"sea" bass have got more protection

cervushunter

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

I know that several of you are into fishing when your not stalking , myself i am into lure fishing especially for bass and have been for several years and in that time i have seen a big decline in numbers around our estuary and coast.

It may be a small step and some will say misguided but i say anything is better than nothing.

I will openly admit that i take , kill and eat several each year and i still dont mind these restrictions.

hopefully this link will work
http://www.henry-gilbey.com/blog/recreational-fishing-accounts-for-25-of-sea-bass-mortality-really

Mark
 
I also fully agree with this new ruling. I think its about time, I also think minimum size should be put up to 40cm and that comercial fisherman should be much more restricted on bass.

I love fishing for bass, although i do my fishing with a speargun... Without self control you could quite easily take double figures of these fish in a session and i know many a spearo that do shoot to excess. The only problem I can see here is that its not really an enforcable law. Many people will have the self control to allow them to do what is right by the fish, but many will still ignore the new rulings and do whatever they like.

But like you say, every little helps...

cheers

KS
 
I have caught and released upwards of 60 school Bass in a session at Westwood Ho! got to be honest and say I've never bothered to take one for the pot as they are rarely legal length,
I have seen people trying to net them with a long net (along with the mullet that hang out in the surf close in) but haven't actually seen any caught as the sneaky buggers jump the net :lol:
I have also some years ago seen a couple of trawlers (allegedly Spanish) pair netting across the Estuary, I would have thought that would have more effect on Bass levels than recreational fishing?
 
I have practised catch and release for years taking the odd fish for the table , whilst I think the new rules are a step in the right direction there needs to be much more controls on the commercial fisherman as far as I know there are no quotas there's lots of inshore netter taking a lot of fish much more than the rod and line guys .
who is going to enforce these laws and how ?.
 
I too spear fish and could take many more than actually sensible, IMO the main issues from recent experiences and conversation certainly pertain to the private 'fast fisher' owner and his mates, who can in many instances get the ground quicker than the licensed fisherman and either live bait the daylights out of the spot or net and long line all day releasing nothing, I have seen this practice with my own eyes.

However the opinion of an old boy I know who just sold his license because of this very reason said he thought that we were better off taking the Bass under 4lb and releasing everything else as the life cycle and breeding was misunderstood and this species had suffered through poor scientific observation, this caused a dip in the breeding stocks that may not be regenerated for the next 7-11 years by which time more damage will have been done unless farmed bass is promoted....I am not a fan of farmed fish for a variety of biological & environmental reasons but I was not really sure about his comments..

any views or more accurate info on this?
 
I too fish for Bass with fly and lure but as much as I love too eat them rarely keep 1 for the pot.

As per rick6point5's comments, an old fisherman told me years ago that the bigger fish are the breeding machines and that it is better to let them go, for that reason, right or wrong, I only ever keep a just legal fish.
 
What can I say...I was a gill netter in the solway for 2 years...did every tide no matter the weather or time...caught thousands of bass and in total 27 different species of fish. Local fishermen (rod and line) used to come down and see my catch to see if it was worth them fishing....best day £670...worst 2 weeks 720 dogfish and wrapped up nets....this was my sole form of income at the time and I don't regret it.
 
I fully agree with taking measures to protect bass, recreational anglers are more and more releasing most of their fish and I'd be happy with taking a maximum of one per day, I took one last season! I also think the size limit should be increased so that the fish spawn at least once before they become legal. I also think that there should be a maximum size as there's no reason to keep double figure fish.

One thing I don't believe is that recreational anglers are responsible for 25% of the bass taken however that's fairly irrelevant at the moment.
 
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I fully agree with taking measures to protect bass, recreational anglers are more and more releasing most of their fish and I'd be happy with taking a maximum of one per day, I took one last season! I also think the size limit should be increased so that the fish spawn at least once before they become legal. I also think that there should be a maximum size as there's no reason to keep double figure fish.

One thing I don't believe is that recreational anglers are responsible for 25% of the bass taken however that's fairly irrelevant at the moment.

I agree with all of what you're saying except for the not keeping double figure fish, if you're happy to keep a 9lb fish whats the difference to an 11 looking at it in a subjective way?

Personally i like to shoot around the 3lb mark, although i may treat myself to a larger specimen once a season or so

KS
 
I agree with all of what you're saying except for the not keeping double figure fish, if you're happy to keep a 9lb fish whats the difference to an 11 looking at it in a subjective way?

Personally i like to shoot around the 3lb mark, although i may treat myself to a larger specimen once a season or so

KS

No, you're quite right, I used the expression "double figure" to indicate the bigger fish, personally I'd not keep a 9lber either and would only keep a fish in something like the 3 to 5lb range and not that many of them.
 
What can I say...I was a gill netter in the solway for 2 years...did every tide no matter the weather or time...caught thousands of bass and in total 27 different species of fish. Local fishermen (rod and line) used to come down and see my catch to see if it was worth them fishing....best day £670...worst 2 weeks 720 dogfish and wrapped up nets....this was my sole form of income at the time and I don't regret it.

Do you think the numbers and variety of species are still there, did you notice any decline? admittedly only over a couple of years.
 
No, you're quite right, I used the expression "double figure" to indicate the bigger fish, personally I'd not keep a 9lber either and would only keep a fish in something like the 3 to 5lb range and not that many of them.

appologies, I obviously took it too literally. I do tend to take more bass than most, however I have always only taken what i required for the plate for the next day or two. On occasion I will have gone over that 3 fish limit that has now been imposed. However I will very happily now stick to that 3 fish limit.

cheers

KS
 
As per usual, commercial fishing does the serious damage and inefficient single rod and line suffers arbitrary limits. See what happened to Eels?
 
Do you think the numbers and variety of species are still there, did you notice any decline? admittedly only over a couple of years.

Interestingly I can remember when bass were a very rare fish in the Solway, an occasional fish at Luce Bay causing great excitement this being about as far north as bass got in the UK at the time, the time being the 60s.
 
The reason i asked about species decline being noticed within a short time frame is because i have fished shore and boat for years from Selsey Bill to Lands end and lots of North Coast Devon & Cornwall, rod and line fishing has remained pretty level as far as results go but.. I do also spear fish D&C and have for a long time and there has been either a sharp decline in numbers or i have become a lot worse at spear fishing, I know more folk are doing it but the actual visual impression i have is less fish with the exception of various wrasse species which have become quite prevalent & large.
 
The reason i asked about species decline being noticed within a short time frame is because i have fished shore and boat for years from Selsey Bill to Lands end and lots of North Coast Devon & Cornwall, rod and line fishing has remained pretty level as far as results go but.. I do also spear fish D&C and have for a long time and there has been either a sharp decline in numbers or i have become a lot worse at spear fishing, I know more folk are doing it but the actual visual impression i have is less fish with the exception of various wrasse species which have become quite prevalent & large.


Rick,

Ive only speared for about the last 5 years. But I would agree with you there, Ive noticed a bit of a decline even in such a short space of time. Even night diving doesn't yield the way it did about 2-3 years ago. Wasn't sure if it was just I was having bad seasons though haha
 
Hi all,

I know that several of you are into fishing when your not stalking , myself i am into lure fishing especially for bass and have been for several years and in that time i have seen a big decline in numbers around our estuary and coast.

It may be a small step and some will say misguided but i say anything is better than nothing.

I will openly admit that i take , kill and eat several each year and i still dont mind these restrictions.

hopefully this link will work
http://www.henry-gilbey.com/blog/recreational-fishing-accounts-for-25-of-sea-bass-mortality-really

Mark

Hello Mark how you doing? you'll be just the man I need for some advice later this year, going to take up some lure fishing, ( when the surgeon lets me go back to work, shortly I hope )
 
Rick,

Ive only speared for about the last 5 years. But I would agree with you there, Ive noticed a bit of a decline even in such a short space of time. Even night diving doesn't yield the way it did about 2-3 years ago. Wasn't sure if it was just I was having bad seasons though haha

I have noticed many more seals at a few of my more remote spots who will be having an effect but still something is up for sure, even blanked more times than i care to mention with my pots too & there have been less velvet swimmers about. the answer I think is go more often or find a waterproof trail cam!
 
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