Ireland Spearing 2012

[woods]

hi guys,
im new enough to this but got hooked fast!! bought myself some kit and looking forward to making good use of it this summer. im based in mayo but home is up in donegal so i would be up there as well. we have set up our own snorkeling club in castlebar ( half of us are getting into spear fishing). are there many other spero's/snorkelers in mayo? we would be out at least once a week if not more and the usual spots are achil with a trip up to mullaghmore every now and then. looking for new sites and meeting more spero's! and then for my self any one know some good spots up donegal way? i konw a good bit of the coast through kayking the last few years and would love to konw where some good spots are! a camping/kayaking/dive weekend would be an ideal few days

 

[bobdonny]

Any of you guys heard anything about this?
Possible 'World War II submarine' found at bottom of River Foyle | NewswireNI

Assuming that it's quite shallow, as someone is reported as saying that they don't want people snorkelling out to it.

No idea.... looks cool though!

McMahon... that meat you have is nicer than brown crab and some would say nicer than lobster!
Mix that in with 2lb of mash, some spring onions, corriander, chilli and you have some of the best crabcakes money can buy... and that is about 20Euro's worth of meat there

Welcome woods... the north east seems to be a bit of a hotspot right now...

No good spots in Cork, move along now

 

[johnnybuoy]

Hey woods. Welcome. As bobdonny said, there is very little fish in cork and no areas worth even trying and none of us know any places either
Seriously though. If your down give us a pm and I'll go for a dip with u.

 

[williew]

hi lads,
not sure if anyone has posted this before but check it out. could be huge benefit to us spearos especially those of us that have a long drive to find decent vis. http://www.facebook.com/groups/155394051249714/

 

[sunfish]

I was out looking for pollack on Wednesday but it was cold and a little choppy and I saw no decent sized fish.
Today I donned the 7ml Picasso jacket and headed out to look for a bass. The spot I chose was one I don't usually visit more than once or twice a year but it usually fishes well in these conditions (cold and sunny with a North wind) as it's a very small south facing bay with many rock fingers stretching from shore out to sea.
As I swam carefully over the ledges I soon saw a pair of very nice bass lying in one of the dips, soaking up the sun. When I moved the gun onto one and pulled the trigger...... nothing happened. Somehow the safety had come on! An amateur mistake:duh .The fish swam off of course.
Onwards I finned, around a longish rockbar and over an area of flat stone with gutters when a large shoal of fish came out of the murk. I froze and as they circled I noticed they were about 75% mullet and 25% bass. One of the fish out in the gloom looked very humpbacked and I decided it was a bream of about 3lbs.I waited for a minute or so but it didn't come in range and didn't stay in sight either so I shot a decent looking bass.
When the shoal didn't appear again I swam back to the car and got out to warm up. I now regret taking the bass. It weighed 7lb4oz but I should have kept looking for the bream.

 

[fcallagy]

Have been dosed with a cold all week so havent put the head in water yet. Was in Mayo earlier today with my daughter who is a confirmed Titanic fan. A small village (one shop two pubs) has built this fantastic replica 76ft long. They are having a mass/service tonight and have the ship lite up then at 2.20am the lights go out as the ship sank this night 100 years ago. Talking to some of the organisers thay are astounded that the story has been taken up bu the international media as well as the national.

 

[johnnybuoy]

Williew I joined it yesterday. A great page and plenty people posting there.
Nice fish sunfish. Pity bout the bream though.
That's a great looking replica Feargus. Cobh is gone mental with the titanic stuff. Kinda sad really. People cashing in on such a sad event. What they did up your way seems way more appropriate. I've stayed clear of the town for the whole thing. It's more a celebration of Cobh being on the map due to the titanics fate rather than a remembrance of the hundreds that lost their lives.........

 

[plbenza]

. One of the fish out in the gloom looked very humpbacked and I decided it was a bream of about 3lbs.

Black bream? Now that´s a great great sign Kelp, sand area or near an area with mussels exposed at low tide? Just by curiosity

Great bass...! And definetly that the feeling of seeing so much it will make you going more than once or twice an year this year at least

 

[woods]

cheers guys, and for another facebook page, one of our guys set this up, its getting a bit bigger each week. we will post in it after most dives and give an update of the area. give it a look.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/265374926875251/

 

[sunfish]

Black bream? Now that´s a great great sign Kelp, sand area or near an area with mussels exposed at low tide? Just by curiosity

Great bass...! And definetly that the feeling of seeing so much it will make you going more than once or twice an year this year at least

Thanks Pedro.
So far the only bream I've seen locally have been gilthead. There were a lot of mussels around on the rockbars and it is exposed at low tide. I remember thinking the mussels were doing better than usual as I was pulling myself past a rockbar.
There are gilthead caught every year here by anglers but they're very difficult to approach or to attract near you. A couple of years ago there was a big wave of them came and both Donnachad and myself got one. I think this year may be like that as I spotted one two weeks ago at another place, again in a large mixed shoal of mullet and bass. Other years I've seen small shoals of only bream and one year saw a shoal with the front fish being sea trout and the back fish bream! This has the feel of a "breamy" year, with warm winter followed by spring sunshine.
I'm definately planning to get out more this year. I had lots of other things happening last year. I did get out more than once or twice though, I just didn't always post about it.

 

[sunfish]

Out again this morning at a different place for 3 hours from 10.30 'til 2.00pm. Once again I found shoals of bass and mullet but nothing else this time so as I didn't want any bass or mullet I came home empty handed. I spent a lot of time on the bottom in 3 to 5 metres of water, holding onto kelp to stay down and turning blue from lack of oxygen while I watched bass and mullet streaming round me and stared off into the gloom beyond them. I didn't see what I was looking for but I'll try a third place tomorrow.

 

[zaratustra]

Out again this morning at a different place for 3 hours from 10.30 'til 2.00pm. Once again I found shoals of bass and mullet but nothing else this time so as I didn't want any bass or mullet I came home empty handed. I spent a lot of time on the bottom in 3 to 5 metres of water, holding onto kelp to stay down and turning blue from lack of oxygen while I watched bass and mullet streaming round me and stared off into the gloom beyond them. I didn't see what I was looking for but I'll try a third place tomorrow.

How was the visibility today Sunfish?

 

[kookiebrew]

went out this morning with mcmahon for a few hrs but viz was crap..saw nothing at all... think all the fish are on holidays in the peoples republic... might have to head further south to find them...

 

[kookiebrew]

dove down today and got a bit of a headache... little while later i cleared my throat and was spitting blood...did same now and bits of blood coming up...anyone got an idea what that is...was thinking something to do with sinuses..

 

[Derekn]

Don't take any chances, get yourself a professional medical opinion from a doctor...thats my advices,

 

[zaratustra]

dove down today and got a bit of a headache... little while later i cleared my throat and was spitting blood...did same now and bits of blood coming up...anyone got an idea what that is...was thinking something to do with sinuses..

Happened to me as well. Went on holidays with little of flu so my nose was bit stuffy. After couple of deeper dives got blood in nose. One of your vessels bursted probably. Take 2-3 weeks break from diving man. Visit your doctor as well just to be sure!

I use Sinus Rinse before I go diving to make sure everything in clear in my head

 

[kookiebrew]

actually had a sinus and chest infection few weeks back...if its the same tomorrow gonna drop into drs...

 

[sunfish]

dove down today and got a bit of a headache... little while later i cleared my throat and was spitting blood...did same now and bits of blood coming up...anyone got an idea what that is...was thinking something to do with sinuses..

Almost certainly sinus related. As said above, see a good doctor. I had some trouble with this a few years back and cured it with a sinus rinse bottle and "Flixonase". I still use Flixonase daily now when I'm diving a lot.
Avoid any products containing pseudoephedrine. It has a rebound effect and you can end up worse off.

 

[sunfish]

How was the visibility today Sunfish?

In places it was pretty good, maybe 5metres+ but the area I was in has some spots that are always hazy, probably because of water draining from the land or muddy bottom or something. The poorer vis is often better for getting a shot off at fish.

 

[kookiebrew]

just back from dr... burst blood vessel in sinuses and have an infection too... on antibiotics and steroids for a week...asked him about a sinus rinse and he said "Theyre a gimmick really, can cause more damage"...