dive and that was the last time anyone went. The local shore anglers are catching the odd bass but few and far between.

Unless you're very keen (or slightly crazy) best to stay home and play with your tackle until end of April, begining of May, when the water starts to warm a little and the bass move inshore again.

Dave

 

[spearflap]

can you recomend a reasonably priced tourch fancy some night diving myself also any tips wouldnt go a miss

 

[Old Man Dave]

Just try a search for torches and you should find lots of interesting reading. I've posted quite a lot of my thoughts and experiences of torches and night diving.

However, just to get you going I started with a 6 watt technisub luna costing under £20 and had some good fun to such an extent that I invested in a UK C8 (13 & 20 watt dual bulbs) with rechargable batteries which cost nearer £100.

Try a search and if you want more info then ask away.

Dave

PS James T asked some similar questions recently and I think he bought a C8 in the end. You could try PMing him. He posts on this thread.

 

[James T]

can you recomend a reasonably priced tourch fancy some night diving myself also any tips wouldnt go a miss

I had some good tips from Dave and others - I will forward you some of the advice I got.

In the end I bought a C8 rechargable which I haven't used in anger yet. But IMHO I would go for the most powerful torch you can afford with a reasonably wide beam. I started with a small headstrap mounted Underwater Kinetics torch but freaked myself out night diving - I kept swimming into small caves because I couldn't see the rocks around them at night. Now I have the strap mounted torch for sorting myself out, getting in out etc. And the larger C8 to hunt by. The mask strap mounted one I use during the day aswell for those dark places I put my head

 

[nickever]

Anyone out there who fishes in cornwall ever tried using a lure of any kind to try to attract fish?

I am thinking about developing a device that will allow me to drop a weight, line and float (with a bass-attracting lure or bait) into deep gullies or other areas where bass have been seen. The idea being to try and draw those big clever fella's out into the open where I stand a better chance of spearing them. I won't be using hooks or anything as I feel that this would defeat the object of spearing. Does anyone have an opinon about using this method? Is it something that would be frowned upon by the general spearfishing community and seen as cheating???? If not - any tips!!!

 

[James T]

I did experiment making a flasher based on cut and glued CDs in the broad shape of small fish suspended from my float. However after I tried it I found it more trouble than it was worth given that I was dragging it and the rest of my gear through the water.

I have heard of people carrying a small mesh bag with peeler crab in it to try and act as an attractant.

Also carrying a small mirror I have read about (sacrifice one of your make-up mirrors )

But when all is said and done I found it more rewarding and interesting to just go for the faithful old Agachon/Aspetto to attact the fish in.

I am still interested in how you get on though - I look forward to seeing your post.

 

[scottie3030]

Bass love the smell of a smashed up peeler crab. one of the best sea baits there is! you can get them from good fishing shops but there not cheap!