South devon Report 2009

[scottwilson]

Matt If this is all coming from the carpark attendant on the top of the hill HE'S PROBABLY TALKING CRAP TO YOUR EARS the guy is a nut job!!!!!! thats not to say its not a concern dont get me wrong.

From what ive been told Thurlestone and south milton are against spearfishing and have put a stop to there beaches been used for comps ( please correct me if im wrong)

Everytime I go down there I can count at least 3 spearos and about 5 fisherman not to mention the trawler that there early in the morning and the countless kayak fisherman.

 

[Lazuli]

Just a heads up that anyone planning on diving thurlestone, spearos are not welcome. when i got out the water today. The owner of the the private car park came over saying he had a nu,ber of complains of 2 "spearfishers" getting out the water with loads of fish yesterday. The only spearos getting out at that time was Me, and dave L, we had 3 fish each. And apparantly we had 30 fish!! haha. He carried on talking *******s, saying spearfishing is cruel, and un fair for the rod fishermen saying we are taking all the fish they havnt been able to catch anything recently. He said that no one spearfishing is can park in his car park now. Also the national trust car park near by has banned spearfishermen. He was convinced i was commerical, and took my number plate number hahaha to "report" meeee lol. He then tried to charge me for parking... But did not succeed.

I encountered the car park bloke once when freediving the Louis Sheid. He is not the full shilling mate! Still, now he has the hump due to some figment of his imagination it makes life more stressful for us. If what you say regarding the National Trust is true, it is probably worth sparking a letter asking them to clarify their policy in this instance.

 

[scottwilson]

just a thought....... It might be an idea to put your catches from that area in a catch bag before exiting the water. theres a lot of upper class people who live in that area who could possibly cause a lot of unwanted attenion to our much loved sport.

not banging a drum or anything just a thought

 

[spearheads]

Fair enough scott, about putting fish in a bag or sommin for when walking back to car. Dont quote me on this, But the BSA comps got banned from the national trust car park.

Yeah the car park chap is bit odd.

 

[Gaz D]

Thinking of diving Sandy Bay, Exmouth, sometime this week. Anybody got any pointers on best times of tide, wind directions, swell directions, hot spots, dangers, or any other general info about the place that I might need to know? All responses greatfuly received.

 

[budleigh spearo]

fishing anything after 3 hrs b4 high tide becomes very hard the current is a savage one fishing on the low is alot easier jus have to go further out
when you thinkin of goin me crazywind and tribs will be there wednesday:friday:friday

 

[Gaz D]

fishing anything after 3 hrs b4 high tide becomes very hard the current is a savage one fishing on the low is alot easier jus have to go further out
when you thinkin of goin me crazywind and tribs will be there wednesday:friday:friday

Thanks for the info, Budleigh Spearo - that's the sort of thing I need to know.

It'll be Tues or Weds, if I go (probably Weds actually).

PM me your number mate (if you want to), and if I make it down there I'll give you a bell. What time you thinking of getting in?

 

[Gaz D]

fishing anything after 3 hrs b4 high tide becomes very hard the current is a savage one fishing on the low is alot easier jus have to go further out
when you thinkin of goin me crazywind and tribs will be there wednesday:friday:friday

Low tide is at 16.22, winds and swell from the west/north west - which is all good I would guess.

Got any idea how many hours up to low tide it is fishable?

 

[budleigh spearo]

pm sent mate

 

[tribs]

thats total *******s matt sounds like the m8y is jelous of the fish you got lol.

went in for a dive with ollietoday on the rising sea was roungh but vis good after a few dives saw a shoal of 2lb bass they were right in front of me fired but safety was on slowly turned it but when i looked back up they were gone i dnt use the safety so have no idea how it went on oh well.missed another sitter o a bass of about 2lb, then dove down onto a sandpatch where there were some rocks looked to the side of me and in the gloom there was a shadow coming i originally thought it was a wrasse but as it got closer i coud see its big blue head ,came right up to me then turned on it side got a shot right behind the gills and as i fired i saw another one of similar size shoot off struggled to get thebass under control as we were in some serious current weighed up at 8lb so happy as can be.also on 1 dive i saw a mullet go past then what i thought was a mullet then another mullet i quickly realized that the one in the middle was a nice 3lbish bass but by the time i realized it was to late took 2mullet and that was that ..

will get a paper later and enter fom

Nice one Dan,

Really good fish mate.

Tribs
There be monsters in these 'ere waters! (one less now!)

 

[Gaz D]

Is that all I need to know to stay safe at Sandy Bay fellas - jump out three hours before high tide?

Might head down today (if I can force myself to drive past all the other spearing spots I want to try on the way), jump in at Sandy Bay on the low, swim round the point (maybe as far as Otter Cove) and then back round and out three hours before the high - watching out for boats all the time.

Sorry if it seems like I'm pushing the point, but I'm just a little bit twitchy about that area after Spiderman's experience.

Dan, got your number mate, but looks as though you might be going out a little bit early in the morning for me - especially if I end up socialising tonight! Good luck though.

 

[bustalung]

Hi Bustalung here.

Been more of a watcher than a poster, want to have a go at Spearfishing but not got around to it yet too scared to have a go TBH, but like to read of fish and adventures you all have.

Ref recent posts concerning parking.

I work for a local council (not SHDC but do not want to divuldge which one) and have just spoken to on of our car park attendants and given him the hypothetical question if he saw a spearo/fisherman park up and pay up could he refuse parking or stop you Spearing/fishing.

He said as long as you were legally parked, and paid he could not stop you from doing what ever you wanted to LEGALLY do. As for a spearo/fishing ban it would have to be clarified by the harbour office or beaches in our case.

Suggest someone call SHDC (01803 861234) for thier views/advice, start with the beaches dept, then the car parks dept.

The chap in the car park sounds a jobsworth t****r who has no actual rights to uphold, if he is employed by the council he can be told by SHDC he is wrong and to stop (if he is).

Residents cannot declare a ban on anything just because they may not like something, this happens in places with private forshores and holiday home types (Salcombe and East Portlemouth) and is not a legal requirement just a notice against something they do not like i.e. BBQ's, parties, dogs.....

Hope this helps.

 

[spearheads]

I belive the car park is private owned, The guy owns the land ,its a field and he charges 2 pounds to park their all day. If he doesnt want me/us in there i quess it up to him at end of the day isnt it?

 

[bsasec]

Hi Bustalung

You have hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately the local spearfishing community of south Milton & Thurleston have developed a hill-billy mentality of protectionism by propagating all types of rumours of who's not allowed and who is allowed to spearfish in the area. I can ensure everyone that no one is banned from spearfishing in the area and they have the same rights as anyone else to use public or national trust car parks anytime they wish as long as they pay. However you will still not be made welcome if seen catching any fish such is the local mentality.
Looking at the larger picture the BSA has been successful in lobbying free dive spearfishing rights on a number of EU and national issues for the last few years. In doing so, been accepted by Defra and local sea fishery committees as the national organisation that represents spearfishing in the UK. This new found responsibility has made the BSA move in the direction of protecting people’s rights as well as the sport. In negotiation access under the new marine bills marine protection areas (MPAs). Finding Sanctuary (MPA) will be responsible for Devon and Cornwall, we are working with Finding Sanctuary to protect spearfishing access and the marine environment in doing so; we are working on a code of conduct and third party insurance to allow new and existing members to continue fishing where and when they want.

 

[Gaz D]

Err . . . I think I know the car park in question, and can confirm that it is privately owned, and that the attendant is, in fact, mental (although I think he only works there and is not the actual owner).

I would guess that amongst all his other problems he is suffering from some sort of persecution complex, as when I asked him what time he closed he pointed to some houses on a hill, about a mile away, and complained that they were watching him and waiting for him to go home so that they could drive down to the car park and park for free (although why someone would want to move their car from their driveway, to a field a mile away, he neglected to explain).

And I'm not making that up.

He intends to remedy this situation, apparently, by putting a lock on the gate when he goes home at night, starting from a certain date that seemed quite important to him (sorry, but can't remember the date the lock goes on, and can't remember what time he goes home either).

I also seem to remember that he pointed out the best spots to dive (although, to be fair, he might have confused me with a scuba diver)

Hope that was helpful,

Gaz.

 

[podge]

I would guess that amongst all his other problems he is suffering from some sort of persecution complex, as when I asked him what time he closed he pointed to some houses on a hill, about a mile away, and complained that they were watching him and waiting for him to go home so that they could drive down to the car park and park for free (although why someone would want to move their car from their driveway, to a field a mile away, he neglected to explain).

And I'm not making that up.

He intends to remedy this situation, apparently, by putting a lock on the gate when he goes home at night, starting from a certain date that seemed quite important to him (sorry, but can't remember the date the lock goes on, and can't remember what time he goes home either).

Gaz.

Sounds like a real bundle of joy, bet he’s a right laugh after a few beer’s and when the purple elephants start peering at him through the patterns on the ceiling.roflroflrofl
Good luck with this guy gents of Devon.

 

[Gaz D]

Hi Bustalung here.

Been more of a watcher than a poster, want to have a go at Spearfishing but not got around to it yet too scared to have a go TBH, but like to read of fish and adventures you all have.

Ref recent posts concerning parking.

I work for a local council (not SHDC but do not want to divuldge which one) and have just spoken to on of our car park attendants and given him the hypothetical question if he saw a spearo/fisherman park up and pay up could he refuse parking or stop you Spearing/fishing.

.

Watch out everyone, we're being spied on by the authorities!

(Blimey, I'm getting as bad as that paranoid parking attendant).

What frightens you about spearfishing, Bustalung? You should get in and have a go - you might find that it's nowhere near as scary as you imagine.

A guy on this site called Bryn ('Almostafish') runs courses for beginners out of Portland ( www.portlandspearoacademy.co.uk ) and comes highly recommended; and there is also representation (and insurance cover, if you join) from the British Spearfishing Association - speak to 'BSASEC', above.

It would be good to have a 'man on the inside' on the team!

All the best,

Gaz.

 

[Old Man Dave]

Anyone who catches 2 double figure bass on consecutive dives doesn't need to go on a spearing course he needs to be running it. Sign me up please.

Dave.

 

[Gaz D]

Anyone who catches 2 double figure bass on consecutive dives doesn't need to go on a spearing course he needs to be running it. Sign me up please.

Dave.

That's either me or you (or both of us) confused Dave.

Just had a check and, yep, I'm definately confused!

Apart from that though, there seems to be at least three people 'busting a lung' on this forum: one is a guy curious about spearfishing, but never been in the water; another is a hoofing, accomplished spearfisherman, who picks up double figure bass as though they were growing on trees; and the other lives somwhere else and I'm not particularly interested in him at the moment.

Unless, of course, the 'lung buster' is suffering from some kind of multi-personality disorder - in which case he is in good company with me and the loony parking attendant!

All the best,

Gaz (AKA Yasser Arafat)

 

[Old Man Dave]

Apologies all round. It's an age thing. Too many of anything easily confuses me. Especially apologies to you Yasser as you were on the ball (compensation rep will be winging its way to you).

So is bass catcher busterballs AKA Ade and is he the Tee shirt man? Then this other guy is a newbie? Phew! I give up.

Dave.