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Guernsey 2009

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 90 days.
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Nice one jonny.

I've been out and about a few times lately. The weekend was blown out boat wise but managed a few freedive spears off the shore. The bass famine continues. Hardly seeing any fish at all. Managed a 6lb wrasse and that was about it. It's very dead out there despite some good conditions, especially good vis for a change.

Last few days have been good night tides so have given that a go. Supposed to join up with Ed and was invited by jonny to join him but my usual complicated lifestyle got in the way. Ended up doing a couple of solo dives.

Tried both of my flatty night spots. First time I had a long dive eventually ending up well out on the edge of the tide. Long swim home. Good vis but not a lot of fish, although enough to keep me looking. Second dive was similar but the weather was worse and although closer in, it was much rougher and the vis had started to go.

Pic's show the first nights results.

Love night diving.

Dave.
 

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Tried both of my flatty night spots. First time I had a long dive eventually ending up well out on the edge of the tide. Long swim home. Good vis but not a lot of fish, although enough to keep me looking.



When you've speared as many flatties as my bro Dave guess you can be as 'laid back' about a catch like this....to many this would be the catch of dreams!
However,despite his many years of experience,this kind of success is also down to determined persistence in what are often pretty difficult, unpromising conditions.
Well done !
 
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Yep, have to agree Dave you da man!
but i have the impression that Derek you have some stories to share too...?
would love to hear some 'swing the lantern' stories..

Just coming up to 72 Jonny...I can't remember if lanterns were invented in my era!

Couple of general points though:-

As a young married man with a mortgage and two young'uns the cash that could be raised by selling prime fish to restaurants was quite an added incentive ( can't remember if it was strictly legal!)
By the way,is it true that the price of fish has not kept up with inflation over the decades?

Do others,as I did,have a lifetime best ambition for each of the main species you hunt? I used to dream of a 5-6lb sole;a 7-8lb plaice;a double-figure bass or brill;a20lb turbot; 6lb spider;8lb chancre etc.
When ear-damage forced me to retire (deaf teacher not much use!) the fact that I had achieved these 'dream'targets' (as well as a few more unlikely catches such as 3+lb flounder or a 6+lb john dory) made it easier.
 
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Derek , I for one would love to read your tales of spearing daring-do .
Perhaps you could serialize them over the comming winter months , with contributions from your brothers .
The Foxen Tales maybe ? Sorry a bit corny , but I'm sure others would be interested too . Anybody ?
 
I’ve been lucky enough to have had taster with a few stories in Marts fire house during the Guernsey Summer Holiday and yes it would be great to have a winter series from the Foxen Brothers.
 
This weekend is the first of the 3 competition weekends for the angling specimen hunt. One of my mates is a top competitor and last year he challenged me to take part informally with my spear versus his rod. Well last year the no vis situation stuffed me. This year I'm having another (not too serious) go at it.

The anglers are moaning about NE wind and clear water. Whoopee, I say. Being big spring tides I had a go for flats. Specimen size was set at 2lb. There aren't many flats about but with the good vis I headed offshore down west. Worked the edge of the tide in moderate depth with a fair tide run. Bottom was broken gravel rather than soft sand and that makes it hard to spot buried flats.

Half way through the dive I met fellow DB-er Andy Round and we exchanged news while resting on my triggerfish reef. I had just found a brand new spear lost by some unfortunate which is weird 'cause last time I was on the trigger reef I also met Andy and I also found salvage (an anchor).

We parted and I went back to my seemingly endless up/down rythm. Eventually tired (getting old) I headed for home. I had found 3 completely buried flats. One big sole and 2 plaice.

Sole went 3lb 10oz (FOM & HOF here I come) and plaice were around the 2lb mark. For the benefit of the speccy comp I weighed the biggest plaice - 2lb 1oz - made it, just.

Might go in the boat tomorrow, so have to make do with 2 species for the comp this weekend. It's only fun after all.

Dave.
 

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That's a great daytime catch Dave, top work. Good start in your comp, going to be close. I reckon you've got...thick, gg and red mullet, bass, rockie left then you're looking for a pollack then, hmmm, conger?

Dave S has more possibilities but less chance of them all.
 
Well done dave, result! ur gonna have to dive a night to get a red and a few others... shame you cant count a photo of a conger as a 'could have if i wanted to' shot... sure you could find one or two of them...

i had a nice pollack today and missed a nice bass too. saw billions of baitfish so that i couldnt focus - so many all around me - great fun. watching the pollack picking at the fish was amusing.

How about a db speccie hunt ?
 
Like Dave said I bumped into him on trigger fish reef now renamed 'Salvage Reef' When I met Dave there last time I came back with a nice inkwell pot.

I followed a similar pattern to Dave and found the tide was not running as it normally does? aMaybe it was to do with the big tide? Very few takeable fish seen, saw a plaice at under 2" and what I thought was a Seahorse in the shallows, but turned out to be a pipefish. Followed a huge rockie in and out of the reef, but it was never going to happen.

My wife is out on a work 'do' tonight, so I decide that I would catch my supper. Was looking like Limpet stew for most of the dive, until I came across this little beauty hiding in a hole.

Really nice to get back in the water though, havnt been in since I caught those triggers.

Feeling inspired so have set alarm for 01.15 tomorrow, chances are I'll just roll over and go back to sleep, but its the thought that counts!!
 

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