Ireland spearing 2007

[fcallagy]

Thanks basilias,
Hope the fires aren,t burning too near you or family.

I got to Keem bay yesterday and went snorkelling with the family vis was nice but didn,t get too far or too deep. Then lost my mask in the surf ( twat) so if anyone sees a black minima with a broken strap its mine. Great spot but didn't have the freedom to go doing too much yesterday but it really did feel l;ike the first day of summer.

 

[abusingelves]

feargus, that's crappy about the mask.

i have essentialy no spare gear, and am paranoid i'll lose any. what with summer ''just about to happen'' and everything :t

 

[fcallagy]

feargus, that's crappy about the mask.

i have essentialy no spare gear, and am paranoid i'll lose any. what with summer ''just about to happen'' and everything :t

Ha I think it just did.

I have a few scuba masks spare and I ordered a new minima from the shop here so it should land soon hopefully.

nice report sunfish good to see the kids enjoying it at an early age.

 

[donnachad]

Hi, i've just bought my first gun (omer excalibur 2000 75cm). i've used it a few times and have speared some pollack, not the tastiest fish in the sea. so far i haven't seen anything else except for the odd flat fish. i don't spear a fish i won't eat. 13 metres is my maximum depth. Do i need to go deeper for other species of fish, bass would be nice or am i looking in the wrong places.
thanks Denis

 

[basilisladias]

Thanks basilias,
Hope the fires aren,t burning too near you or family.

I got to Keem bay yesterday and went snorkelling with the family vis was nice but didn,t get too far or too deep. Then lost my mask in the surf ( twat) so if anyone sees a black minima with a broken strap its mine. Great spot but didn't have the freedom to go doing too much yesterday but it really did feel l;ike the first day of summer.

Hi Feargus! Thank you for your interest.
No problem with fires in Athens today, but the clouds from burning forests and ashes in the air, leave no doubt about the trouble this country is into. I am sorry to hear about your mask, but perhaps, until you find it you can order a second one together with your first speargun?
And you said the day before was the first day of summer? Oh, then we were about 25 days too early to visit Irelandrofl
Take care!

 

[Huan]

Hi, i've just bought my first gun (omer excalibur 2000 75cm). i've used it a few times and have speared some pollack, not the tastiest fish in the sea. so far i haven't seen anything else except for the odd flat fish. i don't spear a fish i won't eat. 13 metres is my maximum depth. Do i need to go deeper for other species of fish, bass would be nice or am i looking in the wrong places.
thanks Denis

Denis

You don't need to go much deeper than what you are doing now, most of the fish should be at 10m or less, Bass are usually even shallower around rocks and the shore usually 2-5m or so.
Pollock are nice if you bleed them as soon as they are caught, just cut the gill and put them on the stringer, also gut them ASAP as the gut can make them go off fast.
Try filleting them and putting spice on the fillet before you crumb and fry them.

 

[sunfish]

donnachad, in this county your best chance of catching a bass is close to shore, in water from 2 metres deep, right into shore, where your back will be out of the water.
Once you're in an area known to hold bass, look for a rocky shore which is shallow. If you can get hold of sea charts, look for an area where the depth lines are a long way apart.
Swim this very slowly, moving your fins in "slow motion". Look carefully at every weed bed, especially stringweed or thongweed, and look cautiously into every gulley. I don't know whereabouts in Cork you are but if its Cork city some areas of the harbour definately have bass and if you dont want to chance a dip in the harbour, the Kinsale area and Courtmacsherry areas can be good.
Today [Wed 29/8] I tried a spot that was new to me. An underwater reef 600yards offshore. From the first dive there were good pollack and I soon had two of 4.7lbs and 6.7lbs. A third one, which I hit in the neck above the backbone, tore loose and swam off. After this it became hard to find and approach them. I got only one more of 4.1lbs though I saw one which looked close to double figures.
By 15.00 PM the tide was in full flow and I headed inshore to look at a very "bassy" looking bit of shoreline where a rocky headland sloped into a beach. There were indeed plenty of bass and a shoal of gilthead bream and also some mullet feeding there. I got a bass of 4.9lbs and a bream of 1.9 to2.0lbs. [The scale couldn't decide.]

 

[seamus_murray]

hey guys, im in Ireland for a holiday (from oz). Does anyone know where there are some seal colonies within swiming distance from the mainland. I would like to dive with them. any advise would be apreciated.

 

[stone_shot]

Try Sandycove near Dun Laoghaire. There are plenty of the fish-robbing b*stards around thererofl rofl rofl :vangry

 

[Spaniard]

donnachad, in this county your best chance of catching a bass is close to shore, in water from 2 metres deep, right into shore, where your back will be out of the water.
Once you're in an area known to hold bass, look for a rocky shore which is shallow. If you can get hold of sea charts, look for an area where the depth lines are a long way apart.
Swim this very slowly, moving your fins in "slow motion". Look carefully at every weed bed, especially stringweed or thongweed, and look cautiously into every gulley. I don't know whereabouts in Cork you are but if its Cork city some areas of the harbour definately have bass and if you dont want to chance a dip in the harbour, the Kinsale area and Courtmacsherry areas can be good.
Today [Wed 29/8] I tried a spot that was new to me. An underwater reef 600yards offshore. From the first dive there were good pollack and I soon had two of 4.7lbs and 6.7lbs. A third one, which I hit in the neck above the backbone, tore loose and swam off. After this it became hard to find and approach them. I got only one more of 4.1lbs though I saw one which looked close to double figures.
By 15.00 PM the tide was in full flow and I headed inshore to look at a very "bassy" looking bit of shoreline where a rocky headland sloped into a beach. There were indeed plenty of bass and a shoal of gilthead bream and also some mullet feeding there. I got a bass of 4.9lbs and a bream of 1.9 to2.0lbs. [The scale couldn't decide.]View attachment 15063

Nice mixed-bag catch! Didn't realise you got Gilthead bream over in your neck of the woods!!!

 

[sunfish]

Spaniard, giltheads are becoming more common here every year. They seem to like the same shorelines as the bass and they shoal readily with bass and mullet as well as each other. These were on the western side of a headland and the last I saw were on the western side of the next headland over. Don't know if they like west facing ground. Probably coincidence. They've also been caught in the intake to Clonakilty harbour every summer for the last few years and in a few other places. When I find any I shut up about it to avoid having my dive spots swamped by anglers!
I've just finished eating that one and I'm off to my work for the night, but when I've had a few hours sleep I'll probably be off to the sea again.Haven't decided where yet but maybe I'll find more.

 

[foxfish]

I love Giltheads, very tasty fish. There has been a flurry of Giltheads caught by rod anglers in our Island with fish up to 8lb 8oz. Some say this is due to the only commercial fisherman who targets them having a heart attack!

 

[donnachad]

Thanks for the replies, I'm based in Cork city and usually head to a little cove in Nohoval just west of Cork harbour, and sometimes off sheeps head, I suppose I need to vary location. Swam with a seal for the first time yesterday in Nohoval, fantastic experience.

 

[sunfish]

Donnachad, I haven't been to nohavel cove but from reading it up in "Underwater Ireland" it sounds like a nice dive spot. I don't normally go East of the old head of Kinsale, but looking at the chart, if I were looking for bass in that area, I'd try Ringabella Bay, Carrigadda Bay, and Reanies Bay, always looking for shallow rocky areas, maybe where the beach turns into rocks or any shallow rocky platform type structures. Look for sandeel too and any rockpool areas. I only have a small scale chart of the area. If I had the admiralty chart I could be more precise.

 

[sunfish]

Went to Carraigdubh this afternoon. Our fridgefreezer only has 3 freezer drawers. One is full of fish and another is half full of rabbits already and the rabbiting season's only just beginning. The upshot of all this is that I'd promised my wife I wouldn't shoot any fish unless they looked better than my personal best. I saw no bass and only a couple of average mullet. Loads of pollack though and many were in the 4-5lb range. I passed them all by but couldn't resist this fellow who weighed in at 7.6lbs.

 

[foxfish]

Another drawer full in one hit! Good fish.

 

[fcallagy]

Was out last night in Mullaghmore training with two lads. Sea was choppy enough but the vis was better at 6-7m. Getting darker a lot earlier now though. Should be out the weekend hopefully. Time to open a restaurant Sunfish?

 

[abusingelves]

sounds good sunfish. fish and rabbit, food of champions.

went to lioscannor myself yesterday in the search of ze bass.
the spot i dived was mentioned by cananAL. heading west through the village, take the road signed lioscannor mobile home park, and just go straight until you come to a promenade type thing.

there is a rock beach, which slopes into sand which is flanked by a sloping rock platform on both sides.
so i got in at 3pm on the rising tide. initially viz wasn't great but as i got out across the sand it cleared and was brilliant, best i've seen all summer.
i headed southwest along the edge of the rock, moving very slowly in the hope of sighting bass, no luck, so i crossed the sand and followed the other (east side) rock platform. there were a few patches of string weed which i did pay particular attention to, but sadly no bass.

however, i did see about 20 or 30 mackerel feeding on sprat and a shoal of sandeel, all of which i followed for quite some time just in case there were any bass following them.

there were loads of fairly large wrasse around and a couple of small pollock, but i mainly stook to the shallower spots for obvious reasons.

so i didn't spot any bass, but i haven't been detered yet. i will have to go back for them.
i think the area might be a little better further west, but i'm basing that on absolutely no information, but maybe that is the fisherman in me!

ended up not shooting anything, but the viz made up for not having any fish for dinner.

spent a while covering the sand for flatties, but to no avail.

got out around 5.45.

i'm off to sicily for a week with my girlfriend, and will definitely be bringing my mask and snorkel. might pick up some fins while i'm there. i'm stil using the scoobie ones.

 

[seamus_murray]

Hi guys,

Im an Ozy freediver over here on a holiday visiting the relatives. So far I've dived in malin beg (donegall) and Lough Erne (fermanah). Both were solo dives, i would prefer to dive with some of you locals.

anyone interested having an ozy tag along on a dive ?

 

[donnachad]

Hi Seamus, gimme a shout if your diving near Cork.
Regards Denis