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Ireland spearing 2007
- Thread starterabusingelves
- Start date
Thread Status: Hello
, There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Went to my bass hotspot this morning. It was a bit misty with a slight swell and I arrived there about one and a half hours after low tide. ie-too late! The fish were already on the move. I was shoaled up four times, the first by a shoal with at least two fish over 6lbs. I also found resting fish up to 6lbs. I decided against shooting any. I may go back before low tide tomorrow morning as i think if I get there while most fish are still resting I could possibly find a double figure fish.
got in this evening at a spot i've been in at a few times near my house.
saw a good few small pollock, but nothing which warranted shooting.
some nice big mackerel around, but didn't get a shot off.
was a bit surgy, and after some time rooting around in the shallows, i began to feel quite unwell. after resting beside some rocks which were jutting out of the water, i decided to just wait around there for a while and see i fanything showed up. viz wasn't very good, but there were higher numbers of pollock and a nice amount of small fish around.
after a little while of waiting and watching fish go by, two nice sized mullet appeared from my right.
i took the larger one, right behind the head, and the second one had disapeared by the time i had gone to my float and back.
no more mullet showed after that.
i'll probably get out again tomorrow. but for now, i'm off to the recipes page!
saw a good few small pollock, but nothing which warranted shooting.
some nice big mackerel around, but didn't get a shot off.
was a bit surgy, and after some time rooting around in the shallows, i began to feel quite unwell. after resting beside some rocks which were jutting out of the water, i decided to just wait around there for a while and see i fanything showed up. viz wasn't very good, but there were higher numbers of pollock and a nice amount of small fish around.
after a little while of waiting and watching fish go by, two nice sized mullet appeared from my right.
i took the larger one, right behind the head, and the second one had disapeared by the time i had gone to my float and back.
no more mullet showed after that.
i'll probably get out again tomorrow. but for now, i'm off to the recipes page!
Back to my bass hotspot yesterday (Sunday). The wind had been southeast all yesterday, day and night, and the swell was a bit bigger spoiling the visibility a bit. Between the increased surge and the lower vis it was still not great for searching. I managed to find a number of bass, up to 6lb or so, but I'd decided to save this spot for big fish, so I shot nothing again. I won't go there again 'til conditions clear as I'm sure there are still big fish around. They're certainly there in number.
After two hours I paddled east to drift back, mackeral fishing with rod and line. I caught no mackeral but did get a garfish and a small pollack before my lures hung up on a reef. I dropped anchor to dive for my lures, then after getting them, I aspettoed the reef with the speargun for a while, seeing small bass and medium sized pollack before giving up for the day.
After two hours I paddled east to drift back, mackeral fishing with rod and line. I caught no mackeral but did get a garfish and a small pollack before my lures hung up on a reef. I dropped anchor to dive for my lures, then after getting them, I aspettoed the reef with the speargun for a while, seeing small bass and medium sized pollack before giving up for the day.
I am curious about the legal size limits for certain species in the republic.
I have spoken to the fisheries board and here in N.I. There are the following rules
Lobsters must have at least 87mm carapace
No V notch Lobster
Waiting on crab sizing
Minimum 40cm for Bass
Ban on lifting scallops
No game fish
Anything similar?
Sunfish do you travel far when searching with the kayak sunfish and do you use an anchor?
Thinking about getting a cheap sit on top
I have spoken to the fisheries board and here in N.I. There are the following rules
Lobsters must have at least 87mm carapace
No V notch Lobster
Waiting on crab sizing
Minimum 40cm for Bass
Ban on lifting scallops
No game fish
Anything similar?
Sunfish do you travel far when searching with the kayak sunfish and do you use an anchor?
Thinking about getting a cheap sit on top
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Hi Mucko, I do most of my searching at home with an admiralty chart! I'm looking for certain types of shore, certain types of seabed, and offshore reefs, depending on which fish I'm looking for. By the time I set off on the kayak I usually know where I'm heading for.
I also have a fishfinder/echo sounder but I haven't got round to fitting it yet. (I bought it last year and it's sat in my bedroom since).
When I look for bass I look for a rocky shore which stays shallow for a long way out. If it's near a place where anglers are known to catch bass, all the better. Offshore reefs can be good, especially if they're shallow on top and have shoals of small fish on them.
For pollack I'm looking for deeper water with gulleys, ridges, and rocky formations. Again, lots of sandeel or other small baitfish is a good sign.
Mullet occur in the same places as bass.
I'm no good at flatties! Other people can advise you better there.
I take the kayak on most dives. It's usefull to have camera, crabhook, waterbottle, maybe some food. You never know when you might need them.
Often if you paddle out of a launching place and go along the coast, rather than out to sea, you can find spots the angling boats don't go to and shore anglers can't reach due to cliffs or whatever. When anglers get in a motor boat they tend to head offshore and go right over good inshore spots.
Hope this is some help.
One last thing about sit on kayaks. Longer ones handle waves better and are faster. 15 feet isn't too long.
I also have a fishfinder/echo sounder but I haven't got round to fitting it yet. (I bought it last year and it's sat in my bedroom since).
When I look for bass I look for a rocky shore which stays shallow for a long way out. If it's near a place where anglers are known to catch bass, all the better. Offshore reefs can be good, especially if they're shallow on top and have shoals of small fish on them.
For pollack I'm looking for deeper water with gulleys, ridges, and rocky formations. Again, lots of sandeel or other small baitfish is a good sign.
Mullet occur in the same places as bass.
I'm no good at flatties! Other people can advise you better there.
I take the kayak on most dives. It's usefull to have camera, crabhook, waterbottle, maybe some food. You never know when you might need them.
Often if you paddle out of a launching place and go along the coast, rather than out to sea, you can find spots the angling boats don't go to and shore anglers can't reach due to cliffs or whatever. When anglers get in a motor boat they tend to head offshore and go right over good inshore spots.
Hope this is some help.
One last thing about sit on kayaks. Longer ones handle waves better and are faster. 15 feet isn't too long.
Forgot about the anchor. Yes I anchor up when I arrive at my spot. I use a 5lb folding anchor with 15 ft of 6ml chain and 30 mtres of thin nylon rope.
There is a thread on kayak diving here on the forum. I think Mr X started it. He has an Ocean Kayak "Malibu two" I think. Mine is an Ocean Kayak "Scupper Pro".
There is a thread on kayak diving here on the forum. I think Mr X started it. He has an Ocean Kayak "Malibu two" I think. Mine is an Ocean Kayak "Scupper Pro".
all this talk made me think I knew what I was doing
First time out with gun was tonight. Made a stupid descision and went to end of beach break. Overcast conditions and bit of a swell made vis pathetic.
String connecting spear to gun is very flimsy. Think I'll be replacing that. Broke on a few test shots.
Calm clear deep pools next time please
First time out with gun was tonight. Made a stupid descision and went to end of beach break. Overcast conditions and bit of a swell made vis pathetic.
String connecting spear to gun is very flimsy. Think I'll be replacing that. Broke on a few test shots.
Calm clear deep pools next time please
I bought a small chest freezer recently to freeze fish for winter and rabbits for summer. Now is the time of year to start gathering a few fish I think. With this in mind I set off at one this afternoon to dive carraigdubh reef looking for pollack. There was almost no wind and slow lazy swells of 4-5ft were rolling in from the south west to stand up steep with white tops as they went over the reef. I anchored a safe distance south, just on the edge of the reef. There were indeed plenty of pollack and after an hour or two I had four nice ones so I left the reef to drift for mackeral with rod and reel.
I caught nothing for a while then noticed patces of bubbles coming up ahead of me. I cast over them and almost immediatly hooked three mackeral. They were small "joeys". Just as I finished unhooking and releasing them the water all around me came alive with common dolphins. I was gobsmacked!
By the time I thought to get in the water they had moved off to surface elsewhere. I paddled towards them and as I got near they came back towards me so I grabbed mask and snorkel and went over the side. The vis wasn't great but I could hear them squeaking to each other and see their shapes and the flash of white bellies as they rolled and spun. When I surfaced they were jumping and porpoising. I got back on the kayak to watch this and after a bit they moved off again, eventually leaving alltogether.
I did get half a dozen keeping sized mackeral on the way back, arriving at the slipway at 7PM as it was starting to get dark. What an afternoons kayaking!
The pollack weighed 6.3lbs, 5.8lbs, 4.5lbs, and 2.3lbs. The 5.8 had a whole mackeral of half a pound in its stomach.
I caught nothing for a while then noticed patces of bubbles coming up ahead of me. I cast over them and almost immediatly hooked three mackeral. They were small "joeys". Just as I finished unhooking and releasing them the water all around me came alive with common dolphins. I was gobsmacked!
By the time I thought to get in the water they had moved off to surface elsewhere. I paddled towards them and as I got near they came back towards me so I grabbed mask and snorkel and went over the side. The vis wasn't great but I could hear them squeaking to each other and see their shapes and the flash of white bellies as they rolled and spun. When I surfaced they were jumping and porpoising. I got back on the kayak to watch this and after a bit they moved off again, eventually leaving alltogether.
I did get half a dozen keeping sized mackeral on the way back, arriving at the slipway at 7PM as it was starting to get dark. What an afternoons kayaking!
The pollack weighed 6.3lbs, 5.8lbs, 4.5lbs, and 2.3lbs. The 5.8 had a whole mackeral of half a pound in its stomach.
Attachments
Portstewart
Rising mid tide
1.8m swell
First proper outing. Visibilty was pretty poor. Somewhere around the 3m mark. Headed out from the shore at headland behind harbour. Out through heavy kelp beds were bottom dropped off below 5m to the odd sandy clearing. Did a few short dives down a few metres but allot of work to do on breathing and technique. Mask kept fogging to. Seen lots of schools of small fish. Hard to tell which they were. I hung around and watched for a while. Seen a decent size dogfish scouting around. The vis, light, kelp and fogging was unnerving me so I headed back. Coming close in to shore I hung around kelp near rocks and spotted a brown crab clinging onto a perch. Got a closer look and pocketed it. Only realised that my torch had fallen off arm as I got out. Didnt bother looking as it was fairly pointless. Cost me 10 on ebay so no big loss.
Didn't get a shot with spear but DIY float system worked well
Got the crab home and served with chilli lemon and garlic linguine :inlove
Rising mid tide
1.8m swell
First proper outing. Visibilty was pretty poor. Somewhere around the 3m mark. Headed out from the shore at headland behind harbour. Out through heavy kelp beds were bottom dropped off below 5m to the odd sandy clearing. Did a few short dives down a few metres but allot of work to do on breathing and technique. Mask kept fogging to. Seen lots of schools of small fish. Hard to tell which they were. I hung around and watched for a while. Seen a decent size dogfish scouting around. The vis, light, kelp and fogging was unnerving me so I headed back. Coming close in to shore I hung around kelp near rocks and spotted a brown crab clinging onto a perch. Got a closer look and pocketed it. Only realised that my torch had fallen off arm as I got out. Didnt bother looking as it was fairly pointless. Cost me 10 on ebay so no big loss.
Didn't get a shot with spear but DIY float system worked well
Got the crab home and served with chilli lemon and garlic linguine :inlove
Attachments
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Not as well as my brothers but yes very well for the money. Very compact ideal for looking in holes.
75cm gun 16mm rubbers
I swapped the line for some extra strong but slim line off my surfing kite.
Very strong stuff
I ordered one of those torches. Might go back and have another look for old one. Never even got to switch it on in the sea! was a technisub x6
I use 160lb mono for stringing and find it ideal.
Have been looking for a big LED torch to replace my UK C8. Saw one of those little LED ones Mart's talking about advertised for £7.99 inc VAT and batteries but ex postage, somewhere on the net in the UK. Now that is a deal.
They are great for use as a night diving starter torch or for a back up or for a daytime torch for looking in holes. Some of the big LED torches are now under £100 and prices are coming down as I speak.
If you've never night dived you gotta try it, for what you see if not for what you catch.
Dave
Have been looking for a big LED torch to replace my UK C8. Saw one of those little LED ones Mart's talking about advertised for £7.99 inc VAT and batteries but ex postage, somewhere on the net in the UK. Now that is a deal.
They are great for use as a night diving starter torch or for a back up or for a daytime torch for looking in holes. Some of the big LED torches are now under £100 and prices are coming down as I speak.
If you've never night dived you gotta try it, for what you see if not for what you catch.
Dave
Set off Thursday but after looking at the sea I went back home again.
I went out again yesterday, hoping to dive Cloughna reef, but after looking at the sea I decided to dive a more sheltered spot. A good decision as it turned out. As soon as I was out of shelter the combination of the swell with chop from the southerly breeze made anchoring unwise. I settled for a training session, diving on sand and keeping an eye out for flats.
I found no flats but did find a brown crab dug into the sand. I left it there as it was legal size but small.
I hope we get some calmer conditions this week as I'm still hoping to raise my PB on pollack and possibly bass.
Anyone else been out? Are coditions diveable where you are? If my car was more reliable I reckon I'd drive to Waterford or Wexford at times like this. On the Magic Seaweed website the sea conditions looked much better there. I check this site before I set off and it's usually pretty accurate.
I went out again yesterday, hoping to dive Cloughna reef, but after looking at the sea I decided to dive a more sheltered spot. A good decision as it turned out. As soon as I was out of shelter the combination of the swell with chop from the southerly breeze made anchoring unwise. I settled for a training session, diving on sand and keeping an eye out for flats.
I found no flats but did find a brown crab dug into the sand. I left it there as it was legal size but small.
I hope we get some calmer conditions this week as I'm still hoping to raise my PB on pollack and possibly bass.
Anyone else been out? Are coditions diveable where you are? If my car was more reliable I reckon I'd drive to Waterford or Wexford at times like this. On the Magic Seaweed website the sea conditions looked much better there. I check this site before I set off and it's usually pretty accurate.
Sunfish, I'd be willin to travel for a days fishin'. Don't have a kayak though. I'd all but given up on the season. Surfs too big, viz to bad for bass fishing. Went to the sheeps head on friday just to practice deeper dives in calm conditions, but the viz was terrible. I didn't feel very comfortable so I didn't push it, left after half an hour. Gimme a ring if you want to head east. Does anyone know any good marks around the sunny southeast??
Denis
Denis