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Ireland Spearing, 2011

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 90 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Growing up in Dublin meant going to the local chipper on a friday to get your fish and chips. Apart from smoked or fresh cod the next favourite was Ray, it was a bit more expensive than the cod but I remember it as being a family favourite and there was enough to go around if the old man had gotten plenty of overtime.

Even the dog got to munch on the Ray wing bones as they were long and soft, occasionally my mother would buy fresh Ray at the Moore Street market and she needed a pliers to pull the skin off. The ammonia smell that came from some Ray seemed to indicate that it wasn't the freshest as far as I can remember and they used to refer to it as 'Pissy' ray. Cods Roe was another favourite from the market which is rare to find nowadays, boiled in a big pot then left to cool and put in the fridge, when it was cold it was easier to cut (like large white pudding) then coated lightly in seasoned flour and pan fried in a little butter....Heaven!
 
Salivating....That roe sounds great. We used to collect the herring roe from the quay wall in the winter. Lovely grilled.
Afaik the dubs were and still are the biggest ray eaters in the country. It's a pale thing I think!!
 
I see most of my blondes in niteclubs, BF. I try and stay away from the thorny ones you, thou.

Alright, I'm coming to the People's Republic next week. Wed/Thurs/Fri. Got to be back in Jackeen-land on Saturday, thou. Spearo gear is going in the car, as I'm only working until Fri lunchtime; I'm diving somewhere, so advice (or other divers) welcome...?

Rob, I have it on good authority *ahem* that the way to deal with big rays is to shoot them in the wing, not the head. You need leverage to peel them off the bottom. If you can't peel them off the bottom, then your gun/spear is going to stay down there...
 
ray is the nicest fish IMO
easy to get rid of the "pissy" smell, just leave the unskinned wings in fresh water overnight then wash away the resulting slime and skin them. (not an easy job, i usually cut skin into strips then pull off with a pliers)
to cook just dip them in seasoned flower and fry.
tastes amazing you can even eat the bones (more like soft cartilage)
 
Ray wings are nice but have a lot of ammonia in them. Where are u planning on getting stingray? U mean thornback?
Never seen a ray spearfishing but saw a thorny and a blonde on scuba once.

No mate... I mean stingray :duh

Seen a few thornbacks around here and played with a large stingray in lanzarotte... They are said to be caught in Kerry and Limerick / Clare.
 
ray is the nicest fish IMO
easy to get rid of the "pissy" smell, just leave the unskinned wings in fresh water overnight then wash away the resulting slime and skin them. (not an easy job, i usually cut skin into strips then pull off with a pliers)
to cook just dip them in seasoned flower and fry.
tastes amazing you can even eat the bones (more like soft cartilage)

Yup, I second that...they taste amazing, good tip Willie about soaking the wings. I know some people who love to suck on and chew the bones but don't forget the poor old dog, he loves them too :p

Now I've a hankering for Ray wings and Cods Roe, I'd like to try the herring roe as well. I got some of the Cods roe last year in a fishmongers here in Wexford, its very cheap, feeds plenty.

http://www.formanandfield.com/images/categories/b1090_lg.jpg
 
So with the onset of a few days good weather I decided to brush off the cobwebs of my comanche 75 and see if there were any bass about. I expect the best conditions on tomorrow / Friday but I wanted to get out today and see for myself...

I packed up earnestedly, just as teh sun started to come out. It was reading 18'c on my car thermometer and I was having a good feeling about this... a quick dive before I pick up my daughter from school.

When I got to the site.... I saw a sea of brown soup and the predicted 1.3m waves were more like 2.3m... I hummed and hawed and eventually decided to go for a swim anyway. After about 30minutes of 10cm vis (from the rotten seaweed...) I eventually got out to about 1m viz from the stirred up floor... I got to where I was going and the viz opened up to 1m (end of my speargun) over the kelp and 2m in the gullies with the kelp and rock protecting me from the surge. but..... the place was empty...

I never have the best luck at this spot on a spring tide but today was different... not even a wrasse or a crab... I wondered if the bass had left already? Water temp was 10' in open water and 11' in the sheltered area's.

As I had forgotten my weight belt I could only stay very shallow so I wondered around for 45 minutes without seeing a fish. I swam over to the other side of the bay and back but still nothing. Viz seemed worse on the other side.

The tide was ripping a bit outside the bay and I was tired so I decided for one last swim in.

20minutes later I was in about 50cm of water. It was hurting my neck to keep looking up so I swam on my side for a while. With the gun on the side also. When right in front of me came a bass of about 4/5lbs... I was motionless... he was actually swimming about 20cm from the end of my spear and lining himself up for a gill shot? So I pulled the trigger... and the spear ran about 2 cm infront of the bass's eye's... I think the bass literally shat himself.... but then coped on as I frantically started retrieving the spear and buggered off.

The problem... the comanche pulls low and I had gotten used to teh rob allen that shot straight... damn... I actually reminded myself of this as I got into the water but forgot when I was on my side :(
But I found the bass....
I had a max 15mins left in the water before I had to go so I swam around... but the area was tiny... it was just on the edge of the seaweed particle's reach. within the next 10minuts I saw 2 mullet and 2 bass. I only got 1 more shot off and it was a risky one on the bass. With that kinda viz the fis either 'appear' in your line of sight, or the appear on the edge and you loose the shot... so when I saw teh silver shape I gambled and got the worse shot ever it was fighting hard like a mullet so I dropped the gun and gave it a bear hug before pinning it to the ground and dispatching it.

I was really happy with this bass as i've not had one in a very long time, but I had to get out and pick up kiddies... can't wait to eat him later...

6lb gutted and scaled ;)

316035_2476768235884_1152836871_2996436_1491400467_n.jpg
 
Hi. I have a few silly questions. Can big seal do any harm to you while in the water? I was diving the last time and there was a realy big one just about 1 mtr below me. Another one - Can this realy big dogfish (over 1mtr) do any harm??? Again there was around 10 of them in grup the last time i went out and it was very scary to see all that big fish looking at me - one of them even went after me probablly just curious ...
 
The both can but I would be surprised if they would... do a search on the forums I think there have been many discussions on them.
Certainly do not approach seals if they are in mating season, if with cubs or corner them in a gully / cave... Think Dave got barked at under water once!

Dogfish have really bad sight so its likely they did not see you. They are very harmless but fearless and curious.

But if in doubt there is a fool proof method: waggle your fingers at any big creature under the ocean, if they take a bite off ya - you should be worried, if not its cool ;)
 
Yup, I second that...they taste amazing, good tip Willie about soaking the wings. I know some people who love to suck on and chew the bones but don't forget the poor old dog, he loves them too :p

Now I've a hankering for Ray wings and Cods Roe, I'd like to try the herring roe as well. I got some of the Cods roe last year in a fishmongers here in Wexford, its very cheap, feeds plenty.

http://www.formanandfield.com/images/categories/b1090_lg.jpg

I'm actually reading a fascinating book called 'cod' by Mark Kurlansky (I cannot recommend it highly enough.)

In it it has literally hundreds of recipies from the past 500 years and there are many tasty things to do with the roe but a favourite recipe of old times is exactly how you suggest! Must give it a go!
 
White roe is sperm. Caviar/ red roe is eggs. Does eating roe make me gay??

if you eat a white only .... if you eat a red caviar it will make you posh gourmet. I love red caviar , witch come from salmon . white French baguette with thick lay us butter and sprinkle a red caviar ...
my mum used to buy a whole herring and salted/marinated for a couple days and then you gutting . specially in a winter time , herring full of roe - white one is my favourite with a slice of brown bred ....

P.S.
you can buy a salmon red caviar in eastern European food shops across Ireland , is not a mad expensive it will cost 100gr about a 10 -15 euro. It is so delicious . bigger eggs taste much much better then smaller ones .
 
if you eat a white only .... if you eat a red caviar it will make you posh gourmet. I love red caviar , witch come from salmon . white French baguette with thick lay us butter and sprinkle a red caviar ...
my mum used to buy a whole herring and salted/marinated for a couple days and then you gutting . specially in a winter time , herring full of roe - white one is my favourite with a slice of brown bred ....

P.S.
you can buy a salmon red caviar in eastern European food shops across Ireland , is not a mad expensive it will cost 100gr about a 10 -15 euro. It is so delicious . bigger eggs taste much much better then smaller ones .

Yes, it is very testy. I love red caviar on white bred with butter and then shot of vodka mmmmmmmm delicious...
 
Years ago my mother worked as a pa and attended a dignitaries banquet which resulted in her taking home nearly half a can of Caviar (sturgeon eggs), I remember eating it on some wheaten crackers and also on some brown bread, with all the fanfare and prestige surrounding this fabulous morsel all I can remember is feeling very disappointed that it did not taste as good as my expectations had been built up to expect.

Maybe my taste buds have matured with age to appreciate it better now, or maybe its like going to bed with Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson...the thought is better than the reality! Either way, I'll never know and don't particularly care to pay exorbitantly to find out rofl
It is very expensive and highly sought after in certain circles... overrated? Definitely, give me Cods roe any day and I'm happy to stay down on the farm.
 
Looking good for Saturday except the tides. High 4.6(spring)@ 8:15am. So fishing the ebb. Wind decreasing through the day and swell 1.5M. Have sunfish and bobdonny so far. Anyone else interested?
 
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