[Julian M]

Is it just me or is anyone else getting pis*ed off by the number of double figure bass being pulled up from the Beuie Rondal - (or whatever it's called ) , off Guernsey ?

I just bumped into someone who was out from Jersey yesterday who boasted about "getting 22" , whilst someone else "got loads", including 4 over 10 lbs the day before...... and they're both going back within the next few days !

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this a breeding ground with all bass caught being full of roe ? ... forget about catch & release here !

Whilst I accept everyone's right to fish there , (although I would be interested in a conservationist's view point), what really irritates me is recreational fishermen who boast about the size of their catch in what amounts to chucking a Yann ("we don't do sandeels you know") into a fish farm....

RANT over..............

 

[Andy Marquis]

Completely agree. They are all roed up and a lot of them are doubles. The UK rod record has been broken several times but not claimed by commercials. In fact I heard of at least 2 fish over 20lb on the rod when it first started.

It's madness. Pure greed by commercial fishermen with no thought for either their future or their kids etc future. And as for Crapaud anglers making the trip. Well. What can I say other than I hope Mick won't serve them if he knows who they are.

 

[Keith White]

This should be stopped. We've said it before and each year, they keep hammering the golden goose.
Its pure greed with no thought toward anyone else, the future or the species.

 

[Julian M]

..... I didn't mention the commercials as I expect no better from them, I can say that now as Mr Andre isn't going to jump up and down on this site !

What I don't understand is the recreational attitude and how they can regard this as sport.

Why don't the donkey fisheries do something about it ? .............wouldn't happen in Jersey !

 

[kevin white]

What I don't understand is the recreational attitude and how they can regard this as sport.

Why don't the donkey fisheries do something about it ? .............wouldn't happen in Jersey !

the problem is.......i think they would let it happen here as well.

kev

 

[Retired]

Is there any bigger contrast between the mindsets of commercial fishermen and sport anglers?

It would definitely happen here, our commercials are going over there to fish aren't they? Why wouldn't they want to cash in?

A solution might be a ban but we don't seem to be going in that direction despite a lot of unhappiness about the whole scenario.

To be honest its a bit galling to be putting fish back only to wonder if they'll end up there, although we might have separate stocks to some extent.

Where is CP when you need him.

 

[The Squid]

I think that what seems to be an ever growing mentality in commercial fisherman E.G. just take it all and bugger the future seems to prevale. Sadly this mentallity also seems to be on the increase in recreational fisherman.

I think the golden goose problem would happen in Jersey and fisheries would not stop it.

When Bass fishing I self impose a two fish bag limit, with a minimum 2lb 8oz weight per fish.

If we are to save the Bass stocks Jersey should ban all shore netting and trot lining to start with.

I'm going now my blood pressure just peeked :bangin: :bangin: :bangin:

 

[Andy Marquis]

You mention minimum weights there...

Surely the big fish have a better spawning rate, more eggs, stronger gene pool etc etc.

I have a MAXIMUM weight limit on fish I will take. After I kept my first 8 which was 8-12 on verm, I promised myself I would never do it again so my 8-4 went back in April this year. I did keep a 6 but it didn't want to go back.

If I catch one in an open comp I may have a moral dilemna...

Hope I don;t start some political sh1t here. Don't want to make it like WSF and locked threads.

 

[Keith White]

Hope I don;t start some political sh1t here. Don't want to make it like WSF and locked threads.

It''s actually quite refreshing to see such a sore subject discussed so rationally.

 

[Chris Guest]

Guys I fish out of Dartmouth South Devon and there is a Shingle Bank close to the mouth of the Dart that gets hammered by Rod and Line Anglers both commercial and recreatioal (joke) the "Dart" has been designated as a nursery area and no boat fishing for Bass is allowed, when the Bass reach a certain size (1lb+) many of them move out and congregate over this "bank" its there they meet there fate without getting the chance to spawn, sorry but it absolutley fxxking disgusts me when you see it happening it is just pure fxxking greed with little skill involved and plenty of empty bragging rights.
Sorry to harp on about joining B.A.S.S but they are our only mouthpiece with Government legislation and they care..........
As an aside it might well be worth doing a "lure forum" event and making a donation to their restoration project.

 

[Mick Ward]

It sickens me too, I have actually been asked to go up to the Boue for a go but I refused, not my bag man. How lovely would it be to be able to go to a place like that and see light tackle and c&r. I had a customer this morning that went up there last week, he had 22 bass to about 8lb, and he admitted to me he should have only brought back 2 or 3 as he didnt kow what to do with them!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!! And he then tells me he is off up there again soon, lets hope he puts them back but I doubt if he will. Oh and if we had a Boue here you bet your a*s it would be hammered to death, probably worse than Gsy.

 

[The Squid]

You mention minimum weights there...

Surely the big fish have a better spawning rate, more eggs, stronger gene pool etc etc.

I have a MAXIMUM weight limit on fish I will take. After I kept my first 8 which was 8-12 on verm, I promised myself I would never do it again so my 8-4 went back in April this year. I did keep a 6 but it didn't want to go back.

If I catch one in an open comp I may have a moral dilemna...

Hope I don;t start some political sh1t here. Don't want to make it like WSF and locked threads.

Now what you mean about comp fishing,

Yes, I also self impose a Maximum take home weight at 5lb. Started doing that when I took a Double home, and have regreted it ever since, for some reason I could not dispatch that fish and I gave it away the following day.



And for those in Jersey who have seen the Pick with me holding a double figure Bass outside my home, Yes I did take it (no I did not eat it as by that time I wished I had put it back

 

[Andy Marquis]

The open comps are the problem ones as you have to weigh them in and it's hard to keep a shore fish alive without a boat and big tank.

Our bass club allows you to weigh your own fish if you have had your scales checked out (some of our guys are Goldsmiths so they have the kit to check accuracy by testing against known weights), and then you can return them so it works on trust. Only the one club allows it though, hence I am a member of that one!!

Why can't other things work like this?? I won a club FOM voucher with a C&R 8-4, I took a pic and all but it's still trust.

 

[Keith White]

with all the technology at our disposal in these modern times, there is no need to kill fish for an open or
any other comp. There is no excuse really.

 

[Ben Field]

Agreed. I think that it's just a case of a LOT of comps that go on these days, killing fish and taking them to be weighed is just how it's always been done. Too many people stuck in their ways and perhaps(?) too lazy to change things. All it needs is some thought.

EDIT: ...just to add, and in contrast, I don't think things can always work on 'trust' either. For small, friendly club comps maybe but on the whole...... I know too many dishonest fishermen. More thought required... :?:

 

[Chris Guest]

Guys Comp fishing......I fish some (charity)Redfish tournaments in the U.S.A forget weighing them, you get a camera and a tape measure that way everthing goes back alive its easy, nothing to stop that happening here, they also fish to a slot size that way the small fish are released to grow and spawn, the breeders are released to continue spawning and your allowed to take one medium fish that at least had the chance to spawn, also you cannot fillet your fish at sea that way they can be checked on the dock,they have got it so right with their sport fish, we really only have one and thats our beloved Bass, if anyone wants to fish with me on my boat they know its total C&R thats just my rules, i could'nt bring my self to bang one of them "things" on the head.

 

[Marc D...]

I had a customer this morning that went up there last week, he had 22 bass to about 8lb, and he admitted to me he should have only brought back 2 or 3 as he didnt kow what to do with them!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!! And he then tells me he is off up there again soon, lets hope he puts them back but I doubt if he will.

you should have introduced him to the fine art of d1khead gaffing Mick?.. :twisted:

 

[Retired]

Let's recognise that we are talking about a fairly extreme fishery in terms of numbers and size of bass.

I get equally frustrated about the targetting of large shoals of schoolies every winter by inshore gill netters. Several hundreds of pounds in weight not uncommon in a big haul. Again, why wouldn't they do it if it is legal and they want to make a good living? There is nothing illegitimate about what is happening, whether we like it or not.

But there are unseen consequences. One of the most memorable experiences I have had in fishing (for the wrong reasons) was an early morning bait fishing session in the surf on a local beach about 10 years ago . Not so far away an inshore boat was lifting and cleaning a bass net a few hundred metres long. For about an hour, I had a steady stream of dead undersize bass drifting down the tide towards me and floating around me. If I had had a camera it would have been a solemn picture to show you. No doubt they didn't want to cause that collateral damage but the fact is it happens.

We cannot really expect the Govt to buy out bass fishermen with a track record in the same way that estuary salmon netters have been bought out in some parts by salmon fishery owners. However, could the authorities perhaps cap the number of relevant licences in issue, assign them to individual fishermen specifically and make them non-transferable so that the number of licences goes down to nil in a generation or two?

At the moment, sadly, the best conservation measure we have is very bad weather but even that doesn't stop the pair trawlers. And a bad winter itself can damage immature fish stocks as research reported by B.A.S.S. has shown. So do we pray for bad weather to help save mature stocks at the risk of immature stocks or vice versa? Difficult one.

Maybe B.A.S.S. is the right forum to take these arguments forward. They are sensitive issues in coastal communities and rightly so, but they do need to be aired and in a constructive manner. Taking a staunch polarised view might demonstrate a praiseworthy (and very self-satisfying) degree of conviction but it is unlikely to get us anywhere.

I'll get my coat.........

 

[Andy H]

The management of the Boue Blondel fishery is a disappointment to say the least (cue rant about spawning fish being taken from the sea etc etc................................. :x )

I can't help but think that when it all collapses, the very people who chose to go there and 'bag up' will blame sea fisheries for their lack of management and authority.

 

[Keith White]

I can't help but think that when it all collapses, the very people who chose to go there and 'bag up' will blame sea fisheries for their lack of management and authority.

That is exactly what will happen. They forget, actually, don't care, that the fishing industry is much bigger than their own greed. They'll pass the buck alright. I'd bet they have letter in draft already.