Sea Angling for Spearos

[Old Man Dave]

This is more of interest to Anglers than spearo's due to a depth issue. One of our local (Guernsey) commercial wreck handliner/jiggers, fishing the English Channel wrecks, landed a conger last week. It weighed 51.5 kilo's gutted. Thats 113.5lb gutted or probably nearer 130lb whole.

Chatting to another jigger today he told me he'd released much bigger ones alongside the boat as they were too much trouble for too little return (price).

Dave.

 

[foxfish]

The 113lb conger I can believe but a Guernsey commercial releasing a fish!

 

[ADM]

That's almost as rare as catching a bass nowadays.

I know eel numbers have been on the increase in the last few years, me and Gav were troubled by them while bream fishing some East coast waters last autumn, I went down to meet one he got to the surface and he can **** off if he thought I was going to attempt to handle something bigger than me!! The smallest one we both went to meet and couldn't get it up without the neccesary equipment which we were lacking and it was an easy 25 apparently, putting the large one at well over anything I want to handle without a very big net, I have no idea on size estimates once they are thicker than my legs with a gut like me...

No doubt the increase in eels means an increase in longlines in the near future.

As for angling, I had an OK session on Saturday in the blazing sun. 3 pollack all between 2.5 and 3.5 and a ballan of 3-10 on the soft plastics.

 

[ADM]

Sneak preview of the most amazing session I have ever had.

Report tomorrow...

HRF Rod and soft plastic lures. Over 20lb of bass in half an hour and two of them were the same weight exactly.

I'm knackered so will report tomorrow...

 

[foxfish]

Cant wait Andy......

 

[ADM]

I was fishing with my HRF rod, a Daiwa Infeet 7-21g and a small 3 inch soft plastic on a 7g head with 10lb braid.

OK, so the fish in the pic measured 88cm and went 9-12 on my digi scales.

It was returned alive.

Next cast I had another which went 9-15-8 on my scales, It was looking healthy and strong so I wrapped it in the wet net and took it to some other scales of one of the GBASS committee which went between 9-12 and 9-15-8. Time for the proper scales. Advance call has them set up when I got there and the second fish went 9-12 on the dram balance, so two fish, both 9lb 12oz in half an hour. Blimey.

I rushed the fish to the beach and waded out with it, holding it in the surf til it eventually kicked free of my grip and glided off into the surf and blackness. So the west coast of Guernsey still has a couple of big bass somewhere out there...

These fish are too big to be killed (my opinion of course, thinking of the future) and I will not kill a bass that size for the table. I hope to catch a smaller one tonight to eat.

There have been a lot of fish weighed in in the last few days, including one of over 11lb last night. Finally the bass have arrived in numbers!!

Might be time to don the wetsuit and see if I can see one of table size. What's the viz like round here then??

 

[Old Man Dave]

Fantastic catch Andy. Unfortunately no catch and release for us spearo's but I understand your feelings and respect your actions. I mainly spear and eat smallish bass. Not too small so they haven't bred and not too big to be super breeders. "Slot" size.

That said of course I have killed 2 bass over 8lb this year. It would be difficult to resist spearing 2 huge bass like yours but personally I seldom have that dilema any more.

There has been some talk about this on DB and whether to shoot or not these big fish. I doubt spearing has much impact on overall bass numbers but we all must play our part and it's easy to say "It's not me it's someone elses fault".

Sorry for the ramble but well done again mate.

Dave.

 

[Mr. X]

Fab catch Andy. Kudos. Thanks for sharing tackle info. Can you give us a bit more detail about the lure & jig head (e.g. brand/style). I've got a few but they don't as slick as yours. That sounds like a super-light rig by modern standards - 10lb braid (if that's Whiplash its probably hair thin) for a nigh on 10lb fish, just like the old days! Credit too for releasing the fish to fight again another day.

Interesting idea, slot size, OMD. Perhaps that is the right approach. I saw a 4ft long fish as I entered the water a few years ago and was so in awe I was almost in shock! I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Unusually my speargun was loaded immediately on entering the water but I figured the fish was out of range -- in hindsight it probably wasn't but my little 75cm XXV didn't seem appropriate for such a grand fish - and I didn't really have the urge to kill it such a grand sight, perhaps that's how it managed to survive so long? And 2x 8lbers. Super!

 

[Fro-in-shorts]

Andy u make me sick as a dog, That fish is a beaut. I was up and down the beach at sparrows fart (4am) and spun at a tried and tested spot, good tide, great weather, right spot, right time of year and caught nothing
Great way to spend the morning, not a breath of wind. Only thing I can think of is mabe a bit of swell or cross chop would have helped. Swapping tactics this afternoon. The beach was chocca with peelers so the only thing I can think of is that the bass were either not present or were busy stuffing their faces with jellies. Going to go down at low to look for a lobbie then im thinking of floating a bit of crab in some gullies when the tide turns.

Any advice when it comes to float fishing for bass?

 

[Pav]

Estaury Bass Ideas?

As I'm not a great rod angler would appreciate some ideas. I am going to fish the estuary from my small inflatable yak (has a small hp outboard). There is a reef covered at high tide. I see some people anchor and spin over it but would like to fish it on the drift. Is it possible to jig for bass, or any suggestion of a rig I could use on the drift incorporating a lure.

or a bait + lure? thanks

 

[ADM]

Try a soft plastic rigged drop shot style.

Drop Shot Rigging | The Ultimate Bass Fishing Resource Guide® LLC

 

[foxfish]

Andy, I think it is about time you changed your user name to "soft plastic" LOL

 

[agbiv]

There's a little blue pill for that--turns it to hard plastic but if it stays that way for 4 hours it'll fall offf the hook.

 

[ADM]

Andy, I think it is about time you changed your user name to "soft plastic" LOL

I am a bit obsessed but hey, if they work...

 

[flyflicker]

Just back from fishing in Ireland - amazing place

There is a new initiative by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland (Dardni) provides a unique opportunity for sea anglers to have their say in the management of sea bass stocks.

The story starts in the South of Ireland about 20 years ago, where Sea bass have been restrictively managed for recreational/tourism angling since stocks were plundered by commercial netting in the 1970s/80s.

This may well be the only example across the whole EU where a marine species has been managed as a recreational species.

Now Northern Ireland authorities are proposing to do the same so that the island of Ireland treats bass in a similar way.

TIME IS SHORT! CONSULTATION ENDS 24TH AUGUST 2010

Your Chance To Make A Big Difference

 

[Mr. X]

Here we go again:

Prohibition of fishing for Bass by any means other than rod and line

This deserves a new thread, so here it is: http://forums.deeperblue.com/regula...-would-ban-spear-fishing-bass.html#post813675


Visited North Wales this weekend & managed to squeeze in a few hours angling at Barmouth. Will blog details later.

 

[Mr. X]

Rods

BAITCASTING ROD
Visited a local car boot sale this morning - haven't been to one to buy for some years - and "lucked out": I found a kayak rod that is just what I was looking for: a used American "Baitcaster"-style lure rod: Browning* B12920A, graphite, 6' Medium Action 8-20b line 3/8oz - 1oz lure, £5. It has a pistol grip** & one of those sticky-up grips, for use with a small baitcaster-style reel on top (rather than under) the rod.

*US gun-maker
**The handed grip feels a little odd to me but matched with a small baitcaster reel would allow single-handed operation.

FLY FISHING RODS
The chap who sold it, sells fly fishing tackle store on-line (FishAllure - Home) & sells on ebay too. Showed me a[ame="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180526170803&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en#ht_1592wt_704"] gorgeous brand new 3-piece carbon fly rod: 7-weight, 9ft, 3-piece with a superb-looking, v. modern woven graphite reel seat, in a bag, in a quality hard tube case[I think probably this rod on ebay][/ame] - £30. I didn't buy it but maybe I should have, I was thinking of taking someone to a nearby trout lake to try fly fishing. It was a beginner-priced rod but the quality was good enough to keep the owner happy for a lifetime I think. Comparable to the Orvis rods I handled at the gamefair a couple of years ago.

LATEST LURE ROD
He also had a very nice new American lure rod - very similar to the latest Mike Ladle 110(?) model with 2 cork handles (super light) - but only 6ft or 6.5ft, 1-piece and only rated upto 0.5oz. He said he wouldn't take less than £50 for it - reckons it normally sells for >£100 and was confident of a good price on ebay. I can believe it. I can't justify spending that much on a rod - I just don't get the opportunity to fish that often - but if I did... (would have been perfect for AMD I thought).

REEL
I bought a sweet little fixed-spool reel of another guy. Not such a good deal at £7 - thought it was only worth £4-5 - but as I had the rod I thought I better get something to use with it (don't want to risk taking the old ABU 505 out on the kayak). It's a rear-drag* DAM AT30 - a German brand I can only vaguely recall hearing of before but it is v. compact, sleek looking and works remarkably well. Even smaller than my Shimano Exage 2500 (but with perhaps slightly higher line capacity?).
*In theory, I am now favouring front drag fixed spool reels for sea angling - although I don't own one (I bought one for my FIL though).

BAITCASTER ROD + FIXED SPOOL REEL
I just tried them both out - the Browning baitcaster & DAM reel; the rod handled a 1oz weight with ease. My neighbour reckons it would handle a salmon! I was going to switch line on the reel - assuming it had been used with light line (2-4lb) on the local canal - but when I checked the line looked more like 12lb line, so I used it as-is. However, I think I will look out for an inexpensive baitcaster reel, as that would allow the rod to be used properly, in this case single-handed.

 

[Pav]

and I bought a handline squid jig!
Any ideas where when how to fish it! , planning on taking it out in the yak.

 

[Mr. X]

Squid

I think somebody wrote that there were squid in Dorset Portd/Weymouth a few weeks ago. They had a lot off Chesil a few years ago when I was there - I think it was September/October though(or pos. July?) [If you search the forum, my post is probably still there & would show the time of year].

I bought several squid jigs after the above but have yet to use them. My favourite is the more solid, simple luminous ones - much like that used by the young lad who explained his technique to me (he caught more than his own body weight - and he didn't sell them, he likes eating them ).

UPDATE: well, what do ya know! It was July and on this very thread: http://forums.deeperblue.com/huntin.../66969-sea-angling-spearos-16.html#post688734

 

[Mr. X]

Looking into baitcasters now. I like this video on you tube: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJncaBKfE4w]YouTube - Quick Tips on Baitcasting Reels - How to Use a Baitcasting Reel - Including Spooling and Casting[/ame]
Actually the above video seems to be an exception, in that the guy keeps his rod in his right-hand for both casting AND retrieval - his reels are left-hand wind, which I would consider normal for a right hander. However I notice many of the US anglers (on youtube) use their right-hand to cast then move the rod to their left-hand to retrieve, using a right-hand wind reel (which I would consider a left-handed reel. We've touched on this before but the more I look into it, the more confusing it gets. So I'm thinking I should get a left-hand wind baitcaster, as I prefer to keep the rod in my right-hand (isn't that right/normal?).