[kevin white]

i know this may upset a few people,

but for those that like to eat fish, we should have a list of preferred food item's that they have eaten during the year,from different area's around the UK and IRELAND, if each person could take the time to examine the food items and photograph etc and then this could be complied into a bar gragh or similar,it may take several years to get some data, but once the fish is dead, we might as well learn as much as possible from it.

kev

 

[Keith White]

I agree...

Don't start killing every fish to do this but, if you do take one...

Lets see the stomach contents please.

 

[Dave Irving]

Great idea, may throw up some interesting results.
I had a couple of bass cough up sandeels on the beach last year. The sandeels were almost spot on 5" long.
Caught South east england, clean sand shingle beach.

 

[Tim Griffin]

I keep the odd fish and always inspect stomach contents. Last year was almost entirely small hard back crabs (thumbnail size). One fish we returned coughed up a little goby and a pristine codling (all of two inches long) whilst waiting for it's photo call. I hardly found any sandeels in the fish we kept.

 

[kevin white]

well if enough people seem interested in doing this, we'll make this a sticky and make some kind of graph and start putting the data together, if we can, try and put down food types found, what location, keep it simple like what part of the coastline and the type of ground you where fishing, beach, mixed ground etc.

kev

 

[Mark C]

Maybe worth try getting the spoon type things they use for trout to see what they have being eating if you dont want to kill the fish, and are still interested in seeing what its eaten,

just a thought

 

[Mike Kennard]

I have kept a few bass in the past and what always surprises me is that even when caught plugging the stomach contents are predominantly small crabs. I appreciate small fish will digest quicker than hard back crabs but sometimes even fry feeders have nothing but crab in them. Maybe they have coughed them up during the fight?

 

[Iestyn Jones]

Maybe worth try getting the spoon type things they use for trout to see what they have being eating if you dont want to kill the fish, and are still interested in seeing what its eaten,

just a thought

I would not suggest doing this!!!! trout anglers use them on fish they have killed without the need to gut them whilst fishing. It would inverably cause death to the fish ihmo.

 

[Andy Marquis]

I had a fish from Gaz last year in our festival which contained two full size hard velvet crabs and a fair size sand sole. Took a photo somewhere which i'll dig out for you. It was taken on our South coast in an undisclosed area.

 

[Mark C]

I would not suggest doing this!!!! trout anglers use them on fish they have killed without the need to gut them whilst fishing. It would inverably cause death to the fish ihmo.

Ok ive only ever watched some one do it, but if it harms the fish then ill leave it

 

[Retired]

An interesting effect of food consumption is the effect on fish's behaviour before and after feeding.

We see a lot of fish in early season stuffed with shore crab. The only way they can digest that lot is to rest up over slack and they like doing that in certain places. So, food type drives behaviour and location after consumption as well as before it.

Well I think its interesting anyway....

 

[Keith White]

We see a lot of fish in early season stuffed with shore crab. The only way they can digest that lot is to rest up over slack and they like doing that in certain places. So, food type drives behaviour and location after consumption as well as before it.

Well I think its interesting anyway....

Couldn't agree more.

When crabbing, we bottom bounce crankbaits.

When resting after crabbing, they still might take a smaller offering.

I like to find resting japweed bed fish for that.

 

[steve mullins]

Mid April they can be stuffed to spewing point with worm,this is the time of year several of our ragworm species come out of the ground to free swim while spawning.They also feed heavily on lugworm during the first storms of winter,beds can build up during the summer with the lug only 6 to 8 inches below the surface.Have seen up to 18 inches of sand go in one storm,churning up all the lugworm,easy pickings for the Bass but with so much easy food theres less chance of us hooking up.
Was gutting a couple of fish i'd caught from the east coast on the ebb tide one summers day in the early eighties,they were full of very fresh sandeel.Later the same day just before high tide i had a couple more keepers,when gutted they were full of crab,one of which was just about alive.It was such an obvious contrast in feeding patterns that i started to take note(which i have done ever since),more often than not Bass gutted on the low had more baitfish,Bass gutted on the high had more crab.My theory was that on the ebb tide they sat behind submerged rocks to pick up any baitfish washed out by the tide.As the tide flooded back through the shallows they would try & get the crabs as they came out of there hideouts to feed.Its a theory that helped me to many great fishing days.Slightly deeper heads on the ebb,into the shallows on the flood. This would hold true in this area till the first proper storms of the winter.

 

[Tim Griffin]

Sounds very plausible, Steve. I'll bear that in mind...

 

[Keith White]

Mid April they can be stuffed to spewing point with worm,this is the time of year several of our ragworm species come out of the ground to free swim while spawning.They also feed heavily on lugworm during the first storms of winter,beds can build up during the summer with the lug only 6 to 8 inches below the surface.Have seen up to 18 inches of sand go in one storm,churning up all the lugworm,easy pickings for the Bass but with so much easy food theres less chance of us hooking up.
Was gutting a couple of fish i'd caught from the east coast on the ebb tide one summers day in the early eighties,they were full of very fresh sandeel.Later the same day just before high tide i had a couple more keepers,when gutted they were full of crab,one of which was just about alive.It was such an obvious contrast in feeding patterns that i started to take note(which i have done ever since),more often than not Bass gutted on the low had more baitfish,Bass gutted on the high had more crab.My theory was that on the ebb tide they sat behind submerged rocks to pick up any baitfish washed out by the tide.As the tide flooded back through the shallows they would try & get the crabs as they came out of there hideouts to feed.Its a theory that helped me to many great fishing days.Slightly deeper heads on the ebb,into the shallows on the flood. This would hold true in this area till the first proper storms of the winter.

Brilliant post Steve.
Thanks m8. I've mentioned the worm hatch for years and received crazy stares..

Wacky trick worms work a treat.

 

[keith Ogden]

I have never inspected the stomach of a bass so sorry if this is off topic but while fishing a deepwater mark on anglsey last april had a good day on the pollack on the soft plastics and kept two for my tea both fish were about 3lb and were stuffed full of pipefish . Could this be seen as a bad thing for the sandeel population there natural diet because as far as im aware pipefish are low in nutritional value so wouldn't think they would go out of thier way to eat them if sandeel were available.Again sorry if slightly off topic.

 

[Sam Lempriere]

Last September I was amazed to see the number and size of whitebait in the stomachs of some mackerel I caught on plugs.

It was a real frenzied feeding and they were clearly stuffing in as many as possible.

One had 4 good size ones in its stomach and one hanging out of its mouth and STILL went for my lure too.

 

[Andy H]

A great topic this!

Just to add to this........ the one fish I kept in July of last year (it wouldn't go back), it had a small sole and a smelt type fish in its gut along with the whole foot (no shell) of a medium size limpet!

One can only make assumptions as to how it got the limpet in there............can't help wondering if it got it off the rock wrasse style.

 

[Bagpuss]

The only bass that I have kept in recent years had a large smelt in it, the bass was about 3lb.

Just on the worm spawning thing. I have witnessed white ragworm on my local beach at low water on a very very windy late winter / early spring night, coming to the surface of the beach & spawning on mass. White ragworm love juices blowing all along the beach. Very romantic I seem to remember.