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Ireland spearing 2007

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Back in the water at last! Paddled out to Carraigdubh reef this morning. Saw pollack right from first dive and some pretty big wrasse too. Soon a shoal of mullet also appeared. I was surprised to spot a bass among the mullet. I know they shoal together inshore, but this is the first time I've managed to find any bass offshore. I shot a small bass which weighed in at 2.1lb only, but I did spot a bigger one later.
I was short of time today, so made 26 dives only, ending up with the bass and a small pollack of 3.1lbs. I enjoyed the session, in spite of poor vis, because of all the fish activity on the reef. I even saw a large pollack [maybe 8 or 9lbs] but couldn't get a shot off as it appeared beneath me and left immediatly.
 
Weather has discouraged me from diving for a couple of days but I went back to Carraigdubh today to look for bass again. The tide was pretty low when I got there a SW sea was breaking hard onto the reef. I anchored at the NE corner for safety. Small silver baitfish were dimpling the water like heavy rain as I got off the kayak, and bigger fish were breaking the surface among them. Lots of mullet were cruising about and soon I spotted bass but I managed to miss both chances I got to bag one. I also missed a good shot at a pollack, and saw the spear go over its head as I moved the gun involuntarily.
Hope to get out again tomorrow. Its looking like I need the practise!
Has anyone else been out? Whats the vis and sea conditions like in the rest of Eire?
 
HI Sunfish am just back from Teelin in Donegal with my brother and two greek spearos who I met on here and went up to meet today. Vis was bad to start but really cleared after a few metres or so. I speared my first fish (pollock) and had an arguement with a fisherman about spearing so I must really be a spearo now. Another fisherman was genuinely impressed with the catch and the way they guys were fishing staying down so long etc. There was no explaining to the other guy who saw it as illegal immoral disgusting and robing local fishermen of their livlyhood. He threatened to call the cops until we spoke a little clearer about not using scuba anyway he was only a fly in the oinment on a very enjoyable day I will post some pics later and also some video I shot if I can manage to upload it. Vis was pretty good further out and the sea was flat calm.
 
Did your Greek friends catch anything, what did they think of the dive?
 
Thats a shame about that dickhead fisherman, especially as it was your first!
I guess theres no talking to some people....
 
They had a great time foxfish caught mainly pollock and a few big wrasse which they like along with crab and a scallop. We were in 2 1/2 hours about and they really want to shoot bass but I have never seen one around here. We visted Sliabh Liag afterwards the highest sea cliffs in Europe which are pretty spectacular. Pics to follow. We saw a few large prawn and one small lobster which we left along with a good size congor that was left as no one wanted it for dinner.
 
I should have been a bit more prepared Huan knowing definitively the regs but I dont think we hit any fishermens livlyhood with pollock and wrasse. I did shoot a couple of small ones that to my untrained eye seemed bigger down there as usual but its a lesson learnt.
 
Couple of pics will try the video at a later stage.
 
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Reactions: foxfish
Sounds like a great trip Feargus. I'm looking forward to the video.The sea cliffs look stunning. I like looking off high places but find it a bit scary too!
Spearing pollack is definately not against the law and as far as I know, no fisherman makes much money from pollack. Even if they did, morally, that gives them no more right to the fish than you have to eat them.I've never understood why some people think that catching fish to sell is more important than catching them to eat.
I believe the law on shellfish and crustacians is that it's illegal to take them using scuba gear. Huan probably knows about this.
 
well done on the fish feargus!! also well done on the dive. 31 metres was it you said? savage!

haven't been out in a while now myself, was working at the galway races with the crew of lads responsible for making sure the place didn't run dry!

we were putting in up to 600 kegs every morning, and managed to clock up just over 110 hours for the 7 days.

have never seen so much alcohol in one place.

doesn't look like i'll get out any time in the next few weeks. flat out studying for a big momma exam i have at the end of august. didn't even know until recently that it was legal to make exams 8 hours long!

on the fisherman who thought it was illegal note:

two friends of mine, both bsac and padi instructors, comercial divers and marine biologists were taking some of the top guys in BIM on a dive back in conemara. when they surfaced after the dive, this fisherman dude in an open boat came really close to them, shouting abuse about divers taing all the lobsters and that such nonsense. jim(not his real name) who is a v- big man:martial picked them up in the dive boat they were using. yer man came in close to them and continued on his rant. lisa (also not her real name ) stopped him and said ''well i'm sorry, maybe you'd like to take this up with BIM, here we hav xyz the ceo, and abc, their local area guy etc etc (she listed off the guys in the boat! ) yer man was gobsmacked. one of the BIM lads then proceded to produce a large camera with one of those telephoto lenses and went click click click as he photo'd yer man, before calmly asking him what exactly it was he was fishing for?:naughty

the lads said he took off as fast as he could go, not looking back!

that's a few years ago now, and i wasn't there that day myself, but i did hear it told more than once!
 
Reactions: fcallagy
best friends bday 2moro, im thinking commanche 75, any info on this gun

Hi everyone, hows da craic?????......Its me best friend over here's bday 2moro, he's really into spearfishing, he hasnt been in2 it as much as me but he pretty good at it, unfortunly for him he doesnt have a gun of his own, we usually take it in turns with my two, so ive been looking into buying him one tomorrow for his birthday, ive seen the commanche 75 with reel, does anyone have this gun, is it as good as it looks, the shop assistants are'nt as heplful as id like,i dont think they spearfish, so there unable to tell me its , range, power and accuracy, does anyone outhere know any info on this gun, Ive got 100 to spend, its 87 + 25 for reel, is it money well spent?
 
hey paddy, don't know much about the comanche, but my rule of thumb is, if its made by the big names, omer cressi, beuchat etc etc then they know their game better than any others who may not be at it as long as others. also they seem to have fairly good after sales and that sort of thing.

on another note........ is it practical to put a reel on a 75?

otherwise you could get the reel and just post it to me!rofl
 
Yesterdays diving didn't go well for me! I couldn't reach the spot I wanted to dive due to strong [force 4] west wind combined with west to east tide. I decided it wasn't safe to try so I turned back and stayed in the cove I launched the kayak from. I took some photos but due to milky water and poor photography skills I didn't like any and deleted the lot!
The weather is due to go bad tonight and tomorrow, so I left work at midday today to start at low tide again. I intended to swim a shallow rocky shore for a mile or so, then swim back, looking for bass and mullet. After 200 yds I realised I'd just swum past a pair of fish hiding among kelp. I managed to turn round without scaring them and got one. A fine mullet of 4.7lbs [4lb 11oz].
Swimming on, I started seeing small bass but left them as I normally only take one bass per session. While swimming parallel to a "roadway" through the kelp, I scared off a medium sized bass so I swam more carefully and a few metres on I found a group of six good fish [5 to 7 lb ish]. Two fish were bigger than the others and while I was trying to decide which to shoot, they took fright and swam off.:duh
Luckily there were plenty more fish about and I soon had two lesser ones. I ended the swim having only gone half a mile each way.
If the weather and swell forecasts are right I won't be diving for a few days so its nice to have a bit of success. What a summer we aren't having this year. Bass 4lb and 4.6lb.
 
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I will be interested to know how you compare the eating qualities of the two different species?
 
So far Foxfish, I've always preferred bass. No-one other than me in my household, will eat mullet, so I don't take many. I intend trying the Guernsey recipe this time. I was recently blood tested and my cholesterol count was 11.7 ! I'm not sure about all that butter but it does look delicious in the photos! Lets hope my statins can take care of it. I don't think veg oil would be quite the same.
[The 11.7 was before I started on the statins, not sure what it is now but I eat lots of fish, little meat no eggs anymore.]
 
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Mate I written so much about the eating qualities of mullet but the most important thing is to eat them fresh & remove the lateral line (dark meat)
I usually clean my fish on the beach, at the least remove the head & scale the sides, but very often fillet at the waters edge.
Our regular Italian visitors always gut & remove the gills of any fish that they bring ashore because they believe these parts affect the flavour.
Unfortunately mullet are not so consistent in flavour as Bass but can be very good. I feel if you are going to kill something you need to enjoy eating it on that basis I choose smallish mullet around the 2 1/2lb. Of course if you come across a Golden Grey mullet that WILL taste good.
 
Foxfish, I used your recipe, Guernsey 2006 p35. Just finished eating it. Delicious, thanks very much mate. No butter either. Our food processor is broken so I cut up the fish as finely as possible and I couldn't find the coriander so I used ground seeds and left out the dill too. I know coriander seeds taste nothing like the plant but it really was good. Have you leads to any other good mullet recipes?
On the subject of cleaning fish I almost always do this at the waters edge anyway. I believe fresh water isn't good for the flesh of sea fish. In the past though, I didn't know the red meat needed removing from mullet. There's a bit in bass too. Do you remove this?
 
I do remove the lateral line from bigger bass of say 6lb + but not in smaller fish. Of course some people love strong flavour fish, I have found that people who live inland very often find fresh, well prepared fish tasteless!
Try cutting mullet fillets into finger size offerings, coat with gluten free flour, coat with egg white, coat with sesame seeds & shallow fry in olive oil on a medium heat for about 3-4 mins each side. Serve in the inner leaves of a cos lettuce accompanied by a hot dipping sauce.
Make a basic smoker = delicious meals from all types of fish.
 
I can vouch for what Foxy says as when we were in Guernsey he prepared some recently shot mullet for JamesT and myself, showing us the correct filleting to remove lateral line. The prepared 'mini fillets' were fantastic and I will certainly take more mullet now if I can't get bass, which in Guernsey means always eating mullet rofl rofl rofl
 
Are yes Sunfish - the fish cake recipe

Spaghetti quote -
Hallo, may I come in? Mullet I'm tired of eating them in the same old ways. Any english (or fancy) recipe to cook them? (talkin about adult ones, from 1 to 2 kilograms).


Spaghetti the Mullet we catch over here can be very strong in flavour, too strong for many Englishman. Our Mullet are not very consistent in flavour either, some are far stronger than others.
I find the best way to deal with a Mullet is a combination of preparation & cooking.
Here is my method of cooking Mullet: Fillet your fish, remove skin & MOST importantly remove the lateral line (the red flesh) This is the reason Mullet taste so strong, the red meat. Remove all the red even if it means sacrificing some white flesh.
Based on 1lb of flesh, chop a teaspoon of Dill, 1 garlic clove, teaspoon of coriander & a small amount of fresh chili. Add all ingredients into a food processor + a half teaspoon of salt, a half teaspoon of sugar & a tablespoon of olive oil. Process into a course consistency & make into small patties & fry in olive oil until crisp on both sides.
You can add more herbs if you like but you wont taste the fish. But you can make a dipping sauce out of the same ingredients (not the fish) with perhaps more chili & sugar.
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foxfish
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