Spearfishing at the Seaway

[iank]

I know that spearfishing is not aloud in the seaway but what is the go for the sand pumping jetty side as when I was down there today I spotted one bloke coming out of the water on the sand pumping jetty side of the south wall with a spear gun, then on the way back to the car saw another bloke heading out on the south wall with a spear gun. I thought it could be a bit dangerous as there is so many people especially kids swimming and playing around that area.
Cheers Ian

[saphire]

Thats sad news. Im often down that way with my family and dogs. Scary stuff.
saphire.

[choppa]

kids have to be 65cms i think,,,, not sure on dogs ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[fishn-ads]

Dingos, Kelpies and Heelers are protected, all other dogs are classified as vermin no size or bag limit ;D ;D

[land_based]

What about hefty aged men in budgie smugglers??

[Lone_Wolf]

I would think the spear fisho would be more likely to be the one endangered. If he is under the sand pumping jetty, he is likely to be skull dragged up with a gang of 4/0's in his back this time of year!!

[DICER]

or hit by white pointers...

I would have thought not too many people would be swimming close to that seawall.

[cuzzamundi]

lmao fellas! dunno if i'd wanna spear in the seaway - we got an 8ft bully in there not too long ago. not the first either.

cuzza

[4x4frog]

What about hefty aged men in budgie smugglers??
The Japs would take care of them, or should....let them take as many of those 'white whales' as they like ;D
I think Greenpeace would be on to you if you got one of them. #:o

As for the rules as to where you can spearfish.....it always was that it was illeagel anywhere form the inside of a river mouth upstream....any bays etc I assume would be outside the prohibited zone then?

[roz]

Dingos, Kelpies and Heelers are protected, all other dogs are classified as vermin no size or bag limit ;D ;D


They all make pretty good crab bait.

Every try calling a dog 'crab bait'? They come trotting over almost every time.

Cheers

[Burley_Boy]

As I understood it, outside the entrance it is ok.
Are you saying a guy with a speargun is likely to spear a kid or a dog by mistake while swimming the outer wall :-/ if so he should not be allowed to have a gun in the first place.
Anyway iank how was your charter?

Took the kids swimming in the Seaway today. Fantastic and amusing to watch the amount of bait and its poor presentation.
Apart from that, its an aquarium out there, albeit with big sharks...

Now in fantastic visibility like today what would be the danger to my kids or myself, I'd say drastically less than driving the 5km home.

[jim_bream]

I find ganging a trio of 2/0 onto a fresh Shmako works wonders just on dusk when the blighters are out walking. Burley up with small biscuits and strips of bacon.... LOL
Last time I was at the Seaway (Good Friday am) there were spearfisherman on BOTH sides of the wall. B*st*rds were weaving in and out of everyones lines. Only one stopped to unsnag my Rapala, kudos to him tho..
A fish swims into a wall and says: "Dam!"

[iank]

BB, The charter was great great boat, skipper and deckie who worked their butts off to give all on board a great day, ThePinkPanther will be doing a report on the day and will also be posting some photos. Cheers Ian

[Burley_Boy]

I'll keep my eyes peeled Ian.
I sat on the 24's and got slammed pretty hard busted off everytime cept for a feed of Trag.
You still on the coast and looking for a ride?
I've got to get out there again in the next few days.

[iank]

BB allways looking for a ride but am just getting over my first flu of the year :( (havent had a cold or the flu for 5 years), after this week I will be ready to go on a days notice but I only fish mid week as I spend the weekend earning brownie points. :D
Cheers Ian

[Maria]

I know that spearfishing is not aloud in the seaway but what is the go for the sand pumping jetty side as when I was down there today I spotted one bloke coming out of the water on the sand pumping jetty side of the south wall with a spear gun, then on the way back to the car saw another bloke heading out on the south wall with a spear gun. I thought it could be a bit dangerous as there is so many people especially kids swimming and playing around that area.
Cheers Ian

For those of you that don't know, I get right into spearing alot - more so than fishing at the moment. I take it pretty seriously and I'm into free dive training in the dive pool as well. I spearfish the outside of the south wall as well as free dive (not spearing) on the inside both along the wall, along the two pipes and anywhere else in there that looks interesting. I have never speared on the inside of the seaway, and only free dive in there for practice and to enjoy the array of life it has to offer. Personally I support the ban of spearing in there because without it, the abundance of life that is there would cease to exist in a very short period of time.

As for people swimming and kids etc, spearing is only possible on the outside of the walls in the best conditions the weather has to offer. 10-15 kts even makes it too rough as the waves break in a diagonal direction (NW) against the wall, creating tough currents and reducing visibility substantially. When the weather is kind enough to allow spearing on the outside of the walls (5-10kts), visibility there is quite good. I speared the outside of the south wall last week and had a good 10-12m visibility (at least). Given that the range on most guns is less than 5m, owing to both the power of the weapon and restriction of the shooting line that connects the spear to the weapon, the chances of someone being shot are comparable to a big fat zero. Furthermore, people simple do not swim around the wall - they swim in the first 20m of the shoreline which is inaccessible to spearing due to foam and wash reducing visibility. Be assured, you have no chance of being accidentally speared.


[quote author=R0b link=1146913116/0#4 date=1146921200]... As for the rules as to where you can spearfish.....it always was that it was illeagel anywhere form the inside of a river mouth upstream....any bays etc I assume would be outside the prohibited zone then?

Incorrect. The Fisheries Regulation 1995 stipulates precise boundaries where spear fishing is and is not permitted. To clarify, the rules for the Seaway are that spear fishing is permitted outside an imaginary line drawn from the outermost tip of the south wall, to the outermost tip of the north wall. Inside this line is prohibited. As for other locations, unless the area is listed in the Fisheries Regulation 1995 or an associated amendment notice (or is listed as a protected environmental zone), spear fishing is permitted regardless of signs that local citizens or local council take upon themselves to erect.


... Last time I was at the Seaway (Good Friday am) there were spearfisherman on BOTH sides of the wall. B*st*rds were weaving in and out of everyones lines. Only one stopped to unsnag my Rapala, kudos to him tho..


Question. You want to fish from the wall. Spear fishermen want to spear along the wall. Where is there an order that makes you a higher priority? Unless the spear fisherman is spearing illegally (e.g. in a prohibited zone), he has equal rights to utilise the environment as you do. Spear fishing as a sport has enough collective ignorance from antagonist groups to contend with without having to deal with the likes of ill-informed individual fishermen as well. On numerous occasions I've swum down and un-snagged peoples' lines when I have realised that they're snagged. Although, I do choose to ignore the plight of some individuals fishing through illegal means (those who know the types that frequent the Seaway know who I'm talking about) and happily collect their gear when they bust off.

Many a time myself and good spear fishing mates of mine have had to deal with personal insults and abuse in public (usually at the Seaway) from people who seem to have a personal vendetta against spear fishermen. People seem to have the ideology (plucked from the bandwagon as it rolled through their town) that spear fishing decimates environments and spear fishermen are of the rape and pillage mentality. Incorrect. Underwater, we see and choose what we take. There is no risk of shooting, killing, injuring or damaging undersize or protected species - and on that note, I’ve never shot an undersized or protected fish in my life. Can that be said about line fishing?


Benno

[iank]

Maria,
Thanks for the in depth reply, have nothing against spearo's ( have done it myself years ago when younger and fitter) but where this bloke came out of the water with a loaded speargun, was only meters from some kids playing in the water, plus I only wanted to know if it was legal or not to spear there.
Cheers Ian

[maxwell9]

Maria,

I was fishing off the end of the north wall and probably saw you and your mate spearing outside there. Looked like a nice haul of largish fish you had in your bags and made us think we should invest in a spear gun. While you were there the boat next to us hooked up a shark, up anchored and took off after it.

My question is do you think it is a bit risky floating around in the water with a bag of dead or dying fish beside you in a known area for big Noahs?

[fastmantis]

Would warn everone with kids and themselfs be extremely carefull in those waters in particular from dusk til dawn we pull big sharks from there.

Happy fishing all
Manis

[Maria]

Maxwell - I don’t spear the north wall as it’s a hassle to get to and the rewards aren’t all that great. I don’t carry a fish bag. Any fish I spear are strung on a fish stringer which is suspended to a Ronstan float that is towed along 30m behind me with a floatline connecting it to the handle of my gun. In the event that a shark does take interest in the fish, there’s 30m between it and me and any resistance or shock felt against the floatline will indicate something is having a go back there. Sharks are part of the environment, just like wankers are part of the environment in which we drive cars in every day. They are always in a little part of the back of your mind, but for the most part they don’t worry me. As long as people are sensible in their actions and mindful of them, I don’t see them as posing a great threat.

[hookuzup]

i was spearfishing yesterday you can spear in the outsides of the rock wall. i picked up some tuna at the front of the wall and i sore a guy pick up a medium size gt there is some good sweetlip and snapper down there also....

[bondy99]

Well said Benno,

I've given up arguing with ill-informed people as they ill only drag you down to their level.

I've been a spearo since 14 and remained active for some 20 years after. I would like to get back into it except I'm out of condition and don't have the lung capacity to go deep, nevertheless shallow. I think 10ft now at low tide would be pushing it for me at my age (50).

Abalone cannot be touched these days due to closure from an alleged abalone gut disease and now one can only take 2 per person per day instead of 20 to make a good meal (not worth the hassle)....would like to get a cray or two, but don't have a boat.

If anyone has a social club that has events send me a pm.

Peter

[nigelr]

Quote Iank - "but where this bloke came out of the water with a loaded speargun"

Iank - any spearo who exits the water with his gun still loaded is a fool at best, full stop.
I've been spearfishing for 38 years, first thing I learned and first thing I taught my son, never load your gun on land, never return to land with your gun loaded.
Lethal weapon, plain and simple.
IMHO, you were quite right to be concerned, damn shame some other spearo has pointed out the obvious to him yet.
Cheers.

[bondy99]

Quote Iank - "but where this bloke came out of the water with a loaded speargun"

Iank - any spearo who exits the water with his gun still loaded is a fool at best, full stop.
I've been spearfishing for 38 years, first thing I learned and first thing I taught my son, never load your gun on land, never return to land with your gun loaded.
Lethal weapon, plain and simple.
IMHO, you were quite right to be concerned, damn shame some other spearo has pointed out the obvious to him yet.
Cheers.

I agree and relate to what you said.