South Devon report 2007

[spearheads]

I get a good grip behind the head and lay the head on my leg then go on a stabbing frenzy, i went a bit over the top with rofl , just when you think its dead it starts thrashing and spinning.

 

[Doc]

I thought it was illegal to sell shot fish? I have occasionally given fish to a B&B landlady And have bartered crabs for beer but My understanding is we mustnt actually sell them.??

 

[scottie3030]

looking at that conger he can sell what he wants im not going to stop him! i want no trouble :ko

 

[paddythefrog]

I thought it was illegal to sell shot fish? I have occasionally given fish to a B&B landlady And have bartered crabs for beer but My understanding is we mustnt actually sell them.??

correct, regards the spider crabs, look for the red meat known as,"le corai", here in france. If you catch any scallops they also contain some, likewise, red in colour. They use the corai for a lot of tasty sauces here. Same thing is found in langoustine (prawns) too. Not sure what other species that are nicely edible contain it apart from the obvious basic crab known as, "un tourteau".

Rouget liver sauce is very tasty too! Think I should go to the recipes & cooking forum more

 

[sasheo]

Hey Guys

Just a quick question. Anyone got any experience of the mares trilastic line of wetsuits? I was thinking of getting the 7-5-3 one for a bit of diving here in the south west, was thinking it could also double up as a suit for some spearing?
Cheers,
Chris

 

[dave]

you could use it for spearing, but it will be less flexible, probably require more lead and be colder than a 5mm spearing suit. A good rule for any wetsuit is "no hood, no good!"
cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[sasheo]

Thanks dave, do you think the new 7mil cressi lontra would fare any better? I hear what your saying abut the cold but I have never yet felt cold in uk diving in march/april with wetsuit, so I dont see how summer spearing can be colder than that? Also why not just add a hood to the suit, which is what I would have done anyway?

Chris

 

[dave]

7mm scuba suits are horrible for spearing. Seperate hoods are nowhere near as warm as an attached hood. I suspect a 7mm lontra would still be colder than a proper 5mm
Scuba wetsuits are made to look good in a shop and be easy to get on. They only need to keep you warm for a short period. Flexibility and the amount buoyancy change are also not as important as when freediving
You can go spearing in any suit, but having a decent suit makes more difference to your enjoyment than any other single piece of equipment
cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[scottie3030]

ill second that, you cant beat a proper suit!

 

[Mr. X]

How do you guys measure the crabs? the minimum size that is. I would hate to come out the water with a crab only to be nailed for having an undersize one

Here are some links showing size limits for Dorset (Devon is probably v. similar) - Spiders 13cm front to back of shell (12cm for females -- I believe the females have shorter legs, although no doubt smaller males do too ). Some crab which meet the limit are really too small to be worth taking though -- I picked up 10 or more spider crabs Saturday which were just about legal size on but returned them all as too small (they look much bigger underwater). They really need to have a decent amount of leg & claw to be worthwhile (although I'm told the females have some meat inside, the males have almost none):

Here is the current Wheelhouse card: http://www.southernsfc.org.uk/mls/wheelhousecard.pdf

If you have trouble with the pdf link above, try these jpegs of an older version of the same card (note, the links below are out of date, bass limit in UK is now 40cm -- the limit in Cornwall used to be 1cm more than the national limit, not sure what they are doing now the limit is 40. Got to admire the way they hold themselves to a higher standard than the rest of the country).

I use my hand as a rough gauge of size:
My palm to thumb knuckle is 11cm across, I use that to gauge scallops. Thumb to heel of my hand is 13-14cm -- although for Spiders, the size of the legs & claws are what I look for (the main shells don't vary anywhere near as much as leg size). I see some spearos mark the bass limit on their barrels.

 

[scottwilson]

Mr x I can see what you mean about a the minimum size of a spider been quite small 13 centimeters is really not that big at all. the pdf's are exaclty what ive been looking for and will definitley print it off for the car THANKS

As for useing scuba suites for spearing. I have an atlantic ultra which I paid £175 for and its the biggest waist of money ever. the suites restricts and is bulky SASHEO my advise would be to get a proper spearo suite you just cant get better.

 

[dave]

Minimum landing sizes can vary by quite a bit between areas, and are always subject to change. You really need to check with the local Sea Fisheries Committee for the up to date regs. This is why i dont have minimum sizes up on my website. Unfortunately most Sea Fisheries Committees are very bad at publicising their regulations. for Cornwall for example, their regs can be found on this easy to remember web address; Cornwall County Council - Byelaws

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[brando]

Spider crabs are very underated with very sweet meat. They seem to be full of meat early on in the year and then towards the end of autumn. A crab that has just moulted has very little meat.

 

[sasheo]

Hi Guys
Have taken the much appreciated advice about a spearo suit on board and have decided to plonk for one. Saw what looks like a bargin on apnea.co.uk and was wondering if you could have a look and see what you thought. I dont know much about these things.
http://tinyurl.com/yoqcgj
Cheers for your help
Chris

 

[spearheads]

looks OK. Dived Meadfoot today ,crap viz just pass the end end of the gun, but some areas of 1 meter viz, saw a few mullet but could not get a shot in. Swam out to shag rock only to find even thicker plankton.

 

[Huw]

sasheo... if you reckon it'll fit mate, then go for it... doesn't look like there is much to loose.

Huw

 

[tonyiannu]

For that price is very good mate.

 

[spearheads]

Got in today and the water has cleared up to around 5 meters in some areas.
total catch 4 mullet, saw one bass in a mullet shoal but could nt get a shot in.
With the rising tide came a fleet of jelly fish on a mission to sting my face.

 

[scottwilson]

Hi spearheads, good going!!!! would go down well on a bbq

 

[paulrossiter]

Exe Spearfishing Club Dive:

The club dive organised for Sunday 3rd June 07 at Meadfoot has been postponed due to poor visability.

I've just got back from a recce looking at the whole of Torbay and it's not good.

I would debate that it's 5 metres it's more like 2 metres at best with a build up of plankton and jelly fish.

We think that it would be better to wait for better conditions.

A new date will be posted at some point over the weekend.

Cheers

Paul