Guernsey summer fishing

[Old Man Dave]

On the theme of something different I went scalloping today. As in scalloping without tanks. This is not a very sane idea in Guernsey where scallops have been dredged and commercially dived for over 30 years. However, I was inspired by catching one yesterday so thought I'd give it ago. You do learn something in 40 years of diving even if you're as slow as me. So using my limited powers of recall I made my preparations for a low tide, after work effort. Out to ancient secret east coast scallop spot known only to me and a million others, with so much confidence I didn't even bother to take a catch bag. One hour plus of repeat diving to 30/35 feet. Got my self imposed limit of six scallops. Well "How many scallops could you stuff up your wetsuit jacket?". Kept a sharp eye out for flatfish and gilthead bream but no luck.
There's always tomorrow.
Dave.
PS have added some pics, for the disbelievers. Over 6 inches across! Don't get many of those to the pound. For those who say the Old Man only catches tiddlers.

 

[portinfer]

All this talk of lobsters (nice one Adrian ! I'll erm keep an eye on those pots of yours...) and scallops and giltheads - anyone would think we lived somewhere exotic !

Still waiting for the dentex to appear - according to the Med. boys they appear whenever you see giltheads - any reports of a dentex catch anywhere north of Morbihan ??? I'd be interested to find out...

Ed

 

[Namron]

Fished another four lobsters out of the pots yesterday - only one was 'size' so the others went back to fatten up for next year. The second lobster in as many pulls, not bad going for a bunch of amateurs!

Took a dip in today to see if it was worth pulling the pots again tomorow and with a view to adding in some more bait. We didn't manage to catch anymore bait as viz was crap and nothing much about but there is a nice size chancre (no lobster) in the pots so might be worth pulling them up tomorrow.

Adrian

 

[Old Man Dave]

Catching crabs and lobsters can be good fun. Pots are an obvious method and the anticipation on bringing up a pot to see what you got can be extremely enjoyable. Personally, as I used to own and work a commercial pot boat with 250 pots turned over per day, I hope never to see another pot ever again. Like the guy in the chocolate factory you definitely can have too much of a good thing.
However, as we are all spearo’s here, what about diving? I once saw 20 lobsters in a day with 5 caught (I don’t spear them and all are grabbed by hand). P.B. is 7lb for lobster and 8lb for crab. I’m talking snorkelling, not scuba, here.
The basic technique is “reefing” on low tides. Main quarry encountered will be conger and wrasse as well as lobbies and chancre (brown crab). I seldom do this nowadays as I have a different source for shellfish and I no longer spear conger. Taking a big conger is a great feat for a spearo but I been there, done that etc. and I have no use for big dead eels so they live in peace from me anyway. I might be persuaded to come out of reefing retirement if anyone is that keen though.
Finally I mentioned alternative sources of shellfish. I keep all of my fish frames and also practice some small scale culling of wrasse and mullet populations for use as pot bait. I then trade the “bait” for shellfish with a local potter. The degree of culling has to be a personal choice but I can live with my conscience at the level I practice it. For me it’s a win, win situation.
Food (bait) for thought.
Dave.

 

[Spaniard]

Hello Dave, I'm interested in knowing the best way to harvest crab or lobster by hand whilst freediving. I had a nasty experience once with a lobster and have not since tried. Do you use any kind of implement or is it by hand? Many thanks.

 

[portinfer]

water temp : 17C
max depth : 6.2m
max dive time : 1.20mins
no of dives : 31
----------------------------

A nice after work chilled dive for an hour and ahalf or so....

The wind was kicking up a bit of chop so I lost Dave pretty early on but apparently he saw me swim under him once... bad vis and a chop too...Not really ideal flatty bashing weather and we had an uncharacteristic blank on both sides.

Anyway a very nice dive seeing mullet / pollack but no bass ... I tried for some aspetto bass but had no luck with them either.

Might give it a rest for a while - might go on Sunday

Ed

 

[Old Man Dave]

Yeh! First flatty blank this season. Must be getting old. I dived well and despite poor conditions only found 2 small blonde rays which were left to grow a bit.
Oh well there's always tommorrow.
Dave
PS
Spaniard, I'm going to write a bit on catching shellfish, soon as. Stay tuned.

 

[Old Man Dave]

There was no tomorrow (Saturdy). Should have gone out in my boat as conditions were good but.....things got in the way. So out today, Sunday, with winds force 5 to 6. At one stage had to come down off the flybridge as spray was coming over big style - that's rough.
Vis has been poor since the mega spring tides but is improving slowly. Did a few tanks with diving buddy John, with other John as boatman. Forced to fish inshore due to heavy swell on top of strong winds.
Managed a nice few brill plus the usual odds and sods (scallops, crab, plaice etc.). No sole today though and I can't remember the last time this happened.
So home a bit early with the last bit at 20 knots steering from the inside helm as huge sheets of spray were thrown out 50ft either side of the bow. Spectacular and fun.
Bedraggled Old Man Dave.

 

[fabio]

Dave, Ed,

belated thanks on behalf of myself and Marco for the great days in Guernsey at the beginning of September. As usual, it was fantastic and we really appreciated your kindness and company in the fabulous diving adventures that the Island gives us everytime we are over.
I should be around myself in a couple of weeks for a weekend, so if you are up for a dive, I would be happy to share it with you!
Ciao
Fabio

 

[portinfer]

Fabio !
Glad to hear that you are coming back for some more aquatic adventures....always welcome and hopefully the 'garas' will be slightly less hectic - man I can't take the pace ! Must be getting old... Perhaps we should take a leaf out of Shane and Memo's book in Gibraltar where you get to keep the fish if it is shot in the head/gill plate/spine but if not then it goes to your dive buddy - I think you would be taking even more fish home with you

Anyway looking forward to some more diving - probably within minutes of you getting off the plane - just spoken to Dave and he mentioned that there should be alot more black bream around, more red mullet and personally I am hoping for one gilthead (and of course the dream of seeing a dentex in Guernsey waters - have a look on medfish.com for the dentex shot from the SURFACE ! : http://www.medfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=149)

Well take it easy - Ed

 

[Old Man Dave]

New record rod caught bass 18lb 6oz 12drm. Alderney anyone?

 

[glowworm]

Wow....was it boat or shore???

 

[Old Man Dave]

Boat off Alderney. Caught on a live mackeral. Original report said "close inshore".
Last year several bass this size or bigger were caught off the west coast of Guernsey by "commercial" rod fishermen. None of them claimed the record as these were those breeding bass and I guess they were too embarassed.
Biggest commercial bass I've seen was 21.5lb (Guernsey)and biggest I've heard of was 25lb (Alderney).
British spearo record is about 19.5lb and world spearo record for our european bass is 13.38 kilo- whatever that is in real size!
Dave

ps worked it out about 29.5lb

 

[Old Man Dave]

Shitty weather lately. Haven’t been in snorkelling since a week last Friday and not in with the tanks from my boat since that rough trip a week last Sunday.
So decided to go in the boat today. Loaded up yesterday with the intention of getting off work early and going down west. Not ideal but needs must and all that. It’s dark by 6.30ish but at least the wind has eased at last.
So down on the quay by 3.30 pm with boatman John. Just got there in time for the wind to increase and the cloud base to come right down. Then it started to drizzle. Got sensible and cancelled.
Back home, frustration got the best of me and I chucked the wetsuit in the van and headed east coast for a quick spearo session after bass. Arrived a bit late for the optimum tide and still with the heavy overcast sky and northeast force 4 wind. Pleased to find the vis fishable but patchy.
Worked hard for just over the hour (shortest dive this year) but it was very dead. Saw a few mullet and a few small pollack. Nice to be in again and felt I fished well. Not one bass seen. Kept a sharp eye out for bream but similarly – zero seen.
Eventually picked off 2 large wrasse with perfect execution, stoning them both with headshots. It’s amazing how much better you are at the end of the season compared to the start. Still you can’t catch what isn’t there so called it a day.
Consigned the skinned fillets to the freezer and donated the frames to the pot bait cache. Felt good to get wet again and it shows that you don’t need to land a hundredweight of bass to enjoy a dive.
Hundredweight of bass, oh yeh, drool…………….
Dave

 

[portinfer]

water temp : 16C
max depth : 9.6m
max dive time : 1.56mins
no of dives : 14
----------------------------

Quick dive yesterday at 'Gilthead corner' .. nice 80cm vis ut took a line with a weight and a bouy in anticiaption.

Surprisinginly chilled dive with long bottom times at 8m/9m, saw a very large pollack but left it and a shaol of very small bass (left) and the odd wrasse...oh and a nice 5 kilo gilthead (yeah right ! )....

Anyway had a fantastic after work dive and just snuck in for an hour before darkness wrapped up - took a torch anyway to make sure I could get back but the joy of that corner is that it is a short swim into deep water. Not ideal tide but like I said a very enjoyable dive and very relaxed... still hanging out for those giltheads...

Dave - might go in tomorrow at 5pm/5:15 at GTCorner if you are up for it ? Give me a txt on the moby if you want - pretty busy at work and was pretty busy with house plans

Ed

 

[Old Man Dave]

Great day today. Managed to get out in my boat after yesterdays aborted effort.

It was still very very overcast but there was no wind to speak off. By the time John and I had got everything loaded, me changed and motor warmed up it was 4pm. The need for speed was paramount so I opened the throttle and made it 5 miles north in 15 minutes.

Just as I was ready to drop in the sun peeped out from behind the low cloud and lit up the surface over our little “secret” spot – excellent. Tide was running a bit due to the springs but this was optimum time so down I went 85 foot onto the gravel.

Vis was okay but it was on the dark side. Had to grovel on the bottom to stem the flow but I had landed spot on next to the corner reef. Worked my way down the tide edge using some small stones for handholds and finning as well so as to hold position.

A few minutes later found the first brill. A few yards further on spotted a nice 6lb turbot sitting uncovered on the hard gravel edge. Another 10 foot of edge travelled and another 4lb brill. Nothing for the next 20-foot and then the huge end reef loomed above me in the gloom. Only the last corner to go when I prodded a “lump”. It moved 2 inches. A 10lb buried turbot. Panic stations almost lead me to fluff my stab but experience prevailed and a few strong kicks to hold in the tide saw me able to apply a coup de gras with the big double-handed spear. I could see the end of the gravel edge only 20 feet away in the shadow of the towering reef. I could also see another brill. On dispatching that one there was one more brill right in the corner.

By now the rope was tight around the reef as the 150-foot of line and the big SMB dan buoy was swept around by the tide. I backed up and with some effort cleared the reef as I headed up pulling on the line.
Only 18 minutes after entering the water I was breaking through a grey surface to be greeted by a rapidly darkening grey sky. Spearfish sat reassuringly only 20 yards away on a flat sea. I watched as John powered towards me steering from the lower helm and then as he cut the power and glided past he emerged on deck to pick up the dan buoy and the breakaway spear handle that I handed up to him. I climbed the stern ladder as John hauled in the line and fish.

Standing on the deck still with my gear on and John with the fish at his feet we high fived. Okay I know that’s sad but you had to be there.

An hour later as true darkness was falling we were ashore and heading home with the total catch of 2 nice turbot and 4 nice brill divided up between us.

I’m still got a silly grin on my face 4 hours later and wouldn’t be surprised if it was still there tomorrow!

“Happy” Old Man Dave.

 

[Namron]

Dropped in tonight to check the pots and hopefully catch some bait for them. We managed a wrasse and a mullet between us and they are now baiting the pots. I was hoping for perhaps the old bass for tea but there was nothing about. Vis was pretty poor - is this the beginning of the end of the season?

Oh and tried the new suit for the first time too - it was excellent, we were in for over an hour and felt very warm at the end. I think it is going to prove to be a great purchase.

Adrian

 

[Old Man Dave]

The “Italian Weekend” saw me up to a variety of fishing expeditions.
First off I took Lora (from London) out onto the rocks to demonstrate a bit of rod fishing. She was keen to borrow some tackle so as to fill in the endless hours that her partner Marco spends underwater. Set up an 8 foot carbon rod with a sliding float and baited with mackerel strip. Well suffice to say a one-hour joint effort saw us land not only a 2lb pollack but also a 3lb bass. Didn’t even get our feet wet and not a speargun in sight.
Saturday, out for a dive with Ed, Fabio and Marco. Went west for an assault on the flatfish although doubtless my 3 aspetto partners would soon be lying in wait for “Spigola”. Dived well on my inside patch but only found 3 blonde rays. One of them was a reasonable size but didn’t need it for the freezer so it was it’s lucky day.
At the end of the sand patch there’s a little reef. Worked it for a half hour. Found 3 crabs and took the biggest one, which was of medium size. Had to “pin” it’s claws as I hadn’t got a catch bag. Also saw a small lobster and a smallish conger eel. During my search I also saw 2 holed up triggerfish as well as numerous wrasse. Took a couple of big wrasse and then found a bigger triggerfish. All of the triggers were head in the holes, tail out. I’ve seen a few triggers before but always free swimming. Never shot one though as I’ve always thought of them as just a curiosity. However, Ed shot one last year and told me that they were pretty good eating. So shot this larger holed up one. Could not get it out the hole. Could see it but it had wedged itself in. I believe that they erect their main dorsal spine as a defence mechanism. Eventually freed it by brute force, which snapped the spine. Has anyone ever been bitten by a triggerfish? I have – twice. Have you seen their teeth? Ouch! I couldn’t believe how quick it was. It got me twice on the left hand before I finished it off. A two and a half pound triggerfish may not be in the same category as Jaws but it’s got my respect.
The others returned from way out with the usual free swimmers although Marco had been flattying but with no luck. Between us we also had a few “Bait” fish as a lobster swap deal was planned. I had contributed a couple of jumbo mullet, speared on the way in.
Sunday saw me out for a short day in the boat. Very nice weather for a change, sunny and calm. However, there was a mega swell and the seabed was moving, which is a killer as far as flats are concerned. Did one tank and John did two. Got a hand full of flats plus usual odd scallop and crab etc. Set the mono-trots as well and so added a few bream and gurnard to the box. Overall a pretty small day, catch wise, but good fun.
Collected the lobsters and some bonus crab from mate Chris “The Potter”, delivered live straight to my boat. Made it just in time for Fabio to put loads of live shellfish in his flight bag. God knows what Customs think!
Okay so anyone out there able to fill in details on triggers. Culinary qualities? (Haven’t eaten mine yet). British record? Eligible in competitions? Fishing techniques? Frequency of capture? They’re rare here but are increasing in terms of numbers seen each year. Angling publications seen to indicate they’re common on the south coast of England – Chesil Beach region?
“Always learning” Old Man Dave.

 

[Old Man Dave]

Posted info request on triggers on another thread. Very interesting replies and very tasty eating as it turned out. Keen to search that reef again and see if I can catch a few more "chicken of the sea".
Not sure if everyone local has given up diving or just given up writing reports. Weather has been pretty bad which is par for the course for this time of year. Inshore vis is almost unfishable when its rough or when there's a big swell on. I think Ed went recently and got couldn't hardly see the end of the gun vis. However it does clean up quick as there isn't much plankton if any at the moment just a bit of silt and a load of dead weed. Water is warm at 16/17 degrees which is about 1 degree above normal. Come on global warming, come on you trigger fish. Come on you Dentex (shut up Ed).
Despite the weather this is the time of year for hunting the flatfish. I've had to fish the offshore banks as the inshore is blown out. Went out in my boat on sunday in really crap conditions. It p#ssed with rain and there was a truly mega swell (over 20ft) breaking over the offshore west coast outer reefs. Big tide too. Vis was as I feared about 6 to 8 ft and dark in the depths. John and I did a couple of tank dives each all in 70 - 90ft. John did 2 full tanks for a couple of small brill plus the usual odd scallop and small crab. The Old Man did half a tank on the bank in "Porbeagle Alley" for one measly smallish brill and one smallish plaice. The swell was right down on the bottom at 75ft and despite the poor vis I don't think that I missed much. There just weren't many fish there.
My second dive was to "secret spot" scene of a good catch 2+ weeks ago. Down I went in 90ft to land spot on the edge of the reef at perfect slack tide. Boy it was dark but crawling on my hands and knees I soon found (stumbled on) a couple of smallish brill. Nice one. Next came a jumbo plaice half buried in the gravel. At least the weight average was going up. Another 6 feet and a decent 5lb brill, then a 6lb turbot, then another good brill and another one and then a jumbo 8lb brill and then ....... my line got caught in the reef and my bottom no stop time ran out. Shit. Still mustn't be greedy, so any that were left (I'm sure there were) can count themselves lucky and there's always another day.
So despite the crap weather it was another enjoyable day with half a box + of quality fish and good company to boot.
Wonder what the weather's doing next weekend?
Dave

 

[portinfer]

water temp : 16C
max depth : 9.8m
max dive time : 1.36mins
no of dives : 10
----------------------------

Yes.... swells....weedy waters....no fish. Just a quick summary of the weekend of doom...

Decided to go for a quick dip on Saturday and cunningly headed away from the wind to a spot only to be met by a laaarge swell. Thought I'd risk it just to get wet and headed out to a place I have been meaning to go for flatties.

Obviously the swell and viz soon took care of that so I just had a few drops to the bottom - swell went all the way to 10m and that combined with the poor vis started to make me feel sick ! Got out just in time....Not a good dive - am thinking of emigrating to somewhere with clear waters.

Rainy and grey all week so doing plans instead of diving....might try at the weekend at the tail of the spring. Saturday afternoon Fermain deep aspettos anyone ? Dave ? How about that night dive .... By the way I think you were mad to go out in the boat - big seas But then again you have the fish ! (I'm just jealous).