DIVERD
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Posts posted by DIVERD
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Unfortunately the memory of the day is now rather tarnished, as a number of complaints have been made, because there is 8 fish in the photograph on some of the other forums. There is a 2 fish limit on the fishery and there were only three of us in the photo.
For those who felt it necessary to complain, I did not mention the fourth member of our party, as he was not one of the wader repair team and it was a story about our fishing trip.
He was the one holding the camera!
This is the first fish I have kept, from my records in 8 years - every other fish has gone back. It is the first sea trout I have ever taken from the Ythan.
I am a great believer in conservation, and as a past chairman and now manager of the River Don Trust, and Director of the Dee Trust I certainly do my bit for this. The others in the photo are also on trusts and boards, and make enormous efforts to manage and conserve the stocks on our rivers
I hope that those who have complained are working to conserve the stocks in all our rivers, and make the efforts that we have made in recent years.
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Of course there is TV, internet and shops. It is remote and you may have to travel to the shop or pub, but it will have most other things. The worst thing is has it the midges, they can really spoil the place.
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These ones did not taste of mud!
The Diver Dave wader team had another red letter day out this week. We try to take a day clear of work once a month and go fishing or stalking together, and after successful outings to the Dee and Spey we were looking for another fishing venue. After repairing a couple of pairs of waders for Ghillie and goose guide John Lewis we were invited to join him on the Ythan Estuary, an area I probably had not fished for 30 years. Bob and Iain are keen sea trout anglers, I am more of a salmon angler so I suppose it was a fair compromise. The plan was to meet at the Newburgh Bridge at 0630, and catch the second part of the rising tide, initially fishing from the bank. We were to tool up with Tasmanian devils, a substitute for Sutherland specials, and terrors, long sand eel type flies, so both spinning and fly rods were required.
We started with a dram at the bridge, to wish the team luck. The tide was low and dropping, and we had to start reasonably quickly. Iain on one bank and Bob and I on the other, we started with the Tazzies, and on his first cast Iain was into a very lively fish, which jumped regularly before he landed a fine sea liced sea trout of about 3lbs. We waved our congratulations as he landed the fish. However we rather changed our waves as he hooked another fish a couple of casts later. Two seatrout landed within the first half hour. I then went on to catch a series of finnock, I think 3 before I hooked and lost 3 good seatrout in about 15 minutes. It was rapid action fishing!
However as the river dropped the fishing slowed, so we moved on and took out our fly rods. The sun was bright, but the wind was rising and I was finding it tricky to get a reasonable line out, however, struggling of both Iain and Bob landed good sea trout, probably a couple of pounds at least each.
The tide turned and we decided to have lunch, and take a break. It was already a successful day, and now it was very bright and sunny, but also really quite windy. The plan now was to fish from the boat, on the rapidly rising tide. What was surprising now was the number of seals, there must have been hundreds, surfing up the river on the ride. John got us sorted out with the boats and we whizzed off up river, anchoring in a river flowing very rapidly up stream! The incoming tide had huge power and it was not like harling on the Tay, as the river was both wide and powerful. Action was slower now, we could see Bob and John on the other boat, anchored a short distance away taking the odd finnock, but action was distinctly slower, Iain and I were struggling – in what was a baking hot day. We moved a couple of times until john guided us into a quiet bay
The action was not frantic, with fish tugging and following the lure to the boat each cast. It was like a rainbow fishery on a sunny afternoon, except these were wild sea liced seatrout, and fought like demons. We lost numerous fish, had tugs and pulls most casts and landed a good few. There must have been hundreds of fish in the bay!
We ended up with 16 seatrout to 5 ½ lbs, my biggest in probably 30 years! All of us had fish to 3lbs and additionally all had numerous finnock, probably 8 – 10 each. All this on a sunny day, fishing in salt water, Scottish seatrout fishing does not get better. The fishery has a 2 fish limit per rod, thereafter it is C&R. Though the estuary is split into a number of beats and has a small angling club there is tons of available fishing water. It is stunning value at £30 a day.
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A very special day out, what was surprising is that it is like this everyday for months!
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The Diver Dave wader team had another red letter day out this week. We try to take a day clear of work once a month and go fishing or stalking together, and after successful outings to the Dee and Spey we were looking for another fishing venue. After repairing a couple of pairs of waders for Ghillie and goose guide John Lewis we were invited to join him on the Ythan Estuary, an area I probably had not fished for 30 years. Bob and Iain are keen sea trout anglers, I am more of a salmon angler so I suppose it was a fair compromise. The plan was to meet at the Newburgh Bridge at 0630, and catch the second part of the rising tide, initially fishing from the bank. We were to tool up with Tasmanian devils, a substitute for Sutherland specials, and terrors, long sand eel type flies, so both spinning and fly rods were required.
We started with a dram at the bridge, to wish the team luck. The tide was low and dropping, and we had to start reasonably quickly. Iain on one bank and Bob and I on the other, we started with the Tazzies, and on his first cast Iain was into a very lively fish, which jumped regularly before he landed a fine sea liced sea trout of about 3lbs. We waved our congratulations as he landed the fish. However we rather changed our waves as he hooked another fish a couple of casts later. Two seatrout landed within the first half hour. I then went on to catch a series of finnock, I think 3 before I hooked and lost 3 good seatrout in about 15 minutes. It was rapid action fishing!
However as the river dropped the fishing slowed, so we moved on and took out our fly rods. The sun was bright, but the wind was rising and I was finding it tricky to get a reasonable line out, however, struggling of both Iain and Bob landed good sea trout, probably a couple of pounds at least each.
The tide turned and we decided to have lunch, and take a break. It was already a successful day, and now it was very bright and sunny, but also really quite windy. The plan now was to fish from the boat, on the rapidly rising tide. What was surprising now was the number of seals, there must have been hundreds, surfing up the river on the ride. John got us sorted out with the boats and we whizzed off up river, anchoring in a river flowing very rapidly up stream! The incoming tide had huge power and it was not like harling on the Tay, as the river was both wide and powerful. Action was slower now, we could see Bob and John on the other boat, anchored a short distance away taking the odd finnock, but action was distinctly slower, Iain and I were struggling – in what was a baking hot day. We moved a couple of times until john guided us into a quiet bay
The action was not frantic, with fish tugging and following the lure to the boat each cast. It was like a rainbow fishery on a sunny afternoon, except these were wild sea liced seatrout, and fought like demons. We lost numerous fish, had tugs and pulls most casts and landed a good few. There must have been hundreds of fish in the bay!
We ended up with 16 seatrout to 5 ½ lbs, my biggest in probably 30 years! All of us had fish to 3lbs and additionally all had numerous finnock, probably 8 – 10 each. All this on a sunny day, fishing in salt water, Scottish seatrout fishing does not get better. The fishery has a 2 fish limit per rod, thereafter it is C&R. Though the estuary is split into a number of beats and has a small angling club there is tons of available fishing water. It is stunning value at £30 a day.
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I like the CCI segments. The do exactly what they say in the advertising. I find that they really kill cleanly, far better with the standard CCI's, with the same placement. Never a bounce or squeel, it really knocks them flat. On the ground i have, a veriety of NE scotland sites, they do still ricochet, but rarely, far less than standard ones. They are more expensive, but i think they are worth the extra.
I was hit with a .177 air rifle pellet, richocheted right back at me zeroing into a plank of wood. Probably 20 shots in and nicely grouping one pellet out of all of them came right back and hit me in the shoulder. It had no energy really but i would not have enjoyed it in the eye!
I have also experienced a HMR and .243 ricochet. Both have gone zinging off at huge speed, after what seemed like safe shots. Both times again it was zeroing, into a post with a damp bank behind it. We have a range into an embankment in the middle of no where, and i wonder if they are hitting the nail holding the target or other bullet debris. It is probably 1 / 1000 as our little syndicate all shoot here and it is very rare but happens. I find the zing is momentary, really fast, and i wonder how far it goes. In this situation it is as safe as any shot can be, but same shot in a different location would be a real scare.
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I think the first thing to decide is what you want to work with, small or large mammals or birds.
Once this is decided there is plenty of information out there, but actually it is quite easy to make a basic/bad job of it. It is reasonably easy to make a average job of it, but a really good job is that of an artist. I do deer as a preference and make what i think is an ok job, they hang on my walls and no one repulses in horror. I could never charge for what i do, but it makes me happy.
If you want more than this, and you are an artistic type then get training
hope this helps
D
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The Op was asking about .22 and bounces. I use CCI segments most of the time now and am happy with the results. Perhaps it is the ground i shoot on, but i really dont find as many ricochets with them. I have both the 22 and HMR and consider selling the HMR regularly, it is a great round, but i find it has a narrow band of operation, for my type of shooting it is ideal in a tiny range between the 22 and CF. I will get another smaller CF at some point which i hope has a wider useful band than the HMR, and at the same time hopefully it will have a wider quarry list. Fox not listed against my HMR - only my 243. Now when that ****** richochets it gets your attention!
What i think we need to remember is that the .22 is by far the most common FAC in the uk - possibly the world. Like everyone else i have had ricochets but if you are careful with your shots i dont think they are a disaster. I am sure each weekend thousands of .22's are used and % shot against problems must be tiny. It is certainly acceptable to our FLO's as they still allow their use possibly universally.
So speaking of richochets, i have had these with air rifles, .22, HMR and 243. I guess it is a fact of life. We minimise as best we can but it can always still happen. I have never seen or heard of problems with a richochet, perhaps i am lucky and dont shoot round buildings or livestock. Has anyone had any experience of actual problems from them? Also, how far do the richochets actually go, say with a .22?
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We are out on Monday, and expecting a big bag. Reports are that number are both big and early this year. I will report back.
Dave
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To be fair on our teachers, at fires, kids are little ********. There is no form of "councilling" available to us, and we are not allowed to move them on. The police are too busy to help and the little darlings are costing millions of pounds of damage every year, Remember, fires are mainly caused by 3 things, men, women and children!
I have fought fires for decades but would hate the thought of a season with the little devils, they are the same kids driving us mad (I have 3, thankfully too young!) in our shopping centres. I can imagine them in class with their ipods and mobiles, some coming from generations of unemployment.
Some are the little angels we see open eyed at a christmas tree - other are the children we see stealing and vandalising from ourt society. A quick read at the papers shows that our society has changed dramatically from when i was young.
When i was a lad desputes were sorted with a bop on the nose or chin and a bit of applied counciling for the head teacher.
now we simple knife or shoot each other, if the press is to be believed!
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Good point KW.
In my defence (thinking quick) someone could actually join at 55 and beyond! Ok, it may not be next year, but it would be allowed.
Ian750, my job is no more difficult than anyone elses, i am trained to do it and have done it for a long time, but in the private sector you can move to another company to get a pay rise in the past, this drove up wages. Over the last decade folks had it good, i am told, and some were buying second houses to rent out. We were "modernised " 6 years ago, before the recession - destroying the service. I will (hopefully) have 1 employer until i retire - serving the public, doing a job for a fair wage, and at the end having a fair pension.
I am not complaining, i signed up to a 30 year deal and all i want is this to be realised. I have payed for it, in more ways than financially. When the recession is over, the private sector will slowly go back to where they were, the public sector will not.
Being brutal about it, banking is private sector, they broke it, perhaps they should fix it! I read with interest that a RBS manager, you know, one of the ones that broke it, has just been awarded a £6 million pension package. Now that has got to sting both public and private sector workers.
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This year may just get very messy.
We need to be realistic, think of someone who is 60 - 65 and are they ideal person to climb a ladder into a burning building to rescue your kids, or to protect them during a riot? Of course not! Teach your kids - i think we can do better.
After signing up to this 25 years ago my body is hurt and sore because of it, i have been injured many times yet never complain about this, I am old beyond my years, and still do a 48 hour week, I also work part time to make up my disposable cash (all declared) and to make a better life for my family. I have never claimed a penny and have never been unemployed. I signed up to retire on my 50th birthday, 30 years service, and pay 11% of my wage each month for the last 25 year to allow me to do this. I have put up with lower wages than i could demand with the qualifications i have, and had before i joined.
The public sector did not create this problem, the banks and government did. The public sector cannot bail the country out, this is simply impossible, i am tempted to think they are using the current problems just to make cuts.
However, to date I hear no mention of politicians having their pension changed, i may be very wrong, but understand they get their pension after just one term in government, i have 30 years and 11% of my wages to get my pension. I now hear that i have to work longer, take a pay freeze, pay more into the pension, and have an average salary pension. Like so many - my life plans have been built round an annual pension statement, now, with about 6 years to go, because someone else messed up everything changes.
I really feel for folks who earn low wages, who cannot work or want to better themselves. But i have done my bit for a fair time now, I signed up to a deal 25 years ago and because of a banking problem it all changes. I know many others have lost jobs and homes, and this will get worse.
However i see no reason that this has to be taken out on the public sector.
Now it is easy to take the **** out of this post - so remember, if you leave your laptop on tonight, or your TV or printer, and it catches fire in the night, today you can guarantee every firefighter who attends will be under 55, next year, they could be 65!
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sounds very like the universal joints. Checking is easy if you know how. The landy has to be on level ground, and it has to be in neutral with the hand break off.
If it is in gear or has the hand break on you may not see movement in the propshaft UJ, but like this it will be obvious when you try to turn the propshaft by hand.
Replacing is cheap and easy
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masterzone is quite correct. I have a pal who had a rough time and ended up depressed. Hetook meds and medical advice for this and has made a full recovery, if that is the correct term. he has just been granted a SGC and FAC.
I hurt my back badly and have been on a cocktail of meds for some time. I feel that medically i have been badly treated. One of the meds i have taken is an anti depressant and is also used for chronic back pain. I was asked at a Dr appointment if my pain was making me depressed, and we discussed that I was sore, and this was effecting my ability to do stuff, but that i was happily still working, stalking and shooting. I just have to moderate how I do it. I am not depressed just have a sore back.
I called my feo and he just noted it and was totally happy, indeed he was interested that i was still stalking and that the exercise was probably good for me. Basically they are taking a sensible approach and a bad back is not a FAC ban and that the meds used can be varied and have other uses.
I would always just ask the FEO, and never experts on a forum or in a club. You just have to read some of the nonsense on this and other forums to know that, in many cases the written word is not always true, in every case. I have also found that the worse the grammar and spelling, the more i should distrust it!
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If you want to get a full service then this guy gets good recommendations: www.wader-repair.co.uk
At £45 it's probably only worth it if you use them a lot and want to get a few more years out of them. Nothing worse than cold water around your nuts :look:
Neoprene patch and Aquasure should do for a repair.
Thanks for the recommendation Wobbler. Send me a photo aister and i will recommend the best way to repair them, and will recommend the best glue, patch material or whatever. we manage to fix anything from mouse attack holes, barbed wire battles and normal wear problems, 20+ years of fixing dive suits makes waders easy. We have never had a seam or patch we have repaired leak, and this is in many waders!!!lThe £45 service is for all and every leak fixed, and all seams sealed and repaired. The most to date is well over 150 pin holes and these waders are still in use today.
Cheers
diverdave
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I signed and also give my time for two river charities. This is not my job, i dont get paid, i do it because i want to make a difference. It is all too easy to sit back, at a pc and complain and critisise. His bank balance is irrelevant - he is doing something to make a change, for a subject that is important.
From watching Hughs programmes i think he does want to improve our countryside, i think he does care, and is in favour of wild and organic food. You do not have to live in the countryside to value it, and although i do and fish and shoot every week i am lucky, i do live in an area where i can see the sea, the mountains and the countryside from my house. I met Hugh at the opening of the Dee 3 years ago, he certainly talked obout the countryside and how he wants to make a difference. he also compaigns for removal of battery food production and more organic food.
Terry, what would you do in his position, a wealthy chef who is in the public eye? use your fame to help the countryside / sea or just work away in your business making more money? I work with the two charities mentioned above - what do you do? Are you saying he should not try to he should not try to help because he would appear to be wealthy? In signing there was an opt out of emails box, if you dont want emails offering you money off just tick it, or reply to the emails and ask to unsuscribe - you will not here from them again.
It is a brave thing for him to do, these campaigns could destroy his business, and his public appeal. This would damage his ability to make money from his lucrative advertising deals.
I am not one to say what someone else should do, or not do. I believe if you want something, or want to make a change you need to assist yourself, not sit back and complain.
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I used to sell these, there are no real advantages over PCP or springer, there are plenty of disadvantages but keep the shops happy as the co2 cyliners are reasonably expensive over time.
I suppose they are cheap enough to buy but over time the advantage is lost. Taking a stock of cylinders also seems a good idea but, they are inconsistant and really dont like the cold.
My advice...........get a springer or pcp!
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As above, WD40 is superb for this, and will do the gun no harm (may even do some good) and is cheap and readily available.
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Although i would always recommend a landrover to anyone in any situation in this case i would also recommend the wee suzuki.
The Jimny is used by a couple of river boards for their works, and that includes quite a bit of off roading. They are small, cheap to ensure, good enough off road, and not too expensive to run. I speak to the bailiffs regularly and they rave about them, ok, not quite rave but they think they they are quite adequate. I also have a couple of shooting pals that use other suzuki models and they are good off road.
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cant be real.
The dust kicked off the boar is more than many a CF rifle would do. Anything as light as a 177, even CF would do, in my limited knowledge of boar, a 177 to the shoulder would just make it angry. I doubt an HMR would kick that much dust off the boar and would no way take it down.
I am planning to shoot boar this year and my 243 is not up to the job, so even a very special 177 air rifle, with a very very special marksman would be foolish to even consider the shot, as even if by some miracle it hit something near the surface and delicate (the jugular??) it would not be a clean kill.
I suppose you could kill an elephant with a 177 (used as a club?) with a very well placed shot, one in many million but who knows, it may be possible. But would i use this to advertise a product, not a chance, that is just asking for trouble.
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You sound like a bit of a legend
Diving in Loch Ness.. That would be too spooky for me even though I don't believe there is anything in there I have seen some odd stuff in a local reservoir so I'd be bricking it down there. Talk about dark peaty water! No thanks..I used to do trimix and trimix instructor courses in Loch ness, very humbling. The site we used was at the back of the youth hostel on the north bank. It is a sand mud slope to 30 mtr then a vertical granite wall to 65 mtr, when it again turns to a very steep slope. It then goes vertical at 85m to very deep, way beyond 200m. It is never too cold and never gets warm, it is such a large body of water it barely changes temperature, and the viz never changes, at about 8mtr - 12mtr, but properly dark red water that absorbes the brightest of lights. It is never too rough and it makes the cockiest diver humble. We saw occassional fish, very few and the odd interesting relic. A gass mask sticking out of the mud gave me the heebee jeebies one one dive!
I first dived it with Rob Palmer and he was awesome. I also dived there with Blue Peter! The older of us will remember the Loch ness Submarine and we were the divers that rode it down on the programme. I was lucky enough to dive with Peter Scoones, he videoed for BPeter, who still does the BBC Attenbourgh programmes. he has the best buoyancy control i have ever seen, and all the time balancing a huge camera. I got a nasty swatch watch (sponsor) for that dive, and a case of lager from my boss, at the time i was the kit tec and instructor, i bought the company the following year.
On the way down in Ness we lost light at 6 mtr but on the way back up at the 15mtr stop you could just see a dull red glow above and although the longest stops were still to go you knew you had survived and were going to make it. Surface to surface was 65 minutes with 15 minutes at 50 mtr if i remember correctly, with conservative "course" tables. I always made it a bit of a day out and we have ADV open water divers visit us at the stops with a cyl of nitrox for emergencies and cartons of juice and grapes, which is about all it is easy to eat or drink underwater. We tried everything, from mars bars (too hard when cold and you need to chew, so cannot breath) through to bottle of lager, my fav but probably a bit naughty. I am sure the ipods and tube foods available now are better but we enjoyed this and it passed the time. we finished with a BBQ for the debrief.
Rod Macdonald, author of "dive Scapa flow" and Dive scotlands / englands greatest wrecks was my first trimix student and there is a good account of the dive and also when we sank a rib in his book "into the Abyss" when we battered through a wave on a bad day out! There are also a good few pictures of us on the banks of ness on his course. There are also a good few of me in Scapa with him, but a long time a go, thinner and with hair!
I enjoyed it at the time, but now as i am older man with a family, hours of deco, burrowing into wrecks to recoved a porthole that will clutter your back garden and recovering some stinking brass that you would step over in the street is no longer my thing. If anyone wants a porthole and is willing to collect they are welcome to one of mine! Dont risk your life or mobility for ****.
Gosh i must be getting old! Think i will stick to stalking and shallow dives!
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Only dive shallow with a videocamera now, but used to own a dive company. I am a PADI MI, BSAC AI, TDI Trimix rebreather IT and course director, though now my certs have all lapsed. I logged about 5000 dives to 100mtr. I never went deeper, although many of my friends did on dives like the Britannic and carpathia. I did 100mtr 3 times, including one horrible dive to 100mtr in Loch ness, this felt light years deeper than similar depths in places like the red sea.
I met Mark about a decade ago when he visited us in Aberdeen. At the time the dive centre was known for technical diving, and during this time i taught i think 500 trimix divers and 40 trimix instructors. I also taught BSAC and PADI for some 25 years. My technical instructor was the late great Rob Palmer and i was lucky enough to meet many of the greats, inc Tom Mount, Bret Gilliam, Brian Cronnin and Drew Richardson.
I used to do a few hundred dives a year, but now only do a handful of shallow dives each year and i am happy with this.
Most of my dives are done in rivers, videoing fish for the Dee and Don Trusts, but the time was not wasted and i now use diving technology to fix waders so that they last like dive suits.
D
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I know this is now a little late but i thought i would add this anyway. Never had one, but attended hundreds in the fire service.
if in any doubt, call the fire service, it is free and they will check the whole house with thermal imaging. Never worry about calling out the service, they will never complain or give you a hard time if you are worried about your home. Even if you think the fire may be out call them to check it. I have attended a number of fatal house fires where the fire cracked the flue and has smouldered into the loft in the night
Consider the hearth, it can also ignite the joists below the floor, very rare now but in 23 years i attended 2.
Cool the hearth with mugs of water poured gently on, dont burn your hand with steam. The steam will go up the chimney and the steam may put out the fire, it will ceertainly cool it.
Carefully check your loft. If it has smoke in it, ir even a flicker of flame call the fire service out and get your family out.
if in any doubt, dont have a sleepless night, get the service out.
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And another Belter i made last year
Wb
That is a stunner. I have a hankering after a damascus bladed knife, what would a knife like that cost me and where could i get one? I have never even seen one, but in pictures they look fantastic. If they are very expensive i would be keen enough to make one if someone could point me in the right direction for the parts.
Are they hard wearing or do the blunten or rust if they get damp?
D
tear in wellies
in Off Topic
Posted
Send me a picture and i will recommend a repair method for you. We do a lot of repairs to boots and wellies, as well as waders.
A hot knife or similar will work for a day or two if you are lucky, the repair will be brittle compared to the rest of the boot.
most if not all can be repaired easily, as long as they are not totally perished, in which case a replacement would be better
Diverdave