For people who care about conservation only

[Ryford]

The proposed increase in MLS and minimum mesh to target bass will not in itself limit either recreational or commercial effort as the stock recovers.

 

Whilst I only take 3 or 4 bass a year myself, I would not accept a bag limit without some rigourous controls on the commercial harvest. Bass is not a quota species and as such the commercial take has no limit at present, nor will have when the mls increases to 45cm.

 

andyR

[stavey]

Catch and release is certainly on the increase especially those who fish a lot and travel. Also among the growing numbers who switch between Coarse, Game and Sea fishing.

 

It is easy to explain to the younger anglers who readily embrace this. Some of the older people you see still killing all their catch are harder work.

 

nick

 

You dont have to tell me nick, and be careful as you get mutilated on on this forum for any slightest objection to anyone knocking a fish on the head mate, especially an almost endangered species like cod for some numb brained idea?????????????

[Guest CJS2]

Catch and release is certainly on the increase especially those who fish a lot and travel. Also among the growing numbers who switch between Coarse, Game and Sea fishing.

 

It is easy to explain to the younger anglers who readily embrace this. Some of the older people you see still killing all their catch are harder work.

 

nick

 

Catch and release, I'm one of those older types, not to old to hold my corner though. I have operated catch and release for as long as I can remember. In the early days, and cod, it was eanything under about 5 or 6lbs went back. O'h to catch a 5 pounder now. I've chucked the fluff at C&R trout fisheries. Now'a'days, I am very carfull over bass and cod, usualy keep a couple for the table, the right size of course, the rest go back, apart from seriously gut hooked fish, the best way to deal with those is a swift despatch. All my summer sport fish are returned, cant remember one that did not swim away healthy.

 

I'm trying to reduce the gut hooking tendancy of cod, experimenting with large hooks and baits as well as circle hooks. Initial findings are that we are having good success with the large conventional 'J' hooks. Circle hooks are needing a little more consideration to 'make them work consistently'. However discusions with Mike at UK Hooks seems to be pointing in the right direction.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2006 by CJS2

[stavey]

Catch and release, I'm one of those older types, not to old to hold my corner though. I have operated catch and release for as long as I can remember. In the early days, and cod, it was eanything under about 5 or 6lbs went back. O'h to catch a 5 pounder now. I've chucked the fluff at C&R trout fisheries. Now'a'days, I am very carfull over bass and cod, usualy keep a couple for the table, the right size of course, the rest go back, apart from seriously gut hooked fish, the best way to deal with those is a swift despatch. All my summer sport fish are returned, cant remember one that did not swim away healthy.

 

I'm trying to reduce the gut hooking tendancy of cod, experimenting with large hooks and baits as well as circle hooks. Initial findings are that we are having good success with the large conventional 'J' hooks. Circle hooks are needing a little more consideration to 'make them work consistently'. However discusions with Mike at UK Hooks seems to be pointing in the right direction.

 

 

Hi cliff first of all let me offer an apology for going off a bit at you the other day about using the 7 rods thingy, i am a bit of a **** sometimes and open my chops a little bit to soon before knowing all the facts, i should have guessed that those rods were not all yours, anyway i am glad to hear you put your fare share of fish back and operate a self regulated bag limit (very good) as regards the circle hooks i am told that striking at a fish is a no no and all you do is to lift into the fish with a steady pull? good luck and all the best, happy angling

[Guest CJS2]

Hi cliff first of all let me offer an apology for going off a bit at you the other day about using the 7 rods thingy, i am a bit of a **** sometimes and open my chops a little bit to soon before knowing all the facts, i should have guessed that those rods were not all yours, anyway i am glad to hear you put your fare share of fish back and operate a self regulated bag limit (very good) as regards the circle hooks i am told that striking at a fish is a no no and all you do is to lift into the fish with a steady pull? good luck and all the best, happy angling

 

Stavey, appology accepted, we can all get a little OTT sometimes, dont forget maste, there is nothing wrong with having an opinion, but remember others are as entiteled to theirs

 

Re circle hooks, few anglers I have seen, seem to understand that there aint much point in striking at a conventional hook either, when using mono, there is so much stretch all you do is give a twitch at the hook and frighten it, despite the overblown rod waving called a strike on the surface. The elasticity in some mono is horendious, feel the weight and lean back into the fish whilst winding on the reel handle, good case for a high speed multiplyer. I do take your point about not stiking a circle, aparently even the tighten and lean is not recomended. Mike at UK Hooks, sugests a sort of bolt rig, waiting for some beachie type bits to arrive!! Hopfuly the combination of this UK Hooks type 'bolt rig' and some very large Octopus semi circles will do the trick, consistently that is?

 

Also fancy a short pully rig; fish picks up bait, moves off a foot or two, hook stets as the grip lead pulls it home, grip lead should also dislodge and give a classic, down the tide bite Thats the theory, we will see

 

[Tom Pinborough]

Hi Peter

for those who do not buy the fishing news any chance of copying your article in this weeks FN on here.

 

 

cheers

Tom

[wurzel]

Hello Tom

 

I'll try.

 

I have altered it a bit since also the fishing news edited some of it, not always a good thing, I had forgot they had a copy, I emailed it to several places quite a while ago.

 

Click here I think

Bass_management_plan.doc

[sam-cox]

Hello Wurzel,

 

Nice letter, however you say that few large bass are found inshore. I would have to disagree.

 

Last year wasnt a good year for me inshore but other years have been.

In 1996 I was reguarly catching bass of between 4lb and 6lb from the upper reaches of the Blackwater, fishing the last of the ebb and first of the flood and averaging 6 fish per 3 hour session.

 

Again in 1999 I was getting similar results from the upper reaches of the Crouch using the same tactics.

 

The above catches were from the shore, but from 2001 up until last year most of my bassing was from small boats.

 

2003 was a good year for me, fishing inshore from my boat I caught many fish of 4 to 5lb.

 

I think anglers catch a better stamp of fish than the inshore gill netters using 90 mil mesh although obviously catch a lot less fish.

[Steve Coppolo]

Good response Peter.

The only problem, as I see it, is that a compromise is not the answer. The 45cm was chosen because the bass will have spawned at that size. Setting the MLS at anything below 45cm would not provide all the benefits that the BMP would provide. 36cm bass aren't worth anything in sporting value, a 40cm bass won't be worth anything either. You might just as well set the MLS at 22cm as 40cm. The benefits will be the same, there won't be any! To achieve a truly sustainable fishery, all the fish have to spawn before they are caught. The majority of bass won't have spawned until they reach around 45cm. That 5cm, (2 inches), between 40 and 45cm isn't much at all but the difference it will make to the future of the bass fishery will be huge.

 

As for only small bass residing inshore, we've spoken about this many times. I have caught plenty of decent size bass inshore and within estuaries in the past, as have plenty of other anglers. The reason most of the bass now are 36cm and under is that they have been "trimmed up", to use one of your terms, at that size. As was put very nicely to me the other day, if you cut your grass at 3 inches all through the summer, you are never going to have 8 inch grass in your garden. The longest it will grow will be 3 inches!

 

I suppose at the end of the day it all boils down to what each sector wants. As anglers we want bigger bass, and plenty of them. The commercial fishermen seem to want small bass, but plenty of them. Unfortunately the only way to guarantee plenty of bass for the future is by letting them grow a bit more. We are ultimately arguing over 2 inches here!

[wurzel]

Hello Sam

 

Quote

fishing the last of the ebb and first of the flood and averaging 6 fish per 3 hour session.

 

I don't concider that a lot of fish, last summer you could have caught 20 or 30 bass of 30 cm in half that time, I am wondering whether if the BMP is implimented you will catch the same numbers but all at 45 cm, which is what every body thinks will happen, I agree if left alone that is a possibility offshore, inshore in some areas perhaps, up the creeks and estuarys I doubt it, not with the same amount of small fish that was in the estuarys last summer there just isn't the room or food for them all.

 

Hello Steve (had onother good chub last night)

 

Quote

 

22cm as 40cm. The benefits will be the same, there won't be any!

 

I think there will be, at the moment a large amount of fish survive to reach over 45 cm, as they say the fishery is sustainable,where are these present very large year classes comeing from? with a mls of 40 cm

many more fish will survive to grow on.

 

Quote

Unfortunately the only way to guarantee plenty of bass for the future is by letting them grow a bit more.

 

The only way to guarantee plenty of bass for the future is to pray for mild winters and even hotter summers.

 

Quote

We are ultimately arguing over 2 inches here!

 

Agreed, but bare in mind with 45 cm you have virtually 100% hostility from the commercial fishermen, with a 40 cm a reasonable amount would except it, in this area any way, I can't speak for other areas or for trawler men.