South Devon Report 2011

[scrumpy]

Hi guys :friday

More advice please.

1. When viz is nearly zero and you can see shadows from a shoal of bass that aren't that bothered by my presence, are there any moves that could improve my chances or is it a case of lie quietly and hope one passes by. Brought 1 home but viz not much more than end of gun.


2. Are bass put off by torches, been in lately getting towards dusk and shoals seem to circle me, but no moonlight etc on water as under pier, so very hard to see them ( don't want to give exact location, not having army of rod tossers turning up )

3. When will bass start to disappear for the winter, trying not to think about those long evenings, but looking forward, what’s around 2012 early months & when will bass reappear in small numbers.

hope someone can help.

stay safe

lee

 

[gutshot]

Hi guys :friday

More advice please.

1. When viz is nearly zero and you can see shadows from a shoal of bass that aren't that bothered by my presence, are there any moves that could improve my chances or is it a case of lie quietly and hope one passes by. Brought 1 home but viz not much more than end of gun.


2. Are bass put off by torches, been in lately getting towards dusk and shoals seem to circle me, but no moonlight etc on water as under pier, so very hard to see them ( don't want to give exact location, not having army of rod tossers turning up )

3. When will bass start to disappear for the winter, trying not to think about those long evenings, but looking forward, what’s around 2012 early months & when will bass reappear in small numbers.

hope someone can help.

stay safe

lee

Hi Scrumpy,

1. I'd say you are doing the best you can. Just dive and try to position yourself so you are aiming where you think the bass will come from. Even getting 1 bass in near 0 viz is good. I actually like low viz spearing. Keep it up!

2. Not really done much with a torch but it seems to not bother them judging by the reports from the guys night spearing.

3. The larger bass which are the target size bass for spearo's spawn between Feb (for you south coast boys) in the English Channel and March (for the north coast cornwall, Devon and Ireland etc) in the celtic sea so basically as the temp heads down to 10c and under you can forget it. Once spawning is done the slowly head back to the feeding areas again but bass generally fast (don't feed) in temp below 10c. You may get the occasional report of fish being caught on rod and line out of the times but the 10c temp rule is a good biological indicator. The month delay in the Celtic Sea spawning compared to the English Channel spawning also explanes why the South Coast start to see the bass before the north coast!

Hope that helps.

Oh, i forgot a bit. There are always smaller juevile bass around in the deeper parts of the bass nursary areas as these dont migrate to spawn but these will generally be below the minimum landing size.

 

[scrumpy]

Mate spot on.

thanks lee

 

[crazywind009]

Hi all whent for a dive on sunday with north1 the viz was like may water not the best but enough to spear did all the usual spot and find lots of empty hole did lost a big bass:vangry finish the day with 1 bass and 3 big mullets 5lb7oz-5lb9oz and a whopping 5lb14oz will post pictures later bye for now

 

[foxfish]

514 could win you a brand new 80cm speargun!

 

[crazywind009]

Here the picture of this sunday north1 was they're when i put the fish on the scale and can confirm all the weight of the fish

 

[podge]

Cracking stuff Ollie, lovely Mullet, well done mate.

 

[bobdonny]

Hi Folks!

Just to give ye a quick update... the HoF is back up and running and for the next two weeks only I am opening up the thread to catches made in the last 12months.

Details and discussion here please...
http://forums.deeperblue.com/spearo-board/92427-official-hall-fame-discussion-thread.html

Good Luck!

 

[shiny1]

I managed to get in towards the end of last week. Conditions wasnt the best but i did see a few bass,lots of big mullet and a couple of black bream. Each time i dive the place i see them but only had 1 there this season. We dont get a lot of black bream down this end of the country.
Today i got it right and managed to bag a nice 3lb black bream,a couple of bass and some mullet.
Anybody else get in lately??

 

[Amateur Spearo]

Had a long stint out the water due to a holiday in a very land locked part of Poland (around 8 hours to the coast in any direction) and picking up a serious dose of man flu which has taken a while to shake off. I tried going in last week but couldn't equalise at all and the vis was poor so spent half hour flapping around on the surface feeling sorry for myself.

Anyway, back in on Saturday with clear airways and sinuses. Ended up with a couple of mullet and a bass - nothing to write home about but nice to be back amongst the fish. I did shoot a bigger bass after seeing two nice ones swimming together - I would guess around the 5lbs mark. However, they appeared out of nowhere and were so close to me by the time I had got the gun round and safety off they were bolting. Must have got it through the edge as it got off as I pulled the line in. Gutted.

I also saw a John Dory in the shallows which I've never seen before. I wasn't sure of the eating quality or what size is worth shooting so just spent a while marvelling at how well camouflaged it was. It didn't seem at all bothered by my being there. Are they good to eat? it didn't look like it would have much meat on it!

Planning another cross Dart raid later in the week. I guess the run off will scupper my usual spots in the bay. Happy spearing one and all.

 

[scrumpy]

Hi all

Tried various spots in south hams, has anyone fished Blackpool sands?
Far left of beach, looks on google map to have plenty of weed/gullies.
I did phone ahead in the middle of the summer to be told I wasn't welcome, seems as a private beach they can dictate the rules. I see metal detectors are also banned and their own forum shows many disgruntled treasure hunters but lord what's is face, who owns the majority of the land that way is not for turning!!.

Now the webcam shows an empty beach, might chance it.

Any info here or PM would be appreciated

stay safe

lee
:thankyou:thankyou:thankyou:thankyou:thankyou

 

[Sambo]

Hey guys, I am new to the forum but am looking to get into spear fishing, i was wondering if anyone could give me a heads up on good spots to start? we tried at dawlish on sunday but the vis wasnt great!
cheers!

 

[foxfish]

Hi Sambo, the wind has been blowing of late but you can still dive for the next few months - there are still inshore fish around until Christmas so there is time for the vis to clear.

 

[north1]

Sambo,
As foxfish says the wind has messed things up lately. Best thing to do is wait until the weather settles and then head for the south coast. Try and stick to the beaches where there aren't too many people about. Although at this time of year there shouldn't be too many holiday makers around. Try checking on web cams to help make a decision about where to fish. Also it is very important to check on the state of tides and currents. If you decide on a specific beach to fish from you could always ask for advice on safety aspects. I am sure other members would help with pointers.
Good luck.
North1

 

[Spiderman]

Hey guys, I am new to the forum but am looking to get into spear fishing, i was wondering if anyone could give me a heads up on good spots to start? we tried at dawlish on sunday but the vis wasnt great!
cheers!

With the wind and rain we've had recently your chance of finding good vis anywhere was very low.

Living where you do you have a good choice of places to head for on the south coast as some spots are sheltered from westerlies and some from easterlies. Unfortunately nowhere is really sheltered from southerlies.

Pretty much anywhere on the south coast is worth a dive in the right conditions. You just need to learn to interpret wind, swell and tide forecasts/reports and webcams.

Happy hunting!

 

[crazywind009]

Hi all whent for a dive this mid week the viz was not great but still good enough i have been busy scouting for new ground and was rewarded with 3 nice bass 8.2lb and 8.5lb and a 6.5lb bass i just notice one comercial bass boat who was fishing on to the reef so i decided to have a look around were he was and this mother of hole with big bass in it you should have seen the guys face when i came back up with the first 8lb priceless any way a good day

 

[podge]

Nice one Ollie, although the fish art on the white board needs a little work.roflrofl

 

[Gaz D]

Hi all whent for a dive this mid week the viz was not great but still good enough i have been busy scouting for new ground and was rewarded with 3 nice bass 8.2lb and 8.5lb and a 6.5lb bass i just notice one comercial bass boat who was fishing on to the reef so i decided to have a look around were he was and this mother of hole with big bass in it you should have seen the guys face when i came back up with the first 8lb priceless any way a good day

Great effort mate!

People are always telling me that a decent bass hole will nearly always have fish in it - so you might have found yourself a bit of an underwater larder there.

Don't leave anything for the commercials!

.

 

[Spiderman]

Love it. Stealing fish from under the nose of a commercial bass boat rofl The spearos strike back

 

[Mr. X]

The weather forecast for the end of this week is looking very promising. Sun & warmth - and I'm thinking/hoping that might also mean flat seas - at least on the south coast.