Hole hunting is what separates the advanced spearos from the intermediates and shows in the size and volume of their catches. It’s a far more active form of hunting over the passive ambush techniques, can be rather acrobatic and benefits greatly from a good breath hold.
PLEASE NOTE – SPEARFISHING AT NIGHT IS CURRENTLY ILLEGAL IN THE UK (foraging for lobster, crab and other species without a projectile is legal so some of the old information provided below may still apply). This is generic advice that applies to spearfishing at night, you must check your countries fishery rules as the legality … Read more
The Red Mullet is one of the less commonly caught fish. They tend to live near the seabed in small shoals and are easily disturbed. Hunting Red Mullet is a fairly opportunistic affair, there are only a few places where they can be routinely caught. Red Mullet are small fish, and do not grow to any great … Read more
With so many guns in so many set-ups it can be difficult to know where to begin! With that in mind we have created this guide, so you know exactly what you need, when you need it. Spearguns generally have a name plus a number. The name relates to the type of set up it … Read more
If you’re starting out in the sport or seeking that upgraded, premium edge you’ve come to the right place. The brands and kit we stock here at Spearfishing UK are wholly specialised for the contemporary Spearfisherman and largely (but not entirely) angled toward the UK’s diver’s specific requirements. When beginning your spearfishing journey, one of … Read more
10lb Bass in the UK are every hunters dream and often a fish of a lifetime! It doesn’t matter if you are using rod and line or a speargun, this illusive prize has driven most of the fishing population stir crazy. Whilst no one can guarantee you such a trophy, there are things that you … Read more
Did you know the term for a female Spearo is a Speara? Possibly not, as there are not many out there – perhaps 1% of us? We’re really keen to challenge this and Valentine will be diving and writing with the team to give you a Speara’s take on our favourite sport. You can read … Read more
Ascension Island – Introduction I spent a week this March diving for Pelagics off Ascension Island in the South Atlantic with Colin Chester and Tony Eynon. We had a very successful trip, with me and Tony each landing 3 sailfish over 100 pounds. Knowing that big Dog snappers live on some of the ledges we … Read more
In early summer 2011 my extensive diving on Portland Ledges with Cameron and Rory Parker started to pay dividends. Most dives we would see a spectrum of fish including black bream, bass, cod, Pollack and, very occasionally, gilthead bream. Gilthead Bream Spearfishing The first dive I encountered GHB was about 17m dropping just behind some … Read more
Here are the BSA 2012 competition dates. We hope to see you there and good luck! Venue Organising Club Date Backup Date Bognor Boat Southsea National Wed 2nd May Wed 16th May Vigo Spain CMAS Worlds 5th -8th July N/A St Ouens Jersey National 21st July N/A Budleigh Saltertons Exe National 12th August 26th … Read more
I was very disheartened when winter came along – I’d been diving though the summer with some success, but I had landed nothing big. Although there were still a few bass being caught in the early months of winter, I was not experienced enough to go into these deeper waters with strong tides. So, instead, I … Read more
Our useful spearfishing kit guide aims to inform the beginner and novice spearo of what you’ll need for a safe and successful dive. It will also help you to understand kit specifications, styles and makes. Once you’re ready, head on over to our spearfishing shop. Speargun Well, the first thing you need to go spearfishing … Read more
Final Results 2011 Season No Name Team Jersey Bigbrey Talland Ringstead Total 1 Gary Roche Lic Crystal Viz 87.26% 100 % 100 % 84.61 % 287.26 % 2 Kevin Daly Lic Crystal Viz 80.51 % / 98.56 % 77.90 % 256.97 % 3 Mick Veal Good Bad Ugly 62.36 % 47.93 % 65.82 % 95.17 … Read more
Hi All, Just a quick update from the Euro African Champs in Peniche ….. After rather a long ferry trip from Plymouth to Santander and an even longer drive from the ferry in Spain down to Portugal we finally arrived in Peniche , only to find the water temperature had just dropped off and the swell had … Read more
We are very excited to announce that speara Hannah Naylor will be joining the team on ASI in March 2012 hunting for an elusive Women’s World Record. Following on from Penny’s fantastic success with two Women’s World Records in August, Hannah will be looking for one of her own. Hannah has not yet decided on her … Read more
Wow – Penny has not one but TWO confirmed world records, both using the Rob Allen Scorpia speargun. Here’s the letter Penny received from the IUSA: Penny, I am very happy to inform you that your applications for the world record Black Jack at 10.3 kg and the Horse-eye Jack at 10.2 kg were approved … Read more
Nobody is more brutal with their spearfishing fins than I am, fact. A quick check of the shattered carbon in the garage reveals that I have written off no less than six pairs of carbon fins (OMER, Leaderfin, C4) over the last five years and two pairs of fiberglass (OMER) fins. So, who better to … Read more
I’ll make no apologies for what I am about to say. The British lobster is superior to its cousins abroad. We may not have Wahoo or Snappers but our local blue lobster hammers the Maine Lobster and the Cray into the scampi league. North Atlantic Lobsters living in the cold murky water around the UK … Read more
We have several species of flatfish in the UK and most behave in a similar way so we will deal with them in one section. The flatfish of interest to the UK spearfishermen are: Flounder Turbot Brill Plaice Sole Skates and Rays Flounder flatfish When to catch flounder: All year round. Where to catch flounder: … Read more
The conger is often seen as a bit of a bogeyman underwater, leaving divers fearful of holes under ledges or in wrecks where a conger may lurk. In reality, conger are not aggressive fish, so you have little to fear if you’re just searching for bass or lobsters in holes. They will back away from … Read more
The mullet is a great sporting fish and for most of us represents the first ‘silver’ fish we capture. Plentiful and predictable, mullet grow to a good size and offer a lot of fun spearfishing, being much more numerous (and somewhat less paranoid) than the more elusive bass. Grey mullet come in three main varieties. … Read more
The Gilthead. NOT guilthead! Named for the gold stripe on the forehead hence ‘gilt’. An infrequent visitor to our waters with an obsessive spearfishing following. Sometimes called the ‘Golden One’ this is perhaps out most prized target and many spearos strive to encounter one of these elusive fish. The current British Record for Gilthead is 3.34 … Read more
Cod are making a huge comeback. They are more and more common off Portland. Time was when one diver in the club would get one every few years. Nowadays we seem to end up with one on the boat on most trips. In 2011 a good number of double figure cod were landed and it … Read more
Although it does not grow to any great size, the black bream is generally regarded as a particularly tricky and prized fish to catch. The current British record is 2.24Kg. Black bream are not generally a concern to conservationists and they can be found in huge shoals throughout much of the year. They are vulnerable to … Read more
The Bass! Few fish attract such controversy or such an avid following amongst anglers and spearfishermen alike. Even the name provokes controversy with the term Seabass being used in culinary circles and the term European Sea Bass being used to differentiate the species from the various other types of bass (including freshwater bass) across the … Read more
November is off to a good start with 14C water. There are plenty of bream and bass off Portland Bill, and these should be around to the end of the month. The bass may hang around into mid December with a bit of luck. We had a nice haul of bass on the Bill at … Read more
October is one of the best months for spearfishing, with large numbers of black bream and large bass present off Portland. Visibility over the last few weeks has varied from 2m to 12m and we have been using guns from 80 to 140cm. We got a good catch of bream and bass on 1st October using … Read more
We celebrated my two world records last weekend in the best way I know how. By having some friends around to eat (some of) the fish I brought home from Ascension Island. I cooked the fish in various ways, but my fish balls were so delicious, I have decided to share my recipe on the … Read more
September is a key month in the UK spearfishing calendar! Firstly it has been a busy month for us, getting our website live for you, so we have not been in the water as much as we like. Titus managed to break his hand, his foot and an eardrum in Ascension so is out of … Read more
The current British spearfishing records are listed below. The current lemon sole and gilthead bream records were both landed in 2011 with Rob Allen guns.We anticipate the black bream and seabass records falling soon, given the number of sightings of 5lb black bream and 20lb bass this season. Cameron, Titus and Rory have all encountered the … Read more
