[REG PHILLIPS]

The trouble is some people think they should be able to turn up at any old place with crappy old bait and the wrong gear and first cast bring in a huge fish,if people took more time learning=WHEN,WHERE and WHAT with.They would catch alot more fish and praps realise all the whingeing they did in the past was a waste of energy. Ive personally had a very poor year for bass,purely because of my own laziness/lack of motivation,if i couldve been bothered to dig/collect decent bait and put some time in i wouldve done aswell as ive done in the past.If i blank or have a poor trip i look at myself not start trying to blame others.:headhurt:

To be fair albe2 and cfish, anglers know where their hot spots are, places that produce good results at the right time of day, during the right state of tide with the right bait and tactics. Keen anglers will also keep log books listing everything from weather conditions to sea temperature and colour, in fact everything they need to know about their chosen venue, believe me it pays to keep a record of catches for personal use. RSA do not have to look at a venue where it is commercially viable to target bass, we are not built like that, one big bass can make an anglers year. Those places are still there but for some RSA they say the size of bass have been reduced over a number of years, their records show the decline in size and numbers.

 

[Ifonly]

An ineresting thread here but lets some things in context as I see it.

"I've found roe in fish smaller so they must breed". WRONG. I'm sure you're aware that as a bloke you're born with testicles. Does that mean you can get someone pregnant or are they just there? THe presence of the equivalent equipment in fish does not mean they are fully functional. IMO the size limit should make sure that each fish has bred before being killed not hope it has.


"Big bass aren't caught in nets and can't be targetted" Really? So why do so many boats target the breeding grounds then and why do commercials also offer pleasure anglers the ability to fish from them with a guarantee in some cases to catch a double? A bigger MLS may prevent the bass being targetted because with so many undersize it becomes uneconomical.

"Raising the MLS is bad for commercials" Are you sure? THe UK is renowned for its salmon fishing, chalk stream fishing and wild brownies. Why can't it be renowned for its bass fishing? Also, the less bass landed the higher the price. How can that be bad?

e.g. The pig rearing industry realised there were too many pigs around and the price fell. People went out of business and a decision was taken to cull the herd. Result. Less pigs available for sale. Result the price increased. Result the pig farmers could make a decent living again. The lesson is there, can commercial AND 'pleasure' anglers not learn from that.

"We are still catching lots of bass so how can there be a problem" Have you ever heard of hunting to extinction? Do you really believe there has been no impact on fish stocks. I guess it's because the fishing is so easy that we have such a large fishing fleet remaining....enough rhetoric, the point is made.

On a pretty regular basis a thread appears about the lack of good size fish. Recently there was one on celebrating the catch of a very undersize early season codling (from Pagham if I remember correctly) and lots of people agreed that stocks just weren't what they used to be. This applies to lots of species of sea fish. Not surprising though is it when you look at the amount of resistance to change expressed here. Great things come from small beginnings but we can't agree on small beginnings with loads of people preferring to support the 'I'm all right jack, sod the future'. So yes lots of species need protecting cos amongst them. But you have to start somewhere and if it can work with Bass then perhaps Cod next.....but then we don't want a short term impact on our good fishing for big benefit later...do we?

Of course this is just my individual view....

 

[albe2]

To be fair albe2 and cfish, anglers know where their hot spots are, places that produce good results at the right time of day, during the right state of tide with the right bait and tactics. Keen anglers will also keep log books listing everything from weather conditions to sea temperature and colour, in fact everything they need to know about their chosen venue, believe me it pays to keep a record of catches for personal use. RSA do not have to look at a venue where it is commercially viable to target bass, we are not built like that, one big bass can make an anglers year. Those places are still there but for some RSA they say the size of bass have been reduced over a number of years, their records show the decline in size and numbers.

Reg i'm not denying there are some good anglers out there but the vast majority go to easy access spots during daylight so it's hardly surprising they don't catch,like i said i rarely see anyone in the good spots at the right time.
As for not looking for somewhere commercially viable to target Bass,if i was shore fishing i think i would almost certainly want to go somewhere i knew there were good fish,some of the places i fish are within casting distance but there is never anyone there.

 

[psmith1958]

Reg i'm not denying there are some good anglers out there but the vast majority go to easy access spots during daylight so it's hardly surprising they don't catch,like i said i rarely see anyone in the good spots at the right time.
As for not looking for somewhere commercially viable to target Bass,if i was shore fishing i think i would almost certainly want to go somewhere i knew there were good fish,some of the places i fish are within casting distance but there is never anyone there.

"I rarely catch 40cm Bass and 4lb+"

Maybe there out looking for the bigger fish, but we all know there in decline

Tight Lines

 

[sparks]

There are anglers that go on right tides, fish for many hours, use the right bait, in the right type of sea in the right place and catch large Bass from the beach
There are anglers that live bait Makerel over wrecks or when the Bass are shoaled up they will take gill type lures or small pirks ( stingers ) sometimes feathers of various sorts
A ever growing number of Anglers spin for them
Match anglers target them
Apart from one, all the anglers posting on here are of the same opinion the general size Of Bass is getting smaller
I notice this with Cod while Wreck fishing still plenty of numbers but general size is Smaller
As I have posted before I think there is a unbalance happening,plenty of tiny bass, what eats small Bass?.... bigger Bass perhaps
The amount of skinny Whiting that is around? I do not remember catching them in such numbers in the past is it the lack of Cod?
If you have fish such as Rudd in a pond and no predators the pond fills up with stutted little Rudd why not the Sea?
I have caught roed up Bass on Kingmere in Febuary hardly bigger than 42cm and at a talk the other night I was informed that 50% of males mature at 36cm and 50% of Females mature at 42cm, surely giving it a try by increasing the size limit to 48cm is worth it
As for to many fish around and the price dropping stopping Trawlers tell that to the poor old Black Bream that end up dumped or animal feed/fertilizer
If it is there to be caught they will catch it or somebody else will
There is a limit of 5tons per week or 15tons per month just it appears no limit on how many boats can fish for them.........

Cheers Tony

 

[NeilSmith]

For clarification, I want a good deal for commercial fishers & RSAs and that has to mean effective stock management. That includes MLS & a range of other measures.

Reg, it's not too late to act on both fronts. I would gladly pay for a licence if it meant I contributed to the effective management of the resource in question. Thousands of RSAs must have some effect on stocks not at the scale of commercials but nevertheless.

Whiting in plague proportions shows that the fishery balance is messed up.

I'm amazed some people write as if everything is just fine. Get real.

 

[Flyguy]

Reg i'm not denying there are some good anglers out there but the vast majority go to easy access spots during daylight so it's hardly surprising they don't catch,like i said i rarely see anyone in the good spots at the right time.
As for not looking for somewhere commercially viable to target Bass,if i was shore fishing i think i would almost certainly want to go somewhere i knew there were good fish,some of the places i fish are within casting distance but there is never anyone there.

There are plenty of very talented anglers that have been bass fishing for many years that know the tides and spots to fish but have effectively given up as their fishing has declined so much.
Just because the odd double is caught it doesn't mean bass stocks are in good health.

 

[REG PHILLIPS]

For clarification, I want a good deal for commercial fishers & RSAs and that has to mean effective stock management. That includes MLS & a range of other measures.

Totally agree with that but I do not want to see RSA restrictions just for the sake of it. Hopefully by working alongside each other and communication with the 10 Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities we RSA can go some way to help achieve a better future for both stakeholders.

Reg, it's not too late to act on both fronts. I would gladly pay for a licence if it meant I contributed to the effective management of the resource in question. Thousands of RSAs must have some effect on stocks not at the scale of commercials but nevertheless.

We can act on both fronts Neil but we need a strong government that will put the British public fishery resource back in the control of Britain. We need the 10 Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities to listen to RSA and provide us with a protected recreational fishery and not use their remit as a way of simply ticking a few boxes.

Whiting in plague proportions shows that the fishery balance is messed up.

It's a bit too soon to state that. The whiting have always been there, ok, maybe not in such numbers but the reason could be that the last few years have seen very good spawning periods for whiting.

I'm amazed some people write as if everything is just fine. Get real.

Some of the guys posting on here are commercial fishermen and they have extensive knowledge of the marine environment. They participate in a world of fishing activity that RSA will never see. I hope they are right.

 

[NeilSmith]

Me too! But I've got doubts.

 

[Steve Pitts]

Some of the guys posting on here are commercial fishermen and they have extensive knowledge of the marine environment.

I think you'll find that the same could be said for many of the anglers too Reg.

I know many, many anglers who have fished for bass and other species for decades and they all say that the structure of the bass population has changed with a dramatic reduction in medium to large bass.
I have 30+ years bassing under my belt and I would agree with that statement

 

[REG PHILLIPS]

I think you'll find that the same could be said for many of the anglers too Reg.

I know many, many anglers who have fished for bass and other species for decades and they all say that the structure of the bass population has changed with a dramatic reduction in medium to large bass.
I have 30+ years bassing under my belt and I would agree with that statement

Absolutely, there are not many RSA out there who would say nothing has changed.

 

[mr codling]

Nice



SIR CODDERS