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Cornwall 2008.

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 90 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
#301
Hello everyone,

first post, forgive the lack of intro. I'm heading to st Ives next week and am planning to have my first uk spearfish. Popped my cherry in spain but just moved back home and looking to get involved. round St. Ives looks pretty amazing so I'm very excited. Having never fished in the UK before is there anything I should bare in mind (other than the cold!) How are conditions at the mo? Any other 'must visit' sites you'd care to share?

Thanks and hello.
 
#303
I had a good couple of hours diving off Penlee point yesterday. Bagged a big flounder that was swimming over a reef, and shot a John Dory in a gully. The viz was interesting at best, from 10-12ft, right down to less than 1ft in places.

How common are John Dorys? I've never seen one before, and then I see two on the same day. I only didn't shoot the second one as I've no idea what the taste like.
 
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#304
They are lucky they did not meet me! John Dory is an incredible tasting fish...
There was even a few fish restaurants back in South Africa called John Dory Fishmongers! I used to go there and and enjoy a nice calamari/prawn/JD combo with garlic butter, peri peri, chips and spicy rice!
WHO'S HUNGRY?!?
 
#305
John Dorys are also one of the most expensive fish to buy - hope you are going to enter your fish in our FOM competition?
How big was it? good catch anyway.
 
#307
Long ago Huan (where are you Huan?) posted some vid of hand spearing a JD with a loaded gun plus some other footage. JD's are an amazing fish to see underwater. I see a few when on scuba and although I could catch them and I know they are highly valued (£'s and taste) I personally leave them. That said I might be tempted by a nice big one if I saw it freediving.

Dave
 
#308
jontyponty said:
Hello everyone,

first post, forgive the lack of intro. I'm heading to st Ives next week and am planning to have my first uk spearfish. Popped my cherry in spain but just moved back home and looking to get involved. round St. Ives looks pretty amazing so I'm very excited. Having never fished in the UK before is there anything I should bare in mind (other than the cold!) How are conditions at the mo? Any other 'must visit' sites you'd care to share?

Thanks and hello.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the underwater world JP!

Tribs
 
#309
Managed to get in off the north coast this morning before the bad weather really gets a hold this weekend. Plenty of Bass around but again nothing bigger than 3lb. I only took the one I needed for dinner tonight, but the fishing was not easy.

Sea state was ok considering the weather recently but the vis averaged 3m at best - not good. Conditions will hopefully settle down after this low pressure passes over
 
#310
Got in on the North Coast early this morning and despite a hairy start (hot curry last night ) I got my first 5lb bass.I was in about 5 metres with 3m vis in high water slack. It's the biggest I've had a good sight at and it came in close and slow behind a smaller 2llb or so fish so I was obviously cacking it before I shot but it was a nice clean hit behind the gills but it still put up a fight. I've been reading on the forum about letting go of the gun to avoid tear outs. How the hell do you that and ever get it back ? Looking forward to the double figure fish now but I will presumably have a heart attack when I see it. Great stuff
 
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#311
good going Napper. I clip my float line onto my gun when I dive 5 meters and below. its a pain in the neck and gets under you fins and around your legs to start off but I soon learned how to keep it away from my body. with the float line on your gun you can let go of the gun and move toward the fish, if you need to surface for air then at least you still got a line onto the gun and of coursee on the fish.
 
#312
Well done napper, your first decent bass is a big milestone. Letting go of your gun depends on many factors. The main thing to avoid is aggressively pulling the fish toward you with the line. This is a main cause of tear offs. A 5lb fish wont swim far with your spear in it but letting go of your gun in poor vis and deep water is not a good idea.

Why dont you take a pic of it and enter it in FOM. The result is by popular vote and personally I'd rather vote for a newbie with a 5lb bass than an experienced spearo with a 10lber.

Dave
 
#313
napper said:
I've been reading on the forum about letting go of the gun to avoid tear outs. How the hell do you that and ever get it back ? Looking forward to the double figure fish now but I will presumably have a heart attack when I see it. Great stuff
Click to expand...

One of 2 ways. On my RB 110 i use a reel so i don't need to let go of the gun. I just let the reel pay out and let the bass settle in the weed then go and fetch him. On my smaller 90 i use a float and line so i can let go of the gun but still keep a loose hold of the line. When you are ready to get the fish just follow the line, never pull it to you!

Since doing this i can't remember the last time i had one rip off. Even with a few dodgy shots close to the edge of the fish. When they swim into the kelp they dont really move!

Hope this helps.
 
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#314
I've never had any problems with letting my gun go.The majority of times,the fish will head for the kelp so i just let it go before surfacing,getting my knife and going down to dispatch it.I use a bright yellow mono shooting line which allows me to locate it easlily.Had one get loose when i was trying to grab it not long ago and swim full pelt into my mask,nearly taking it off,gave me quite a stun,which was nice!I guess,like has been said that you jst want to prevent any tension on the line so dumping the gun isn't neccesary every time.
Well done on the bass,i havn't been in for a while....was hoping to get in tomorrow but god knows where after this weather.
 
#315
I've given up spearing and gone back to surfing! This is very strange weather, swell and wind we are having for this time of year. Where is the summer flat spell?
 
#317
Thats good advice about tear offs, I barely speared a decent bass today and instead of pulling him in like i normally do i let him settle. I wasn't wearing gloves and couldn't get hold of him. He did eventually escape, but it's sound advice one for tip of the day thread.
 
#318
donnachad said:
Thats good advice about tear offs, I barely speared a decent bass today and instead of pulling him in like i normally do i let him settle. I wasn't wearing gloves and couldn't get hold of him. He did eventually escape, but it's sound advice one for tip of the day thread.
Click to expand...

Gloves are a must. I tend to wear boating gloves. Leather around the inside of the hand to protect from the spines and thin neoprean on the back of the hand. Not sure what it is but i hate wetsuit gloves. I tend to think i get a little more feedom with these gloves over wetsuit gloves but i know others will disagree. The main thing is fo far i have never had a spine go thru the gloves and i i don't need to be too careful how i grab a bass. Saying that though, when you go to grab the fish be sure to go right for the head. Get your fingers into the gill from under the head. This will make it easier to handle when the bass starts to fight back.

Hope this helps.
 
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