South Devon 2016

[Trelawney]

I've got so much lobster meat that I'll be eating it all week. Oh well.....

 

[halfandy]

What a monster! It makes your kitchen look tiny!

 

[Spadeyo]

Not quite as much luck for me.... First dive of the year (its been a long time coming) headed to Start Bay. Vis was 2-3m at best, very milky. Hoards of female spider crabs but didn't spot any males, nothing fishy around

 

[mirror]

Superb Lobster there Trelawney !!! it looks to be in fantastic condition as well , no barnacles etc , and I am sure it could do some real damage if it got hold of a finger or any other body part !!! I hurt my ear last time out diving so may be out of the water for a while ....

 

[halfandy]

I hope your ear clears soon mirror, but there wasn't much to miss today.
Crap vis between Teignmouth and Babbacombe. Mostly 1-2m of very milky vis. Some very isolated patches of up to 4m, but mostly crap. There was a large school of small (30cmish) pollock, and a mullet that swam up so close I couldn't shoot it! I came home with a spider crab (first in ages) and half a dozen razor clams.

 

[mirror]

I really am baffled as to why the vis is so poor , the bloom has gone and it has been very calm for a few weeks now , what is needed to create good vis in this area ?

 

[halfandy]

I was surprised to find the vis so poor, and am as baffled as you. My only guess is that it's been raining quite a bit over the last week or two, and that the bad vis is due to run off. I'm blaming the Exe. It's a pretty muddy estuary. I don't think the soft red cliffs help either. Or the Teign for that matter. I noticed the marker buoys for the channel out of the Teign have moved. I'm not sure if that is due to natural sand movement, or if it has been dredged out.

 

[Yak82]

A good dive for me at my local spot near Plymouth on Thursday. Visibility up to 8metres. As well as large shoals of small pollock several larger fish were also seen and would come in close if I was well hidden in the weeds. After I had taken enough pollock I searched the sandy areas for flatfish and cuttlefish. A few of each seen but the two flounder were the only ones worth taking. After spending the evening filleting fish I’m not sure I need to go out spearing again until my freezer has more space.

Largest pollock: 1.049kg

Total yield of fillets: 2.3kg

 

[Trelawney]

I dived for a couple of hours this afternoon at a local plaice mark. Viz was pretty good at 6-8m, though it was better below 5m.
A couple of drops into the gullies produced a nice plaice which was stabbed as I almost landed on top of it. A few dives more landed a couple of lobsters. After that my ear started to stick and going below 4m was proving painful, so I headed home.

 

[halfandy]

Trelawney, your the lobster locator king! I've only ever found one in the daylight, and that one was burried!

I dived from Teignmouth yeasterday. Vis is on the mend. 2 murky meters below 5m deep, and 3-4m above 5m deep. I saw a school of largish bass, which I scared off with my excitement. (Not that I would have shot one!) Whilst swimming about the shallows looking for mullet I felt a tugging on my fin. I turned around to find a seal behind me, and christ did it make me jump! It stuck about having a good look at me - I though it was going to take the pollock I had on my belt. A few times it disappeared under a ledge leaving me peering into the gloom, only to appear again behind me tugging at my fins! It felt like it was a game for the seal. Very cool. I only wish I'd offered it my fish and stuck around, instead of swimming back because I didn't want a large seal feeding from my waist!

Dived Babbacombe area today. Vis 2-3m in the deeper water and 5-6m in the water at the top of the tide. Another school of bass seen, all boarder line take-able (in July.) Lots of small pollock and large wrasse. I saw a few battered looking spider crabs too. Came home empty handed, but still a nice dive.

 

[Trelawney]

The only problem I find with dedicated lobstering is that you can miss a lot of other fish, like pollock and bass etc, as you're constantly stuck in the bottom of gullies and in holes for your whole breath hold. To be fair, I'd rather have an 8lb lobster than an 8lb bass any day!

 

[Amateur Spearo]

Nothing too exciting to report but I did shoot my first smallish bass of the year in a surprisingly murky Torbay on the weekend. I would have taken a pic but I've got a crab pot I've recently put down with a mate that we can pull up and empty from the shore so I filleted the bass and used it as bait. The crab pot was suspiciously empty so I hope no one is half inching the goodies! Anyway, main reason for posting is that I've booked a caravan for a few days at the end of this week with the family down on the Lizard Peninsula so I'm hoping to get in the water down that way. I can't seem to find a 2016 Cornwall thread so thought I'd see if any of you gents have been in down that way? We're staying near Kennack sands. I caught a few bass on rod and line at a place called Porthallow a few years back but been reading about how spearfishing is banned due to the divers in that area. Anyone got any tips on where to go, I'd appreciate a PM - happy to return the favour anytime.

 

[scrumpy]

Sent you a PM

 

[Freddie176]

Hi, just recently joined the forum as looking to find some buddies to get into the water with, have been doing some fishing solo for a while in shallow waters for saftety, also have some issues with equalising following an old diving injury, but would be good to shadow some other more experienced people so i can understand more. I am based in bristol but mobile, reckon south devon is my best bet! Would welcome anyone who is up for letting me join in with them on the next trip or any suggestions generally! cheers Freddie

 

[Amateur Spearo]

Cheers for the PM scrumpy. Unfortunately back from Cornwall empty handed after getting in the water a couple of times. I kind of fitted the trips in round the family so time was limited and despite leaving without a fish I saw several shoals with literally hundreds of small bass which was good to see (although no big ones). I did shoot a really big mullet but it pulled off the spear through the gut (poor shot) which was annoying. If anyone goes down that way, I went in at Porthoustock and the ground is unbelievable so will aim to go back one day. Also intended to get in the water in in Torbay last week to check the crab pot only to be met by the most demoralising sight which goes some way to explain the lack of fish at what is one of my favourite spots - a gill netter. Also brown water and two seals so didn't even bother getting in the water. Any idea if the visibility has improved or is it still soupy?

 

[halfandy]

Vis was certainly poor in Teignmouth last week. 1-2m at best. I'm hoping that to have improved with the neap tides. It looked very much as though there was some kind of plankton bloom going on though. The water was very green.
I intend to dive on Wed/Thu around Teignmouth/Babbacombe area so will report back.

Here is a pic of some super awesome spiny cockles. (Before and after cooking)

 

[halfandy]

Would welcome anyone who is up for letting me join in with them on the next trip or any suggestions generally! cheers Freddie

I think most people on here tend to dive alone.

There is however, a lot of good advice hidden in previous pages and old threads. I've seen scrumpy give some very good advice on the South Devon area so maybe start by looking through some of his old posts if you're looking to dive down here.

Good luck.

 

[mirror]

Vis was certainly poor in Teignmouth last week. 1-2m at best. I'm hoping that to have improved with the neap tides. It looked very much as though there was some kind of plankton bloom going on though. The water was very green.
I intend to dive on Wed/Thu around Teignmouth/Babbacombe area so will report back.

Here is a pic of some super awesome spiny cockles. (Before and after cooking)
View attachment 42185 View attachment 42186

Halfandy ... did you eat these ? ... I occasionally get them after mistaking the visible siphons for those of razor clams , but tried cooking them once but did not enjoy them .... They are quite prized in France and are known as Armandes de mer ( I think ) ..I have not been in myself for a while now due to ear trouble , however I was hoping to try some where local first but the poor vis put me off !!!

 

[halfandy]

Yeah man, I thought they were lovely. I gave them a quick boiling to open the shells, sliced them into manageable sizes pieces and cooked them into a Thai red curry. I have also eaten them sliced very thinly with a sweet lemon and black pepper sauce, and sliced thinly into salads. Very nice either way. I only ever used to get them washed up after storms, but since the underwater salting trick I tend to grab a dozen or so if I'm diving in the area. I have found there are some pretty dense beds of them, a little further out than the razor seem to be.

 

[Freddie176]

I think most people on here tend to dive alone.

There is however, a lot of good advice hidden in previous pages and old threads. I've seen scrumpy give some very good advice on the South Devon area so maybe start by looking through some of his old posts if you're looking to dive down here.

Good luck.

Thanks for your reply mate, I had been having a good look back through the different posts on here and definitely picked up some great scraps about spots and stuff generally, I just generally learn better from watching rather than reading! Also having taken a chunky rock to the back of the head a few months ago whilst hiking, I'm taking it easier on the risk front than my former self might (no chance my girlfriend will let me out of the house otherwise!) so thought it would be a good technique to try and buddy up. Hopefully I will bump into someone by accident!