Guernsey 2009

[Old Man Dave]

In for a night dive tonight.

It was a good tide with low at 8pm after a sunset at 7pm. Yesterday the tide was a little early and tomorrow will be a little late but tonight I was hopeful.

I was still on my bass mission. I have a nice stock of flatfish fillets frozen up but my bass stock is almost gone. As mentioned in a couple of posts back, my bass fishing has been very poor with little seen, never mind speared.

So, decided to try somewhere different. I have one main bass night spot but last time I went there 2 weeks ago I saw just one lonely bass. Tonight I went a bit further to somewhere I had only been once before, but that had produced some nice fish.

Amazing blood red sunset on the west coast as I drove along. I was in at 7.30pm in the then pitch dark. Vis was not so good to start off but got better as I moved further off shore. Worse was a fishable 6 foot but it was up to 15ft in the deeper water.

Eventually saw 5 bass and got 4. Not huge fish but all in the 3lb to 4lb range. Also saw a few pollack, a wrasse, a huge 6+lb mullet and the first big squid of the year. All in all a great dive.

As I came out the stars were fantastic, with seemingly every corner of the sky twinkling. Love night diving.

 

[Rouge Moullet]

Nice string Dave. Should be a few big girls turning up soon in readiness for the great pillage.Was out myself and it truly was a beautiful evening/night.Thesmall bream seemed to love it.

 

[dario_deli]

Excellent stuff Dave...that's the way to do it!

The way to do it is night dive? In many countries in Europe night spearfihsing dive is forbidden for obvious safety reasons (you may get stuck in a net or a rope) and because it's considered unsportive; to my personal point of view as unsportive as spearfishing with tanks which is forbidden too in many places. I don't see the point to criticize beginners/no beginners catching small fish (often legal anyway as the minimum size is very small) and then promote unsportive ways of spearing. Sorry OMD, there's nothing personal. I believe you're a great spearo with loads of experience and I have probably loads to learn from you.

 

[Magpie]

Well done Dave, but it's the birthday of the oldest and wisest Foxen today:

http://forums.deeperblue.com/beach-bar/84446-derek-foxen-whopperhead.html

 

[Old Man Dave]

Yes, Happy Birthday Brother. See you later. http://forums.deeperblue.com/beach-bar/84446-derek-foxen-whopperhead.html

Dave

 

[Jonny250]

Well done Dave, that IS the way to do it!

 

[Old Man Dave]

Dario, you raise some interesting points. Many have been raised (and answered) before but despite that I will put forward my views.

Night diving is not easy and because of that it is not unsporting either. Night diving is just "different". I must also say that scuba spearing is again not easy and I believe does have a place in our "sport".

Many countries have banned both night spearing and scuba spearing. Some countries have banned all spearfishing. I think you will find that this has nothing to do with either safety or conservation or any notion of "unsporting". Most if not all bans and restrictions have been brought about by other non diving fishermen who have tried and succeeded in bringing in laws to restrict our fishing method.

I love night diving but I also love day spearing. At night you see and catch fish that you never would in the daytime. In 40+ years of spearing I have seen only a half dozen red mullet in the day but once I started night diving (only 3 years ago) I have caught many. I scuba deep water gravel banks in strong tide and hand spear turbot and brill. You cannot freedive these banks and these fish are seldom found elsewhere.

"Sporting" or "unsporting" is down to the individual. provided it's legal then it's a matter of individual conscience. I have no trouble with my own conscience.

Last night I was well out, all alone, in the pitch black, guiding myself using lights from the shore and looking down in the pool of light cast by my torch beam. Sometimes it's very scary and always it's never easy, at least the way I do it anyway.

Maybe you should give it a try Dario, you might be suprised.

Dave.

 

[azapa]

corkin fish dave, and nice story too as always.

 

[dario_deli]

I did spearfish at night so I know it. I agree it can be scary and that's one of the points why it is forbidden, it is dangerous not just because you're a beginner.
The unsportivity is based on the fact that some species become very vulnerable at night especially when they're flashed by the light. When you get flashed by a powerful light in the darkness you lose an important sense, sight, which would cause confusion and give ample time for the spearo (who can see perfectly) to take an easy shot. Some of these fish may also be asleep making things again much easier for the spearo.

Re some fish emerging only at night, I agree, so why not select only these species, leaving other day species to be caught during the day? Selction...I heard this previously in this forum...

Dario, you raise some interesting points. Many have been raised (and answered) before but despite that I will put forward my views.

Night diving is not easy and because of that it is not unsporting either. Night diving is just "different". I must also say that scuba spearing is again not easy and I believe does have a place in our "sport".

Many countries have banned both night spearing and scuba spearing. Some countries have banned all spearfishing. I think you will find that this has nothing to do with either safety or conservation or any notion of "unsporting". Most if not all bans and restrictions have been brought about by other non diving fishermen who have tried and succeeded in bringing in laws to restrict our fishing method.

I love night diving but I also love day spearing. At night you see and catch fish that you never would in the daytime. In 40+ years of spearing I have seen only a half dozen red mullet in the day but once I started night diving (only 3 years ago) I have caught many. I scuba deep water gravel banks in strong tide and hand spear turbot and brill. You cannot freedive these banks and these fish are seldom found elsewhere.

"Sporting" or "unsporting" is down to the individual. provided it's legal then it's a matter of individual conscience. I have no trouble with my own conscience.

Last night I was well out, all alone, in the pitch black, guiding myself using lights from the shore and looking down in the pool of light cast by my torch beam. Sometimes it's very scary and always it's never easy, at least the way I do it anyway.

Maybe you should give it a try Dario, you might be suprised.

Dave.

 

[Magpie]

You raise interesting points Dario, they are based on the view of spearing as a sporting activity.

There is certainly some aspect of that to it, but it is also a means of gathering food for personal consumption and if that can be done more easily through night diving then I do not see it as a problem.

Also, the ability to get closer to less wary fish permits more precise aiming and a largely decreased number of bad shots resulting in wounded fish escaping, which is surely a good thing?

Despite this night diving is not as simple as going out with a torch and filling your stringer with as many big fish as you want. It simply isn't that easy.

Yes it is banned in some countries, but it's not here and there is no reason for it to be imho.

Me I go night diving because there is far more life to see of all types than during the day, and taking a fish or two home for my tea is an added benefit. You can be sure that many takeable fish get watched and left alone on the night dives of all the people who do it over here.

 

[Old Man Dave]

Dario, I hope you are hunting only with a pole spear as a gun makes it too easy to spear fish from a distance and thus is unsporting. Guns are also dangerous as you could shoot someone and therefore should be banned.

Also you do dive naked I suppose as a wet suit enables you to dive in cold water and get close to cold blooded fish which is unsporting. Wet suits also encourage people to swim out too far and for too long so they are dangerous and should be banned.

Please don't say you use fins which enable you to swim like a fish as that's unnatural for humans and is thus unsporting.

Please don't spear any flatfish as they remain perfectly still allowing the spearo to get very close to them. This is obviously unsporting.

Please don't shoot any fish in holes as they do not swim away allowing the diver an easy shot and is therefore unsporting.

Etc, etc, etc.

Nothing personal :t.

Dave.

 

[dario_deli]

I said mine and gave my contribution to the forum.:t
I told you OMD, there's nothing personal and actually even being a lazy reader I do read your reports with pleasure and I like them very much.

 

[Old Man Dave]

DB is a great place and I hope we can all air our views and even have our differences but still remain civilised and friendly. So well said Dario, you made your points well and definitely nothing personal :inlove.

Dave

 

[dario_deli]

:inlove...rofl

 

[spearheads]

Dario, I hope you are hunting only with a pole spear as a gun makes it too easy to spear fish from a distance and thus is unsporting. Guns are also dangerous as you could shoot someone and therefore should be banned.

Also you do dive naked I suppose as a wet suit enables you to dive in cold water and get close to cold blooded fish which is unsporting. Wet suits also encourage people to swim out too far and for too long so they are dangerous and should be banned.

Please don't say you use fins which enable you to swim like a fish as that's unnatural for humans and is thus unsporting.

Please don't spear any flatfish as they remain perfectly still allowing the spearo to get very close to them. This is obviously unsporting.

Please don't shoot any fish in holes as they do not swim away allowing the diver an easy shot and is therefore unsporting.

Etc, etc, etc.

Nothing personal :t.

Dave.

Hmmmm, Maybe a little over the top.

I never really had a opinion on night diving before dario raised his points and thinking about it now i can say i do agree that it is unsporting. Its like when a rabbit is frozen by the headlights on a car.

You mentioned shooting fish in holes. I have shot alot of fish in holes and they always have an escape hole, never found a fish in a hole that has no exit at the back or a 2nd way out.

 

[Spaniard]

Why do you think it is 'unsporting'? Night diving poses a whole lot of risks to the diver which do not exist during 'day diving'. It is not as simple as pointing a gun at leisure and shooting what you want. I think you need to back up your comments with some reasons.

 

[azapa]

nothing seems to be ilegal here, and all is done. we have commercial divers spending 4 hours at 10m on hooka cleaning the reefs of all fish, and nothing is done about it. You chaps are luck to be living in a part of the world where these matters are talked about and acted upon.

in my own experience, although not illegal, i have been trying to give up using a torch for deep dark boulder areas. The only result up to now seems to be more bad shots and a few wounded escapees that pains me to the core. Sporting: yes. Common sense: no.

cheers

 

[chrisreynolds]

fight, fight, fight:martial:martial:martial:crutch

50 quid on OMDrofl

good job we're all grown ups with common sense and a conscience.:inlove

 

[Trelawney]

I'm with Magpie and OMD on this one. Night diving is nothing like day diving, especially night diving in December/January (it can get bloody cold). I don't see how being suspended in freezing blackness, looking through a 4ft wide window of light can be seen as "unsporting"? It is a challenge to say the least, but the rewards are there as some of the best tasting fish come out at night. It is dangerous, more so than during the day, but if you have confidence in yourself, the experience and the right kit, night diving opens up a whole new world.

 

[Jonny250]

in for a swim tonite; first place vis was appalling - less than a foot (light grey silt)! so i moved on to another bay. still not great vis, but do-able. also there were few lights around so i was very glad of my compass again! ended up over rocks and weed trying to figure out an exit... seems to be becoming a habit!
anyway, loads of fish seen including a good size red mullet which i followed for a while, a medium pollack which i would often have taken, but didnt 'feel like it' so left. also saw a small bass which was to left to grow.. and some cuttlefish. Oh and a 1.5lb sole which i did take