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Ireland spearing 2007

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.
I’ve thought about same things you’ve mentioned. First of all if you would like to keep some spot on the coast untouched – simple keep it for yourself. I personally know one spot beside Dublin where I always meet seabass and I will not point it on the map simple because I wont to see them there again and again. But same time even if I tell everywhere about that spot how much fishermen, spearos and commercial fishermen will go there? Fishermen are already there and usually they catch nothing. Commercials – it’s too shallow and too close to the shore for them. Spearos – who will go to Dublin to maybe to see some occasional seabass? So, my personal opinion that there is no risk at all if we share this kind of information but! – as I’ve said already everyone has to decide personally about this.
We are in too small number here to be able to make any visible impact on the fish stock. Visitors are less than us. But again – you have to decide if we need this kind of directory and I’ll put there only information you’ll provide. I don’t think it will be visited and more over I can make it NOT searchable in the search engines.

Wanted to ask who knows: winter is a dead time in Dublin area. I go for snorkeling sometime to the Grand Canal but … I hope you can understand what’s that. Is there any spot on the coast which has good vis during the winter? I’m looking more for views than for fish. I don’t mind of freshwater as well if it’s clear and interesting above and underwater. Will be very obliged.
 
Garett, I do point other spearos at good spots sometimes, but there is an illegal black market for wild caught bass. These are caught in shallow water with monofilament gill nets. If I see anyone gill netting in shallow water or where I think bass are the target I phone up to report it.
Also, some people lack imagination, and if you show them a good spot, they keep going only there until it's ruined. I've had this happen, even with a good pollack spot. I prefer to give advice on how to find good spots. With persistance it's easy to find a range of good places and I think people value a spot more if they found it themselves. In an area that has bass, for instance, I can look at an Admiralty chart and predict where the bass are likely to be found, before even seeing the actual place.
 
Yesterday I paddled from a local cove and headed west to a mark below an old fort site. It took me a while to find the pollack, as they'd gone further inshore than usual.
I took two, one of 5.4lbs and one of 2.1lbs which looked bigger as I was descending.
After this I paddled back to the cove entrance where I dived a reef in front of cliffs. The tide was moving by now, and kelps all pointing one way. With some effort, I swam to the head of the reef, then drifted back to my kayak, watching numerous ballan wrasse of the 4-5lb range. They seemed to be having some kind of social event! The range of colours and markings is incredible, ranging from white spots to various barred or striped patterns. Does anyone know if their markings have any significance? Last time I took one of these for food it came from a shipwreck and was bright rust coloured.16125
Rather than post more fish photos, here's a pic of the cliff. The speck against the skyline, to the right of centre, is a peregrine falcon. No city bird this, but in its natural habitat.
 

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Garett, if you can make it down this far the waters pretty clear here at the moment. Over 20ft in any calm places. Paddling out on Sunday I could see the bottom clearly in over 20ft of depth. I'm happy to show you places anytime you do come down. Last spring there were lots of basking sharks. Easy to find but not to photograph in water due to plankton bloom. They'd swim up if they noticed you though.
I would have dived yesterday but for a bad cold. I dived by taking sudafed, Saturday and Sunday but it finished me off, and by Tuesday I was coughing and sneezing too much to consider it. I'm feeling a bit better now so maybe tomorrow or Saturday.
 
hey garrett, i'd say the same as sunfish, i'll put in general info, but would be reluctant to put in specifics about certain spots. the reality is that fishermen would set nets etc.

but like i said, i will help you with any info which i can.
the water here was really clear on the weekend, easily 10 metres vis where i dived.
 
You are lucky – 10m vis at this time of the year. I even don’t want to go to the shore here to see how it looks like.

Maybe you are right if you have problems with nets and stuff like that. Give just a basic description of your area (especially about visibility) for all year and it will be helpful enough. Just try to be short, because table will be too big.

About vis – please advice me where can I go (area) during the winter time. I’m interested more in nice views (lots of plants, rocks, etc) than in fish. Than more shallow - than better for photorgaphy.
 
Vis make me feel safe

where you from abusingelves?

I been out of water few weeks with broken toe. Will surf this weekend and see how it all looks
 
Garrett, I can appreciate what you are trying to do but I would be strongly against creating any sort of public directory of dive/spearing spots for the same reasons as Sunfish & Abusing. The potential for misuse is too great and the benefits to genuine divers/spearos too limited.
 
Maybe Garrett could make it members only, and people wishing to join the site, must be vouched for by other spearos.
Just an idea!
 
There is also a book, Underwater Ireland, a guide to Irish dive sites. It's published by the Irish Underwater Council. It contains much the same information as the website only maybe more detailed.
They only mention fish populations when they occur in high energy sites (fast tides and currents) which are difficult to dive and especially to freedive.
What they do very well is to detail dangers of some spots and to rate the level of diving ability needed to dive a place. I'd certainly recomend the book-I have a copy myself. If I'm going anywhere I haven't been before, I check it for strong currents or other dangers. If it mentioned what fish were available in an area and what tactics were successfull there, it'd make a usefull spearfishing directory without giving away hotspots.
Today wind was force 3 to 4 from the southeast, so I paddled out to the inside of the western tip of a long headland. There are normally lots of 3lb pollack here with occasional bigger ones. Today it seemed dead. I saw only one fish over one pound. I shot it and it weighed in at six pounds exactly. That fish came on my sixth dive and by twenty dives I got bored of it and went to explore some nearby caves.
After this I headed back to my launching cove, checking out lobster holes on the way. I did find a decent sized lobster but he retreated back into his lair as I approached. It was a long and narrow crack, and even when I got my lobster hook from the kayak, I still couldn't reach him.
Last year I failed to extract a lobster from the same crack, all the time watched by a seal. When I returned the next day to see if it was still there, I found a crunched up pair of claws and bits of shell outside the hole.
My cold seems nearly gone now and I got out of the water feeling better than when I got in. Should I dive tomorrow too? Weathers supposed to go bad again on Saturday.
 
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Good link Abusing, maybe we should start organising soon. I've got two local skippers I want to contact to talk to about it and see if they'd take spearfishers and whats the chances of making contact, how far out?, how many hours/days, how much money etc. I've done nothing about it yet.
Huan, if you're reading this, have you anymore thoughts on it?
 
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Well done for getting out Sunfish i haven't been in the water for a few weeks now and am just doing pool training at present. The World rally is on on sunday in Mullaghmore this week and the crowds will be big but you should be able to see some of the dive spots on TV at least if you are watching. Interesting link for the skippers.
 
Hey not spearing or diving related but do any of you guys know a band called Flogging Molly? I got a cd of them from a mate the other day and Im well impressed. They sound like a very good live act to see if you ever get the chance and your into rock/punkrock/irish folk music
 
Strange that one, I thought you guys mite have heard of them, O well I did find their site and I get the feeling they mite be in the USA more than at home but theyre definately Irish. The Official Flogging Molly Website if you wana give it a listen theres a player on the bottom right corner somewhere.
 
Deep Thinker, I think these are a band I saw on a TV documentary. If so, they are a band formed in America in the Irish community. I think the singer is a cop!
 
Hmm that makes more sense then...
I got their CD bought in UK so just assumed they mite be from your area.
Nice tunes though :friday
 
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