South Devon 2015

[Dai ASBO]

Good effort under the circumstances Lee and good to hear other species mentioned in a report!

 

[Dai ASBO]

South Hams dive last night over the hours before and after high tide. Good vis generally, average 4-5 meters with a bit of swell but not so much to make it awkward. No fish to speak of though. Only a few small bass around other than the usual Pollock and wrasse. And one lone mackerel. My buddy saw a seal but didn't come and see me.

Not sure what others experience is but I have not come across much so far this year, would have expected to have had more success and seen a lot more fish around by now? Pretty much every time I have taken a fish it has been the only opportunity presented on that dive and the only silver seen. Clearly there are fish about but maybe not in the numbers?

 

[mirror]

From speaking to anglers and other coastal types it seems that fish are few and far between at the moment , mackerel especially,except for excellent catches of cod in deep waters well offshore ( 10 miles plus ) bit of a surprise to hardly see mullet this year much so far .... I got in yesterday expecting WSW winds but by 11 0,clock it was pretty breezy SE which messed things up considerably and made for an uncomfortable trip back to port in by little boat on rather choppy waters , found about a dozen scallops in the poor vis , not sure if there were any fish around as it was too murky too see them if there was !! Loads of small spider crabs about still . Met a couple of other Spearos also in a boat and had a chat for a while , it is the first time they had dived this area for some time and they were rather disappointed , (vis and few fish ).. Terry ..

 

[Dai ASBO]

Not just me then!!! I guess things will pick up at some point but harder to feel as enthusiastic before each dive with little faith there'll be anything around, especially as time is always precious. That being said trying a new spot in South Hams this evening which I have heard good things about. I hope I don't curse it!

 

[Dai ASBO]

Actually, that's bollocks, I'm always enthusiastic before a dive and continue to love it. :-D ;-) :-D

 

[foxfish]

I am just watching "Coast" on tele - apparently there are estimated to be 9 x less fish in British waters than there was 100 years ago!

 

[Mike-Chi-D]

Not been in for a couple of weeks, sounds like I'm not missing all that much though...

Hopfully it'll pick up once this is ready:

https://forums.deeperblue.com/threads/plywood-speargun-build.103767/

(Speargun build incase anyone's interested)

 

[mirror]

Got in again today , not at my preferred spots due to wind / surf forecast but nice dive anyway , good vis but a spectacular lack of fish .. as in none at all ..got some shellfish though ! and some useful and enjoyable exploration , Spoke to some local ( pro ) fishermen who also said there are very few fish around ... bass esp .. so prices are high ... if they have any to sell ...also the IFCA are suggesting their area may become an angling only zone , no commercial fishing at all and they are not best pleased to say the least ... any one getting any fish ????

 

[shiny1]

Terry you must be looking in the wrong area. I have had more bass inshore lately than I have for several years. Prices are not high for the time of year. The bigger bass in the 2kg to 4kg made £16.50 last week. The smaller bass 0.500kg to 1kg is about £9/10 and 1kg to 2kg the same price. They have been difficult to catch this year but there is no shortage. I dived a couple of weeks back and seen more bass than I have seen for a long time inshore. I think the bass spawned late this year so its all a bit behind. Lots of the bass I am catching are very long and thin just like after they spawn. So "DON'T PANIC" Mr Mainwaring
Always plenty of plaice about and the triggers will be in next month. There is also lots of big Pollack inshore this year which there hasn't been for a few years.

 

[mirror]

It seems I am diving in the wrong spots ,glad , but not surprised to hear you are getting plenty !! but people that I have spoken too have not had much joy recently , spearos and anglers , Will try a dive Plymouth way next time weather and time allows . Terry..

 

[halfandy]

Tried a night dive close to Torquay last night. Vis was ok in places, poor in others. I didn't see any fish bigger than a few inches long and spent most of my time pooping it. It was only my second night dive and a poorly selected spot - it was pitch black on the shore making it pretty disorientating! There was LOADs of that phosphorescent plankton about and a lot of velvet crabs. I'm gonna make a bag for the velvets I think.
I'm getting fed up with this unsettled weather. I need a nice long calm spell for some flat seas and pretty vis.

 

[scrumpy]

If your unsure about where to dive in the bay depending on conditions, just ask on here and local lads can direct you to sheltered spots. This part of the world is so easily churned up sadly.

 

[Karl szabo]

The lack of mackerel can't be being helped by the almost industrial scale of fishing by foreigners at hopes nose.... Was shocking what i saw when I went there last year for some bass spinning. And that's not me being racist... I know UK people fish the mackerel hard but not so aggressively as to go there every day and have an outdoor fish processing area hauling bin bags and bin bags away with them, Almost made me lose my love of fishing that day..

 

[Karl szabo]

And I also am aware that there are plenty of people from over seas that respect the water and am thankful for that! I am just concerned that the inshore effect that has, can't be good for anything in the food chain.

 

[scrumpy]

Seems to get worse year by year, often bags of mackerel are dumped half way up from hope nose. There was always an unwritten rule, that fish gutted at hope nose were cleaned and remains dumped seaward side, rather than nowadays where they are left in giant rock pools to rot and stink the area until the next storm washes it away.
Also cockles from the salty uncovered at Low tide on the river teign)
Are raked up in their thousands mainly by the chinese community and packed into large carrot sacks. They can have twenty plus bags on each trip. Obviously there is a market for them and never seen any official challenging them in all my years. Take one too many bass and wham!! There goes all your gear, even if you haven't dived for six months.

Not much spearfishing going on.

 

[mirror]

It is not so much the fish that are taken from Hopes Nose that bothers me but the amount of litter left behind , it really is appalling at times !! the last few times I have been in that area I did not see much being caught compared to normal , four seals regularly appear which does not help much , and they often rob the fish being reeled in !! ..... any one been in at all recently ....S Hams has been more suited to surfing than anything else recently and Torbay calm but murky as always ...

 

[bellendjames]

Went in saterday via was good. But didn't see much

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[scrumpy]

Terry, never seen it so bad over last few years. You seem to get a lot of chinese and polish, now I'm not saying they're all responsible but I've seen it many times the lack of respect from them for other anglers and the area in general.

 

[AlB]

 

[AlB]