[Cod crisis? What cod crisis?]

Challenge just been notified by MFA today that our cod quota has been increased will let you have a read of it tomorrow.

regards Andy

[Black eyes]

Not to sure what this post is all about but by the sounds of things threats have been made?

I find it hard to believe that commercial fishermen from Whitby would want to black anybody’s eyes because of what is said on here or any where else come to that.

Finding them rolling around on the floor with laughter would certainly spring to mind.

When I was (commercial) fishing there where plenty of black eyes dished out from time to time but very rarely where they preceded with a threat.

I happen to be fortunate enough to of worked with quit a lot of (past and present) people in the fishing industry and I cannot recall a black eye or any other physical injury dished out to any body without just coarse.

I am a true believer of freedom of speech as I believe that most are, on this forum.

I personally never have worried about any body who dishes out threats because if they where going to do anything I don’t believe they would warn you first.

It puts you at a massive advantage and also gives you time to find a massive lump of wood and prove that the best form of defence is all out attack.

Regards.

Big lump of wood mate what happend to good old queensberry rules.

Slackline threatend me with a black eye for laughing when that big cock crab had him by his finger.

[Fishy type 'Photo gallery']

Me old mate darlick showing us how to catch fish from our back yards.

where did you dig that up mate was trying to keep that a secret that was last season both those fish came out of twenty five feet of water about one hndred feet off the shore like a pair of twins good day that

[Dogfish Dinner]

I return most of my fish as many people on here have also said they do. Where I fish there seems to be no end of doggies though, so I take the odd one for my cat's. A couple of times I have considered cooking one up for myself has anyone tried it themself? If you have a good recipe let us know cheers. Please no conservation on this one as although it is also a concern to me it would be nice to have one post without it .

There is a great recipe book by Kate Whiteman the ulimate book of fish and shellfish three hundred recipes not one for dog fish that must tell you something.

No some of the sugested recipes sound good, i was fishing over in clew bay a few weeks ago with a mate from Donegal and he took a load home with him just batters and deep frys them says they are good.

Recipe book is a top book if you like fish .

[Cod crisis? What cod crisis?]

Well you make sure you don’t trip over it on your way back to reality.

Whats this chaps wet fish at ten paces

[Fishing in Norway]

It’s come to that has it?

You me and nipper and a couple of ice bergs. I can picture it now.

The problem I think we might come across in the silence of the Norway deeps is that I believe you get one hell of an echo.

made a mess of that john

 

sounds good to me not sure nipper will come if you keep having a go at him.

do they get crabs out there .

[Fishing in Norway]

It’s come to that has it?

You me and nipper and a couple of ice bergs. I can picture it now.

The problem I think we might come across in the silence of the Norway deeps is that I believe you get one hell of an echo.

[Fishing in Norway]

I would love to go just for the mountains and fjords...

I have not found a place in the world yet where we have not made it wheel chair friendly.

Get a grip, you and nipper always thinking discount.

Will you leave my mate alone he has just beaten me with the rod again we have been up at our peters clearing roach out of his pond size 22 hook with a single pinky on good fun.

[Uptide or downtide]

Andrew have you tryed the secret crab baits yet they are dynamite mate for uptiding and will take all the big fish.

Paul tell me more how secret where do you get it?

[Uptide or downtide]

Interesting to read the various thoughts on uptide fishing. I have fished from my own boat for 20 years, the first was a 16ft Alaska, through 22ft, 28ft and now 35ft. There have been no noticeable difference in number of fish caught related to boat size, ie., others were catching more, I would be so bold and say that one has often out fished smaller boat in the same area, much to their disgust on occasions.

 

Hull design is far more important, for instance an Aquabell 33 is a very easy hull to drive through the water as opposed to a Lochin of similar size, both great sea boats, semi displacement hulls, to achieve equivalent speeds a much larger engine will be required in the Lochin, This is my personal observation over a number of years of building a love affair with boats, boat watching.

 

One of the premier skippers in our area changed his hi-speed 35 footer and reverted back to his steady old 8 knot displacement boat, because the careful records kept showed that the fast newer boat was 20% down on catch rate, like for like, on a weekly basis. As everything was the same, the only variable was hull design.

 

So there is much more to hull disturbance than size, my own boat for those that dont know is a 35ft round bilge Cygnus commercial hull, weighs in at 13 tones and is driven at up to 8-9 knots by nothing more than a 90hp diesel. Very easy hull, we catch our share, and because of her design she sits quietly at anchor, no slap or bang associated with high speed craft.

 

May I suggest there is far more to this than meets the eye, shallow water and a noisy hull no-matter what it size and the need for uptiding is high, a quiet displacement hull 16 foot Orkey has been mentioned, far less likely to cause a disturbance and there for the catch rate could be better. But the bigger boat with an equally quiet sea kindly hull may be even better as it will move about even less? This is assuming there are no 20st fairies stomping about on board either.

 

The question was 'Uptideing'. My boats have always been easy hulls, although a recent craft which I only kept for two years may have been a problem as described above and I did not realise it? Back to the question, I have to say that as fish have become smaller in my area, fishing down tide has become more productive. I still use boat casting and appropriate tackle, but casting 'down tide' at anchor is very effective. One often puts three rods out, one uptide, one across the tide and one cast down tide, the down tide rod with a plain 5-7oz lead according to tide flow. By the end of the session two rods are normally down tide and one is across the tide. The cross tide rod often having been long taken in, three rods down tide can get to knitting, not recommended.

 

Conclusion? Casting down tide, on a quiet boat is as good as it gets. Even in the shallowest of water, I have marks at only 10ft, still the down tide theory applies, cod to 10lbs on that mark, Bass in the summer.

 

Uptide, downtide, perhaps the boat hull shape has more affect that we have thought before??? By the way, the above are only my experiances and observations, nothing to do with right or wrong way of doing things, just in case any one has ideas

 

Cliff

Cliff i have fished an awfull lot in very shallow water and the boat noise thing can ruin your day like i said i have a longliner 9.9hp fourstoke motor very quiet setup when fishing shallow i go round the mark insead of up it . i have a mate who has a eighteen foot wilson flyer with a seventy hp force motor he has many times come roaring up to me shot up the mark and the fishing has stoped instantly, time to move, told him loads of times he just laughs bless him,the stealth mode is the way to go in shallow water thanks for your comments tight lines

[Cod crisis? What cod crisis?]

Hi darlick.

 

Not really sure why you quoted my comments. I tend to think you are correct but the fate of the Atlantic Cod (at least I think Gadus morhua is the fish we are talking about) in UK waters has almost no direct effect on me or my fishing.

 

In theory, the fish does wander as far south as Cape Hatteras on the North Carolina Outer Banks but things down here are generally too warm for them.

 

Based purely on what I have read over the years on this forum, I do think it is probably touch-and-go as to UK sea fish stocks recovering before there are too few to make the fishing worth while. Things could probably be turned around with some really drastic measures but given the short-term damage that would do to the many folks who depend on the fishing for their livelihood, I don't hold much hope.

 

Disclaimer - as noted, I don't KNOW anything about the UK situation and am basing this purely on what I read from the forums and from the excellent newsletters Leon sends out.

Nothing personal newt yours was last on list have not quite got used to this computer lark apologies.

[Cod crisis? What cod crisis?]

What i feel right now towards the people i know from your port is , why all this bitchiness over fish?

 

Carl - I have wondered somewhat the same thing and have about concluded there is something in the air or water supply or similar.

 

Hopefully if your posts are going to be printed and taken to a meeting, this last one will be included.

Sorry for being so blunt you guys but give your heads a shake you winge and wine moan and grone about cod stocks and gain nothing if you are that worried about it you would be united there is no dout that there is not the cod that there used to be and that you can go further east to get big cod and we still catch a few fish inside but at the end of the day its a pond we fish in all be it a big pond but you take a fish out its one less fish and so on and so on and so on you can only catch them onece good managment is what is needed so get together and talk to the top man stop your differences and be united and do something positive.

[Uptide or downtide]

Uptiding is not much use if the water is over 600ft deep

 

[/quoteBait fish if the water is 600 ft deep its not fishing mate its like pulling a sack of spuds up bay bank

[Uptide or downtide]

What an interesting thread.

Hope we can use a bit of this advice this winter darlick?

We should do john with all that time you will have .

[Fishing in Norway]

We are going to the South west at the end of May/June next year to Sotra..any advice?help to make the trip please if poss.

Walcott have they got wheelchair accsess over there fancy a shot at a big lunka

[Uptide or downtide]

In shallow water the waves slapping against the boat creates quite a bit of noise, and the taught anchor rope can "sing" in a strong tide. These things can disturb fish as you say. As they swim down tide they seem to skirt around the area where the boat is anchored. So you get a greater concentration of fish at a certain distance away from the boat because you've got the fish that would be there anyway, plus the fish that have moved there to avoid the noise of the boat. I wouldn't say that the noise of the boat scares the fish, because they would just bugger off altogether, but rather it disturbs them in some way, just enough to get them to move around the disturbance.

 

The benefits of uptiding are more noticable on charter boats than small dinghys. On charter boats you have the added noise of 8 or 10 pairs of boots stomping all over the deck, plus the bigger hull creates more noise and the anchor rope will be more taught. Those uptiding from a charter boat will usually catch more than those down tiding but, as always, there are exceptions. On a small boat the effects are less noticable and if the anglers on board are careful not to bang around too much just as many fish can be caught down tide as uptide.

 

You can use a lighter lead because after you've cast out you have to let out a big bow of line. This bow creates a downward drag on the lead and pulls the grip wires into the sea bed. The classic uptide bite is seen as the rod tip springing straight as fish moves off with the bait and pulls the grip wires out of the sea bed. The lead then bounces off down tide and the bow of line goes slack. This doesn't always happen though, (even less nowdays as the size of fish we catch is generally smaller than they used to be), and a bite can be just a few taps and nods on the rod tip.

Steve my boat is a longliner 16 usually fish in fifty to sixty foot of water in amongst pots where there are lots of ropes and boys,dont think that the noise thing makes a diference to us, but i have heard that larger boats have that problem.like paul said we fish on very hard ground and do have a real bother with snags, a i am a big believer in a spot of ground bait you seem to get runs of fish coming up tide to the smell so it is important to position yourself on the reef so you get as much lenth of reef down tide as possible the bait smell travels a long way and fish just keep coming uptide to the smell and hook bait.

[Uptide or downtide]

Its getting to that time of year when the water starts to cool and after a blow or two thicken and we will be getting our uptide gear out.

I will be at it as often as possible over the winter months the prefered method for me is down the tide i like to get a good scent trail down tide at anchor i find that you will get a steady run of fish comeing up to the bait,not really a fan of casting up tide.

Whats your favoured method chaps.

[Shads]

That seems very strange john as all the fish over 20lb i have had this year including cod and ling have all fell to the shad and that and thats even when other people on the boat are pirking are you getting many lads using the shad.

After seeing the way that they fish and the fish they catch i am converted.thats untill something else comes out that will better them.culour plays a good part also we have found the other day les had brown shads on i had pearly white les had all the best fish on brown and more fish,nothing on jigger, but as fishing goes never two days the same.

[Shads]

andy.

Fishing is a strange business. I think shads are great at times too. But if I am fishing for big fish it has to be a small jigger on its own. The cod we have had this year over thirty pounds have been caught using this method, so have the majority of the fish over 20lbs.

Fishing in 15 meters or less is great sport and you can fish the way you want to fish weather permitting. Fishing in 15mtrs of water where there are loads of fish is even better.

You keep catching all that fish in bay Andy, cannot for the life of me understand why you winch yourself aboard us at every opportunity?

John you know the reasons mate and there are plenty.

Its been a very strange year inside we started of at a hell of a gallop, and as you all know we had that blow in August and then we started to struggle it took a long time for the water to clear tons of feed but i can count the cod on one hand that had been full of sand eel or sprats, but i have never seen so many pipe fish for some strange reason the cod have been stuffed with them,like i said earlyer the small jigers that we use usually take plenty of fish but they have been totaly out fished by the shad and better fish.in the wreks that you fish john with plenty of fish on single jigger will allways do well, regards Andy

[Cod crisis? What cod crisis?]

Hello darlick

 

Thanks for your concerns i have a brilliant life and have no reason to change it, it might surprise you that i have some very good friends who were in the commercial fishing business and they have had a tough time in having to change theirs and i have a lot of sympathy and time for them, but they are now doing better financially he now drives a taxi and he's missus works in tesco's.

 

Your problem is the same as anglers bureaucracy! and until we stop dissagreeing and start agreeing on a few points the less the government would have to make the most of it, which in fairness is what wurzel keeps harping on about, cheers.........

Sorry about that line stavey you probably do have a good life.

[Circle Hooks]

Been sent some circle hooks from http://www.tacklebargain.com/ and am hoping to send a few to another forum member who is in a better position to try them out than me. i.e. he actually goes fishing more than once a month! (No volunteers - I've already asked someone LOL)

 

Wheh these were first mooted on here, a few years back, everyone seemed a bit wary. Then some of the 'big fish' anglers seemed to start using them for rays and sharks. Interestingly, I'm now hearing of people using them for smaller fish, too.

 

So, who here uses circle hooks and for what species? Any comments about them in general would be of interest.

Elton i use them was a bit worried that you would not get as many hook ups but after trying them realised that was not a problem.it does stop a lot of deep hooking usually hook ends up in the scissors give your bite plenty of time fish usually hook them self when running

[Cod crisis? What cod crisis?]

Chalenge its just that i have heard so many excuses by commercial fishermen about the collapsing stocks that i had this vision of the very last cod left in the sea trying to devour itself in to extiction and failed to share the joke sorry about that........

Stavey dont worry about the last cod in the sea because its allready safe the way the rules and regs are going there will be no comercial fleet left in a few years time too much conservation too many do gooders too much bureaucracy we as comercial fishermen will be gone before the cod so rest easy mate and chill go forth and get a life

[Peeler Velvet crabs banned by NESFC ?]

Usually happens to me.

 

Darlick - if you cook your brown crab you can use it as bait. It wont catch you a thing but you can use it .

Glen if i cook a brown crab im the one whos going to eat it in a nice sarny while i am fishing

[Peeler Velvet crabs banned by NESFC ?]

Darlic they where checking us for using brown crab back in 1974 when I was fishing deep water for crab and lobster.

They wont come and board you will they? Who in there right mind is going to get into a boat with you and nipper?

 

There is no room when nipper is onboard, any fish mate , away for a beer soon vic about eight thirty,

[Peeler Velvet crabs banned by NESFC ?]

The ban also includes commercial fishermen using brown crab for bait, or any other crab come to that. Crab is the finest bait you can get for lobster.

Lets not all jump on the bandwagon here and think that recreational fishermen are being persecuted for the sake of the commercial fisherman. Not this time anyway.

now john we can use velvets provided they are sized 65 mm not to use brown crab at all we do get checked inside but they dont check off side at the moment very few sized brown inside apparently the new fisheries boat that is on order will have the gear to check deep water gear pots etc lobster size to go up from 87 mm to 90 mm