Nobby Ford

Thank you to everyone that posted, some really interesting points from loads of viewpoints. Not a simple solution then

Hi Stavey, No worries. Seems a bit ironic now that it took 1/2 an hour to read this thread from start to finish when I could have been pestering my M.P. I wonder if Dorset's MP's know how to use e-mail?

You could have shamed me there and said Farmers Markets

How viable is it it to farm bass/cod to lighten the pressure on fish stocks? What sort of levels would need to be produced for it to work? Other than the dangers of mixing farmed with wild fish, why is not done on any kind of scale inthis country? Bit of an open question really, but would be really interested to hear opinions. Cheers, Nobby

I've got adequate b*lls and I've had no stamina complaints either I do all that my time allows me. I clear the area on the beach around everytime I leave, I only take anything home if it's above limits and is going to be eaten fresh (fish don't belong in freezers) I've encouraged others to get involved in the sport (schools & youth clubs). I do as much as I can.

Hi @AUTUMN@ I empathise with the loss of small businesses to larger corporations. The monolopy that you assume is happening will only result in lower costs and higher profits from the same number of boats. The number of fish caught is due to the consumer demand, which will relate directly to market value. The link about black fishing throws up more points. Yes, there is a mint to be made by selling fish; they weren't caught and wasted as by catch. It is horrifically unethical to over catch their quota (by any amount) and quite rightly they have been pulled up. "Mr Divers said £1.6m of the £3.4m had been used up in operating costs and a further £776,000 had been paid in taxes. The men are part-owners of a new vessel called Altaire III which has cost more than £10m to build"

Generally disprove, why?

I usually would sit on the fence for something like this, but having read the thread from start to finish it left me wondering a couple of things. (I apologise for this being slightly off-topic from the original post). What sort of figures are involved with the sell-through of fish taken by commercial fishermen? On return from sea, presumably the fish are off loaded to markets, wholesalers, and maybe processors and (again) presumably they will not buy/take more than they think they can productively sell/process. These are the fundamentals of business. I'm also assuming that a commercial boat will know in advance roughly how much can be offloaded. My question really is this; Is the increase in commercial fishing activity (leading to depleted stocks) due to supply & demand or, as we anglers generally perceive, an increase in greed of the commercial boats to drag the sea bed in search of anything that swims? I believe that the demand for fish has increased in line with food trends, population growth etc. If there were no market for fish, then commercial fishing would be gone overnight. I take my hat off to everyone who has had the nuts to post openly on this subject, as it's obviously a fiery one. I don't think it's fair to slate commercial fishermen for making the most of a resource, when it seems that they share the same concerns as anglers. If only Mr Blair thought that the Iraqis had decent fish stocks......

Thanks you Jim, Bill & Frantic' for the advice. I'm limited to just one fly (lake rules) so no dropper options!! Is the cdc buzzer fished completely static? To add to the original thread, I've caught on big buzzers through a hole in the ice at my local lake. Large claret skinny buzzer fished on long leader (20ft+) and allowed to touch the bottom once in a while. 2 (stock) brownies in the bright winter sun!!

Hi, I'm really struggling for takes on my local lake at the moment. The trout are (classically) sipping the buzzers from just under the film, and I can't get them to look at any dry fly offerings (grey duster/small midge patterns). Equally, I can't keep a skinny buzzer at the depth they're feeding without pulling it past them. They're quite fussy due to the amount of natural offerings present. They seem to be gorging themselves on the evening hatch and it's getting a bit frustrating. The only success I have had is by casting to rising fish, but they are surfacing so randomly that it's tiring work! Has anyone else encountered this, and if so is there anything I could try? Thanks.

Hi All, Please can anyone let me know if there is anywhere near Frome I could while away a few hours after work? As a North Dorset lad, I feel like I'm in a foreign land being this close to Wiltshire. I notice there are a few lakes at Stourhead, but have not heard any reports from them. They seem to offer the kind of fishing I'm after (Bristol resevoirs too far/too daunting!) I'm still cutting my teeth really so ideally smallish stocked lakes where I can practice fly selection as opposed to blob stripping. Any advice will be gratefully reveived. Thanks.