Cornwall Spearfishing 2006

[gutshot]

Hey badlandler, i don't want to sound like i am teaching you to suck eggs but losing 2 fish off the end of your spear sounds fairly bad. Do you pull your line to you when you shoot a fish? Don't take it the wrong way but we tend to give the fish an slow death for nothing everytime we lose one off the end of our spears.

I dived the north coast yesterday. Fairly quiet. The first reef showed 1 mackeral then i swam over to the other reef and saw 1 pollock, one flattie but a good size school of bass. Mostly too small but a couple of good sized one. They managed to stay away from my aim and then they all buggered off! Was nice to get in the water though. Still a few fish around but not for long!

 

[Pav]

Where roughly (not asking for spots!) are you Gutshot? I did wonder at the weekend if to drive west over the border, past Bude to see if things were any better.

May try again next weekend if conditions stay calm... won't pack the kit away just yet

 

[foxfish]

You have a point Gutshot, I hope your name does not reflect your own shooting though?
To be honest we all loose fish from time to time I just dont think most of us write about it.

 

[Huw]

You have a point Gutshot, I hope your name does not reflect your own shooting though?
To be honest we all loose fish from time to time I just dont think most of us write about it.

Here Here... i agree!

 

[badlander]

True,it doesn't happen all the time but both shots went in high in the shoulder and tore out with ease before i got hold of them,and i don't piss about.I agree it's a shame to injure a fish,but it happens.

 

[gutshot]

OK, i have a few replies to write. Here goes,

Pav, i spear around the Newquay area give or take a few miles.

Foxfish, yes my name was because of my shooting. A gutshot was not the best shot which is why i took great pride in adapting my technique to minimise the chance of losing fish. Oh and i am a much better shot now but the name stuck! When i shoot a fish i drop my gun keeping the line loosly in my hand. Then follow the line down to the fish and grab him by the head. So far 99.9% of all speared headed into the kelp. I know this means possible tanglement in the weed but i have never found this to be a problem. Take your time and don't rush and it's ok. I have seen/ heard about too many fish lost due to the spear being pulled out whilest pulling the fish to the spearo.

For the other fish that don't hit the kelp i again follow the line (never pulling it) to the fish.

So far i have only lost 2 fish this year. A red mullet which was a crap long range shot which tore off my line (i understand they tear off easily anyway, well that my excuse) And my fist bass of the year which vanished from my stringer. Either a seal or entanglement in the crab pot ropes floating on the surface had that.

And Badlander, again i hope you don't think i was writing out of line. Sometimes it's too easy to read in between the lines and get the wrong end of the stick!

Gutshot

 

[Mr. X]

I haven't experienced a tear off yet but certainly missed plenty of fish. This weekend I rediscovered a Len Jones tip: aim for the head. If a bass has seen me, and I aim for the middle of the fish I always miss - they just move quicker than me & the spear. I've wondered how they do this so quickly and effectively for some time. However, when I aim for the head, I usually hit the head or near the gill plate. I think it has something do with the way they evade attack - they often seem to v. quickly turn into the plane of the head, presenting a narrow profile. [Len Jone's book justifies the advice differently, he reasons that fish swim forward so if you aim for the head & misjudge its speed you stand a good chance of hitting the body. Makes sense]. Might be worth a try. [Would be interested if anybody else has any thoughts/experiences/ideas about this]

 

[Almostafish]

To my mind you shoot fish in the head. Simple. It kills them quickly, gives a good hold for the spear and does not do any damage to the meat. If you cant hit the head and make a clean kill the fish goes free.

You can sit and read as much as you want but the basic fact is you need to be out there as often as you can, in all conditions, working on your skills. Fish always see you first? Use the light, don't swim from the sun, Fish wont come in close? What does this fish want to see to come over to investigate? Dont just sit there thinking Ah.. Page 45 said something about the camber angle on the fore peak rubbing band on this 75 with reference to me parallel indexing my shots to this landmark.. Aggghhhh!

I know this is a forum to learn from but the basics of Spearo is Underwater HUNTING.. Stealth, easy slow movement, little eye contact with the prey and the biggest best thing to bring Uk fish in close.. You being relaxed and not letting your heart rate rise when you see a nice target. Not only does it burn out your bottom time, the fish feel it and Fu*k off sharpish!

I make mistakes and am still learning something every time I go in. Im not perfect in any way at all but I catch lots of whatever fish/shellfish/crustaceans/molluscs/cephalopods I want and can post a few pictures of them to boot.

And while I am here on my soap box I agree with Foxfish, If you do cock it up (Happens) or you cant tell if it was a Wrasse or a Bass! Then perhaps don't mention that small part in your report!

 

[badlander]

Yep,i'll be keeping the odd mistake to myself from now on!

 

[podge]

My two pence worth,
I haven’t been spearing as long as some but I did have a very good teacher and from what I was told in the early days I have come up with this.
Don’t thing to much about what you’re doing if you see an edible fish let instinct take over. The only thing that goes through my mind at the time of a kill is can I eat it and is it big enough. After that the spear does its own thing.
Books are great if you want to read about it and I’m sure anybody could get a few good tips but what works for some may not work for others.
To my mind the best way is to get out there and find out for yourself what works best for you.

 

[gutshot]

If you can't hold up your hand and admit to making mistakes then you are carrying around one hell of an ego! By sharing your mistakes you/we help make each other better spearo's. We lose less fish and we stay safer! You have to admit with the amount of newbies running around each summer waving loaded spearguns there needs to be some education!

Anyone who can show me that they hit the head on every shot is a better man than most! Terry Maas couldn't manage that! But if that's what you manage then fair enough but, i disagree about a head shot killing them quickly, ........unless your shooting is so spot on that you are not just getting a head shot but also a brain shot:hmm . Once the fish is shot the only "quick" way to kill it is to drive your knife or stringer thru the brain! Much better than trying to cut out it's gills!

Mix up a wrasse and a bass?? Should have gone to Specsavers :duh

Gutshot

 

[spearflap]

i find just behind the head and in the spine this paralizes them not giving them a chance to swim anywhere,but i absalutly agree with gutshot ,the best way to kill the fish is a knife through the gills into the brain ,if not the only way.And if your not sure what kind of fish your gun is pointing at dont shoot...

 

[badlander]

Fished my new favourite spot in the Falmouth area today,viz was good,stayed out 4 hours without getting too cold and managed a couple of bass and a couple of mullet plus a pretty good sized pollock.So it's fish cakes tomorrow night then.Saw a pretty good sized Gurnard too but he was just sitting on the bottom looking pretty so left him alone,loads of dog fish too.
Keep thinking about hanging up my suit for the winter but the fishing just seems to be getting good.

 

[spearflap]

well done badlander, in the right place at the right time, i dived the north coast the weekend and only saw one big bass about 5/6 pound but coudnt get a shot, aslo thinking one more dive till next april may, but how many is just one more dives is there....

 

[spearheads]

I always have trouble with bass and mullet trying to stab the brain as the skull is so hard to penetrate so what i do now is cut very qickly with the serrated edge just behind the head until i cut the spine, works a charm.

 

[Almostafish]

Terry who? Terry Thomas sounds better rofl , Dave Bartlett, Glen Cooke, Mike Bradshaw, Clive Thomas.. UK spearos.

 

[foxfish]

The most effective way to stone a free swimmer is with a trident head spear!
Unfortunately you need to be very close to hit anything with one!
I have tryed various methods to effectively kill fish outright but have found very powerful guns catch more fish even if they dont kill them outright
Let me explain - a gun like a mamba will usually send the spear straight through the fish & out the other side. This means the fish is now on your mono line, the problem with a fish with a spear partly through its body is the fact they have something to struggle against. This fact, sometimes, enables the fish to tear a hole in itself & get free (to die)
If the fish is on the line it will have nothing to resist its body convulsions against.
However most of the bass I shoot are storked to within inches of the spear tip & shot through he head, even a average band gun will send the spear clean through at that range.
As I said I have tryed a few different idears over the years, have a close look at my spear in the pic, you may spot my whopper stopper fitted below the spear tip. The principle is the same as a trident head, to transmit all the force of the spear into the fish, but is more streemlined & has a better range.

 

[gutshot]

Hi Foxfish, i like the sound of your Whopper stopper but the picture does not do it any justice. Looks like it would cause a lot of drag when you shoot. Can you send me a close up pic so i can get a better idea of how it works? Thanks

Oh and very good Almostafish, but you didn't clear up the detail about if you managed the brain shot everytime!!:head . Not having a dig just trying to learn how to kill a fish with everyshot.

Gutshot

 

[gutshot]

Your trouble may be your knife! Wrong sort or not sharp enough! I use a Sporasub Snake, which is a nasty piece of work but goes thru the skull with out too much fuss. You also need to make sure you are holding the fish firmly just under the gill area to support the head so you have something to push against. Just be careful you don't slip. It could hurt!! Spearflap mentioned the other way. Inbetween the gills and up thru the brain but it is a little harder to judge exactly where your knife is going.

Thing is, if what you do works and you are happy with it, keep to it. It is good to pass idea's around but eventually you will find what works for you.

Gutshot

I always have trouble with bass and mullet trying to stab the brain as the skull is so hard to penetrate so what i do now is cut very qickly with the serrated edge just behind the head until i cut the spine, works a charm.

 

[Almostafish]

Gutshot

You want an easy sure way to kill a fish every shot or how to kill from the mouth up with a knife.... rofl. rofl You find out for your self mate! I know what I do. Its not 100% successful but what is?