North Wales, The Llyn & Anglesey 2013.

[ManicFlippy]

Just got back from a break on the llynn, stayed on north. Found a sheltered area which had surprisingly great vis throughout my stay despite the winds probs best I've seen on this spot. Did my first night dives, i was a bit wary before but thought it was awesome once I got used to the torch beam.
Had dead phone so couldn't advise on the great conditions, they had worsened still fishable when I left.
Saw plenty of bass, and the gentleman's variety including a fairly large specimen (imho) and a few decent flaties on the night dives. What a different world by night!
Saw a several solitary, and pairs of bass and 2 small schools in the day dives. Missed opportunities for shots (hesitated or in wrong position to aim) and missed plenty of shots some I'd thought were bang on (wrong!), but if you throw enough sh1t some will stick more than happy with the few bass/flatties I did manage to bag. With the amazing viz, I was just happy to be in the water as opposed to work.

 

[Broseidon]

Good work matey, night dives are awesome aren't they! Any pics to post up?

...and the gentleman's variety...

So glad this term is catching on rofl

 

[ManicFlippy]

night dives are awesome aren't they! Any pics to post up?

Yeah they are (except when your gf turns up sobbing on the beach having enlisted some bewildered farmer to come and check if your alright because she thinks your in trouble!!?!?FFS!honestly! But that's another story) I'll deffo be doing more now I'm hooked although did spook myself a few times lol. Any tips for torchmanship? I found I had to hold at arms length parallel from body else if in line with sight the glare meant I couldn't see properly.. I bet this is amplified when the vis is down? Also head torch for stringing/reloading attracted what looked like hundreds of micro jellies which stung my face around my mask! Had to keep moving and only use when needed.
As for pics, unfortunately no sorry, i didn't take go pro as thought viz was gonna be minimal and phone was dead, all i could offer is some of the butchered fillets that remain. I do wish I'd taken go pro so I could work out why I keep missing, I think I must twitch or something when I pull the trigger sometimes, changing the aim, I'd like see some and analyse these, as man, some misses I just could not believe!! One was almost point blank and square on!(still shaking head)

 

[Broseidon]

Ah, sobbing girlfriends & spearing - the two go hand in hand I'm afraid! My girlfriend likes to come night diving with me though so I get a pass on that one

As for torches, I've never had an issue myself, I just hold the torch in front of me, parallel to the gun - as long as your torch is powerful enough with a tight beam, I can't really think of it being a problem - what are you using?

 

[ManicFlippy]

what are you using?

It's an xtar D06 led torch its pretty bright, with a good beam (or at least i think so, i guess there's probs loads better out there, but seems bright enough) if I held out in front the light of the main beam seemed to reflect back directly off of every single particle in the sea, when I held away from me and pointed parallel to my view the glare was much less pronounced, and I could see everything clearly in the width of the beam better. I was thinking to try a cover like a clear cycle reflector to diffuse the direct beam a little, similar to the flip up one on my petzl (for land activities) which changed from focused beam to slightly dimmer widespread light. Reducing the brightness only seemed to reduce the amount of illumination, the two positions (inline and parallel) seemed to have their respective characteristics with any brightness.
I guess like most things, it comes down to playing around to see what works best for me. I'm very excited by the whole night dive thing though

 

[Broseidon]

Hmm... from what I've heard the D06 is a great torch, it sounds like you were diving in quite murky water though so yes, the beam will reflect back at you, in clear water, it'll be great.

 

[ManicFlippy]

Yeah, I'd agree, I think it's a good torch too, maybe your right, maybe the water wasn't as clear I believed it to be, seemed a good clear 5m++ easy though. I guess I can compare next time. I was surprised in such high winds the difference from the exposed sides of the headlands to the sheltered on the same side of the peninsula, maybe it seems an obvious deduction, but it's not always been my experience. I guess there's been prolonged calm period.. I hope it settles again soon.. For all our sakes

 

[dario_deli]

Good work matey, night dives are awesome aren't they!

I can't disagree more with you Mike! This will make me a little unpopular these days but although the night dive can be a nice experience the night spearfishing is an awful practise and I really hope one day it will be forbidden in this country too. My view of course. Sadly I see this becoming more and more popular and I don't like it. Catching fish during the day is a lot harder but much more rewarding. I don't want to open a debate or convince anybody, I just want to express my view and my position on this. Spearfishing is the best thing ever but night spearfishing is so uncool! Sorry, no offence to anybody.

 

[Broseidon]

I know how you feel mate, we chatted about it last time we met - I personally catch a LOT more fish in the day - I very rarely spear at night and when I do, it's more for the experience. The sea is a beautiful place at night - it's a magical experience unlike anything else.

I almost never blank on a day dive but I have had quite a few blanks on the very few night dives I've done. I don't think its a particularly great way to get decent fish, especially judging by my success rate - I disagree that day diving is harder - as I said, I get a lot more fish.

Shooting a slow moving bass by torchlight is no different from shooting one that's hiding in the stringweed in the day time or asleep in the kelp.

I think night diving makes it a lot easier to find and get close to bass BUT 99% of those you'll find at night are tiny - I've had zero success in finding a single bass over 2lbs at night. I know the guys down south are slaying huge bass at night but I don't think that's the case in North Wales.

I think that for a novice spearo, night diving will help them get (small) bass BUT if you're an experienced spearo you'll always get a lot more bass in the day and they'll be a lot bigger.

I night diving made it really easy, I wouldn't do it - I mainly do it for the experience, not the fish. Come with me one night and we won't take guns - see how many decent bass we can find

 

[dario_deli]

I know how you feel mate, we chatted about it last time we met - I personally catch a LOT more fish in the day - I very rarely spear at night and when I do, it's more for the experience. The sea is a beautiful place at night - it's a magical experience unlike anything else.

I almost never blank on a day dive but I have had quite a few blanks on the very few night dives I've done. I don't think its a particularly great way to get decent fish, especially judging by my success rate - I disagree that day diving is harder - as I said, I get a lot more fish.

Shooting a slow moving bass by torchlight is no different from shooting one that's hiding in the stringweed in the day time or asleep in the kelp.

I think night diving makes it a lot easier to find and get close to bass BUT 99% of those you'll find at night are tiny - I've had zero success in finding a single bass over 2lbs at night. I know the guys down south are slaying huge bass at night but I don't think that's the case in North Wales.

I think that for a novice spearo, night diving will help them get (small) bass BUT if you're an experienced spearo you'll always get a lot more bass in the day and they'll be a lot bigger.

I night diving made it really easy, I wouldn't do it - I mainly do it for the experience, not the fish. Come with me one night and we won't take guns - see how many decent bass we can find

As I said I don't want to go trhough a debate. I have been fishing for more than 15 years and during this time I had chance to go at night myself, no need to go again. Thanks for the offer though. No chance you can convince me of the opposite, I just can't wait the day spearfishing will be regulated in this country as in many others and that day I am sure that night spearing as scuba spearing will be forbidden.

 

[Jonny250]

Hey guys, dont forget to vote for this months Fish of the Month: http://forums.deeperblue.com/uk-ireland/98239-fom-poll-july-2013-a.html

 

[Broseidon]

I just can't wait the day spearfishing will be regulated in this country as in many others...

Seriously. You don't want the British in charge of regulating ANYTHING! Least of all spearfishing. It'll only lead to it being banned.

I'm still not sure why you hate night diving so much - I don't want to debate with you either as I respect your opinion but can you explain what it is you don't like about it?

 

[dario_deli]

Seriously. You don't want the British in charge of regulating ANYTHING! Least of all spearfishing. It'll only lead to it being banned.

I'm still not sure why you hate night diving so much - I don't want to debate with you either as I respect your opinion but can you explain what it is you don't like about it?

I don't hate the diving but rather the hunting. I would think that the british would simply see how the countries around them regulate them. France for example, the torch is forbidden even during the day! Of course night spearing is forbidden too. At night not only you have more chances to find fish asleep, you can find entire schools asleep and you have a serious advantage to be able to flash them up. Have you ever been flashed in the middle of the darkness? Possibly by one of these fancy led torches of nowadays? Didn't it give you a sort of disorientation? Why would you think it is forbidden in most European countries where spearfishing is a much popular sport? and so on...

 

[foxfish]

Night diving for some species is just sooo much easier that daytime hunting.
I have always felt some sort of guilt on the few occasions I have taken fish at night!
However it is the safety factor that concerns me more than conservation.

 

[manalive!]

Oooooh, I can feel a heated debate brewing, if so perhaps we should start a new thread....

 

[foxfish]

I think there is already plenty of debate & a few threads about night diving on the forum but yes, please start up a new one if you like!
Not much point in having a forum if we cant talk about our passion?

 

[Broseidon]

I totally get what Dario is saying - no arguments from me - I wouldn't want a torch shone in my face at night.

I don't really agree about finding sleeping fish though - every fish I've seen at night has been free swimming - I've never once found one sleeping. Maybe things are different in the Med?

Night diving for me is done for the experience, not the hunting - I find fishing a lot more productive in the day.

 

[foxfish]

Fish like Sole & red mullet & largely nocturnal & far easier to spot & kill at night but many fish rely of the dark as sanctuary & can be approached to within touching distance.
Also fish will come into shallow water & can often be found in only a few feet of water.
It is difficult to imagine that a few spearos could make much difference to fish stocks by fishing in the dark but you could argue that in this world of mass overfishing every fish makes a difference?

 

[Broseidon]

Not really any sole or red mullet in North Wales I'm sorry to say

I agree about fish coming to within touching distance - I've tickled a few little bass with my spear tip in the past - it was amazing to see them up so close. I couldn't shoot a fish like that - that would just be far too wrong!

 

[grantl]

I think, fairly obviously, the challenge in night fishing isn't shooting fish but rather knowing an area and its tides, geography etc. to be able to safely plan and dive.
We've done most our night dives in Winter and believe me there's a real challenge to stumbling about in sub zero temps and diving in swell in an area with absolutely no man made light source as a reference point.
One thing that is very interesting is seeing the nocturnal species that you might not normally expect. Yeti and I came across some Red Mullet one night which might not be unexpected in many areas but to see them in Scotland was a surprise for me.
Can't honestly say I think we could get more fish at night really - it's certainly not a turkey shoot.



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