Spearfishing

also i find it unsporting but that's just my opinion

It's only considered unsporting if you're diving with scuba gear.
Freediving and doing it is an art in itself and not at all unsporting, the fish is in it's own environment, you're the one who can't breathe.

Also it's hunting and you catch and release guys wouldn't understand it anyway.

alright, you don't agree with my opinion. however i would be grateful if you don't put me into a group such as you said "you catch and release guys" to be honest you have no idea how many fish i kill or don't kill so you have no basis to put me in that group.


no one has answered my question about size limits. how are you to know if it is over the limit if it is underwater?

no offense intended Alex, I made an assumption on the basis of the amount of match angling you do, so sorry if I caused any offense.

no problem....although you did get it right, i am mostly catch and release.

on the note of spearfishing, i imagine it would be quite fun for flatties.

I agree Croppyboy, sure isn't fishing just a six once lead and a big hook covered in yummy stuff. How sporting is that?

So theres no skill in fishing with a 6oz lead. You must know very little about beach casting to be slagging off a form of fishing I love. Try catching a double figure fish in a fierce tide run or over rocks and see your rod bend over while you hold it one for dear life.

I don't slag off any other form of fishing that I don't know about including chasing wee coarse fish. My point was this is a SEA ANGLING site. Spearing fish is not sea angling. As for spear fishing I wonder if you'd be a supportive if some came along spearing prime coarse fish. Releasing fish is something I do as I know sea fish stocks are being hammered. I saw in France spear gunner taken good numbers of mullet. What happens if this was carried out on a local population of bass on a reef.

Donagh

ok lads.. easy now..

the way i see it is that spearfishing is a sport just like angling, just with one difference... with angling you have the option of releasing the fish back into the wild. otherwise both sports are hunting sports.

i doubt that anyone who goes spearfishing deliberately sets out to get as many fish as they can, but more so sets out to catch a couple of nice fish for dinner, even i can say there have been times i have set out to catch a couple of flatties for the table.. there is nothing wrong with it, its a part of life and living. so try not to be prejudice of the way a man catches his dinner, but look at it as a sport with a different art form..

the only reason i can see most anglers not liking the idea of spearfisher's is that if they are in an area you fish in, you will have the tendency of thinking that they are not only taking the fish away but scaring the fish away too, i may be wrong with that assumption, but that's my two cents worth..

well said steve

regarding size issues underwater. Things appear 25% larger because of refraction. Therefore you judge accordingly.
My spearing is done with intent on feeding myself the odd shellfish or decent size pollack or Flatty. Bass is very doubtful
Not interested in undersize fish

It's an extremely selective form of fishing, much more controlled than angling as you can see what you're killing, and the chances of bringing in a pin whiting or the likes that generally won't survive catch and release are practically non-existent.
You want something for the table, it's the best way to do it.

This forum is headed "Shore Angling Q&A" the questions been asked, dont you think its time this thread was moved.....spear fishing is not angling, hunting it may be and good luck to them who like it. I've no problem with that but it has no place on this forum.

Tom.

I've done a good bit of snorkelling myself over the years. Super way to see our angling prey in their natural habitat. I have a spear gun and have speared a few fish. Realistically it's only flatties and pollack are targets. I haven't speared anything in a while as I got sick of trying to load the gun while in the water after missing on the first shot!! The majority of flatties I've seen are flounders and I'd prefer to eat plaice!! Snorkelling is a super activity real Jacques Cousteau... :)

each to their own, its a skill in itself and obviously not everyones cup of tea.

that said i have been known to dabble in a bit of diving and its amazing what you can learn about fish behaviour/ what a mark (even one you think you know) looks like and how fish act on it. can be totally different to what you may think

dont think i would be too much in favour of this, definitely not something i would get involved in, but as paulocallaghan said, each to their own

I agree Croppyboy, sure isn't fishing just a six once lead and a big hook covered in yummy stuff. How sporting is that?

So theres no skill in fishing with a 6oz lead. You must know very little about beach casting to be slagging off a form of fishing I love. Try catching a double figure fish in a fierce tide run or over rocks and see your rod bend over while you hold it one for dear life.

I don't slag off any other form of fishing that I don't know about including chasing wee coarse fish. My point was this is a SEA ANGLING site. Spearing fish is not sea angling. As for spear fishing I wonder if you'd be a supportive if some came along spearing prime coarse fish. Releasing fish is something I do as I know sea fish stocks are being hammered. I saw in France spear gunner taken good numbers of mullet. What happens if this was carried out on a local population of bass on a reef.

Donagh

No Offence meant. However, I never mentioned the word skill in my post, I said sporting.
My point was that the word 'unsporting' was mentioned againt spear fishing, and my comment was referring to the fact that it can be looked at both ways. It's true that there's skill involved in all sorts of fishing, it doesn't necessarily imply sporting. I don't agree with the concept of spear fishing, I do however think I would regard it as a very difficult skill to master which probably adds to the sporting nature of it.

Obviously a very touchy subject for some

I have checked out all legalities and was curious if any were already doing it on the site.
If you think Bass are hard to come by then why not check out the galleries on spearo.co.uk or deeperblue.net forums although these are mostly southern England.
It is certainly fair game and relevant to the forum

This is what I took objection to. This is why I mentioned bass. I couldn't give a fiddlers if a guy takes a small quantity of flats or pollack for the table. This post recommends it as a way to get good bass for the table. I'd completely disagree this is relevant when it was posted on the shore forum (now moved) on a sea angling site when spear fishing isn't shore angling and isn't sea angling. I don't think we as an angling site should promote spear fishing.

Viper

I said in my previous post" Try catching a double figure fish in a fierce tide run or over rocks and see your rod bend over while you hold it one for dear life. " . I had a double figure conger last weekend at distance in a tide run on 6oz gear that bent my rod all the way in and at times would not move as it was swiming against me. I would see that as very sporting and bringing even small rays is sporting on mixed groundIMHO.

There was a reaction that I came off harsh which wasnot meant as the written word doesn't always come off the way you mean.
Donagh

Obviously a very touchy subject for some

I have checked out all legalities and was curious if any were already doing it on the site.
If you think Bass are hard to come by then why not check out the galleries on spearo.co.uk or deeperblue.net forums although these are mostly southern England.
It is certainly fair game and relevant to the forum

This is what I took objection to. This is why I mentioned bass. I couldn't give a fiddlers if a guy takes a small quantity of flats or pollack for the table. This post recommends it as a way to get good bass for the table.

it seems very easy to read into one post and give objections, fair is fair, but as Muck has since stated

My spearing is done with intent on feeding myself the odd shellfish or decent size pollack or Flatty. Bass is very doubtful
Not interested in undersize fish

as for spearfishing being moved to this section of the forum, it was me who asked for it to be moved here, as people were saying it didnt belong in the shore Q&A, but i believe it is an issue that ocurs around our coastline and even may get popular, if it's legal it's fair.

as for the issue of concervation i reckon spearfishers have less impact on fish stocks that your average everyday fisherman (no dont get me confused with those who practice catch and release and are concervation minded, i'm talking the ones who go fishing take the odd one or two for the pot) a spearfisher can target a particular fish whereas an angler may get the odd one or two undersized before getting one for the pot.. i could even go as far as saying i've seen with my own eyes so called professional fishermenreleasing fish that have been out of water so long that the mortality rate was extremely high(and i wasnt the only one who saw this)

now dont get me wrong, i'm not saying its a great sport and everyone should be doing it, but i'm not condemning those who practice the sport either.

it may not be [url=http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=angling&gwp=13]angling[/url] 'The act, process, or art of fishing with a hook and line and usually a rod.'

but it doesnt mean its not [url=http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=fishing&gwp=13]fishing[/url] 'The act, occupation, or sport of catching fish.'

Nicely put and well said Steve. Anyone who hunts and has taken a rabbit or pheasant etc for the table will understand, anglers who live totally by catch and release may not. That said, there's room for us all in fairness. Live and let live.....

I've split the C&R debate that started here to another topic:

http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... hp?t=13363

for those interested to see what a bas looks like in its natural habitat have a look at this filimed in our own waters although this would be a v good day for visibilty
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LCJSp_QKKjo
Was out tonight just browsing with no spearing intended and seen some great dogfish and shoals of pollack brown crab.
Regarding numbers and immpact. There is possibly one or two other guys only doing this in the north and only a small handfull in the south also.

that some great footage alright muck

youd be hard pressed to hold your breath for that long :lol:

nice video mate, how long do you have to look before you got good footage?

That video is very cool indeed. But it makes me think if bass will allow you to approach that close with a camera it can't be very hard to shoot them with a spear! :?