22lb Cod - River Mersey

[stavey]

cjs2 and wirral thanks very much for your comments and as you pointed out correctly there are no cod stocks left down here any more, there used to be not to long ago but no more, i hope you dont end up the same their but you wont know this till its to late and you wont have anything for the pot what so ever anymore, luckily down here we have sport fishing second to none during the warmer parts of the year all along our coast so its no big deal to lose the cod, in the end it just means a few months during the pis*ing rain and sleet and howling winds that there is not much but scabby yting and pout and other scragends to catch i can live with that i just dont bother going,

 

I shal not post about putting fish back again on this forum as people take it the wrong way i forget that a lot of people go sea angling still solely for their stomachs, maybe in the long run it might not be such a bad thing if cod do compleatly dissapear from the whole of the uk and kill off this catch to eat mentality.

Edited December 26, 2005 by stavey

[Guest CJS2]

cjs2 and wirral thanks very much for your comments and as you pointed out correctly there are no cod stocks left down here any more, there used to be not to long ago but no more, i hope you dont end up the same their but you wont know this till its to late and you wont have anything for the pot what so ever anymore, luckily down here we have sport fishing second to none during the warmer parts of the year all along our coast so its no big deal to lose the cod, in the end it just means a few months during the pis*ing rain and sleet and howling winds that there is not much but scabby yting and pout and other scragends to catch i can live with that i just dont bother going,

 

I shal not post about putting fish back again on this forum as people take it the wrong way i forget that a lot of people go sea angling still solely for their stomachs, maybe in the long run it might not be such a bad thing if cod do compleatly dissapear from the whole of the uk and kill off this catch to eat mentality.

 

'Stavey', look through previous posts, you are on your own, 'one for the pot' is normal. Good to hear you have some sport fishing fishing. We too, have a great time in the summer, Smoothies, Tope, Bass, the North Thames estuary has some of the best? Its great to have a weekend cruise as well, no fishing, just enjoy the tranquility, spend the night in a quiet creek, thats not to say I wont get up at dawn for a couple of hours with the spinner, or fluff chucking!

 

'Solely for their stomachs' . . .'Catch to eat mentality' . . . a very twisted and biased view 'Stavey'. Me personaly, if I was fishing soley for the pot I'd give up the boat and buy from the wet slab in the super market or pop round the corner to the chippy!

 

 

Great this fishing lark.

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2005 by CJS2

[dale]

i'm from a NO cod area that used to be the BEST cod area in the country. My area used to be the Norway of the UK but now its national headlines if some one catches a sized fish.

 

i agree that anglers are entitled to take one or two for the pot and if you look at my previous posts i never said different all i asked wouldn't it have been more prudent to have returned the bigger ones and taken a couple of smaller ones.

 

before someone says maybe that was all the guy caught my mate and i have a deal that if the other guys catches a couple of table sized one and i've returned my bigger fish then he can keep them for me. end result i have my table fish and the biggie goes back to spawn.

 

will the commercial get it after i return it....probably eventually but at least i made the effort to delay the demise.

 

be warned guys its not much fun having one of the best fisheries minutes from your house to then have to start travelling 3 hours there and 3 back.

[Guest CJS2]

i'm from a NO cod area that used to be the BEST cod area in the country. My area used to be the Norway of the UK but now its national headlines if some one catches a sized fish.

 

i agree that anglers are entitled to take one or two for the pot and if you look at my previous posts i never said different all i asked wouldn't it have been more prudent to have returned the bigger ones and taken a couple of smaller ones.

 

before someone says maybe that was all the guy caught my mate and i have a deal that if the other guys catches a couple of table sized one and i've returned my bigger fish then he can keep them for me. end result i have my table fish and the biggie goes back to spawn.

 

will the commercial get it after i return it....probably eventually but at least i made the effort to delay the demise.

 

be warned guys its not much fun having one of the best fisheries minutes from your house to then have to start travelling 3 hours there and 3 back.

 

3 hours, phew!! thats tough mate, and an iminenty sencible arangement with your mate, grate fishing sence, if we could all do this, and hade mate who were that coperative. I must say I have fished with anglers who have offerd to share a catch when mine were all put back as under size.

 

Sorry if I missunderstood your previous post, essentialy, I think we have similar ideas. perhaps sligtly diferent ways of achiving the same goal? looking at the weather, might get a few hours afloat tomorrow in the harbour on the deep water shelf? Happy New Year

 

By the way where are you bassed?

 

Sence prevailing, CJS2 (Cliff)

Edited December 27, 2005 by CJS2

[stavey]

'

 

'Solely for their stomachs' . . .'Catch to eat mentality' . . . a very twisted and biased view 'Stavey'.

 

 

So my views are very twisted and biased are they? i call it constructive criticism, i wonder what your opinion would be if i was saying the oposite ie, take everything out and kill it for the pot? anyway i did say while things where in a state with the cod stocks that it would not hurt to put back the bigger fish and when and if the stocks where in much better shape apply a bag limit by taking only a couple per session (or would this be regarded as a twisted and bias view as well?) or is it a case of our cod stocks are plenyful where we are, and im alright jack?????? if so some could say your views are the same as mine dont you think???????

[Guest CJS2]

Well 'Stavey', my view is consistent, cod stocks are low in my area, and no, I'm not all right jack! Years back when things were good we all used to take what we caught, we have all seen the old pics circa 70's and 80's, I was at it the same as every one else. Things have changed, for the worst, were those catches of that era to blame? I dont think so, I believe technology and efficency since then in comercial fishing, coupled with global warming is much more to blame. Anglers who still take boats full of fish dont help, however, I feel that its a sore spot for you and many others rather than efective reality, (however I agree a debatable point?)

 

It still remains, no one in the EU or our government has grasped the nettle, other counties have and their story is one of sucsess. 'European' comercial fishing will continue as the rules are at present, we will all know within a few years who is right. However in the meantime, my 'couple of pot fish' returned would have zero affect, compared with nets full taken by an equivilent comercial boat who goes to sea many more times than I in a year. The same applies to all other conservation concious anglers, even the 'take the lot' types probably has little or no mesurable affect compared with comercial catches (again, a debatable point?) Angling has no 'by-catch', it has a degree of discrimination, trawlers plough the bottom to a barren wast. Ever thought how echo friendly the 'long liner' is, . . . phew, never though I'd say that!!!

 

For fish stocks to have chang so dramasticaly, in a relativly short time, it can have little to do with anglers???

 

I come back to the point. When we are told the full story, and rules are laid down, I will be the first to comply!! Untill then, you can continue beating yourself with your big stick, . . . hay Stavey, there is some snow outside, dont they do somthing like that in Scandinavia and then roll in the snow, you might like it I will continue as stated 'a couple for the pot' and when the cod are gon we can all point the finger and say we told you so, the finger will certainly not be pointed at me

 

What will I do then! Enjoy my boat, and fish for the sport fish, I recon that will be encouraged as all points will have been made, and the powers that be will be running around like head less chickens trying to plug the gaps, re vitalise the industry, that will be interesting. I'l be to old to care then of course. ho-hum!

 

Edited December 27, 2005 by CJS2

[stavey]

ok cjs2 i think we have both made our views known well enough to each other, and they are not gonna change so we will leave it at that shal we? or though you may be right about the amount responsible anglers take for the pot wont have much effect overal to the stocks? i just dont think its good pr for the conservation side of things if these sort of images are plastered about in mags and websites, but then again i suppose a cod is not regarded as a sportfish? and its value is truly in its eating, see ya........................

[sam-cox]

I am very pro catch and release and let go about 95 percent of all my catch.(for those poor commercial boys..lol)

 

However we as human beings have earnt the table at the top of the food chain. This fact gives me as a human the right to catch kill and eat a fish that I catch if I so chose.

The problem is that many anglers are greedy and kill everything they catch.

 

I personly chose to try and avoid fishing for small codling of 1.5lb, they are not realy worth eating and normally die when released.

[Guest CJS2]

ok cjs2 i think we have both made our views known well enough to each other, and they are not gonna change so we will leave it at that shal we? or though you may be right about the amount responsible anglers take for the pot wont have much effect overal to the stocks? i just dont think its good pr for the conservation side of things if these sort of images are plastered about in mags and websites, but then again i suppose a cod is not regarded as a sportfish? and its value is truly in its eating, see ya........................

 

Sound good to me mate, draw the line under. Have a good New Year and I hope spring comes early for you, Cliff

 

I am very pro catch and release and let go about 95 percent of all my catch.(for those poor commercial boys..lol)

 

However we as human beings have earnt the table at the top of the food chain. This fact gives me as a human the right to catch kill and eat a fish that I catch if I so chose.

The problem is that many anglers are greedy and kill everything they catch.

 

I personly chose to try and avoid fishing for small codling of 1.5lb, they are not realy worth eating and normally die when released.

 

How right you are Sam, I have changed recently from 3/0 and 4/0 single squid pennals, to 6/0 pennal rigs presenting two or three whole squid, seems to be keeping the cod size up, and less gut hooks, even the whiting are bigger!!

 

 

Thursday looks like the first day we will get out??

Edited December 27, 2005 by CJS2

[Guest CJS2]

Hay Sam, we are doing a lot of agreeing recently, some one is going to start wondering whats going on????

 

I'ts probably that we both want, and most anglers on this site want, some good fishing for ouselves and the commercials, I dont denie them a living. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

 

Cliff

Edited December 27, 2005 by CJS2