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Dorset Spear Fishing 2011

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.
Hi everyone,
yesterday I spent 6 hrs in the water. Started from Durdle Door and ended at Mupe Rocks - we (me and my buddy) were by small inflatable boat. Visibility was from 5 to 8m. At St Oswald's Bay I saw small (about 1.5m long) TUNA. No chance to spear it - was too fast and about 6m away. But its shape and moves made me sure that was a tuna.
We got a full cooling box of Mullets and Pollacks. Saw only a few small, under size bass. Where are they (decent Bass) gone? Is it possible that they are frightened by tunas? Last Sunday a fisherman said that he saw one Yellowfine from Worbarrow Tout. So tunas keep hunting Dorset waters!
Today at 8am I went to Lulworth Cove to make shore dive. I was sure that visibility should be better then yesterday. Cirkled the cove, finned outside both sides west and east, dove to 10m deep and couldn't find any. The best was about 1m! Very strange - no wind and no waves, only a gentle swell, even smaller then yesterday.
What's going on. Reading other posts I see that all the coast, at least from Plymouth to Poole is not diveable.

Fantastic! You are incredibly lucky to have seen a Tuna in Dorset, well done. I was lucky enough to have seen a Tuna in Crete while snorkelling a few years back but it did scare me to death as it appeared out the murk!

Tuna are very rare and some species are critically endangered. Personally I would never shoot a fish knowing its population is on the brink of extinction. Hopefully in my lifetime Tuna populations will have increased to a stable level, so I have the chance of catching/ spearing one in Dorset with a clear conscious.


 
Hi All,
Stupidly I lost my home made teak gun yesterday out of Ringstead - in about 10m of water off the reef (about 500m offshore.)


If anyone finds it I would be very grateful for its return. It took me 2 months to make it :-(


It is a five laminate teak 80 gun with a small reel and devoto spear. The trigger mech is Totemsub.


How stupid do I feel,


Cheers,


James
 
Hi All,
Stupidly I lost my home made teak gun yesterday out of Ringstead - in about 10m of water off the reef (about 500m offshore.)


If anyone finds it I would be very grateful for its return. It took me 2 months to make it :-(


It is a five laminate teak 80 gun with a small reel and devoto spear. The trigger mech is Totemsub.


How stupid do I feel,


Cheers,


James
gutted for you - hope someone finds it ---
 
Hi everyone,
yesterday I spent 6 hrs in the water. Started from Durdle Door and ended at Mupe Rocks - we (me and my buddy) were by small inflatable boat. Visibility was from 5 to 8m. At St Oswald's Bay I saw small (about 1.5m long) TUNA. No chance to spear it - was too fast and about 6m away. But its shape and moves made me sure that was a tuna.
We got a full cooling box of Mullets and Pollacks. Saw only a few small, under size bass. Where are they (decent Bass) gone? Is it possible that they are frightened by tunas? Last Sunday a fisherman said that he saw one Yellowfine from Worbarrow Tout. So tunas keep hunting Dorset waters!
Today at 8am I went to Lulworth Cove to make shore dive. I was sure that visibility should be better then yesterday. Cirkled the cove, finned outside both sides west and east, dove to 10m deep and couldn't find any. The best was about 1m! Very strange - no wind and no waves, only a gentle swell, even smaller then yesterday.
What's going on. Reading other posts I see that all the coast, at least from Plymouth to Poole is not diveable.

wow very exciting stuff Paul. Nice to hear another Tuna snippet...........keeps the dream alive. Tuna big game rig here I come!!

Re: Bass, they are still about as I had a shoal of about 100 circling me at the end of last week. Took one of a couple of pounds and they soon got the idea I was bad news and buggered off. Other than a few small bass. pollock and mullet, nothing exciting to report.
 
Hi All,
Stupidly I lost my home made teak gun yesterday out of Ringstead - in about 10m of water off the reef (about 500m offshore.)


If anyone finds it I would be very grateful for its return. It took me 2 months to make it :-(


It is a five laminate teak 80 gun with a small reel and devoto spear. The trigger mech is Totemsub.


How stupid do I feel,


Cheers,


James


James,

Send a Lat and Long of where you think you lost it and, if I manage to get in before I go away I'll keep an eye out for it.

We are moving into neaps, so hopefully it won't travel too far in the next week or so (although the wind is due to pick right up).


P.s: Is it loaded, or unloaded?
 
Last edited:
Wyvern - you have a few options there mate - go out to the East and swim around White Nothe - one of the lads yesterday had a 12.5lb Pollack a real Beaut. Or try following the reef which goes out from the east end of the main beach for chance of Bass and some decent Pollack. Or swim straight out about 300m+ to the end of the reef where is reaches the sand - I saw nice Pollack and a few Bass there yesterday - which is where I lost my gun!

But the silver fish were not around in numbers at Ringstead at all. The further West you go you'll leave the first reef and hit sand and the chance on a flatty or ray before you get to Bran point where again you can find some nice reef and if you are lucky some undercut caves.

Good luck!
 
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Good luck finding the weapon James, fingers crossed somebody picks it up. I managed a dive with Grindebass this afternoon, No bass but we managed red mullet, plaice and some pollack. We met a foreign family on the beach as we got out, and were given chicken skewers to eat - straight off their bbq! John obliged and offered fish in return but they refused. How kind!
 
Good luck finding the weapon James, fingers crossed somebody picks it up. I managed a dive with Grindebass this afternoon, No bass but we managed red mullet, plaice and some pollack. We met a foreign family on the beach as we got out, and were given chicken skewers to eat - straight off their bbq! John obliged and offered fish in return but they refused. How kind!

It was hilarious - but I should have refused the kebabs as well, they were very dry and no flavour - needed a few more chillis!!!
 
Hi all

I am new to the forum, started spearing this year. I have a day off tomorrow and was looking to come down from Berks and wondered whether any one could give me an update on conditions for between Swanage and Weymouth. I dont want to have a long journey to find poor vis and rough seas. Grateful for any help, thank you.
 
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