Cornwall 2010

[TomH]

Did a night dive on the south coast last night, viz wasn't great, but perfectly fishable. Managed to get my first plaice as well Got back home and into bed at about 1:30am and then got up at 7:30am to put my lovely wet wetsuit on again to go wreck diving!

It was really cool to do some scuba stuff for a change. We found a HUGE lobster hiding away on one of the wrecks. Does anyone know how old these guys can get? Looked like he had been living there for a while, we managed to tickle him out of his hole and I reckon his claws were about the same length as my elbow to my wrist! Needless to say we kept well away from the sharp end and let him be He was a very impressive creature!

 

[superdude171]

Lobsters are very interesting creatures, scientists have done tests and apparently lobsters have chemicals that self repair their DNA so that they dont break down over time and change which is why most things get old and break down for want of a better phrase. ive read that technically lobsters could live almost indefinitely, but disease or hungry people usually get them first. all this means some lobbies can live a very long time, according to the internet the biggest ever caught was over 20kg in nova scotia!

Greg

 

[chris123]

With regard to people finding it hard to equalize, im guessing you all are wearing hoods? If so let a bit of water into the hood and you should be fine! SJ257 be carefull not to burst your eardrums if you cant equalise, if you cant do it try pinching your nose and blow a bit, wiggle your jaw and swallow!

Chris

 

[sj257]

With regard to people finding it hard to equalize, im guessing you all are wearing hoods? If so let a bit of water into the hood and you should be fine! SJ257 be carefull not to burst your eardrums if you cant equalise, if you cant do it try pinching your nose and blow a bit, wiggle your jaw and swallow!

Chris

Thanks Chris.

Was talking about this in Cornish Divers on Saturday. I think my problem is what Dave was saying, head tilted back. I've tried out of water and I can equalise a lot more easily with my head tucked down. Hopefully next dive will be at low water so no need to dive any depth, but next time or two I'll be trying to tuck my head to equalise.

Picked up some more lead and having read so much on here a torch to have a go at a night dive. Having shone it out the window last nigh I'm impressed with how bright it is. I've also got a smaller cheapie torch that I can use as a backup. Thinking about a spot with lights near the beach as a starter to help with orientation.

sj

 

[andycornish]

A little bit of topic, but went scuba diving yesterday with TomH (with Cornish Diving) and dived from Falmouth. And right at the end of the dive Tom saw a HUGE lobster in a hole in the hull. Once we had managed to coax it out of its hole we saw how huge it was, i would estimate total length from tail to head 12"-14" with a claw length (from body to tip of claw) 6"ish and the thicker claw 3"-4" height and at least 1" thick. The size is a conservative estimate as i have yet to catch a lobster and bring it to the surface.

A question does anyone know how long it would take for a lobster to grow that large ? Also how long a does a lobster live ?

Unfortunately forgot to take underwater camera :head so was not able to take a photo.

 

[tribs]

Tom saw a HUGE lobster in a hole in the hull. Once we had managed to coax it out of its hole we saw how huge it was, i would estimate total length from tail to head 12"-14" with a claw length (from body to tip of claw) 6"ish and the thicker claw 3"-4" height and at least 1" thick. The size is a conservative estimate as i have yet to catch a lobster and bring it to the surface.

A question does anyone know how long it would take for a lobster to grow that large ? Also how long a does a lobster live ?

Unfortunately forgot to take underwater camera :head so was not able to take a photo.

Hi,

Best not give its exact location away in case anyone who is not as kindly as the DB folk read this. Oh, oops.

Tribs

No offence meant but I know commercial people read this forum too and its not for the friendly bits. Just 2p worth

Tribs

Secretly out

 

[speardog]

had my first dive at portland today dived a couple of reefs but seemed very barren landscape in comparison to my usual cornish haunts gonna try another spot tommorrow so hopefully should be a bit more interesting

 

[andycornish]

Hi,

Best not give its exact location away in case anyone who is not as kindly as the DB folk read this. Oh, oops.

Tribs

No offence meant but I know commercial people read this forum too and its not for the friendly bits. Just 2p worth

Tribs

Secretly out

Have modified post accordingly

So commercial scuba's read this then you reckon ?

 

[chrisreynolds]

Have modified post accordingly

So commercial scuba's read this then you reckon ?

OOOOPS....... the important bit is still in the quoted post by tribs so you may still have a problem if tribs doesn't do a swift edit.

 

[scottwilson]

I cant see it Chris :thankyou

 

[tribs]

Hi all,

Glad the location is gone from sneaky eyes. Sadly, people who are greedy and scrupulous do read these pages. Of greater sadness is that I see alot of it around where I live. Also, such people are likely to follow spearos with catches. I know I was spotted working an area by some of the local boats one evening and the next day when I went back I couldn't get to my spot as a boat had shot a 16 mesh gill net across an entire cove. Cheekily the bloke in the boat, who was sat with the net, gave me a wry smile and a knowing wave.

Sorry to be the cynical one.

Tribs

out

 

[Davidocallaghan]

A little bit of topic, but went scuba diving yesterday with TomH (with Cornish Diving) and dived from Falmouth. And right at the end of the dive Tom saw a HUGE lobster in a hole in the hull. Once we had managed to coax it out of its hole we saw how huge it was, i would estimate total length from tail to head 12"-14" with a claw length (from body to tip of claw) 6"ish and the thicker claw 3"-4" height and at least 1" thick. The size is a conservative estimate as i have yet to catch a lobster and bring it to the surface.

A question does anyone know how long it would take for a lobster to grow that large ? Also how long a does a lobster live ?

Unfortunately forgot to take underwater camera :head so was not able to take a photo.

Hi Andy back in 1980 i went to nova Scotia Canada . When i was there we went to lunenburg and saw the 20kg lobster in a tank took some pics at the time a few years later went back again and saw the same lobster in a glass box as you can tell it passed away but what a size it was bigger than any thing i have ever seen . I also did some spearfishing when i was there at a place called Peggie's cove there was more lobsters there than i have ever seen i did just look at them Daveo

 

[tonyeynon]

I've never seen a lobster yet lol?! Do you have to perticually look for them or do folk stumble accross them like you do with crabs?

Thinking of going for a dive later today on the lizard somewhere. Does anyone have predictions on the conditions today? I heard there was ment to be some high winds but looking out the window it looks pretty nice! If anyone has any idea I would appricate a heads up before I make the 45 min drive

Had a dive around Kennack Sands yesterday. The swell calmed down when the tide turned to go out and the viz was amazing at 10m+ at parts. Tons of Pollack everywhere albeit not much size to them. Saw 4 bass, shot at 2 and missed both - still a great day though

 

[TomH]

I went camping down west for a few days with Andy and some other mates. Managed to get a couple of dives in as well. We didn't do too well on the fish front, but the highlight had to be playing around with a very friendly seal for about half an hour or so!

I'd given up using my gun and luckily had a borrowed underwater camera in my hands when the seal turned up. He seemed to be fascinated by the weight and reel on the end of our buoy! Had a play with our fins as well and came nice and close for some photos It was really good to just use a camera rather than a gun!

 

[Pav]

I often think of dropping the gun and focusing on the seal love when they come in to play! Next time I think I'll opt for the camera. They are great photos.

I got in after work. Viz was a bit patchy so all the hunting was on the bottom. Collected an edible crab but later decided to leave it as fancied some pub grub tonight!

Came by a shoal of well over 100 small (3") fish. They had the little barb thing under the chin like cod, but these has two finger width stripes on the body. Def. not pollock as there were pleanty of these about. I'm sure I've seen them before but tonight they got my attention as the shoal was HUGE.

A few small Bass and mullet around but nothing of a good size. Looks like the surf will get my attention for the next few days .

 

[scottwilson]

September FOM
Is now open










September FOM




We have updated the rules so please ensure you read them ( in full) before posting your enteries, paying particualr attention to the Entry rules 1 - 7​

Rules


To have your catch entered in the UK Fish of the Month (FOM) competition you must satisfy the following rules.

Membership.
1. You must have been a current active member of the DeeperBlue.com Forums, when you made the catch.
2. You must have been a member of said forums for a minimum of one calendar month prior to making the catch.
3. You must have previously posted at least 10 times on said forums under your user name as described in 1. above, when you made the catch.

Catch

1. Your catch must not break any laws currently enacted in the country where it was taken.
2. Your catch must be within any size limits as laid down in the country where it was taken.
3. Your catch may be of any fish species and including cuttlefish, squid, crab and lobster but excluding scallops.

Method

1. You must have been fully immersed in water when you made the catch.
2. If beneath the water surface you may only have been using the practice of breath hold freediving to make your catch.
3. You must have made the catch by hand, using a hand spear, a polespear, a Hawaiian sling, or a speargun powered solely by your own manual loading effort.
4. No method of capture must break any laws currently enacted in the country where it was made.

Entry

1. You must have posted a report of your catch including details of its weight and with a clear photograph, on the DeeperBlue forums.
2. A picture, with a daily newspaper in the background, must accompany the entry to prove date of capture.
3 Accurate scales must have been used to weigh your entered catch and DB staff may request proof of this.
4. All entries must be in by 23:59hrs GMT on 2nd of following month. (e.g. April entries to be in by 2nd May)
5. You may post your own entry on the appropriate FOM monthly thread.
6. Staff reserve the right to modify or even reject and delete entries that do not comply with the rules.
7. All weights must be entered in Pounds and Ounces
Result

1. All winners will be chosen by popular vote on a DB on-line poll.
2. A draw will result in the first posted entry winning.
3. Voting will last for 5 days once poll has been set up.
4. You can enter as many times as you like every month but you will be asked to nominate only one entry to forward to the poll.
5. In the event of there being 20 or more individuals entering the competition a short list of 20 will be chosen by DB staff.

Staff decisions on all matters relating to the FOM are absolute and final.

*** GOOD LUCK ***​

 

[sj257]

Got out after work on the south coast tonight. Found a sheltered spot but the swell still seemed to be pushing and pulling with some considerable force.

Interestingly the fish seemed to be behaving differently. Wonder if it's to do with the easterlies? Meant the fish were not where I would normally find them, but that was an improvement. Made the fishing far more interesting. Managed to bag a decent bass and a decent mullet, both just under 3lb once gutted. So probably my best brace so far.

Great pics of the seal.

sj

 

[andycornish]

I often think of dropping the gun and focusing on the seal love when they come in to play! Next time I think I'll opt for the camera. They are great photos.

I got in after work. Viz was a bit patchy so all the hunting was on the bottom. Collected an edible crab but later decided to leave it as fancied some pub grub tonight!

Came by a shoal of well over 100 small (3") fish. They had the little barb thing under the chin like cod, but these has two finger width stripes on the body. Def. not pollock as there were pleanty of these about. I'm sure I've seen them before but tonight they got my attention as the shoal was HUGE.

A few small Bass and mullet around but nothing of a good size. Looks like the surf will get my attention for the next few days .

Pav

They might be either juvenile poor cod or red mullet, can be hard to tell when they are smaller.

andy

 

[fearthespear]

Pav

They might be either juvenile poor cod or red mullet, can be hard to tell when they are smaller.

andy

...Or maybe bib? (Are Bib poor cod?!)

 

[devondave]

Pout
Pouting
Bib
Very close relation to poorcod but not the same.

They are quite edible but a bit small and fiddly.

Dave.

Edit: can't post a f%&@#ing picture, try in another post.
Hmm, not a brilliant picture, it doesn't show the vertical stripes.