Dorset Spearfishing 2015

[Pointandhope]

Well I'm certainly no culinary expert. To be honest I don't really like strong fish, so really enjoy light and delicate pollock fillets. Also they are pretty commonplace, so you can normally go home with something. I tend to salt/sugar cure them for an hour or two, rinse and dry and then add maybe some dill and pepper before cooking in a little butter for just a couple minutes. I've just invested in a vac pack machine, and the last few I cured them first, then added my usual seasoning and a knob of butter to them, vacuumed them down and finally cooked them in the bag on the hob in a large pan of water for 15 mins at 55-60 Celsius ( best I could achieve with an electric ring and digi thermometer). For my taste they were pretty good, the combination of salting and cooking in that style seems to firm them without drying the flesh. I'm gonna experiment with that method a little more, if I can get it consistent, then it should be a good way of freezing handy family size portions reliably without taking up a load of freezer space. Regarding waiting for flavour to develop, well I'm not sure as I'm not certain I've ever eaten them before two days old anyway, we ate some last week that were 6 days old, but vac packed and seemed perfectly fine. I tend to pop most catches in my deer larder overnight, and fillet next day as I find it easier when the flesh is nice and firm.
I'm looking forwards to shooting a lunker pollock, but they haven't shown yet- plenty around 1.5-2.5 pounds mixed with smaller ones, it's one fish I find hard to guage the size of unless really close.

 

[SSW]

Hi All,

Thinking of heading South this Saturday going in between Lulworth - kimmeridge...driving quite far so would really appreciate an update on conditions. From looking at weather past and present it does not look great but am chomping at the bit to get the water and have a scoot around!

Any news would be much appreciated!

 

[Pointandhope]

Hi All,

Thinking of heading South this Saturday going in between Lulworth - kimmeridge...driving quite far so would really appreciate an update on conditions. From looking at weather past and present it does not look great but am chomping at the bit to get the water and have a scoot around!

Any news would be much appreciated!

Good luck trying to get a reply on the dorset thread hahahaha! I went in on Monday and the viz was fair in that area, we've only had and have forecast north winds so I would say there's a fair chance of diveable water, probably lulworth would be favourable over kimmeridge as it has a more stable bottom, kim area has clay. Somebody more local might even give you a quick viz check.

 

[Mike Bradshaw]

Stephan
Well done for your stance on night spearfishing posts, I have had loads of comments asking why this not banned.
In Europe penalties are severe for fishing at night with torches confiscation of gear ,boats and vehicles etc.
I have been told that the reason for these EU laws are for the simple reason that the fish are nearly always resting on or near the bottom and are an easy target . Having looked at some of the videos of night spearfishing published here I can only agree that this is not sporting and could be miss used in estuaries and shallow breeding areas.
I also have seen some really bad practice displayed firing off into the murk where your buddy may be swimming unaware of your proximity . Lets see if any of these individuals can replicate their catches in daylight? I suspect not.
Some reports from Devon and Cornwall have also pointed out night diving in banned areas (breeding estuaries) has also happened recently as a reaction to criticism. I hope this small group will learn the ethical way and stick to the spirit of the law and not force legislation which could affect all spearo,s and speara.
Best regards
Mike Bradshaw

 

[jpp]

Mike

Night spearfishing in the UK is legal and reports are not banned on deeper blue.


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[SSW]

Good luck trying to get a reply on the dorset thread hahahaha! I went in on Monday and the viz was fair in that area, we've only had and have forecast north winds so I would say there's a fair chance of diveable water, probably lulworth would be favourable over kimmeridge as it has a more stable bottom, kim area has clay. Somebody more local might even give you a quick viz check.

Thank you for your reply! If I make down I will go more towards Lulworth.

 

[Paul M]

Hello Dorset,
I'm looking for a buddy to join me tomorrow and Sunday day and night sessions - two friends of mine are cold, another four have to work and one is abroad. The sea is calm, the water is clear and plenty of fish around but I cannot handle my boats on my own.
This weekend weather might be the last occasion to get some nice fish this season - winter gales are just behind the corner.
We can use small inflatable or speed boat to visit several fishy sites. Anybody interested, please call me any time: 07783931183

 

[Pointandhope]

Good luck guys, and don't forget a report please, as I'm looking to go probably Tuesday to visit a new piece of ground, making use of the neap tide and hopefully settled seas.

 

[kkdavids]

View attachment 41507 View attachment 41507

Been a while since i posted, so just a quick pic from today's dive.

Biggest was 13.1 lb, and the small one 9.3 lb.

Attempt at videos not the best, but here goes! Will try and cut them down and add them together when i can figure it out!

 

[jpp]

How deep was that?


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[Pointandhope]

Fabulous catch, doesn't look super deep to me.

 

[kkdavids]

Around 30 foot from memory


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[foxfish]

Great vids Kev, I like how in the first one the camera follows you up.

 

[kkdavids]

More luck than judgement I'm afraid! Not sure who kev is thou!!


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[kkdavids]

More luck than judgement I'm afraid! Not sure who kev is thou!!


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[Paul M]

Good luck guys, and don't forget a report please, as I'm looking to go probably Tuesday to visit a new piece of ground, making use of the neap tide and hopefully settled seas.

No one answered to my invitation so I went on my own and found the way I could load my small boat on to the roof of my old audi.
On Saturday and Sunday I dove around Lulworth Cove, Gad Cliff, Worbarrow Tout and Mupe Rocks. Visibility everywhere was perfect - from 6 to 12m! Better in shallows over stony bottom - up to 15m! Water is warm, temperature the same like in August and July - 15 degrees Celsius. Much better then in Sussex waters - last Thursday I went to Shoreham where the water was only 13 degrees and visibility from 1m to 3m at the best.

Last weekend in Dorset waters was much better to me then most of summer weekends this year. I love northerly winds!
Not many fish seen. I caught one 3kg Bass and one 2,2kg, saw several small ones, 40 to 50cm but did not take them because the limit is 3 so waited for bigger fish. No luck. Caught some Pollacks and Mullets as well but nothing to compare with the video above. Saw also big kalmar squid and very big Cuttlefish but did not touch them. Tomorrow I am going again - last chance because from Wednesday BBC forecast is not very good.

 

[Paul M]

Been a while since i posted, so just a quick pic from today's dive.

Biggest was 13.1 lb, and the small one 9.3 lb.

Attempt at videos not the best, but here goes! Will try and cut them down and add them together when i can figure it out!

Congratulations Kkdavids! I have never seen such a big Pollocks in English waters.

 

[Pointandhope]

No one answered to my invitation so I went on my own and found the way I could load my small boat on to the roof of my old audi.
On Saturday and Sunday I dove around Lulworth Cove, Gad Cliff, Worbarrow Tout and Mupe Rocks. Visibility everywhere was perfect - from 6 to 12m! Better in shallows over stony bottom - up to 15m! Water is warm, temperature the same like in August and July - 15 degrees Celsius. Much better then in Sussex waters - last Thursday I went to Shoreham where the water was only 13 degrees and visibility from 1m to 3m at the best.

Last weekend in Dorset waters was much better to me then most of summer weekends this year. I love northerly winds!
Not many fish seen. I caught one 3kg Bass and one 2,2kg, saw several small ones, 40 to 50cm but did not take them because the limit is 3 so waited for bigger fish. No luck. Caught some Pollacks and Mullets as well but nothing to compare with the video above. Saw also big kalmar squid and very big Cuttlefish but did not touch them. Tomorrow I am going again - last chance because from Wednesday BBC forecast is not very good.

Thanks for the report paul, looks like Tuesday will be the last decent weather for a while. Happy hunting

 

[kkdavids]

Thanks Paul, seem to be a few more big ones about this year for some reason. Had two over 13lb in my last two dives and a few others around 10. Had gone a few years without a double figure one until the last few weeks!


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[Pointandhope]

Couldn't ignore this fabulous weather today, so had a sneaky dip from midday on a very exposed eastern purbeck cliff mark. Knowing it was a small tide should have allowed me to explore further west than I have been before and hopefully find the mark where I found a few nice bass a while back. Completely ignored my plan and went east to begin. Viz was pretty good at a minimum of 3-4m and up to maybe 6-8m in places. Found zero in the way of shoot able fish around my precious good spots, so head west. I dropped onto a little pinnacle that holds pollock en route, and took a 3lb er. Carried on towards bass reef, but was buzzed by a seal half way, and the damn thing didn't leave me alone for about an hour, she capsized my bodyboard float and tried eating my pollock off the stringer, taking me for a little ride as well. I hauled out on the rocks for a while, but as soon as I got back I had my fat grey shadow again. Pointless trying to hunt with that for company as they seem to do a hundred laps of the spot you're trying to work on and put everything to ground. I probably should be enjoying the experience but, to be honest, I find them a right pest.
Anyway, swam back to my starting point, and had ten minutes on a rock, which seemed to get rid of her, and had another dozen or so dives over pollock pinnacle. Took another 3lb er there, and found another useful little bit of rough ground where I took a final identical sized pollock. All in all an enjoyable 2.5 hrs albeit with slight annoyance towards that damn fat overgrown tadpole! 3 pollock that still didn't weigh as much as either Dario's or KKDavids' 13 lb lumps.