Thursday 4th Aug

[Newboy]

Went out on Electric Blue with a party of Solent Forum members.

 

Caught about a dozen bass to 7 1/2 lbs using floats fishing on the bridge. I caught 2 x 3-4 lbs, 1st and 2nd drift. I got bored and messed around with portland rig with stormies sandeels, macky, scad, jelly worms and shads. None caught anything until the weather turned really rough and spent the last hour in the solent but caught nothing.

 

Nice day, wonder if float fishing work in Portland races?!

[Manic Moore]

Kam

 

What was the setup for the float rig?

[Adam F]

Nice one Kam! Ill also be interested to hear how the Float rigs were set-up and fished?

 

I also hear that their was an issue with some of our boats fishing the waters around the island? That was what I heard on the radio for most of the day anyway?! Last time I checked the sea was a free place??

 

Adam

[Newboy]

Float kit is pretty simple.

 

From the bottom up:

 

a treble tie to 5-10' of flouro

it's then tie to a swivel.

a leader of about 20' is tie to the other end of the swivel.

from the 'free' end of leader you insert a bead, a 2oz ball lead, (another bead,) a large 6" float, and finally another bead.

Now tie the free end of the leader to your braid using a double fisherman knot (or any other you can think of) the knot itself acts as a stopper for the float. You must tie the leader to your braid, you can't join them up using a swivel as you need to wround the leader into your reel otherwise you won't be able to get close to the fish as the whole trace is about 25' long.

 

The way to use the float kit is easy. you drop your macky and float overboard just after you put the outboard into neutrel as the momentum will drag the float a few metres (well 5-10 is good) behind the boat. Now all you do is stick your rod in the rodholder, have a beer and watch the float. When a fish takes, the float will go under a few seconds longer than its usual dips caused by the macky trying to going under. You DON'T strike, you reel into the fish and very often the fish swim towards you and you think you'd lost the fish. Do have the clutch set as they do dive when they come to the boat. I was using a 9' bass rod together with my small spinning reel, the larger of the 2 bass dived 3 (or was it 4?) times before coming to the boat.

 

In a small boat with 2 fishing it's not going to matter much, but in a charter boat, drop over in stages so some floats are 20-30m away and some are closer in, and prepare to 'swap' rods as floats get cross over.

 

Do watch out for pot buoys as there were a couple on the bridge yesterday. Tomkat lost one of their float to the buoy.

 

At the end of the drift just stick the macky in a bucket and steam over to the start for another, do watch out for others fishing floats as the floats are small and they can be a fair old distance from the boat.

[Afishionado]

Float kit is pretty simple.

 

From the bottom up:

 

a treble tie to 5-10' of flouro

it's then tie to a swivel.

a leader of about 20' is tie to the other end of the swivel.

from the 'free' end of leader you insert a bead, a 2oz ball lead, (another bead,) a large 6" float, and finally another bead.

Now tie the free end of the leader to your braid using a double fisherman knot (or any other you can think of) the knot itself acts as a stopper for the float. You must tie the leader to your braid, you can't join them up using a swivel as you need to wround the leader into your reel otherwise you won't be able to get close to the fish as the whole trace is about 25' long.

 

The way to use the float kit is easy. you drop your macky and float overboard just after you put the outboard into neutrel as the momentum will drag the float a few metres (well 5-10 is good) behind the boat. Now all you do is stick your rod in the rodholder, have a beer and watch the float. When a fish takes, the float will go under a few seconds longer than its usual dips caused by the macky trying to going under. You DON'T strike, you reel into the fish and very often the fish swim towards you and you think you'd lost the fish. Do have the clutch set as they do dive when they come to the boat. I was using a 9' bass rod together with my small spinning reel, the larger of the 2 bass dived 3 (or was it 4?) times before coming to the boat.

 

In a small boat with 2 fishing it's not going to matter much, but in a charter boat, drop over in stages so some floats are 20-30m away and some are closer in, and prepare to 'swap' rods as floats get cross over.

 

Do watch out for pot buoys as there were a couple on the bridge yesterday. Tomkat lost one of their float to the buoy.

 

At the end of the drift just stick the macky in a bucket and steam over to the start for another, do watch out for others fishing floats as the floats are small and they can be a fair old distance from the boat.

Re float......... Justa thought worrabout a half inflated baloon tied to a small slider by cotton thread? Would that make it more visible at a distance?

 

Mad Mike

[Swainiac]

Kam, I was interested to see the horrible mess happening on the caharter boats!! I used a simple portland style rig, and eight foot fluero leader to size 4/0 circle streamer, a four inch scad as livebait, and the weight was a four ounce bopedo. You may have seen us drifting farther back a cross the bridge from you guys, we were having savage takes much afrther back from the fast water, and less risk of tackle loss.

 

As far as Mr Skeggs goes, he seems to think that he has always been a charter skipper, and invented drifting across the bridge for bass. He cut up the boats on the drift, and was very close to getting reported to the appropraite agency for bad seamanship. His actions in fornt of smaller vessels was quite dangerous, making these vessels change course, and shouting across to clear off, as this was HIS mark!! What a t*sser!

 

Its just a good job that mobile phones have video capability these days, as I can see further incidences happening with this single minded chap. I think he is intent on clearing the bass from this area singlehandedly, judging by the number of bass killed on his charter boat this year! Hey ho! Horses for courses. I know which boat I wont be using out of Lymington!!

 

Rich

[Newboy]

Surely we can't blame the skipper for catching fish? After all it's the angler who catch the fish, if he decides to keep every single fish he landed that's his prorocative. For example if Adam takes you out on Blue Warrior and you landed 20 bass and decided to keep them all, since you promised Aunt Sue a bass, Uncle Herbert 1, 2 for Cousin Pete, next door neighbour wanted 1 and so is Mr Brown down at pub,...... (I know you won't, it's just an example) no one here will blame Adam, all we think is what an a**hole you are and Adam says he might not take you out again.

 

I have seen angler who keeps everything, I do mean everything. I have also seen angler coming back with boxes of fish. Personally, I only take what I can eat in the next 3 days, i.e keeping in fridge. I set out decided to keep 2 bass, I caught 2 and anything after I would have released.

 

It would be nice if there is a daily limit as to how many fish we can keep on each species. I think somewhere in Ireland you are only allow to keep 2 bass, so is some place in the USA. In Australia, with certain type of fish, you are allowed a number in you possession, i.e., even fish caught 2 years ago which is still in you freezer counts!

 

We angler keep yapping on about trawlers killing off the fish stock, we can do so much too, it's a case of whether we want to do it. Take home what you can eat while it's still fresh and stop taking fish as present for friends and relative back on dry land.

 

How about skippers limiting what the punters can take home?

[Afishionado]

As Kam says........I think somewhere in Ireland you are only allow to keep 2 bass, so is some place in the USA

 

VERY strict in FL, nth and sth CA, Mass, infact most of the eastern seaboard that I know of.

 

Active regular (2/3 times a day) inspections of angling boats whilst they are fishing.

(As my wife will tell you "georgeous male hunks in wet suits, riding jet skis)

 

Regulations on size, season, and catch keep (if any).

 

Penalty........????

 

You better believe it!!!!

 

Confiscation of all tackle, boat , trailer, and vehicle used.

 

All confiscated items go to the County auction sale at the end of the month.

 

I am told there is great amusement amongst the crowd at seeing a guy trying to buy back his outfit.

 

Apparantly these days it is pretty much self policing. The sport angler and his business is taken very seriously and as all boats are regestered and easy to identify some one will allways report an angler taking undersized/over catch limit fish.

 

With our commercial fishing industry contracting so much because of fish quotas based on rapidly declining fish stocks, surely sport angling is well placed to be a big revenue earner for the country. Why the PTB (powers that be) prevaricate and generaly sod about lord only knows.

 

Mad Mike (going off on one)

[Gnasher]

With the amount of posts in here about large amounts of bass being caught, decent size fish to boot, they seem as common as muck. Compare that to the Cod, the winter was very tough and not many fish landed, most most of the cod were kept without anybody saying anything. Everyone says bass is a sport fish, but I think it tastes the best of the lot and I would take a few IF I caught them. I see people in here making excuses about trying to release bass, but they take them because they wont swim off, but if its a cod they catch, bash it on the head and no one says anything. During the last winter, charter skippers were only reporting a couple of cod per session, compared to 10, 20 or even 30 large bass that they are catching this summer. If a few want to go in the fish box to eat, then so be it, a 7-8lb fish dosn't seem that rare no more does it. Surley it would make more sense to talk about protecting cod stocks!!!!

 

I may be wrong, but Just thinking aloud

[Maverick Martin]

Dan

 

I think you may be correct

 

I also think you will find most members of pbsbac are conservation minded and only take fish for their own consumption which is great. Bass as you say do seem to be more prolific than previous years with several near double figure fish registered in the club catch ledger. I would place money that a large proportion of those fish were returned alive to the sea.

 

Regarding cod, that is as you say a different story. With anglers catching them infrequently it is understandable that when they do catch the odd one it will be taken for the table. Last winter I tried cod fishing on several occasions but never caught one winter fish.

 

Personally I never take fish to give away and only take the odd fish for myself. I do not however have a problem with others taking a few fish for their own consumption although crew on my boat would not be allowed to bag up to fill their freezers.

 

Conservation should be an all encompassing issue not just concentrating on one particular species or area. We as anglers can do our part by policing our own activities and reporting those that abuse the current laws. Until the PTB get their act together and realise that fish in the sea are worth more than fish in the shops there's not a lot else we can do other than support the national angling bodies efforts

 

Martin

[Newboy]

I think it's all to do with grow rate and maturity rate.

 

Cod can grow to 0.5m in 3-4 years which is considered matured. While bass will take much longer, something like over 10 years. I don't have the figures for bass, but I'm sure it's in the B.A.S.S wbbsite. I seemed to remember the bass Rich released in Alderney last year (14lb?) someone mentioned it is probably 20+years old.

 

Also I will say no chef will consider a fillet of bass from fish larger than 5 lb, as the flesh is way too firm/chewy. The best serving weigh is about 2-3lb, young flesh that melts in your mouth but with a decent amount of meat.

[Maverick Martin]

Also I will say no chef will consider a fillet of bass from fish larger than 5 lb, as the flesh is way too firm/chewy. The best serving weigh is about 2-3lb, young flesh that melts in your mouth but with a decent amount of meat.

 

I would agree with that and would rather take smaller fish and return the larger fish that are currently contributing to the increase in fish stocks by being of breeding size

 

Martin

[Swainiac]

Kam, your observations are correct, smaller bass are tasty, larger bass are wooley. However, to see group photos of the anglers on a boat all holding double figure bass aloft for a "Trophy picture" I personally find horrific. You're not telling me that all those anglers in these group shots caught double figure bass on the same drift, photographed them and then released them!! I for one, am not that naive!

 

My Alderney Bass of almost 13lb, was possibly 30 plus years old, but it does depend on the areas they are feeding, and protein input.

 

I know charter skippers who only allow a single eel to be taken, during eel bashes over wrecks..which makes semse, if all the eels are removed, there will come a time when none are present. I still firmly believe that the club ahs the right attitude for catch and release, and I beleive that is what makes it the club it is, and the members set themselves aside form many other groups along the coastal ares of our country.

 

Rich

[Maverick Martin]

I still firmly believe that the club ahs the right attitude for catch and release, and I beleive that is what makes it the club it is, and the members set themselves aside form many other groups along the coastal ares of our country.

 

I agree with that statement Rich and certainly wouldn't remain a member if that changed

 

Martin

 

PS I managed to decipher the fat thumb syndrome mistakes

[jack]

You have our word for it that Andy and I have not kept too many Bass or Cod since joining the club....Nor for a long time before joining,for that matter,and now I think about it we have never even ca.........Oh well, it's the thought that counts.!Jack

[Gnasher]

only take whats going to be eaten and enjoyed. Bass/cod/skate/conger etc, it dosn't make a difference, just that I think its more than bass that need conservation and I think most would agree. As to the taste of a large bass, I wouldn't know, dont catch 'em, hehe. If its 10lb or 2lb, if the person who catches it is going to sit down and enjoy it with a glass of wine then so be it. Mass kills for the sake of it, or for pics is a different story. 'nuff said

[great white]

I agree whole heartidly,

 

Having seen the way fish are protected in New Zealand from over fishing by anglers and commercials,

its about time something was done over here.

 

Some species in NZ [Kingfish Marlin etc] are so protected that you can not buy it legally.

If you want to eat it you first have to catch it. and you can not even give it away if you catch it.

 

Plenty of fish are released to swim away .especially when to be caught costs you boat ,car, trailer and all kit.

 

Charlie

[Newboy]

Page 11 of this month's BFM, Giles Govier won the National Dinghy festival with 75lbs of rays and dogs......that's a lot of dogs and rays, I hope he likes rays and dogfish....

[Sam]

i saw that i dont even like killing one doggie or ray let alone 75lbs worth.

 

sam