Stopping gill netters and catching cuckoo wrasse

LETS SAY NO TO NETTERS
I've had loads of e-mails from you asking what can be done about illegal gillnetting inside bass nursery areas. The areas worst affected seem to be Cornwall, South, Mid and North Wales.

The number to ring and report your sighting is to the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60, and it's a national 24 hour number.

If you see anything evenly remotely suspicious you need to make a note of the vehicle type, vehicle registration and vehicle colour used by the netters and give these details, plus the location, exact time you saw the netting taking place, number of people involved, and anything else you think relevant to the answering officer. This ideally needs to be done while the netting is in progress, if possible. You do not have to give your name and can remain anonymous. You will not be involved in any way. The Fisheries Officers just need the facts from you and then can act accordingly.

How to report gill netters

TIPS AND TRICKS
An Irish friend has taken three bass over 10lbs in the past year from his local Wicklow beaches using rotting squid. He thaws the squid and buries it in the ground for a week in a plastic bag before digging it up and using it. He recommends baiting up with plastic gloves (there's a surprise!) as the squid's odour takes some getting off your hands. I haven't had the stomach to try it yet, but he puts his consistency with double figure bass and a string of fish over 6lbs solely down to the manky squid.

I also remember a Cornish acquaintance telling me "high" squid was good conger bait, especially in harbours.

CUCKOO WRASSE TACTICS

Catch a cuckoo wrasse

Cuckoo wrasse like heavy rock ground with kelp beds, and tend to seek out areas away from the main tide run. This can be on the downtide side of reefs, behind big rocks, around the bases of rising rock pinnacles or in deeper holes and gullies. You need a good 30-feet of water for consistent fishing, as cuckoos are not often found shallower.

Wrasse are daylight feeders and never feed during the hours of darkness. They spend this time resting, semi comatose on rock ledges. They feed best just as a new tide is starting to flood and again either side of high water as the tide run eases. However, find a quiet area away from the main tide flow and you can catch them right through a slower running neap tide.

The top bait for cuckoos is peeler crab. They are a small fish and need small baits. Use half of a 50p sized crab and lightly bind this to a size 1 Mustad Viking hook. Now add a couple of the legs to the point leaving the leg ends hanging free. They bite by giving a rapid series of taps on the rod tip. Hit them early as they are greedy fish and a slow response can see them deeply hooked.

You'll find a two-hook paternoster rig most effective, often catching two cuckoo's at a time, but use tough 30lb hook snoods as these guys have real teeth and make mincemeat of lighter lines. They have good eyesight and can shy away from anything but clear line if the water is extremely clear.