frankthebass

What about simply charging more for BASS membership, I dout cost is the most important consideration for a potential member.

Thats a shame as the little that was in the last two coppies I purchased was ok.

I hope so Leon it would then make your job a tad more plessurable!

Thank you for that Wurzel, thats pritty much how we all see over fishing I think.

After watching the Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee meeting last week my mind has gone into over drive. There is one man sitting at the table for RSA and it did seem to me that although being very polite to him mostly they just paid him lip servise. Part of the committees job is to manage the regions cockling inderstry, of which they seem to be making a good job. What I would like to know is that when making any decisions on where cockerling will happen are the effects on the angling in that area taken into account. For exsample say a charter boat has been fishing an area and keeping his punters happy by catching them some fish, then one day he goes to his favorate mark to find it being cockled by a large cockle hoovering boat. Would this hoovering of the cockles ruin the charter boats mark? or would it improve it? The truth is we dont know, so surely a studdy needs doing before any hasty decisions are made. There are probabley lots of other things to and this is only a thought any how.

I saw my first wild otter while fishing from the rocks with my Dad in Ireland. Magic! But I would of thought much care and forethought would have gone into any otter reintroduction plan! Would it not?

Thanks for the info Steve. I would be interested how Sea Angler contributed.

With respect Wurzel yes I have seen the part timers, the boat boat I worked on has been sold on a couple of times, the skipper now runs a IP24 part time, there are now a few small fast neting boats that wiz out for the best bit of tide shoot their gear, haul it then wiz back again. I dont know if this puts more pressure on the upper reaches of our rivers, but I do know there are far fewer bass there than there was even three years ago. How do you see over fishing then, please do tell.

Im a great believer in slot sizes, theres only one little problem that puts a spanny right up the works and thats RUDDY POLITICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Could this be moved to the concervation forums?

I understand that all involved in lobbying for anglers give their time free of charge. They also pay their own traveling costs. Would it not make sense that if anglers get lumbered with a lisence some of that lisence fee could go to help fund these groups.? or maybe the lottery fund! Or buying a lisence could give you your NFSA membership free. Insentives like these coupled with a decrease in commercial effort within one mile might sway a few anglers to be in favore of a lisence. Can any one tell me why the tackle industry hasnt helped fund angling lobby groups with their courses in any big way?

Fair play Wurzel and I take your points, but will you say for the record that you don’t believe in over fishing exists? The bass fishing isn’t as good as it was a few years ago; the cod fishing has been crap for years now. I do think climate change has something to do with it but its mostly over fishing of one kind or another. However commercial pressure has eased for thornbacks and smoothound as they are plentiful in my area. I think the direction of the commercial effort has changed a bit with more part timers targeting bass inshore in the summer months. Im not saying that you over fish, from what I gather you mostly work well offshore and rest your marks when needed.

better off keeping small fish and letting go the big ones.

There was one point raised by one comitee member (I think it was the vice chairmen but not quite sure) that worried me. He started by saying that there are two big 1000hp beamers working our area, apparently they catch in one month what a local small boat takes in one year. I sat there thinking well there one issue that local commercial fishermen and angler will agree on and maybe could both lobby against. But then the man turned to the so called SEAL PROBLEM and how soon or later they would need controling. What complete crap! seals were there before the fishermen and seals have to catch fish in order to servive, whereas a commercial fishermen could sign on the dole if he stops catching fish and goes to the wall. Up until that point I was following him.

why would a item be restricted?

Why would any angling lobby group recoment bag limits and lisences without restrictions on commercial effort at least promissed.

Are the onlookers allowed to take notes? As it could help bring back to mind any important points.

Leon would you like to see more anglers attending?

Ken I am going to endevor to attend all the Kent and Essex and Sulfolk and Easex meeting and just sit in the part where the public can watch from. I will just listen and report what I see on here. If more anglers were to attend it would make the fairly quiet voises of those RSA that do sit on these commitees a lot louder. Really the likes of Steve Coppolo, Tom Pinborough, and Leon Roskilly need the suport of anglers, and by attending you local SFC meeting it not only backs these guys up it also shows anglers meen business.

Over the years the space allocated to sea angling in the Anglers Mail has decreased to just a couple of pages. For this reason I only would buy the weekly in the winter as thats when I go Coarse fishing, and I find the Anglers Mail; to be a interesting read for Coarse fishing. However last weeks issue was most refreshing, with Any Littles two page spread on bassing at Dover and the fish doctors brief look at mullet it was topped by a interview with Jim Gibinson about his new book. All in all a good read for 1.45.

I dont expect any marks to be revield, the only reason I mentioned the above location was to try and dispell a picture I had seen as a fake.

Ron my old man has been involved in conservation for more than thrirty years, your comments prove your agenda. You didnt get many of the diggers there ron, froggies was responsable for at least five of them. As we all thought it seems that anglers have been weeing on the commercials strawberries and one spat his dummy out. No Ron I aint got a problem with you, I have chatted to you on the WSF and I agree with you about the throw it back bagade. Preaching total catch and release will not get the lobby group anywhere, having said that I aint heard any of them lobby for total catch and release.

Kinda quiet in hear regarding last weeks big talker.

I have seen a pic of a 12.5lb barble next to a style where I fish for chub, also seen pics of 6 other fish suposably from there.

Basically Steve has out lined the meeting, to be honest I was quite shocked at how dysfunctional the committee seemed. It started with lots of waffle about the chairman and vice chairmen’s expenses allowance, at this point both gentle men concerned had to leave the room. As Steve said it was a big function suit and hearing what was being said was fairly hard work. Mr Paul Gilson did complain about someone allegedly tampering with his car and how the letter to the committee was meant with a curtain amount of tong in cheek ( I expect the bait diggers that attended were grateful to him for wasting their valuable digging time). The first thing that the chairman had to say was that he must point out that sea fisheries committees do not have the power to bad or licence bait digging and that it was a matter for local council. Leon Roskilly put forward a proposal to start a sub committee to follow suit with the Essex and Sulfolk Sea Fisheries Committee. He also made suggestions that another RSA rep should sit on the committee to even up the balance between commercials sitting and RSAs. But both were dismissed, apparently the technical committee (which is a closed committee) can handle the above, and there is not enough room on the committee at present for another RSA rep. Again as Steve has already said it was hard work to hear exactly what people were saying especially softly spoken members like Leon. The tope proposals were dismissed apparently to be bough in when the blanket law comes into play, and again to be discussed further by the technical committee (a closed meeting). Dave Stevens from The Dengie Bait Diggers Alliance was permitted to voice his objections to Mr Gilsons letter to the committee. There really didn’t seem much point to this as the chairmen had already pointed out at the start that the committee did not have the powers to deal with bait digging. Bob Cox (from Bobsbites in TSF mag) was also permitted to speak briefly, he basically outlined that SFC are not worth the money they cost to run, at this point one of the senior members said that in the five years he had sat on the committee they had only achieved a hand full of objectives. He said the committee lacked teeth to get anything done and was basically fairly powerless. This just backed Bob Cox,es statement to the committee. To be honest it was like a scene from Monty Python, I half expected John Clease to walk through the double doors one foot high aloof. Believe me he wouldn’t of been out of place. I do feel sorry for Leon Roskilly, he is one quietly spoken man who sits alone among those who are mostly from the dark side. These meeting are only 8 times a year. For those of us in Essex we need to attend the Essex and Sulfolk and Kent and Essex. I feel us anglers should attend all of these meetings if only to back Leon up and help make his quiet voice heard. I also think that those anglers who tried to make this meeting out to be something much bigger and that said we all should attend were loudly absent from this meeting. I think they should put their head straight back in the sand regarding angling conservation.