Dorset Spear Fishing 2012

[moomin]

Hi All,

New to the forum, been spearing since the beginning of the summer..

Mostly been off sandbanks groyne and the training bank.. Best place so far is Durdle Door..

Just want to see how many people are out this time of year..?

I dont have access to a boat yet so its shore entry..

Look forward to reply's

Dan


:friday

Hi Dan,

I fish all round the Bmouth/Sandbanks/Poole area as its my closest venue, I usually hang up the wetsuit this time of year but im keen to carry on.
Ive had some good dives along the training bank, but you do take your life into your own hands as there is a lot of boat traffic and the current rips over it! found a couple of stray gill nets this summer caught on the rocks.
PM me if you fancy a dive as im always keen!
Nick

 

[Kuya]

Had a phonecall to say my wetsuit is being shipped today (at last!). If I get it tomorrow I may have my first dive on Saturday morning.

There is a light northerly wind forecast which should flatten the sea down here. Not sure about vis though!

I may get up early on Saturday morning, drive to Portland/Weymouth & make my debut somewhere down there!

 

[Vexz99]

Good News, Think im gonna drop in today at Sandbanks ferry see what the vis is like..

 

[speerolee]

Seems as my last dive was a waste of time; guessed i would have a tweak with my setup.....

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Broseidon]

Nice float you've got there Lee, what is it? I need a new one.

 

[Jaca]

Seems as my last dive was a waste of time; guessed i would have a tweak with my setup.....

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I tried this kind of set up but it didn't work well... Fish don't relly like being pointed by direct beam of your torch (if you know what i mean)... Try to turn the light a little bit so you target the fish in periferal beam...

 

[Slicky]

Seems as my last dive was a waste of time; guessed i would have a tweak with my setup.....

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Yeah i've been using a double float this season so that it takes a bag for gear on top to prevent drag. Only issue was that it flips when in moderate swell so i needed to widen it. Managed to get my hands on some foam from work so will be trying this when i get in over Christmas.

 

[Kuya]

Good News, Think im gonna drop in today at Sandbanks ferry see what the vis is like..

How did you get on?

 

[Kuya]

Had an enjoyable first dive at Newtons Cove, Weymouth today. Vis was mixed - from poor to very good and averaged 2m. I did not see any fish except for some small fry and a reasonable size ballan on the way back in. I learnt a lot today - there is a lot of fine tuning I will do with my kit. I want to work on my finning. Also my underwater times were not very good at all.

I was in the water for about 2.5 hours and felt fine. My feet started to feel cold towards the end although the rest of my body including hands were ok. I could have stayed in a bit longer. I caught the sun on my face so will pop some sunscreen on next time.

Anyway, a good start for me in a relatively safe location. The guardian float gave me confidence that other boat users could see me. At one point there was one fishing near me as well as a grebe. I could see there was not much there and they went off elsewhere after I came out.

Hope to be out again early next week.

 

[speerolee]

Nice float you've got there Lee, what is it? I need a new one.

Its a best hunter mate, really pleased with it. Very good quallity hard wearing. From scuba srore

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Broseidon]

I caught the sun on my face so will pop some sunscreen on next time.

I wouldn't do that mate, it'll run into your eyes and ruin your day

Its a best hunter mate, really pleased with it. Very good quallity hard wearing. From scuba srore

Cheers Lee!

 

[Kuya]

I wouldn't do that mate, it'll run into your eyes and ruin your day

Thanks for the tip. I was travelling around the Philippines this Autumn for two months and did a lot of snorkeling (the whale shark in my avatar was at Oslob, Cebu).

I found that when applying sun cream, if I gave my eyes a wide berth and put sunscreen around the perimeter of the face I was usually ok.

 

[Kuya]

Went for a dive at Boscombe pier early this cold morning. The vis was rubbish and I came out after being in for only 30 minutes. It's not very deep underneath the pier. I did not see any fish!

A few observations and questions have arisen from todays trip. First, when I am finning on the surface with my Guardian float, it does not feel that I am being very efficient. The heels are up on the surface. I can move my body back but then it feels better just to hold the rear of the float with my arms stretched out in front - defeating the purpose of resting on it whilst finning.

I may try ankle weights.

Also when finning on the surface I feel like I can generate much more power by pushing down on the heel, bending my knees whilst doing so. However I am not sure if this is the correct technique.

I wanted to explore the nearby surf reef but it just seemed so much effort to get there from the pier - I did a mile in total the other day at Newtons Cove so it seems something needs to be factored in - maybe it was combination of current (spring tide at the moment), northerly wind and tired legs from my 40 minute run yesterday morning that made it feel hard to get anywhere. I'm usually a strong swimmer and with all the kit I had felt hindered. Perhaps I was making better progress than I thought.

When diving I have no problems with the fins (Gara LD Professional), they seem to get me down fast.

Also, when returning through the surf (even if its light), do you remove your fins first? I got pushed around a bit today when coming back in even though the surf was a foot or so high.

Tomorrow is probably the last of the settled weather down here as its forecast to change towards the end of the week. Not sure if I should make the effort to go elsewhere tomorrow. If I do I was thinking of taking a chance with Chapmans Pool or for an easier entry, Lulworth Cove (double low tide in the morning in that area) - I was out between the double high tide today at Boscombe.

 

[Scoobaru]

I have a sevylor dive hunter (very similar to the guardian). It takes a bit of getting used to, but once comfortable with it you will find your speed energy consumption becomes much better. I always use a technique identical to riding a bicycle when surface finning, whether it be on a float or not. On a float try to use long slow kicks.

There are many things that can feel like you are slower than normal, like you say tiredness/muscle fatigue, wind, current, sea state, and also water temperature. As the colder the water the more the muscles contract and stiffen up.

Regarding the surf, It depends on the size of the swell and the type/steepness of beach you are landing on. For example where there are large rocks I remove my fins in the water and pull/swim myself in close enough to stand up and get out quickly. For steep beaches with a large ish swell (chesil for example) I keep my fins on and act like a seal. Use the water to push you obtain the beach, but then I crawl on hands and knees to get away from the retracting swell. So far this has worked for me, and my carbon fins haven't broken yet ...... Touch wood

 

[Kuya]

Thanks for that. Interesting to hear you use the riding the bicycle technique. That's what I tried last week and it felt ok for me but I thought it might have been bad form. I will go back to this now.

One other thing I will try next time at the end of a session is flipping my Guardian over to empty out water before lifting it up.

 

[Scoobaru]

I find it is easier on my knee and ankles whilst surface finning, but it is bad technique whilst underwater. The best thing is to experiment and find a surface style that suits you as comfortability is the main thing with spearfishing as it ties in with relaxation, which directly affects breath hold and your hunting technique (if you are nervous, you tend to move around a lot more and jerky movements which the fish pick up on)

 

[Jonny250]

Kuya, are you swimming a half mile to get to your fishing spot? might be a good reason to use a sit-on kayak, if thats an option?

 

[Scoobaru]

Kuya, are you swimming a half mile to get to your fishing spot? might be a good reason to use a sit-on kayak, if thats an option?

That's cheating. big long distance swims are definitely the way forward, especially with a guardian : )

 

[Kuya]

I used to do a lot of kayak fishing in the past but want to keep it simple. The half mile out was pootling along a breakwater, diving down along the way. It only took me a good 20 minutes to get back.

 

[moomin]

Went for a dive at Boscombe pier early this cold morning. The vis was rubbish and I came out after being in for only 30 minutes. It's not very deep underneath the pier. I did not see any fish!

A few observations and questions have arisen from todays trip. First, when I am finning on the surface with my Guardian float, it does not feel that I am being very efficient. The heels are up on the surface. I can move my body back but then it feels better just to hold the rear of the float with my arms stretched out in front - defeating the purpose of resting on it whilst finning.

I may try ankle weights.

Also when finning on the surface I feel like I can generate much more power by pushing down on the heel, bending my knees whilst doing so. However I am not sure if this is the correct technique.

I wanted to explore the nearby surf reef but it just seemed so much effort to get there from the pier - I did a mile in total the other day at Newtons Cove so it seems something needs to be factored in - maybe it was combination of current (spring tide at the moment), northerly wind and tired legs from my 40 minute run yesterday morning that made it feel hard to get anywhere. I'm usually a strong swimmer and with all the kit I had felt hindered. Perhaps I was making better progress than I thought.

When diving I have no problems with the fins (Gara LD Professional), they seem to get me down fast.

Also, when returning through the surf (even if its light), do you remove your fins first? I got pushed around a bit today when coming back in even though the surf was a foot or so high.

Tomorrow is probably the last of the settled weather down here as its forecast to change towards the end of the week. Not sure if I should make the effort to go elsewhere tomorrow. If I do I was thinking of taking a chance with Chapmans Pool or for an easier entry, Lulworth Cove (double low tide in the morning in that area) - I was out between the double high tide today at Boscombe.

I would choose Lulworth cove if the viz is any good, unless you want to brave the walk of death down to Chapmans pool!!! I never bother with a float if im fishing the piers especially Bmouth as it constantly gets tangled round the uprights.