Scotland Spearfishing 2012

[DafyddRees]

Denian - probably a little south of there as I have not plucked up the courage to go an pilfer the tame wolfish from St Abbs yet! Bass are showing as one gentleman has been taking them regularly (using plugs) from a few locations on the east coast since January but they are nothing more than schoolies which would probably just be resident, all year round fish.

 

[dave 1973]

Well i don't want to be the forum spoil sport, but the forecast for saturday and sunday is northerly winds and swell which means very poor vis, monday is a little better but tuesday is more swell around 2ft with Saturday getting as much as 4ft, check out Belhaven Bay (Dunbar) Surf Report, Surf Forecast and Surf Webcams :vangry

 

[DafyddRees]

A combination of being at the hospital until 3 am and looking at the webcam at 6am this morning, which showed pretty poor conditions put me off my morning dive.

I thought 'edin norf wud 'arden me oop?

 

[denian]

Cor what ya bin doin or shouldnt I ask?I was hopein for up north exciteing report to???Did Granti get in ??Or are you still fishing?

 

[grantl]

Unfortunately I've not been in at all since coming back from SA after bringing back a nice Rabitech 80 and and an ear infection :hmm

Hopefully should be sorted for next weekend, weather permitting.

I posted one of these vids in the official thread but thought i'd put it in here along with another one from S.Africa about 2 weeks ago. (don't know if that's cool with the forum rules OK or not??).


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7c6ySraU9U&feature=g-upl&context=G2aac77fAUAAAAAAABAA]Freediving with Cape Fur Seals - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vind7ti1wg&feature=g-upl&context=G247fcfcAUAAAAAAAAAA]Freediving with Sevengill Sharks, Millers Point Capetown - YouTube[/ame]

 

[denian]

Think its fine great vids some thing different looks amazing stuff whats the story behind it all who where with what did you see come on stop teaseing us?spill the beans!!!!

 

[jthompson]

Hey guys, I live in Edinburgh, and I'm gearing up for some spearfishing in Scotland this year. I've never spearfished in Scotland before, and I'm looking for some people to go with.
-John

 

[grantl]

Welcome John

I'm a bit South of you in The Borders & tend to get out whenever I can on the East coast.
There are quite a few Spearos round Edinburgh as well so you should be able to find someone to show you some local spots.
Drop me a pm if you want a dive further South.

Have you done much spearing in the past?

Cheers

Grant

 

[jthompson]

Hello Grant,

Thanks for the info. I am relatively new to the sport, but I've done a little in the Adriatic. I'm a scuba diver and basically a fish, so I feel comfortable in the water. I'd like to learn more about specific strategies and techniques. Right now, I'm just looking for people who are interested in going out. I'm in the process of gearing up now that the weather is getting a bit better. Do you know of anyone around Edinburgh? If I ever come further south, I'll give you a shout.

Thanks

John

 

[grantl]

After seeing the forecast on the East Coast last weekend I decided to hit the West Coast and see if there were any fishes around yet.
Managed to forget my vid camera but the Plaice were around in good numbers but still very thin and there were a surprising number of small Pollock up to 3 lb around.
I was really hoping for Lobster and every pot I had a look at contained cracking sized lobbies but I never managed to find one to take that wasn't in someone's pot - prob swam over loads though :-(
I was kicking myself for forgetting the camera as I had an amazing bit of interaction from a huge Grey Seal bull which gradually came closer over half an hour and eventually ended up swimming 2mtrs below me upside down really checking me out -made the dive for me
Wasn't too cold (9 deg) with a 5mil suit and 2 mil vest.

Anyone been out at all??

 

[mabster]

Not been out at all yet. Uni work load exploded but I may have a reprieve this week.
Anyone fancy a dive this Thursday - Sunday?

Good to hear you've seen some fish Grant. I'm getting hungry!

 

[sarago]

Hi guys how is the fisching going ? mine quite good i 've just came back from my holydays in Italy i spent two weeks there going fisching every day.the water was clear 15metres of vis but quite cold for me 16degrees and i've killed some giltheads and other fisches. i've posted the result of the best day with a Gilthead on the top ( 2kilos ) and some lion fisch the rest of the fisches i don't really know the name in english. i'm looking forward to try spearfisching here and i'm based in edinburgh if anyone fancy having a coffe or a chat about spearfisching send me a PM.
Ciao !
andrea

 

[grantl]

Hi Sarago

For me the fishing hasn't really kicked off yet - I've had a few dives and the fish are starting to make an appearance but the water is still a little cold @ 9 deg or so.
Nice catch you have there - are your Lionfish the same as a Cobra fish?

Grant

 

[sarago]

Hi Grant

nope i don't really know the name in english i guess they are lion fish,by the way here this specie dosn't exist in Italy we call them Cappone or Scorfano rosso. the latin name is Scorpaena scrofa.Is not so easy to find him because he uses to stay quiet and hidden beneth the rocks it's quite unusual to fisch three of them in one day. he's very ugly but really very tasty just boiled with some extra olive oil on top !
the other fishes are two breams , on the bottom,but two different spices of brams in Italian we call them sarago ( bream ) Pinzuto and the other one is a sarago Maggiore.
the greensh fish is a tordo marvizzo.
have anyone found any lobster or crab ? is it began the season of these shellfish ? cos i want to start my diving season here can't wait
bye bye

 

[grantl]

There are certainly lobster inshore on the W coast just now but they tend to appear in greater numbers on the East coast as we get more into summer (if we ever get one this year!).
Def worth a look now

 

[dave 1973]

There are certainly lobster inshore on the W coast just now but they tend to appear in greater numbers on the East coast as we get more into summer (if we ever get one this year!).
Def worth a look now

The lobster season on the east coast normally starts about harvest time which is around august i now this because all my family are lobster fishermen here in dunbar on the east coast of scotland, during the night with a lamp would be the best time to grab em, well i was hoping to have a few dives under my belt by now, but the weather here has been awful, the wind direction has been mostly northeast or northerly bringing lots of swell,we have had lots of heavy showers also causing the rivers to run heavy with silt which has done nothing to help the visibility which is zero at the moment, next weeks forecast looks just as bad with more sea winds and swell predicted, thankfully i like surfing as much as spearfishing but i am now getting a little frustrated, have any of you west coast spearos fared any better than us east coasters?, hopefully the weather and vis will improve soon.

 

[grantl]

hopefully the weather and vis will improve soon.

I'm with you there Dave - we haven't had many opportunities to get out on the East coast at all and the forecast certainly isn't looking any more promising :-(
I've been across to the W Coast a couple of times this year just to get a decent swim & there's certainly more life about incl. smaller pollock, plaice (a bit thin still) and Lobbies.
I've been lucky with the vis each time and the water is a good 1-2deg warmer than the East which almost makes up for the 3.5 hour drive.

Interesting to hear you say the lobster season is from August @ Dunbar - we certainly start seeing them generally from May onwards, not in huge numbers granted, but they are around for sure and numbers tend to increase over the summer.
I'm talking S of Berwick which may make a difference? I'm interested to know if the reason you say the season is from August is you mean there's just not enough lobster around until Aug to make it worthwhile for your family to set pots or if you mean you actually never see any at all until this late in the summer?

Interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Cheers

Grant

 

[dave 1973]

Hi grant
The lobsters are there all year round, lobster unlike crab cast there shells so when this happens they sit in there holes for a couple of weeks or longer until this process is complete the fishermen use the term sitting, no doubt when you have been lobstering in previous summers you will have picked up lobster with a soft shell? when the lobster finish casting they come out to feed normally with ferocious appetites this normally happens around harvest time, but my brother and father fish all year round on the east coast, when the weather improves i'll try and organize a days diving out of dunbar harbour if your interested then you can see these lobster boats at work.

 

[grantl]

I'd be up for that Dave, thanks .......if this weather ever improves ;-)

One thing I have noticed about Lobster is that you seldom see them walking in the open during the day, except in May when they can often be seen creeping about the kelp or on reefs etc.

I've often wondered why you see them out and about so easily I'm May - is this breeding related or are they moving inshore at this time of year?

Maybe it's just been coincidence to see them in daylight in May but I'm sure there's more to it?

Cheers

Grant

 

[harris444]

hi guys im from dumfries, this is my first year at it. cant wait. where abouts on the west coast is good to dive? cheers
HARRIS