North Australian FISH FINDER forums

Hey freon,
I say just pull up and fish, if your lucky enough to hook a diver imagine the fight it would put up, all the way to the boat, and then even when ya get it in the boat!

Cheers bullet

freon wrote:This is a good subject. Who has right of way? On two occasions have arrived at the bottle washer to find i cant fish it because divers are down. they put out thier flag and thats it for 100 mts.On one occasion there was two boats working together 100mts apart so no hope for anyone else
Who were these artificial reefs built for bottom bouncers or divers?
Thats my bitch
Cheers

first in bested dressed mate,,, any other weekend when there is big tides bottom bounce away

freon wrote: two boats working together 100mts apart so no hope for anyone elseWho were these artificial reefs built for bottom bouncers or divers?Thats my bitch
Cheers

If the divers down are on scuba and were the first to arrive – then YES they have right of way. And that’s the same for fisho’s who arrive first. You can ask scuba divers or fisho’s if you can anchor up near them. That’s the right courtesy to display and what you would expect in return. The scuba divers may be almost finished and about to move on. You won’t know unless you ask. Scuba divers at 12-16metres depth will have a bottom time of around 35minutes. As for the 100 metre rule, if you see a dive flag approach at 5 knots or less if you can’t get them on the VHF. If there is no one aboard the dive boat then you’ll have to wait for them to surface.

If your declined to anchor near scuba divers then there are 3 other artificial reefs nearby to choose from especially if you plan to do some high speed trolling of deep diving lures. The reefs were designed for fisho’s and recreational divers to share. It’s silly to suggest ownership belongs to any one group. In fact the bottle washer was sunk by a government official who was a scuba diver with the benefit of everyone in mind. And that’s the same for my self and the volunteers from of the FFF, who in conjunction with Fisheries have sunk 3 yachts, 5 shipping containers, 1 ship and in May this year another yacht is going down. This will provide more options and spread out the growing number of reef enthusiasts.

It’s well known in the freediving/spearfishing circles that fisho’s are welcome to anchor nearby. You’ll find if a sprearo hears you approach they will often wave you in and will probably tell you where the fish are where to anchor. The spearo’s only concern is that you drop your anchor quietly as not to disturb any fish that may be on the bottom. Spearo’s can cover a large area fairly quickly and if there are no fish about, you’ll find they will move on pretty quickly.

The other thing that may be going on, as far as scuba divers are concerned, is underwater surveys. There are plans to expand the 3 reef systems at Lee point so some bottom time is sometimes required in planning and setting up of these reefs.

Maybe if you’re the loner type who doesn’t want to share a fishing spot so close to town, then there are plenty of natural reefs within reach of Darwin’s ramps using smaller boats.

Like Simmo mentioned. On spring tides your not going to find any divers, you’ll find them at the Trailer Boat Club Bar!!! There are only a handfull Spearo's in Darwin who visit the reefs. The main scuba dive operation at Cullen Bay has closed down and the remaining dive shop only does private dives. That leaves the DSAC (who have also created reef's in the past). You'll find that they are also fisho's who like to blow bubbles occasionally.

So I believe your chances of coming accross divers at lee point is very slim. Anyone crazy enough to dive in Darwin waters should be given a bit of lee way given the bad visability and the predators the lurk in the depths.

Well said Chad.

in addition to them telling you where the fish are you may also find that the divers and spearos are more than happy to go and get your anchor for you when it becomes stuck and you are unable to drive it off.

They h\may also give you a spare anchor found on the bottom if your nice enough........thats if they find them of course and dont have spares them selves. !!!!!

whens the nest trip Chad.... !!!

i tried leaving a contact no. on another forum bout being in a committee,, not to flash on a computer might not have worked ,, u sound like the bloike in the know, barrabeast, any ways my number is 0431398418, am mad keen spearo, got my dive tickets an such ,, keen to be a committee member to broaden the dive an fishing structures cheers simmo

BarraBeast wrote:

freon wrote: two boats working together 100mts apart so no hope for anyone elseWho were these artificial reefs built for bottom bouncers or divers?Thats my bitch
Cheers

If the divers down are on scuba and were the first to arrive – then YES they have right of way. And that’s the same for fisho’s who arrive first. You can ask scuba divers or fisho’s if you can anchor up near them. That’s the right courtesy to display and what you would expect in return. The scuba divers may be almost finished and about to move on. You won’t know unless you ask. Scuba divers at 12-16metres depth will have a bottom time of around 35minutes. As for the 100 metre rule, if you see a dive flag approach at 5 knots or less if you can’t get them on the VHF. If there is no one aboard the dive boat then you’ll have to wait for them to surface.

If your declined to anchor near scuba divers then there are 3 other artificial reefs nearby to choose from especially if you plan to do some high speed trolling of deep diving lures. The reefs were designed for fisho’s and recreational divers to share. It’s silly to suggest ownership belongs to any one group. In fact the bottle washer was sunk by a government official who was a scuba diver with the benefit of everyone in mind. And that’s the same for my self and the volunteers from of the FFF, who in conjunction with Fisheries have sunk 3 yachts, 5 shipping containers, 1 ship and in May this year another yacht is going down. This will provide more options and spread out the growing number of reef enthusiasts.

It’s well known in the freediving/spearfishing circles that fisho’s are welcome to anchor nearby. You’ll find if a sprearo hears you approach they will often wave you in and will probably tell you where the fish are where to anchor. The spearo’s only concern is that you drop your anchor quietly as not to disturb any fish that may be on the bottom. Spearo’s can cover a large area fairly quickly and if there are no fish about, you’ll find they will move on pretty quickly.

The other thing that may be going on, as far as scuba divers are concerned, is underwater surveys. There are plans to expand the 3 reef systems at Lee point so some bottom time is sometimes required in planning and setting up of these reefs.

Maybe if you’re the loner type who doesn’t want to share a fishing spot so close to town, then there are plenty of natural reefs within reach of Darwin’s ramps using smaller boats.

Like Simmo mentioned. On spring tides your not going to find any divers, you’ll find them at the Trailer Boat Club Bar!!! There are only a handfull Spearo's in Darwin who visit the reefs. The main scuba dive operation at Cullen Bay has closed down and the remaining dive shop only does private dives. That leaves the DSAC (who have also created reef's in the past). You'll find that they are also fisho's who like to blow bubbles occasionally.

So I believe your chances of coming accross divers at lee point is very slim. Anyone crazy enough to dive in Darwin waters should be given a bit of lee way given the bad visability and the predators the lurk in the depths.

Simmo, see matts post about the fff fishkerteers. That's our setup for reef projects. Cheers

4x4xfar wrote:I did alot of Spearing on the Pilbara Coast but wont do it here.

I have a Clubman Wooden Spear Gun For Sale if anyone's interested.

got any pics of that gun?

p.s does anyone have any info about areas to spearfish for sailfish off darwin? ive only dived shallow reefs around lee point and the vernon islands up here and keen to find some big pelagics.

diving to 15m isn't to hard for anyone with a few solid months practising

WOW 3 post and you are already big noting yourself

you do realise that this post is over 4 y/o

been a bit since I have posted but geeze,,