Worms

Unfortunately Bob, this is precisely how restrictions become applied to angling. One minute it's a private pool thing, then it spreads to clubs and, before you know it "specialist" groups will be all over it and the AT will drop it into all angling because it's in the best interests of the fish....It's why we have compulsory C+R now. And just look at Facebook and some angling fora. If an angler dares to show a photo of a fish that isn't dripping with calomine lotion with a thermometer in it's mouth and securely ensconced on a wet plastic mat with two nurses and a crash team at the ready, the angler's hauled over the coals. And where does it end? Once the AT get their teeth into sea angling restrictions, which they are trying now, it'll be mats and cradles for conger and shark and cod and....you get my drift?

I particularly like this one....speaking Gangsta for this chap somehow seems so appropriate! http://gizoogle.net/tranzizzle.php?search=http%3A%2F%2Ffightingforfishing.anglingtrust.net%2F2014%2F10%2F29%2Fsave-our-bass-time-to-contact-your-mp%2F&se=Go+Git+Dis+Shiznit

Imagine the hysterical laughter...followed by fury, when the Truss bring in recommendations for unhooking mats/cradles, barbless hooks, savlon and sticking plasters for seafish (probably starting off with bass, the "new carp"). Landing carp is dead easy and they never flap about for me....Grandad's old trident works a treat

Are you taking the ssip?

This all comes from an ICES report claiming that the Bass take should be reduced by 80%. Having read the report and balanced it with a CEFAS report of bass nursery surveys in the Solent and sea surface temps over the last 30 years I can see no apparent decline in bass stocks. In fact, SSB (spawning stock biomass) has not been higher in recorded bass catch analyses than it has been for the past twenty years. Ok, there was a blip to below 10,000 tons this year but the basis of low recruitment cohorts is based on some very spurious data (surveying the Solent nursery areas and ignoring 0 class fish!)...only age class 1-4 fish appear to be used in the ICES estimates! Not fish that would be targeted by anglers or commercials...and they haven't surveyed for them elsewhere as far as I can see. If 80% catch restrictions are implemented on commercials and RSA alike it'll be off to Tesco for bass for tea (farmed) unless you're lucky enough to leave near a decent bass area. Currently, the Truss are pushing how good the Irish RSA only fishery is, so good in fact they are thinking about reducing the bag limit from 2 fish to 1 fish a day....I think I know what's coming!....been there, seen it, done it! A current "anglers" survey doing the rounds is asking for an 80% restriction, also being supported by the Truss, no mention of not restricting anglers! The original petition actually asked for an 80% restriction on bass caught, not landed or taken, I had to ask the bloke to alter it...which he did, if that had been accepted (and the Truss said nothing) that could have meant an 80% restriction on ang ling effort....much easier for the govt. to just say NO to any RSA bass fishing at all! Anyway, that's why I have posted my petition, i doubt it will do well whilst the other one is up. I should imagine that too many people are automatically assuming that a restriction on bass landings of 80% will only affect commercials....sad really as apparently, RSA land about a third of UK caught bass!

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/no-restrictions-on-uk-bass-angling As some of you may have heard, the Angling Trust and other "sport" anglers are trying to get UK recreational bass fishing restricted. A lot of people who like to pop out for a day "on the bass" and bring home a few fish to eat aren't too happy. The AT and another petition that the AT are pushing are calling for 80% restrictions ! i think that that is absolutely reprehensible....hence the petition.

"Commonwealth"...or Common Wealth"?...either way not racist at all in my view. 53 Free and equal states!

Blimey Norm, that's a good one....don't see it catching on though

I tried the J knot once....didn't get on with that at all. I used the Albright for years until I found the "Red Phillips", just as strong but much quicker to tie on a tossing boat (!) and much smaller through the guides!

Oi John, what are you doing here?...You were on Go fishing a short while ago....thought I'd have some fun too...haven't been on there for ages!

I've had a really good idea. What if we went to every river in the country, removed all of the hard-standing, houses, roads, factories, retail parks etc. and let grass and trees grow there. They could be leveled out so that when the rivers flood they could allow water to slowly filter through the ground, topping up depressions (ponds?), adding silt and nutrients to the land and become a temporary reservoir for "excess" water? We could call them water flats or something catchy....anybody got any better names?

Sorry John, you are categorically wrong...the PAG, the angling red tops and every carp angler in the country have all said that there are no fish or, will be no fish by next week because of the millions of otters that are being introduced into the country...well that's if the "non-native" cormorants that have come inland because the commercials have hoovered up every single fish in the sea don't get them first! Personally I think the Truss made that post up (and several others) to move the controversial bass restriction for RSA post down the page a lot...but then again, perhaps that's just the cynic in me?

That's the problem with poor water quality, abstraction and the massive predation problem....no fish left in the rivers!

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/extinct-fish-found-in-the-lake-district-after-millions-spent-on-cleanup-work-9782933.html

Interesting comments about losing grayling and hook choice....what rods do you use? I rarely lose grayling once hooked (that's put the mockers on it !) and I use my "basic" trotting gear, usually an 11' rod (Allcock Wizard, approx 3/4lb TC) with pin and 4-5lb line. I find light, medium actioned rods with a wealth of power in the butt are far preferable to long, match style fast action tippy rods. I let the rod do the work, I hold it low to the water and let the fish work against the spring of the rod until I can get it into a position to bring it to the net. Edit: For some small streams that I fish for grayling on I use whole cane butt and middle with an "oversize" split cane tip rod of 9'6" which has a slow action which is very useful when a grayling hooked in a pool decides to go for the fast water and on to the next pool....along with some judicious palming of the spool of course!

What annoys me most of all is that they posted the STECF and ICES reports as "evidence" to back their case yet they obviously don't have anybody in the Truss that can read a report and do very simple statistical analyses. To start haranguing the government to get restrictions on bass fishing (commercial or RSA) is just wrong given the evidence.

http://www.anglingtrust.net/news.asp?section=29&sectionTitle=Angling+Trust+News&page=5&itemid=2278 A great read and the figures are really interesting. I posted this on the AT Facebook page....shouldn't imagine it will stay there long.... "An interesting read, thanks for putting that up. It really clarifies things. So, from the waters that we are interested in, STECF put landings from UK Recreational fishing at 5.9% of the total, UK commercials manage 14.2% so a total of 20.1% of all bass landings in Europe. The French Recreational anglers catching 16.5% whilst the French total is (Commercial and Recreational) 65.8%.....and as is made quite clear, a significant impact of landings is made by 30 French pair trawlers fishing off the North Devon and Cornwall coasts. Now let's look at the percentage of recreational caught bass per country... Of the four countries listed, France, UK, Holland and Belgium, a total of 155 million people, France, 41% popn. > 63.8% of RSA bass UK, 41% popn. > 22.7% of RSA bass Holland, 11% popn. > 9.2% of RSA bass Belgium, 7% popn. > 4.2% of RSA bass That works out at the French having nearly three times more RSA caught bass than the UK, The Dutch, over half as many as the UK and the Belgians having about 10% more than the UK per head of population. Now, the Angling trust are planning to bring in RSA bass restrictions based on those figures?...Really? Shouldn't the Trust be looking at telling the Government that as a minor RSA (and commercial compared with the French) fishery for bass in Europe that protects its nursery grounds (for the benefit of all!) that they should be standing up to Europe to restrict other EU commercials that are blasting the RSA and commercial bass fishing in "shared" waters? The Angling Trust standing up for UK bass anglers?....It certainly doesn't look like it from here!"

Sailfish on fly gear!

I reckon he's getting rid of it because there are no more fish left in the sea....depending on who you listen to, eh Barry!

A difficult one, my first thought was salmon, but, I think a nice sea trout. Upper jaw extending past the eye and, although not definitive from the picture, I'm guessing that tail's not concave when stretched out. A nice PB either way!

I listened to the Jeremy Vine show and heard the article. I too was appalled at the attitude of the anglers that sounded like whiny, spoilt children with anger management issues. The parasite issue, and the fact that they couldn't be removed to other waters was mentioned. I've become very disillusioned with angler attitudes over the last few years. A lot of it appears to be down to selfishness, "because we pay £27 a year for our licence" and some of it is down to downright lack of knowledge of the issues that surround their pastime on waters that they are privileged to fish on. The often ridiculous rants of an increasing number of anglers are going to come back and bite us all in the nether regions in the not too distant future I fear.

Some very old Partridge long-shanked fly hooks (and sometimes, curved nymph hooks) in very fine wire, they are very light and a worm or maggot will drift down very naturally, the long shank seems to improve the hook up rate too!

Thanks Lyn, Make it quick though, I'll re-list everything as individual items as soon as I get a chance!

I thought you were going to say for putting the fish in.....