ukspearo

SeaStar / baystar HC4645 is good for up to 150hp

Get a Suzuki dealer to fit the MFG4, seems really complicated to me but I’m not a marine electronics expert. Ours took a Suzuki dealer a few attempts to get right and then I fitted a garmin plotter / fishfinder and used the NMEA 2000 connector to link up to the gauge… that wasn’t straightforward either. where did you get your smartliner from ? Where will it be based ?

Another Smartliner! Whoop !

I think that’s the problem that I want to resolve, a box doesn’t always stay flat when I’m loading unloading the boat so I wanted something that holds the lure stationary to stop the lead head sliding around and squashing tails. And double sided boxes are good but again to flip to the other side means lures tend to slide around….

So I have a selection of soft plastic storm 360 shad type lures and a pile of slow jigs, wedges and other metal lures…. At the moment they’re all in a lure box together, soft plastics together and metals together. I don’t want the metal lure treble hooks and assist hooks tangling and I don’t want the soft plastics tails being deformed as they rattle around in their current box. The soft plastics are more of a concern to be honest. Can anyone recommend a box particularly for the plastics that keep the tail straight, uncrushed or squashed by their own lead heads? thanks in advance

That does sound annoying! Funny eh - I like my mountain bike hubs to have very loud clicking free hubs …. But I don’t want the same on a fishing reel !

It’s going to be used with a 30lb class rod for all sorts really - just a general all purpose reel. Must say I’m a big fan of Penn stuff but the fin nor looks very well made…… can get both about the same price …. So what do you think ? Which is better ?

Agreed, but it’s nice to try to respect regulations eh!

No no …. No goalposts moved at all. I’m interested to see any info on regulations but not everywhere is the same! So thanks for showing me something . Cornwall has had regulations or maybe more strict regulations , because there have historically been more people involved in spearfishing. My original statement that started this was that “ in some countries spearing at night is illegal “ and that regulations for the UK ( the whole of the UK ) were unclear …. I stand by that … Area by area though regulations are different, Wales for example is ludicrous as far as scallops are concerned …. Closed season May-oct inclusive for hand diving ( basically the whole season you might be able to gather them ) but ironically you can trawl all year if you’re commercial. when i started spearfishing 20 years ago in Wales there were literally a handful of us ! Now it’s become more popular unfortunately but as a recreational activity it’s still incredibly marginal.

Cornwall perhaps…… You won’t find any such document on a legitimate Welsh government website… …… but for any of you anglers who haven’t tried snorkelling around the British coast I advise you to give it a go, watching fish behaviour and presence or absence of species will be an eye opener and significantly change how, when or where you fish with rod and line

Well I’d say the regulations are unclear in the uk . I’ve never been able to find a document on a .gov fisheries committee website that outlaws night spearfishing in the uk and don’t forget that’s many areas and remember too that wales is different again ! if anyone knows of one particularly for wales I’d be delighted to hear about it ! I know that the uk spearfishing association claims it’s illegal but they also promote fishing competitions (don’t get me started on the immoral ethics of competitive spearfishing) so I’ll take what they say with a big pinch of salt. worth remembering that spearfishing also generically refers to not just the poking of fish but also the gathering (on breathhold) of shellfish and crustaceans… which isn’t illegal at night regardless. i might edit the title of this thread to reflect its change of direction!

Too effective 😉 perhaps? a complete nonsense given the limited number of people doing it and the frequency of potential night diving opportunities!

Same as rod and line really, size limits , daily catch limits , no take zones (although they’re few and far between), nursery areas apply. Can’t sell speared fish and it’s considered unsporting and immoral to spear on scuba. some countries have restrictions on spearfishing at night….. Obviously there is no catch and release but it’s not easy, the number of days you can do it each year are limited by fair weather, you have to work for your dinner and you see what you’re catching, so….. there is no accidental bycatch or fish damaged by hooks you intend to release. It’s the ultimate in selective and sustainable fishing…..

Fairly mad …… erm perhaps, exciting… very! How do you see fish at night - a quality torch or two helps no end, same as when you fish in the daytime looking in caves, holes and under ledges ! it’s not like you have to see far , a few metres is enough———🐟——>

Andy135, thanks for the advice and concern but I have been spearfishing alone from the shore and boats in the day and at night for 20 years….. I’m well aware of the risks ! Actually I far prefer to only having myself to worry about. Not seeing your dive buddy for twenty minutes….. that’s when you start getting scared!

Well like I said, I’ll be out of most current. If I was sitting in a torrent of tide flow I wouldn’t be having as much trouble with the wind …….and anyway in 30 years of boating I’ve never once had an anchor drag on me ! Maybe I’m over anchored, but when you often hop over the side of a boat with a speargun with nobody left on board, you don’t want to have an overly light anchor and chain or inadequate rode.

Most of our fishing is done on the drift, however like this last week has shown wind can be a real issue, and sometimes quality fishing marks can’t be fished because they’re too unpleasant to be sat at anchor on particular when wind and tide are at odds. So for example this week, when I couldn’t endure any more of the freezing wind, I hid for an hour beneath one of the cliffs out of the wind. The benefit of being based in Milford area is that most of the time there is some shelter either from swell or wind, but this week it’s definitely been the wind …. Situations out of wind tucked into a bay means out of wind and typically tide too so I’m not sure a drogue is going to work but I’ll definitely try it next time. in the mean time I’ll experiment with a back anchor - I have a few old anchors that might just fit the bill ! The worst that can happen is that it’ll drag and I’ll pick up all my terminal tackle !

So, I’d like a little advice about anchoring. The boat has a pilothouse style cabin and at anchor is more prone to swinging than I’ve noticed in some cuddy style boats ( obviously it catches a bit more wind) it’s got a good weight delta anchor - 8m of chain and then some reasonably heavy rope. Boat is fitted with a windlass so some of the bridal type anchor arrangements aren’t suitable ( would just take too much effort to rig. this swinging makes down tiding and uptiding kinda frustrated because lines (boat) are constantly moving. obviously it’s not so bad when wind and tide are in alignment but when they’re not it can be a pain….. what do people suggest ? Back anchor? Maybe a drogue? I should say that most of the downtide fishing at anchor is done at say lunchtime when perhaps you still want to fish but it’s nicer to be in a bit of shelter ( although there isn’t ever no wind).

Thanks for the help shading is back !

Try that today thanks GPSguru! fingers crossed!

Well, the shading has disappeared from the plotter ! Annoying and I already miss it ! But it still seems to be there on my phone (active captain app) how does that work ???

If only eh! ….. i would have had a pair !

That’s definitely a 22 contemporary- the same as mine, where is that ?

My understanding and that isn’t great , hence my asking, is that the chart stays as it was when you bought it but the premium features are lost without the active subscription??? Thats live chart updates, 3D port views, satellite images of land, something to do with active captain and .5m contours and relief shading.? Dont care about the first bunch but relief shading is great… I wont sign up and I guess we’ll see what I have in a week or two !

Right, the above subscription is about to end for my plotter/fishfinder. is there any way to have relief shading (that’s the only premium feature I care about , without paying 95 quid to garmin) ??? thanks Ben