Ireland spearing 2008

[johnnybuoy]

i use an inflatable from the shore too. handy to be able to pack it away and real easy to tow. only problem is that the flag is low and not visible in a swell bigger than .5m.i dont even know if people in cork harbour know what an alpha dive flag is!!!
its sad to think that people who have little or no knowledge of the water can buy a boat and drive it as fast as they want, wherever they want, with no licence or any type of qualification. some sort of regulations have to be brought in. its getting dangerous around cork harbour. "stupid season" has arrived!!!!:head

 

[Mr. X]

By the way: THANK YOU IRELAND - apparently the only real democracy in Europe.

RA used to make inflatible floats upto 35l (probably w/o flag). I saw an older competition spearo in Devon with a regular european-style inflatible torpedo float that was similarly huge & that had a dive flag. It's worth reading Portinfer's tale of a couple of speed boats using his diving buoy as their turn-around marker:blackeye -- they told him where to go, not realising the buoy was his.

 

[fcallagy]

I guess we oughta start reporting these guys to the coastguard although this may lead to increased regulation in the future.

 

[Spaniard]

Unfortunately all these idiots don't recognise the 'diver down' flag! Until a couple of people get killed the relevant authorities will do nothing. I'm not sure if any type of 'test' is in place for people who use boats, large and small, in inshore waters? If so then it should be compulsory to be able to distinguish the diver flag. I'm sure no test is needed to ride jet-skis and lots of recorded instances of them using a diver bouy to slalom around....

 

[johnnybuoy]

my brother is actually to get guys summoned for the first time for harrassing resident bottlenose dolphins in cork harbour. a british guy(who is not the only one at it) was circling them in a jet boat constantly the other day. you could see they were stressed because they were surfacing a lot and spy hopping.the reply he got was "f**k off, who the f**k are you? i always do this. look they like it, there smiling"
idiot. the sooner these guys are taken off the water the better!!

 

[Spaniard]

Come the revolution! I suppose with the amount of idiots on the road we can only expect the same when they take to the water....Sharks should cull them.

 

[johnnybuoy]

i am praying for sharks. eat all the irrisponsible water holiday makers!!!!:vangry

 

[scottwilson]

Put a big flag on your float that says "Goverment shallow water twat seeking missile test in progress" that'll f**K*M

 

[fcallagy]

Couldn't we just start using mines instead of floats. I know it might take some getting use to but after a few guys get blown up word might filter down to some of the others. You might need to watch where you hold on when breathing up though other than that and the fish might be spooked after the initial explosion wheres the problem?

 

[sunfish]

Ickledevil has a post here http://forums.deeperblue.net/cornwall/75459-cornwall-2008-a-17.html about boats and floats.

 

[donnachad]

Headed east of Cork yesterday to Knockadoon pier just west of Youghal. Vis wasn't great maybe 2-3 metres. Saw a shoal of small bass and a couple of mullet. I didn't shoot anything but did take a decent spider. Capel island is a few hundred metres out and I'd imagine its well worth a look. Gotta get a yak

 

[togo]

Hello mates I know it sound a bit over to have 4 guns but it's only because spearfishing is my only passion and i dont mind spend money on that. I have to say when you have the choice for guns it's easyer to dive even the visibility is poor you just need to know where is the fish.

By the way I received my guns DAMAGED damed TNT broke 2 handle and bent 2 barrels F............

Went out Just before hook head plenty of fish mullet and bass saw at least 17 bass all above 1kg and 50 good sizes mullets shot 3 mullet for table. All on low tides in weed forest only did two dive good to see fish but not great for deph will try to go somewhere deeper to hunt pollacks next time.

Cheers Togo

 

[sunfish]

Hi Togo, I'm sorry to hear of the damage to your guns. Will TNT pay for the damage? I hope you get it sorted out OK.
I've been ill with a throat infection and a stomach bug at the same time, since Thursday, so I've missed some good diving conditions. On Saturday I felt well enough to try a dive so I went to a local cove and paddled out round the headland.
I started by paddling half a mile West to a pollack mark that's sometimes good. There were a few about but nothing very impressive, so I decided to go back to the headland. The tide had turned and was against the breeze now so I was happy enough to be going back before the tide really got going.
The headland ends in fanglike rocks which I call "the fangs" and it's a pleasant place to dive. Lots of big wrasse around and even more small ones. I anchored up just inside the cove and swam back out to drift around over the fangs, poking around for crabs in the holes. There are huge boulders laying around on the bottom and I found a few spiders in the caves underneath. I didn't take any as I was working Saturday night and wouldn't have much time when I got home.
I caught quite a big brown crab, maybe 8 to 9 inches across the shell. This one I put in the tank well of the kayak. Later on I looked at it sat there blowing bubbles and I felt so sorry for it that I let it go again. Still, it was a hen crab and I never like taking them anyway. Normally I try to catch a few then release the hens and take the cocks home to eat.
I made 43 dives, more shallow than deep, but the deepest was 42ft and the longest, 1min 8secs. The old stomach's still a bit sore but I reckon I'm back in the land of the living now!

 

[donnachad]

Went to Sandycove after work, the vis varied from green and murky to green and very murky. No bass present only large mullet, large wrasse and pollock none of which I value as eating fish. If this keeps up I'll be getting my seabass in tescos. Farmed, frozen with guts intact.

 

[donnachad]

Went out Just before hook head plenty of fish mullet and bass saw at least 17 bass all above 1kg and 50 good sizes mullets shot 3 mullet for table. All on low tides in weed forest only did two dive good to see fish but not great for deph will try to go somewhere deeper to hunt pollacks next time.

Cheers Togo

Togo are you in the southeast often? I'd like to fish the Waterford area sometime. Let me know when your coming south again if you want to meet up.

 

[togo]

Sounds great try to go every two weeks but a bit far from dublin and my family doesn't let me enought time to stay the all day.

Next time I will send a post to know if some of you want to meet up , next time wont let the bass go away as they were looking at me and i could spear them with my RA 70.

Cheers

 

[fcallagy]

Was out in mullaghmore yesterday vis was over 10m best i have seen in a long while but not too many fish i was on scuba and saw one big pollock and very friendly could possibly have taken him with a knife he was that tame. hope the vis stays for a while at least.
Should be starting regular depth training next week on a line with buddies deepest freedive of late was to 12m so need to get some depth up.

 

[sunfish]

What set up do you use Feargus? Do you have someone on scuba as a safety diver? I'd like to try deeper dives myself but I feel that if you black out and your buddy is freediving too, then he has to make the same dive you just BO'd on to bring both of you up.
I suppose you have a float and rope with depths marked maybe?

 

[fcallagy]

Sunfish I will dive to 10 - 12 m with out a buddy or line at times but it is unusal and I know the consequences that could occur. Any deeper and we use a line with a lanyard attached so at least i am on the line should they not be able to reach me. I also will be using a tyoe of dsmb with air attached that can be attached to my lanyard and possibly send me to the surface this could be attached by a scuba diver on safety but cant really be relyed upon too much. The other guys I dive with could manage a dive to 10 m so if any thing happens hopefully it will happen there. Ideally I'd do all my training in England with all the safety available but needs must i guess.

 

[togo]

Hello guys I think that the black out can happen all the times this is just a matter of how long you've spend under and what distance you have to swim to get back on surface.

If you going just to touch the bottom that's OK if you mean waiting in the bottom that's another story. Most of the balck out on spearfishing did happen when the guy was waiting for the fish and stay a bit longer because he's biggest one was getting closer and he forgot the time elapsed.

I'm coming from Tahiti and over there avery year there is at least 6 people died on spearfishing and all the time the same story waiting too long for the fish as they were too young to understand that or too experienced but not serious about choosing life or fish.

The best way is to never get over the limits on your own and let the fish go away. I've had my head spinning a couple of times while going to surface from shooting a fish a bit too big from 18-20m too hard to pull it, so now use reel or line when hunting under 12m.

Cheers Togo