Sea Angling for Spearos

[Cisco_Kid]

One last thing...

Anybody here had any experience fishing ringstead(Dorset)..If so,
Any tips?

Looking to go there tomorrow. Nothing too serious, but would like to see some action, as im taking a friend who hasnt done alot of sea fishing.

 

[atomichaggis]

Crabs peel when the air temp is constant above 10C so they are seasonal. Although it might just be possible to induce peeling artificially if You keep some at home... some folk keep them in the fridge to stop them peeling too soon.

 

[Magpie]

Think they are seasonal (magpie would know) so that probably affects the availability a lot?

No great expert on peelers tbh. As far as I know the crabs over here have 2 general peels, spring and autumn. But it does seem that that varies depending on location. You can buy frozen from any decent tackle shop pretty much all year round but they are not cheap!

Yes, you can tank hard crabs and bring them on to peel then freeze them when they do (not after they shed the shell but when the first big crack appears below the shell), but it may take a while and you'll have to keep changing the water and having suitable filter and substrate and feed, which Foxfish is the expert on, though not sure if he's ever kept crabs before...

 

[Mr. X]

One last thing...

Anybody here had any experience fishing ringstead(Dorset)..If so,
Any tips?

Looking to go there tomorrow. Nothing too serious, but would like to see some action, as im taking a friend who hasnt done alot of sea fishing.

Rod fishing Ringstead? Can't provide any great insights or experience on that but will tell you what I can.

Folk often fish off the rocky pier thing but it doesn't seem very fishy to me. Never seen anything caught there (but somebody probably has). If you go a bit further east to the start of the bay an old guy I met there reckon he caught there sometimes. Diving on the reef opposite there, there is a spot where several wrasse of various colours always hang-out but never seen anything else there. There is quite a stream through there at certain states of the tide though - which might well bring fish in.

For serious bass fishing, you might be best off going to the far east end of the bay, where the rocks are. I caught a little bass in the middle of the bay from my kayak, so they are around there. The rocks look promising. Or try round to the west towards Osmington.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[f0ki187]

I do alot alot of fishing, this is how I got into spear fishing. I love being in the water for I also surf and bodyboard, and i love fishing so put it together = spear fishing. Well any questions about fishing I might be able to help. I was deck hand over the summer on the Wester Pride, out of Daveys Locker in Newport. Let me know if I can help anyone with anything, some tips, hints, bait, plastics, I've fished a lot and have ton's of experience, just let me know with a pm and I will try my best to help.

 

[foxfish]

f0ki welcome to db, if your read this thread you will see we have some very experienced fishermen amongst us from all over the world. Have you got any pics of your catches, did the boat operate catch & release, did you get much chance to fish yourself?

 

[Mr. X]

Welcome Foki. I'm learning the basics of angling from the shore with lures (figured I better specialize & living away from the sea makes getting fresh bait difficult) & welcome your advice. Now I'm helping a couple of others to get started (the blind leading the blind!).

I was really hoping to get a flat fish this year - by spear or rod - but so far haven't seen any to spear and don't have much clue with how to do it with the rod. I tried a 10g Flounder Spoon with some rag worms (the only time I ever bought bait for seafishing) but it didn't cast very far (needed more weight) and a seagull started pinching the worm as they hit the water! AtomicHaggis posted a picture of a "trolling mark" recently -- I wondered if something like that with a weighted gel lure dragged up a sand/shingle beach might be worth a try?

So far, the cheapest lures have worked much better for me than the expensive ones!rofl

 

[atomichaggis]

Mr. X,

I'm sick of most common flatties, this is how...
Make a small single hook paternoster rig by making a blood loop in a couple of feet or so of mono so that its around a couple of foot long with a short loop of around 8 inches or so for a snood. add around 4 6 or 8mm beads and loop on a small hook 2-2/O with a turned in or out eye(keeps the hook straight) and secure the connection with a small piece of silicon tubing (otherwise can loop itself off again).
Use a small watch lead or pear lead with this rig and small baits like fingertip of mackarel or squid(durable and cheap) or a cooked prawn (not brined). fling it out, pause then kick it along the bottom then pause and so on.

the small doubled snood stops tangles, especially when fishing mackie strips that spin on retrieve. great for repeated casts or fishing off rocks into deeper water (steeper angles). Lumis and white beads rule.

P.S. don't worry bout fresh bait... Dabs love smelly old bait.

 

[Mr. X]

Rod

...
Make a small single hook paternoster rig by making a blood loop in a couple of feet or so of mono so that its around a couple of foot long with a short loop of around 8 inches or so for a snood. add around 4 6 or 8mm beads and loop on a small hook 2-2/O with a turned in or out eye(keeps the hook straight) and secure the connection with a small piece of silicon tubing (otherwise can loop itself off again).
Use a small watch lead or pear lead with this rig and small baits like fingertip of mackarel or squid(durable and cheap) or a cooked prawn (not brined). fling it out, pause then kick it along the bottom then pause and so on.

the small doubled snood stops tangles, especially when fishing mackie strips that spin on retrieve. great for repeated casts or fishing off rocks into deeper water (steeper angles). Lumis and white beads rule.

P.S. don't worry bout fresh bait... Dabs love smelly old bait.

Excellent, I'll give that a try. I don't understand the use of the silicon tubing though - does it go on the snood near the mainline to stiffen it? I often fish after spearing -- so could use guts or a fish head (otherwise fresh bait is usually impractical for me).

 

[Mr. X]

New Rod

I'm currently looking for a rod for my father-in-law. His car has a v. small boot, so thinking a travel rod would work best, ideally with a 10-60g rating, 9-11 ft. Depending on his price range will probably suggest the 10ft Veals Mike Ladle 4SureSpin as the mutts nuts or maybe the 10ft Shakespeare Purist Travel Spin (sometimes see good deals on line - at maybe half the price of the Veals rod). Jim's in Cornwall has some good deals on several rods at the moment (including mine, the Shakespeare Royalty) - but unfortunately they don't carry the travel version of the Purist.

The Shimano STC Beastmaster 9 or 10ft or 9ft (40/50g rating) and Shimano Exage STC Mini (very compact telescopic rod, 30g rating) are other possibilities. There are also several good look Daiwa rods about & an inexpensive Leeda telescopic rod. Reel-wise, thinking he can either use my big ol' 6500-ish Leeda reel (a bit big for lures but he seems keen to use bait) or maybe a Shimano 4000 reel of some kind.

BTW was sort of line do you recommend for light bait fishing (1-2oz) from the shore (e.g. for flatties/bass/etc.)? I'm thinking 17-20lb mono or 20-30 braid, or maybe 30lb mono with a lighter leader. I seem to be going for gradually heavier lines each time I buy some.

 

[atomichaggis]

Re: Rod

Excellent, I'll give that a try. I don't under the use of the silicon tubing though - does it go on the snood near the mainline to stiffen it? I often fish after spearing -- so could use guts or a fish head (otherwise fresh bait is usually impractical for me).

The silicon just holds the hook still. because its only looped on (useful for changing hooks) and not knotted it can loop itself off in some cases (rarely). The snood is already stiff cos its doubled (loop).
Method is so...
After you slip the beads up the snood then You slip a couple of centimetres of silicon tube onto the snood the same as the beads.
Then You loop the hook onto the snood then push the silicon down the snood over the eye of the hook so it covers the connection.
Here is a photie... silicon is red on this one...

Clear silicon on this one...

You can silicon the entire snood if You have beads with a large enough bore, I have done on various rigs but it costs a bit considering the amount of lost gear... plus its tricky... worth it in certain cases though.

RE bait... Small strips of white fish will work for Dabs and whiting, not sure about other flatties tho as I've only ever taken others on mackie, herring, sandeel, squid, prawn and mussel. Mussel is excellent bait if available... takes a bit of effort and a bit of bait elastic but its absolute killer bait. I wouldn't bother with guts... stomach acid puts fish off.

 

[atomichaggis]

The Exage STC mini was on special at the co-op here. A few people got it to keep in their boot (one is a taxi driver) and say good things about it.
For fixed spool type spinning I would have to say Shimano all the way, Beastmaster gets my vote... important to balance the rod with the right size reel.

I only use multipliers myself so my light rods are baitcasters matched to low profiles. I use a greys baitcaster and a Shimano Exage STC special bass (casting version), both 7ish footers with a Daiwa Viento reel..before that a cygnus. For beach fishing You'll want something longer than a baitcaster tho.

Using thicker line harms your casting distance. Go as light as You dare for best performance.
I'm using 12lb dyneema (ron thompson) with a few metres (rod length and a few turns on the reel) of 20lb mono up front as a leader. the leader takes the force of the cast and the light line causes less drag in both air and water.

Don't worry about the fish breaking the line, thats what your drag is for. I've taken 15lb cod on my light setup.

 

[Lockedin]

Sorry to break subject, but this weekend's mess (Blew my launch in 1-3' surf :blackeye, lost a few lures, pliers, a knife, and my dignity), my financial planner / Wife gave the go ahead to some new gear

Are any of you using an anchor?

What size / weight?

How is it rigged?

I'm on an OK Mal 2. Currently, my "anchor" is either 4 surf leashes (appx 10m) from the 'yak to my ankle, or a single surf leash attached to a thick bunch of kelp.

 

[Mr. X]

Sorry to break subject, but this weekend's mess (Blew my launch in 1-3' surf :blackeye, lost a few lures, pliers, a knife, and my dignity), my financial planner / Wife gave the go ahead to some new gear

Are any of you using an anchor?

What size / weight?

How is it rigged?

I'm on an OK Mal 2. Currently, my "anchor" is either 4 surf leashes (appx 10m) from the 'yak to my ankle, or a single surf leash attached to a thick bunch of kelp.

Hi LockedIn, I just responded on the kayak rigging thread -- you might get some responses from others with more experience. 1.5Kg should be more than enough for the OK M2 - that's what I have for mine. A simple, strong nylon line around 4mm-6mm x 20-60m & a small stuff sack* would be my suggestion.

*Plain Kid's swim bags, £1 in Tescos are pretty good value & useful for carry diving odds & ends too. Superhero designs are optional Walmart/Kmart/Target/Costco/... in the US probably carry similar product for a $1!).

 

[Mr. X]

Just ordered the Shakespeare Potenza Tele Spin Rod 11' (10g-60g) rod for my father-in-law. It is a good match for his needs & jims.org.uk had a great price for it. I would have preferred the Shakespeare Purist Travel Spin (or Shimano equivalent) but could not find them discounted sufficiently. I also considered a 4 piece 9.8ft 2.5lb TC carp rod (often listed on ebay) as he seems keen on using bait as well as plugs (he grew up by the sea), so a sturdier rod seemed like it might be a good idea.

His car has a very small boot. Although I am a bit wary of telescopic rods, I have only ever heard good things from people using them and I think the quicker set up will be greatly appreciated (a 4/5 piece rod would likely have frustrated him, or possibly me!). The Potenza looks good, is light, slim, has proper screw reel seat & a cork handle. I think a shorter, 9ft rod might have suited him better (less cumbersome) but the longer rod is rated to handle 60g (rather than 40g) & should help him avoid some weed/rock tangles.

Took the opportunity to stock up on Eddystone eels & beads for making flattie rigs. Also order some fancy mono - 15lb Ultima PowerPlus tougher/thinner than Ultima's popular regular line (almost got 18lb but looks like 15lb is often used for beachcasting, so should be ok for spinning) - just what I need for leaders & should be good for mainline on the big Leeda 60 reel.

I also visited the local angling store today, v. little sea gear but I did manage to buy a couple of Fladen flattie rigs to start with: "2 down" - I am guessing that means 2 hooks below the weight -- no sure how best to attach the weight yet. It has alternating black & green beads - 8mm on one hook & 5mm on the other. I also made my first attempt at making my own based on AtomicHaggis' design -- looks pretty good, I finally used up the beads from my cheap old Lidl's fishing kits. I also used a Lidls hook with pre-tied line length to the snood, which might not work as well as direct connection of the hook to the snood. We'll see.

Finally found my old copy of "Len Jones's Guide to Spearfishing" booklet, so I'm off to re-read that while I watch Joe Simpson on the Eiger.

 

[atomichaggis]

Mr. X,
2 down most likely means 2 hooks clipped downward paternoster (snoods connect off mainline with lead at bottom). like the one I described to You but with 2 snoods and baitclips.

 

[Mr. X]

I used to know what up & down meant w.r.t. seafishing rigs (having read about it in Sea Angler) -- but I have forgotten the details (was more interested in lures at the time). The Fladen rig in question surprised me by have one hook line off to the side & the other on the end of the main line i.e. no where to attach the weight.

Looking at this, I think down might mean the hook will hang below the weight & up means it will be suspended above the weight (although I found one example where that does not hold true: "3 hook flapper 3up" - darn!): Greys Sea Rigs

That's why I opted for lures in the first place

 

[atomichaggis]

LOL... Tie your own mate, at least that way You always know what You are getting. Ready tied rigs can often be of very poor quality.
Learn the differences between Paternosters, Leger/Ledgers and pulleys and what knots you need and You'll never get stung by a shop tied rig.

WORLD SEA FISHING | SHORE RIGS

 

[atomichaggis]

About the Fladen flattie rig... attach a zip slider to Your mainline and tie the end of your mainline to the rig. basically its a running ledger rig.

 

[Mr. X]

DIY rigs & power balls

The Fladen rigs do not include bait hooks - perhaps different terminology.

LOL... Tie your own mate, at least that way You always know what You are getting. Ready tied rigs can often be of very poor quality...

Yes, I quite agree. I just tied 3 more flattie rigs based on your design - one for myself and the others for fishing companions. I used Ultima Power Plus "super strong monofil" 15lb/0.32mm & size #2 hooks (one has a 2/0 circle hook). Each with 4x luminous or white 8mm beads. They look good. Quite fun to do & much cheaper. Should the weight hang close to the hook or some way below (i.e. off the longer "half" of the mainline or the shorter one )?

About the Fladen flattie rig... attach a zip slider to Your mainline and tie the end of your mainline to the rig. basically its a running ledger rig.

"Zip slider"? A sliding weight of some kind presumably. I've got a several odd weights left in my amazing Lidl's box of strange fishing gear: some bullet (ball) weights, some flat coffin shapes leads & tubular one with a central nylon rod with a split in it . The billets should slide okay; I was saving them for casting Eddystone eels although I'm going to try Power Balls first - 99p for 10 from Woolworth (get the hard old fashioned ones, not the soft translucent & transparent ones) - they are compact, add casting weight but float.