Ian Burrett

I am hoping that the alleged offendee on the original posting will hear of the posting through the angling grapevine and in words used earlier on this thread, will "self regulate himself" If so then it's mission accomplished. I for one don't want a witch hunt. Ian B

Davy I have just ordered my superhero fishman suit.

The scandinavians used to use sandeel oil to run their power stations. I am not sure if this practise still goes on, but must have put paid to tens of millions of sandeels. If you take out your basic foodchain then the consequences are predictable. Things will never change as the majority of anglers would rather winge and moan, than actually do something positive about the situation.

They certainly look the biz. Snatcher and they will be put to test in early May. I recon the lure on the top of the picture will catch the most Pollack. I fished similar lures last year, at anchor under a float, and they murdered the Pollack often outfishing Jellies, redtails etc, Regards the circular hooks, It's bad practise to strike Pollack, keep the tension on and the fish will lip hook themselves. I have used that color and pattern of hooks and i can only say they didn't decrease or increase the ammount of foul hooked fish. I tend to find the good anglers lip hook Pollack and the poorer anglers often deep hook them. I believe it's all about timing.

If the aims of the march are clearly set out from an diving/angling/marine conservation point of view, then i think we could attract thousands, the papers and politicians would have to take note. Whether it would do any good or not, I can't be a 100% sure, but I am prepared to give it a go, if we can rally enough support from the environmentalists, After all we have the same aims as them, i.e. to see the sea stocks returned to a sustainable level through stopping polution and over fishing. Providing it was peaceful, it certainly couldn't do any harm.

Shimano also make LH reels on their Calcutta range

I believe the only way anglers and conservationalist will have their proportional repesentation in decisions about the future of the sea is for us to become pro-active. I have been in conservation recently with the Arrancoast trust. www.arrancoast.co.uk They are trying to get Clam dredging stopped around Arran They have been in meetings for 10 years and have still got nowhere. They have had sympathy support, and thousands of pounds worth of grants from WWF and the Scottish Nationanal heritage. but so far have recieved polite thank you's for their endeavours. The labour party promised to stop foxhunting 6 or 7 years ago and still haven't totally got it banned, Blair is backpeddlin so close to an election and is waiting for the results of an appeal. More likely he is waiting till after the next election. The point i am making is, if the countryside alliance hadn't got it's act together foxhunting would have been banned outright years ago. (I don't condone the violence from the last march) What would all your feelings be about a protest March in London. Stating "anglers and conservationalists and other sea users, must be given fair representation on future issues regarding the sea" If we leave the issues wide we could attempt to attract Green peace, the WWF, and many other bodies concerned about the state of the sea. When i raised an issue last year, with the local Scottish National Heritage, I was informed, "If it isn't illegal then there's nothing we can do" If they are powerless what good is a few well informed anglers at a meeting, going to do to counter the organised lobby of the commercial sector. We might even get the backing of the countryside alliance as our predicaments are not that disimimilar i.e. beurocrats meddling with our outdoor leisure activities. (Remember the "animal rights activists" want to ban all fishing on cruelty grounds) We need to unite anglers and conservationalists and I think a peaceful protest march could focus minds and win support from the Newspapers. If rank and file sea anglers don't support such a march, then they will probably get what changes they deserve. i.e. "none" The sea belomgs to all of us yet one section is killing it for all, and that can't be right. It would be interesting to hear your views.

Oh they work allright.I had three boats inshore Pollacking one day last year. I had fly boys aboard and we broke three world fly records in an afternoon. Counts for nothing as all fish were returned) At certain stages of the tide the flies were outfishing the other boats using jellies, ragworm, and sandeel etc

Davy With over 1 million sea anglers, surely we have a larger vote than the commercial sector, with the support of freshwater anglers this could creep up to 3 million votes. Has anyone heard any policies from the Tories or are they just stabbing in the dark to see the interest? Cheers for the PM. I have written to the suggested party.

I have just been on the phone to someone who should know whether the original thread is true or not(I am sorry i can't give names at the moment until i check out my legal position)and he has confirmed he has heard the story from two independent sources that have fished with the eledged offending skipper. I don't know where to go with this thread. Whether or not it is legal or illegal to shoot Porgies is irelevant. If it is true then the public need to know as the practise could stop with adverse publicity. If you have any idea what to do next please PM/email me

samuel-Cox and very nice they are too

I hope it is just an urban myth, but names have been given, so the above isn't right

Although i have no further information regarding the event mentioned on the first posting. I have just had a phone conservation with the local constabulary and he confirmed it is an offence to shoot from a boat unless a special license has been issued. Mimimum fine is £1500

When i was working in Kenya, I saw a shark destroy £4000's worth of fighting chair and deck. I guess shooting them is the safest option, if it is the intention to keep the fish. Tag and release isn't easy with big prey. I have been hurt a few times with Tope

Thurso angler. I have replied via private mail It's a difficult situation and i hope i am wrong. How else can one get necessary information? If it is true he is hardly likely to admit it, if i ring him up and ask him. I repeat if my information was wrong then i am sorry for raising the posting. I was so irate, i felt the need to find out more.

I recieved a private mail from a regular member on AN asking me about the legalities of shooting Porgies from a boat. I was so ouraged i felt duty bound to see if anyone else had heard about the barbaric practise. If there is no truth in it then i apologise to all concerned. If there is, then it needs stopping. Commercial fisherman can a get a special gun license to shoot seals if they can provide evidence they are damaging their catch.

Apart from a total commercial ban, (which will never happen)I don't think anyone really knows what it will take to replenish the sea, but it has to be immoral to allow fish landings of immature fish. How can any species regenerate with having tha chance to breed. Our local gill netters used to leave female thornies and Turbot in the net during the breeding season so the males would surround it and get caught. These are the guys that now moan about the lack of fish. If they had caught the fish after the breeding season then at least the future generation would have had a chance. Our local Spur dog shoals went from 5 miles across Pest value to nothing in 5 years. All were heavy females in pup, and would give birth to 9 or 10 live young on the boat. Would it have not made sense for the longliners to wait until after they had had their young? at least leaving an opportunity for regeneration. In both cases they would have caught the same weight of fish, just a few months later and the offspring would have had a chance. Some of the ideas to help save stocks are so basically simple. Don't blame the commercial fisherman but the rule makers that allow these practises.

I have heard through the grapevine that a certain angling skipper in Scrabster is shooting Porgies at the side of the boat. I understand it is an firearms offence to shoot at anything from a boat. Can anyone confirm this? The loss of a gun license or an appearance in court might just persuade this guy to give up his barbaric practise. If prosecuted i also suspect he would lose his Charter Skippers license. Can anyone confirm that he has been doing this, as i would like facts before i shoot my mouth off

Last time i was on the "Karen" we got towed in by the life boat. Have any Porgies been showing? Perhaps you could reply with private mail.

A lot depends on your normal payload. If its just you and one other fishing then a thirty would probably do. If your carrying 3 or 4 bodies then you wil need to increase your horsepower to the mamimum recommended. The fact your fishing on an inshore lock can be irellevant, as last yaer in Loch Sunnart i was battling against 6 foot waves for over an hour. In theory with the direction of the wind it should have been sheltered, The wind seems to follow the land.

Hi It's definatley a thornback, My reasons for saying this is by the shape and the angle of the leading wing. The markings on the wings are often found on cuckoos, Blondes, thornbacks and spotted rays, and to add to the confusion Hybrids have been officially identified in Luce Bay. I once sent pictures to the Natural museum of a fish that was jet black. I thought i had caught something different but it turned out, it was a thornback living in a coal barge that went down in the 50's

Hi Snatcher and a merry xmas to you General consensus of opinion is that the shark that took a lump out of a 40 pound Tope would be a warning nip from a Thresher. I have seen Porgies although not recently, but they will pass on the way to warmer summer waters. Information I've read suggests, they summer off Cornwall and winter up North. If they were about in any numbers they would be taking inshore Pollack of the hooks, like they do with the Cod at Scrabster

Well done Leon I really think that the ball has started rolling and will hopefully become unstoppable. Do you think i ought to email Dianne and offer her a days fishing?