samuel-cox

In my ideal world all commercial fishing should be done off shore leaving inshore marks to anglers who should have a 2 to 3 fish limit when bass fishing. The mesh sizes should be increased so the 2lb bass targeted are alowed to grow. The fishery as a whole would then grow, and the size of fish angler could catch would be larger. All trawling should be banned, trawling in the old days was done by sale powered boats towing faily small trawls and was more substainable than modern trawling. Grownd trawling is like draging a plough across the sea bed destroying the very foundations of the food chain. palagic Pair trawling catches dolphins and sea birds.Drift netting for tune where dolphins are living should be stopped. Most mackeral are trawled although many are hook and line caught and some gill netted. Many anglers use trawled crabs for bait, theseare often trawled in bass and mullet nersury areas, ripping the sea bed up as they go. I understand this is a complex argument but there is no doutin my mind that anglers will win as anling is worth many times more than commercial fishing. But I feel it will not and should not be totaly stopped as this would be in a way tragic. Us anglers can lern a lot from the commercials, I now catch more fish through taking notes.

In my experience on the Blackwater in Essex, the boat worked 5k of 95 mil mono drift nets for bass. I was a bad day if we caught 5 small undersized bass, and when we did they were returned alive. fixed tremmels do catch a lot of unwanted stuff like crabs, sea urchins and small flatties. But drift netting can be very selective and if trawling could be completely banned drift netting could play a part in a substainable fishery. I do thing that 95mil mesh is to small and should be increased by law asap.

Essex may have little in the way of wintercod fishing, but has some fantastic summer bass fishing from the shore!!!!

Having worked on a 35 foot gill netting boat, I thought it worth sharing some of the information on how different styles of gill netting work, so anglers new to the sport can have some facts rather than the crap printed in much of the yellow angling press. Standard fixed gill nets are basically a wall of 95 mil mono mesh with a anchor at each end. Fixed tremmle nets are a wall of 95 mil mesh with another wall of much larger mesh next to it, again with a anchor each end. The idea of the larger mesh wall is so larger fish ray , turbot etc bounce off the 95 mil mesh and tangle in the larger mesh. Any fixed gill net or tremmle net will only fish properly at slack water as the tide pushes the net flat to the sea bed when running. Tangle or ray nets do fish a little in a bit of tide. The net only fishes for around 45 minutes at slack water. As the tide eases the floats become buoyant pulling the net into a wall of mesh until the tide picks up. Drift nets are a wall of normal 95 mil mesh with a dan at each end. A dan is a pole often thick bamboo, with a flag at the top and a weight at the bottom. These drift nets are fished at the last run of tide and left to drift with the time for around a hour.If they are fished in any strong tide they tend to spin up. Fish caught in these nets have to be of the right size to get propely caught in the gills.A 95 mill mesh will catch mainly fish of around 2lb. Smaller fish normally swim through the meshes and larger fish often bounce off.When small fish are caught they are normally caught on gill spins and can be let go alive. One thing I personally didnt like about fixed gear is the amount of crabs caught, somtimes thousands. The fisherman just smashes them up with a mallet and shakes the bits out of his net. Having said that, drifting for bass and mullet was very selective with very few under sized fish caught. Herrings and mackeral are often fished for with gill nets, these nets have much smaller meshes.So us anglers should bear in mind that our bait is often caught by gill netters so hated by most anglers. I am a great believer in the truth being the best weapon to win a argument, rather than the untruthes so otften printed.

In november i was catching 6 cod a day from my dingy in the day time, so i thought at night from the jetties where i have caught codling befor, I would be in with a chance. But no they aint there.

hi Jim I think you know my Dad Bob and his fireman friend Steve.Iv heard of carp to 25lb being caught from battlesbridge. I live on the Dengie peninsula miles away from siverlisation on the marshes. Asheldon Brook runs next to my house, Iv caught rud, seen carp when the E/A drained the pool behind my house. These fish i think were wildies as very orange underneeth. I also catch shrimps for my fish tank, eels, flounders, small o groop mullet and crabs. Its very salty for brakish water. Maldon I think may be best bet for sea trout, around Bealigh.

Yes mate, gess they tying to make a living but dosnt excuse lying.

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To day my mate and I went small river fishing as way of a change, we caught 9 chub to just over 2lb, 3 small roach and 1.5lb perch. It was real good fun and I recommend all sea anglers have a go every now and then, especially mullet anglers who could get a bit resty after a winter of no action.Its great for strikeing reflexes and ones health as we walked around five miles.

I dont know your area real well but have been there a few times, some good fishing all round. Do you own any gear? a carp rod maybe as your near to pool harbour where there are lots of mullet. you are also near Lulworth Cove, again you could get away with a carp rod if you have one as its a good area for wrass. Otherwise buy a middle rang beach rod and middle rang fixed spool rea, you can progress to a multiplyer if you chose to stay with the sport. Buy some 20lb line to start some leads plain and grip from 4oz to 6 oz. some cox and rawl rigs may help you see your local tackle shop, I believe West Bay has a good one.

Burnham marina mutch better for mullet mate, had them to nearly 7lb this year with much bigger ones regually spotted. Use float and bread flake or crust, burlistic fun on carp rods and 6lb line. Aparently above Skee tecs premisis has carp to high 20s and salmon spotted this year.

Iv also heard about salmon and sea trout being spotted at Battlesbridge, Essex, this is the river Crouch. Also many many mullet thetre.

A mate of mines got a old tank airial rod, his dad caught carp on it as a lad.

Honistly I have seen thousands of Essex thornies, and caught them to sixteen and three quarters myself, I understand they come in many different colours and some with more thorns than others, and of course I may still be wrong.

the eyes seem a bit to far faward to be a thornie, plus ive never seen a thornie with those marlings on the wings.Having said that it does have thorns going down its tail, but ive seen blonds with the same. could be a cucko ray maybe.

I mean to have a go every year but never get around to it, I have several marks in mind. Its time of year, tide, moon phase, ect that Im not sure about.I supose this sort of info will be very hush hush. But I have wittnessed large trout or salmon in bass gear lots in 1994.

Not being biased but Cox and Rawle Bass Bullets are the nuts if worked jurkily across the surface, between rocks or in the shallow water of the flats they work a treat

While working on a local gill netting boat in 1994 I saw sea trout or salmon caught in our net lots of times, this also happened when drifting gear through the surf on the were released alive. I have also sean large sea trout or salmon leaping while bass fishing from the shore in the evenings. Has anyone else info on Essex sea trout and salmon,or suggestions on how to target them.

During the 2001?2002 winter My angling pals and I caught several codling to around 4lb from some of our favorite bass marks on the River Crouch. This fishing was done always at night using lug and sqid. This year however all we have caught are 2002 size bass and a few whiting. Has any one out there got any info for shareing on other marks in Essex apart from A the Crouch and Blackwater as we have them covered. If any info is givern that proves to be fruitfull it will be bartered for info on bass marks.

I have seen thousand and thousands of thone back rays or roker as they are known in Essex. This is not a thorning may be a small eyed ray although I have not seen a small eyed ray only photoes. Definitely not a thorny though.

The lisence money should only go back into our sport. I still feel educating and policing anglers is a better bet that using the money to fight the commercials. There will be more bass and other fish saved by educating anglers how to fish properly than feeding the solisitors our hard ernt cash!

I only know north cornwall from Trevos Poin to Bude Bay

BLAZING SUN SHINE DOWN HEAR IN ESSEX.

this all depends how we judge intelligence, for example I cant spell, nor can a bass. All I was saying is that they are probably a bit more intelligent than most of us think.

Well they aint invented the wheel yet but givern anouther 100000000 years or so maybe they will start pair trawling! Most lerning is by association, so i reckon bass must be very intelligent as far as a fish can be. Its a sence of self that makes humans different to most animals, that fish will never have.