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I am planning to start a log, something Ian Rodger strongly recommends in his Freediving book. I am thinking of using a spreadsheet rather than paper though - so I can add additional columns (you always think of new things to track later) tweak it and also analyse it. (Anybody doing this already? Any suggestions of what to track & how to store it? I am thinking people who wear a dive computer might be doing this already.).Pav said:I logged how many fish I sighted and caught during my first year of spearing and also noted Viz and Tide. Mid High Tide was best.
This looked like it might turn into a "flat earth" post but it didn't. It is not really practical for most folk to dive a site full time. Probably not a good idea either -- it would get fished out. I tend to vary my location for that reason. It is interesting to explore new places too. Your flood time experience matches mine though; that was my fav. time in Cornwall. It ties in nicely with David's thoughts too :hmm.1 shot said:get to know each of your hunting grounds intimately at all states of the tide and year; .... If I’m going to dive somewhere new I’ll usually aim to fish it on (what we call in Dorset) the Flood, which is approximately 2hrs before local High Water. That way you’re in the water as the level is rising and the plankton and small fish are on their way in, I find that a slack spot near fast moving water is best as predatory fish seem to rest there in between feeding missions in the race. High water seems to see bass and mullet driving around between places they like to eat before returning to whence they came on the Ebb (receding water)...
Jacques said:* Fisherman claim 1 day either side of spring high (esp. at the equinoxes) is not so good but 2 days is very good ( esp after spring= more bits of food floating about)
Mr. X said:Hi sd_spearhead....was your research informal or academic (I see you are a marine biologist)? I am again wondering if location type (bay/headland) was considered? Also the volume of water (e.g. in a bay, fairly constant volume for the neaps but very large & very small for spring tides) -- I am thinking bay fishing on a Spring low tide might be poor (...or might be good but you might end up close to a headland, possibly requiring location re-classification). A Spring high makes the bay effectively bigger -- so perhaps more fish ... or conversely, perhaps lower density of fish per cubic metre?
Thanks - great response. Your observation about the flat fish ties in well will Foxfish's comment above about fishing for flatties at low tide (presumably they stay put and so are more accessible in shallower water). Excellent thread.sd_spearhead said:... What I have found from diving in estuaries is that many flatfish aren't really affected much by the tide down here in So Cal - I've seen some really big halibut (3 to 4 feet) regardless of the tidal schedule, which I didn't have the heart to shoot because I could literally scoop my hands underneath them before they would swim off...