BASS magazine 118

Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society Officers of the Society Chairman: John Leballeur 69 Langstone Drive, Exmouth, Devon. EX8 4HZ

Telephone: 01395 270725

Email: jrleballeur@v21.me.uk

Vice-chairman: John Morgan 30 Thomas Street, Port Talbot, West Glam. SA12 6LT

01639-793390

john.morgan500@ ntlworld.com

Secretary: Simon Everett Hildene, West Hill, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. ST14 8BN

01889-566796

simon@optical-art.co.uk

Treasurer: John Halton Millway Cottage, Hoofield Lane, Huxley, Chester. CH3 9BR 01829-781488

haltojfe@btinternet.com

Committee members Diane Rawles, 58 Sycamore Avenue, Chandlers Ford, Hampshire. SO53 5RE. Phil Hyde, 37 Church Street, Paignton, Devon. TQ3 3AJ. 01803-409127 jh018c2560@blueyonder.co.uk Andy Davies, 56 Fore St, Praze-an-Beeble, Camborne, Cornwall. TR14 0JU 01209-831539 andrewdavies@westcountryflyfishing.com Steve Pruett, Chinquita, 89 Elm Tree Road, Locking, Weston-Super-Mare. BS24 8EL Frank Whittingham, Shawe Cottage, Shawe Park, Kingsley Holt, Nr. Cheadle, Staffordshire. ST10 2DL Andy Rye, 24 Scott Road, Milehouse, Plymouth, Devon. PL2 3DX. 01752-562675 Steve Binckes (details below) Catch Recorders: Allan Hughes, 19 Kestrel Close, Ferndown, Dorset. BH22 9TW, for Southern England, Channel Islands & Europe.

John Morgan, (details above) for Northern England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

Magazine editor: Steve Binckes 42 Tudor Way Church Crookham, Fleet, Hants. GU52 6LX

01252-626948

steve.binckes@virgin.net

Magazine printer: Colourflow (www.colourflow.com) Fish-In coordinator: Phil Hyde (details above) Restoration Project Team John Leballeur (Chairman), Steve Pitts, Malcolm Gilbert, Bob Cox, Geoff Hancock, Frank Beaugendre, and Leon Roskilly Auditor: Gerard Twigger Items for sale (from Treasurer): Sew-on Badges…..£5.50 Car Stickers …...£1.50 Key Fobs (with BASS Badge Logo)….£4.00 Enamel Badges ….£4.00 Back issue CD-Rom (1-95)…..£32.00 Current subscription rates (last changed in January 2003): Adult £18.00 OAP & Junior £9.00 Family, Affiliating Club, or Organisation £27.00 Items for the magazine should go to the editor, subscriptions and renewals to the treasurer. All other correspondence including membership enquiries should go to the secretary. The views expressed in this magazine are those of the individual contributor except where officers are clearly writing on behalf of the Society. Copyright of material remains with the authors except for official reports and similar items that are copyright to BASS.

BASS Magazine 118 Editorial By Steve Binckes

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elcome to BASS 118, in this issue we continue to see a diverse bass fishing culture from a variety of venues, including another foreign Country. In the last issue we covered Norway, this time it’s Italy and the Mediterranean. I’m hoping to obtain some more information on this part of the world for future magazines but until then, I’d like to thank Marco for his contribution and have placed him on the cover of 118.

we will endeavour to send a replacement. Other than that, I think 117 was generally well received and we now have an up to-date look about us.

All the articles included within this issue are of a high standard and make for some very informative and amusing reading. I think you are in for a real treat.

During the Spring, Dave Riley and his son, Peter, have been quietly working behind the scenes getting the new BASS forum up and running. If you haven't already visited then I would thoroughly recommend you do so. It complements both the magazine and the society nicely and takes us, well and truly, into the 21st Century.

We had a slight technical hitch with a few magazines missing pages 17-20 and or duplication of pages 21-22. If anyone else had this problem then please contact either Dave Riley or myself and

Catch reports have been very slow coming in and we can only print what we receive. It would seem, however, that catches have been slow generally during the start and middle of the season and I only hope things pick up by the time 119 is due.

There is talk about more fish-ins being added to the BASS calendar for 2007. The whereabouts and dates of these will become more apparent on the societies website and forum first - but will appear within the magazine pages for those who don’t have Internet access. The first of these is being held during the first week of October, this year, and details can be found on page 12.

On a final note, we have an outcome from Ben Bradshaw and Defra on the proposed MLS increase. Most, if not all, BASS members will already know the decision reached and I feel another batch of letters are due to be written to government and local MP’s. Unfortunately the much strived for figure of 45cm wasn’t achieved and this could well leave the species as vulnerable as ever, as they still will not have spawned at the new MLS size of 40cm.

Contents Regular features Editorial……………….1 Chairman's report……..8 Catch reports………....14 Secretary’s report…….20 Backlash……………...25 Roskilly’s reflections...36

Front cover Marco Sammcheli (with an Italian, fly caught, bass )

Articles Peaks & Troughs Mediterranean bass fishing Hooked on Bass angling by a novice A rest is better than a change Shell Island 2006 Alternative bonefishing Part 2

Other Items Raffle result / Catch report plea Tackle under test Look-alikes Where to fish Footwear in fishy places

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M. Spence……….2 M. Sammcheli….10 T. Edmead……...12 A. Hughes………21 S. Butler………...28 M. Ladle………..32

J. Morgan..………....9 P. Hyde ……...…...18 Ron Misari………..19 D’ management…...24 M. Davies………...34

Peaks and Troughs

By Matthew Spence

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ith each glance up from this page the lights of the Wexford coast grow fainter. Five days of immersion in bass fishing have ended but still I long for more. So I scribble this account of events just past more as a means of clinging onto Ireland, than to record events.

can tell, seems quite happy reliving the day. The first image to light up the camera screen is one of my Zodiac inflatable.

The boat rests on a sunlit shoreline, behind it a blue tranquil sea. To the uninitiated the shot must appear unremarkable. To a brace of bass fanatics, returning to Ireland after wishing our days away for this moment, the picture is like a huge pile of presents on Christmas morning with our names on them.

The vibrations of the ferry’s turbine engines rattle my part empty teacup, creating a concentric pattern of peaks and troughs in the dregs of my tea. Outside the waves on the Irish Sea are barely visible in the twilight, but the sea is slight, having no discernible effect on this ship. Aboard my little inflatable, just 6 hours previous, similar waves rolled my companions and myself around as we fished. Looking down, for more than a brief period, proved nausea inducing. Next to this notebook on the table lies the digital camera belonging to Julian Fox. I reach for it, boot it up and wait for the grainy images on the small LCD screen to appear - something I have already done many times since we stopped fishing today.

Julian gives me a knowing look.

An account of the events, of this year’s trip to the Emerald Isle, is only half of a story that began twelve months beforehand.

Julian and myself travelled, in 2004, with grand plans to employ our approach to English and Welsh fishing. A method Allan Hughes terms “shore fishing from a boat”. The plan though was wrecked by a succession of low fronts. The shallow reefs identified on our charts, as showing promise, appeared only to promise certain death if approached in my inflatable. Because of this weather trouble in 2004, for the month preceding this trip I was even more weather obsessed than normal for a prime bass fishing month.

Not once has he tired of me repeatedly reminiscing about today’s events, despite the fact it was so nearly he, rather than myself, that struck the fishing jackpot. I cannot help but thinking had he caught the fish, I landed today, he would have been less inclined to incessantly recount the events at least not aloud. Yet today was my lucky day in so many ways, for Julian caught his biggest bass for several years and, as far as I

Desperate for good weather, I undertook daily searches of the multitude of online weather sites. My actions suggested a belief, that through finding a weather forecast that showed me what I wanted to see, the prediction would become reality. Despite this questionable logic, the plan worked. From now on (or at least until they fail to show me what I want to see) the USAF weather site will be this

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superstitious anglers weather site of choice. We had picked out the Far West of County Cork for our venture last year. The topography on the maritime charts suggested it must hold bass and it seemed other anglers we spoke to knew little of the area. The lack of knowledge of others we theorised being due in part, to the prime spots being accessible only to those with small boats. Given these factors, we felt ourselves to be pioneering anglers, who would use our skills and knowledge and end up exhausted from hauling in numerous large bass.

It was probably inevitable and certainly right that our egos took a battering. After four days of failure our expectations of Irish bass fishing were more correctly aligned. Only then did the weather and our luck improve. The change in fortune during 2004 resulted from a series of happenings that, at the time, seemed anything but fortunate. These led to a meeting that pointed us towards the bass and left us wondering whether Irish bass fairies of legend really do exist?

Firstly, Julian’s (new) German car - one tested in the earth’s most extreme environments, or so the handbook said - failed the test of horizontal Irish rain, breaking down in the wilds somewhere near Clonakilty. Vorsprung durch fec-it as they say in Inchidoney!

Fortunately the vehicle expired outside the only B&B we had seen in the area. It was late Sunday afternoon and the breakdown truck would not be with us until the morning. The only solution that evening was black, creamy and served in a pint glass! To make matters worse the only taxi

driver in the area was unavailable.

“Shurly you know he’ll be round the O’Neil place on a Sonday sor,” stated a surprised voice on the other end of the phone. So instead of being driven to the local town, we walked two miles through further rain to the nearest bar, laughing as we went.

Bursting into the warmth, dripping rainwater, we wandered up to the bar. The owner poured us the first (of a succession of) consolation pints and asked, “What brings yous lads to these parts?”

On hearing it was the bass, the glint already present in the eyes of the little man grew stronger “Now yous talking lads.” Before we had a chance to tell him our tale of woe, he announced, “Had a 13.10, jost one moil fram here.”

With a single sentence our undivided attention was his. Something he was clearly aware of.

Beckoning us closer, he leaned over the counter, then nodded towards a loner in a dark corner of the bar. “See Connor over there?

Bart home a farteen an’ harf poownd beauty last year.” Before we could regain control of our lower jaws and utter any of the numerous questions battling to get out, he delivered his killer line.

“And moy old mate Padrik – The fella who was goin’ out when yous lads came in - two years ago ee ‘ad the grandest av them all.” He hesitated, keeping us in suspense until we could bear it no more (which wasn’t long). “How big?” we pleaded. Leaning over the bar until his face was close to ours, he looked straight in to two pairs of eyes filled with wild excitement…

“Fivteen fokin pound, eleven fokin ounces. ‘Is own scales couldn’t cope with such a beast.

Had ter weigh ‘er in the village shap!”

At this point, it occurred to me that his story might be a ruse intended to keep gullible visiting anglers anchored in his bar all night…If it was, it worked! The information we squeezed from him over the remainder of that

evening however, seemed naively honest. Emotional and incidental detail was present in abundance, but not the vagueness on geography you come to expect from UK bass anglers (as illustrated in this account). The longer we talked, the more I believed. By the end of the night, the Guinness had dissolved any lingering doubts to the authenticity of his fishy tales. In brief, the outcome of this meeting was during the final 24 hours of our stay, the weather settled enough to permit shore fishing (if not boat fishing) and we followed the information gifted to us. Not only were the directions accurate, but also to our amazement, the fishing proved excellent too and I managed to catch a near 8lb bass, plus nine others (he had stated doubles were rare). It was all as the little person had described. Leprechauns are supposed to lead you to pots of gold. For us, silver was just fine.

Given this success, and the tales of monsters told by our friend, it was no surprise one-year on and the boat in the photo is resting close to where our 2004 fishing ended. As stated before, this picture symbolises a long wait ended. Just as importantly it is evidence of our prayers for settled weather answered. Not long after the image was taken, the zodiac was loaded and Julian and I were fishing. It wasn’t long before we were texting Allan Hughes to tell of early success. Sending him reports of catches brought childish satisfaction. The smooth talking salesman had somehow persuaded the two of us to transport his fishing gear across to Ireland. Once there, we were to divert miles to the east and collect him from Cork Airport.

Then, according to Al, I was to guide, in my boat, to where the fish lay before dropping him back at the airport four days later. Currently though, he was still at work and would be flying

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out that evening. Five phone calls before we had even cast a line indicated his mind had already departed and was obviously struggling to stay focused on the engagement that had kept him in England. Telling him whilst in his meeting of a 9lb bass, just landed and my biggest for three years, would be tantamount to torture.

Possibly causing him to lose it altogether? With this in mind we opted to do what all decent angling companions would do, and text him the instant the fish was released!

However, this particular bass does not feature amongst the photographs on Julian’s camera on the account of it managing to swim out of an inadequately small, trout landing, net as I rested it between weighing and pictures. It didn’t seem to matter though as ahead lay days of fishing, during which time I felt confident I would equal (or better!) my performance during this first hour. Paging through the next sequence of pictures on Julian’s camera, more story of the fishing is revealed. Further fish on the first two days are pictured in calm weather, as well as a somewhat disturbing image of Allan revealing an unnatural (and probably illegal) love of bass.

The photos on days three and four show a big change in the weather and our fortunes. There is just a single image of a fish (caught by Allan), plus various images of three wet tired fishermen. Rough seas forced us to leave the boat on shore. Instead we hiked miles over fields and cliffs in a search for sheltered, cleaner water. We failed to find anything approaching fishable water but had great fun during this quest. The final shot taken during these two days is, to me, the definitive image.

Taken at the end of the day, it shows three wet anglers and one yellow rubber duck. After 10 hours of giving it our all in an exercise of hope over expectation, we look bedraggled and fatigued, yet we were still laughing.

take long to effectively investigate areas it would take you the best part of a day to cover on foot (if you can access them at all). This new area, being Southeast facing, was less affected by the residual waves created by the SouthWesterlies encountered over the last couple of days.

Allan revealing an unnatural (and probably illegal) love of bass.

Continued overleaf The duck was discovered on the high water mark. I’d heard a container, carrying 29,000 plastic ducks with ‘the first years’ written on them, had washed from a ship in 1992, in the Pacific. The ducks broke free and are being used in oceanographic research as their progress around the globe is mapped. Thinking the plastic flotsam may be one of this flock, I retrieved it. Unfortunately this one had Carrigalne Court written on it, indicating more local origins. Despite this I kept it in my pocket, as it seemed symbolic of the duck we had scored that day.

When I showed the bath toy to my friends, it was decided we adopt it as our mascot.

tious, so not wanting to miss out on anything that might lessen my chances I joined in. At first the ritual duck abuse did little to alter the pattern of the past few days, but eventually proved highly effective. The photo shows the day bright, with the sun well above the horizon, reflecting the delay prior to our improved fortune. The area where it was taken was not one fished much over the past four days. We spent the first hour and a half, charging between our favoured marks over a mile or so of coast. We found the sea here still rough and coloured.

Only then moving to an untried area where the fish is pictured.

This is one of the many beauties of small boat fishing - it doesn’t

Finally I came to the images taken today and truthfully, those I most wanted to see. From the off there was a different mood from the previous days. The sea was just calm enough to launch and the colour of the water seemed clearer (as best as you can tell in predawn light by shining a torch into it). We had just half-a-days fishing but now there was a realistic chance of catching - a combination guaranteed to raise the angling intensity.

Allan suggested we rub the ducks bottom for luck before we set off.

It seemed further evidence about his unconventional love of all animals! But anglers are supersti-

In the picture, the early morning light catches the scales of the five and a half-pound fish and the beaming expression on Julian’s face. The fish took less than a meter from the shore of a stony beach, in an otherwise inaccessible rocky cove. Next on the screen are images of successively bigger fish. First a 7½lb fish taken off the surface by Allan - his biggest to date in for what by his high past standards has been a poor fishing year. Then follows a 9.1 pound bass for Julian - his biggest for several years. Both anglers seem pleased, yet given the pattern of increasing fish size and decreasing time available before we had to depart, it didn’t seem the time to savour the success.

I have both read and been told by fishing friends, of rare moments of certainty that a significant fish was about to be caught. On two occasions I too have had first hand experience of these feelings.

Just prior to the captures of my biggest barbel and biggest roach. I

Three wet anglers and one yellow rubber duck

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have rationalised such occurrences are due to a recognition (conscious or otherwise) of clues in the environment present at times of previous success. Given the location, the pattern of bass of increasing size and seasons best fish for the other two, it was not surprising I sensed something significant in the offing. Given the increasing angling intensity and the reduced level of banter, it seemed clear the others shared this feeling. The feeling I had however was not of possibility - it was of unshakeable certainty!

What I didn’t know however was which of us would be the one to catch something extraordinary…

Not that the last two fish to come aboard were ordinary!

Over the past days I had fished with unfaltering belief in all my actions - probably as pure luck had lead me catching the most, (self doubt only thrives in times of relative failure.) Now my confidence wavered. Reduced through seeing Allan catching on a chug bug, a lure I consider inferior to my regular surface lures, then through Julian catching both his fish, below the surface, on a sand eel imitating jerk bait. All I’d caught was a large, but foul hooked mullet, that impersonated a big bass for a few minutes. For the first time this week I wondered if, given the conditions and

A 9lb 1oz bass for Julian - his biggest for several years the results of my shipmates, if I should change from the plug in which I normally have unwavering faith?

With my confidence sunk, I fell into the trap of following others rather than my instincts. When Al caught his fish I tied on a chug bug, like his. But soon I had to have an Aile DB Diet, having seen Julian net his 9lb fish. Ten casts with the subsurface lure did nothing to increase my confidence. I was committing the sin of failing to appreciate the finer points of angling, viewing success in terms of catching, rather than including catching… a subtle yet vital distinction.

Allan with his surface caught 7½lb fish

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I took deep breaths, told myself not to be a fool and reconnected my trusted surface lure. In a moment of clarity I realised why I was desperate for something remarkable to occur. It was more then the desire we all have each time we cast a line. It was a yearning that had its origins in Ireland a year ago.

Despite last year’s weather problems, the trip was as good a time as I can recall when fishing. The gales however, became no more than a minor inconvenience, after a call home to my father triggered an emotional storm. The seemingly run of the mill tests, I had called to enquire about, revealed cancer. Clinical knowledge of the form of cancer, told me he would be lucky to see in the New Year – he barely made it past bonfire night. The rest of that trip had an unreal feel about it, as simultaneously I experienced both the best and worst of times. Until then I believed the peaks and troughs in life were distinct. Given these events, this year’s return visit felt as if it had more significance than angling alone (although I could not say exactly what). Just by engrossing myself in fishing over the past few days, rather than actively soul searching I had found answers. I now felt more settled than I had for a year, yet the inexplicable need for something of Continued overleaf

meaning to happen remained.

A synchronised duo of expletives behind me snapped me out of my self-indulgent analysis. Turning my head around, I caught sight of a huge boil spreading out from its epicentre in the sea, barely a meter from the boat. Both friends were pointing to this spot (as if it wasn’t obvious). One spluttered, “it was broad as a frigging carp.”

The other simply gawped at the turbulent water. It took a while to get sense out of them but apparently a bass, the biggest either had ever seen, had pursued Julian’s lure for at least 5 meters, before deciding against a late breakfast.

The amount of water displaced by the tail alone was enough to convince me reports of its dimensions were creditable.

The distance between Julian catching, or not catching, the fish of his dreams had been less than two inches according to Al. Julian, however, didn’t dwell on whether the event represented victory or failure. He just ordered us all to quickly cast our lures, pointing to the vicinity from where the monster seemed to have come. It is always our norm to attempt to put each other onto visible fish. This etiquette although not increasing your own chances of catching the sighted fish, increases the chances of catching overall during the course of our fishing – often leading to two, or even three anglers simultaneously hooking fish when shoals are spotted. More important than this however, it nullifies the negative effects of competition and promotes a sense of teamwork. Although I cannot recall this idea ever being verbalised, (such management spiel would deservedly lead to mockery), I am sure we have independently concluded competition in a small boat does none of us any favours. After Julian had cast in amongst the rocks, where the bass had come from, I flicked my plug much nearer to the boat - toward the area it seemed to have headed to in fact. My heart raced with

expectation but contrary to expectation, after two casts nothing had happened. As our high levels of excitement began to tail off, Allan and Julian started explaining how they had observed every detail of the fish, when an unfeasibly large bass matching their description, materialised below my lure and the plug fell down a hole!

When fish splash at poppers, it is my practice always to continue working the lure until I feel the line tighten. In my experience, striking frequently just pulls the hooks away from the fish. Split second decisions in moments of high emotion can retrospectively be rationalised in great depth. The bottom line was I was unsure where the plug was and there was a din next to my right ear – a noise I later realised was my better informed companions, who having seen the monster sink away with the lure in its mouth were pleading for me to strike. Against my instincts I followed their command, terrified of the strike ending with a straight rod and a lifetime of what ifs. The braid cut across the water before stopping 20 yards from the boat at the point where the dark outline of a great fish, wallowed just below the surface. For a brief moment I felt elation. The moment was short though when I realised the fish I was connected to exceeded my hopes and crossed into the land of dreams.

This thought crammed my head, impairing my ability to effectively think or move.

Even my mind appeared to be playing tricks with my sense of perspective. Surely, for a bass to appear that large it needed to be half as far away?

I recall the fight as being fairly unremarkable in its spiritedness - but unforgettable for the crippling fear that I might lose what was not yet mine (if that makes any sense). It seems my panic was so great as to overwrite any

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other recollection, as Allan’s take on the fight was somewhat different and more detailed, as revealed by an email he recently sent me to help jog my memory.

“As I recall, the fish fought gamely. It bore deep and it was strong, in fact it was so strong that it towed the boat very close to a large semi submerged rock, and twice we (Julian and I) had to row us a few yards back out to open water to avoid collision. There was general panic on the boat, Julian was keen to start the motor to ensure we would not be smashed onto the rock. You bent into the fish very strongly to keep it up high in the water. The fish swam from portside, around the bow and back inshore along the starboard length of the boat, eventually coming back around port side and up to the surface.

Julian had grabbed the net, but at the last moment I found myself closest to you and the fish, so I took the net off Julian and readied myself to land it for you. Julian almost burst into tears, and I only just heard his faint words “I really wanted to net that fish for Matt…” So I put the net back in his hands and clambered over his legs so he could reach the fish. He leaned right out and netted it for you, and I pulled him in.”

My amnesia ends from the moment the fish was netted. As the bass entered the mesh, I dropped my rod into the boat and lifted both arms aloft, leaving Allan to haul both Julian and the fish in, without my assistance. Moments of personal significance call for profound and intelligent responses. Sound bites great statesmen such as Churchill would have been proud of (as ever) escaped me. The best I could do was to repeatedly shriek “Yes, Yess Yesssss!” Allan pointed out it was more porn actress, than politician… …I assured him I wasn’t faking it!

The first picture of the bass shows me extracting the fish from the

mesh so I could unhook my prize.

“It’s like a bloody horse,” exclaimed Julian from behind the camera, as I removed the single light hook hold of one treble hook.

Frantic to ensure it was weighed and have its portrait taken quickly, any thoughts of taking scale samples or resting it prior well composed photographs and accurate weighing on shore escaped us. I had bass-fished most of my life hoping for this mo-

vant. The significance of this creature was much more than the point to where the scales stopped!

In the course of fishing season, the three of us have a number of discussions about catching new personal best bass. Is it best to catch a huge beast that smashes your best, or is it better to experience a series of small incremental improvements? I have always argued the latter would bring the most pleasure and

these Ireland trips have added further significance? The only fish I can compare is the first I ever caught…I can’t help wondering if such feelings, for what after all is just a fish I was lucky enough to catch, are either proper or wise.

Watching the pictures scroll by, the fish still appears big, yet not as big as I remember it appearing in the flesh - but that is nearly always the way. There are several shots of the beast holding station head towards the camera prior to its release. Its expressionless stare

The stuff of dreams— Matthew with his 13lb fish ment, and now it was actually here, all I wanted was for it to be over as soon as possible.

I had no idea how big it might weigh all I could tell was it was far bigger than any bass I had ever seen in the flesh before. Julian’s scales settled a little way past the 13lb mark. Rounding down is our norm, and was more than happy when Julian suggested we settle for 13lbs. Up to this point an 11 pound bass was where my hopes extended. Underestimating by a mere ounce or two seemed irrele-

keep me interested in the prospect of going one better.

“So you wouldn’t be happy with a real monster of say 13 pounds or more.” Was the reply Julian threw back? “Delighted yes, but where do you go from there?” was my angle. Such thoughts are now no longer academic and I have now caught what is likely to be the biggest bass of my life.

I feel no disappointment as this prospect so far, as the elation I feel seems barely credible. Perhaps life events surrounding

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seems almost menacing. I scroll down one more time and there is only a blank screen.

The story told by the picture sequence ends. I really should stop scribbling in this notebook and replace the camera safely back in the bag. Julian is snoozing, laid out across a nearby row of seats. I too should sleep. It is already past midnight and I have patients to see in the morning. Time to climb into my sleeping bag and start dreaming of next year’s trip to Ireland.

Chairman’s Report By John Leballeur

I

was surprised and delighted on receiving my copy of BASS Magazine 117 for spring 2006 and was even more eager to read its contents. The quality, presentation and content were superb and our new Editor, Steve Binckes together with his printer, is to be congratulated.

I am aware that the membership who attended the 2005 AGM were asked for their views on how to improve the standing of the Society and communications between the members. A clear message emerged that greater use of the Society's BASS Website was needed in the way of a Forum facility, so members could share and exchange experiences and organise fish-ins etc. I have realised for some time in this fast moving world of technical advancement that the Society's front shop window i.e. Website originally created by Dave Cooling needed some updating and some TLC. I approached David Riley, who together with his son Peter, a Website consultant, regarding this challenge which they accepted.

To date we have a new Website, which is very professionally constructed and more recently a private secure paid up members' forum has been added for those of you on line. The success of this recent development has enabled

members to have their input on subjects of fishing, tackle, methods, venues, fish-ins and all the latest news etc. There is a code of practice to comply with should you participate within the forum discussions, which is overseen by a number of moderators. As this is in its early stages, should you wish to assist as a moderator on the forum with John Morgan and David Riley, who have worked tirelessly on this project, please contact either one of them for information.

the recent consultation, however this never happened.

He confirmed that the final papers were being put together by his Mandarins in DEFRA with their recommendations which he would review. However, he expressed that he could make his own decision ignoring their advice. We are still awaiting the outcome. He did confirm that phase 2 of the Bass Management Plan dealing with gill net restrictions, closed seasons, bag limits etc., will go ahead in the form of a consultation later in the year.

I am confident that the balance between the quarterly magazine and the new forum on the Website, members now have excellent value for their money and very professional at that.

I know you, as members, and those of the Restoration Team are thoroughly frustrated by the continued delay in the announcement of the MLS Consultation, whether it will be 40, 42 or 45 cms. If the result is an increase to 40 cms it will defeat the whole object of the BMP, as the Commercials want because the species would still be immature biologically for reproduction.

We are experiencing a wonderful summer, but sadly the number of fish being caught is down and this is generally reflected around the United Kingdom.

I recently attended the Angling Summit held in the House of Commons on Tuesday the 27th June 2006 when the Fisheries Minister, Ben Bradshaw, put the Bass Management Plan on the Agenda, which he wished to comment on. I personally expected him to use this to make an announcement on the increase in MLS etc., regarding

Do make the most of this wonderful summer weather and remember to send in your fish scales, together with details to either of the newly appointed Fish Recorders - Alan Hughes (Southern England and Continent) and John Morgan (Wales and Ireland).

STOP PRESS‌ from Defra dated 10th August 2006 The minimum landing size for sea bass is to be increased to improve and sustain the fishery.

From April 6, 2007, fishermen and anglers will not be allowed to land bass any smaller than 40cm Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw announced today. The current limit is 36 cm.

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Restoration Project Raffle Result To sum up...

The prize was a Fulling Mill 4piece 10 weight Gold series fly rod, donated by Austen Goldsmith of www.uksaltwaterflies.com This was teamed up with an Okuma SLV large arbour reel + 100 metres of backing and a weight forward floating line, Donated by VMO. To complete the kit, several members of the ukswff forum tied a selection of flies, suitable for bass and mullet and these are all tucked up in a hard plastic fly box, donated by a certain administrator.

Thanks must go to the above donors of the prizes and to all those who participated in the raffle by buying tickets.

I was doubtful if this raffle would be a success, with less than a

Dave Box, of Veals Mail Order, draws the winning ticket.

And the winner is… Jon Williams, congratulations! week to go, only a handful of cheques had been received. I’m pleased to say that mainly due to the shameless publicising and grovelling that ensued, a large number of entries were received

over the last couple of days.

A total of 75 tickets were sold @ £5.00, so £375 was raised in all 100% of which will go to the Bass Restoration fund.

Catch Reporting . . . a plea from John Morgan

F

or whatever reason, catch reports have been tailing off in recent times. Possibly a reflection of fewer fish or perhaps fewer specimen fish, with the latter perceived as not being worthy of documentation? Well I'd argue that that's not the case. In fact I'd go as far as to say that data provided, with regard to smaller fish, is vital at the moment in order to build up information on size, growth and distribution of juvenile bass. What some of you might not appreciate is one of the important parts of our submission to Defra was provided by ordinary BASS members and that was the catch data, particularly data from the scale samples which the Society has analysed, recorded and saved - virtually from the incep-

tion of the society. That’s thirty three years worth of information. It’s not to be sniffed at.

I fully realise that most of us, myself included, want to get any fish we catch back into the water ASAP. The thought of faffing about trying to measure length and girth, plus weight and then take a few scales is probably furthest from our thoughts. I don’t expect everyone to collect this information from every bass they catch, but, if everyone collected info. from one bass a month then that would be a considerable achievement. Scale samples from fish should be posted to the relevant fish-recorder clearly stating, ideally, length /girth/

9

weight and a scale or two if you can.

We’d also appreciate any descriptive text such as weather and tide conditions, fish sightings etcetera to accompany your catch information, this would be great....it will allow us to accompany the stats with words and, even better, a picture as well. BUT I won’t push my luck... a catch report would be fine. Forms can be downloaded from: http://ukbass.com/aboutbass/ trophiesandawards.html Whilst scale sample packets can be obtained from the fishrecorders, for details see inside front cover.

Mediterranean bass fishing

By Marco Sammcheli

T

he Mediterranean Sea has plenty of habitat for bass with the species colonising the entire coastline, except the areas with very deep water along the shore.

It enters the rivers, channels and lagoons and runs up into freshwater, with estuaries being among the best places to fish for them. Harbours too, usually have large populations of bass.

Being night-oriented, fishing in the dark can pay dividends and for sure it’s the best way to find bass in the summer. Above the saltwater line, large bass hunt in the currents and along the banks, especially at night. Our fishing season is year round, but the fish’s presence is often unpredictable.

Bass spawn when the water is at 14° and here, this happens in the winter usually from December to March, depending on the weather.

In clear water, large bass are more commonly caught in the coldest months and it can be quite common to have some of the best days around Christmas and also during February - when juvenile eels enter the rivers and schools of small anchovies approach the shore.

We find the estuaries fish best, for large bass, during the autumn floods when muddy waters enter the sea. Most bait anglers use large live eels or mullet to catch the largest fish of the year. The very large ones can be 8 to 10 kg (20lb plus), but more regular large are 5 to 7 kg (11lb –15lb). 2 to 4 kg (4lb – 8lb) is what we consider common large.

Marco with a cracking fly caught Med fish

The diet of the bass is very varied but often they have a special liking for crabs. The rocky coast gives good conditions with white water and the same is true for the sand barriers along the beaches. Estuary fishing can be best when it’s calm and when the tides generate good currents.

Our tides are small so we have little difference in water height.

Tidal currents are perceptible only around estuaries and harbour exits.

We have other coastal gamefish that beat bass for aggressiveness, strength, and ability to jump when hooked and maximum weight. Fish, such as bluefish and leerfish. Nevertheless, the bass hold a great fascination for recreational anglers - often surpassing other species. It’s a high value food fish but has far more qualities for recreational anglers. Our traditional culture, along with the food value,

10

makes catch and release something rare, restricted to a small community of advanced anglers.

Releasing a bass is something considered really weird! This is also true for smaller fish. Our laws state a legal size of only 23 (locally 25) cm and a maximum total catch for an angler at 5 kg each, a day. Enforcement from agencies, which are involved in the control, is minimal - so we have a strong recreational harvest disregarding the law limits. Most places are accessible to bait anglers using fly larvae (called bigattini). These cause the deaths of a large number of very small bass and give easy catches that damage the bass population and the fishery value.

We lament an incredible lack of interest from scientific institutions and public agencies about bass and bass fishing management.

In the fish market the final price of a wild bass is 30+ euro/kg.

Farmed bass costs half that price.

Our institutions are far form considering the economic value of the bass as a recreational fish.

The fight is between professional fishing, fish farming and environmental associations. Both know nothing about recreational fishing and recreational fishing association knows almost nothing about bass fishery issues.

The result is that professional anglers do their best to harvest more bass and environmental laws build small-protected areas where everything is forbidden. We need something between the two! Wise recreational fishing and the interest for such an approach is growing in the still small but quickly increasing community of saltwater fly anglers though the National Fly Anglers Union UNPEM. *** I asked Marco what type of lines and flies he uses in a general approach towards his fishing…

Here is his reply.

I use mostly intermediate lines.

Deer hair (head) flies with a hackle tail and marabou collar.

Generally I prefer to call these Angus (practically a Snake fly, but using hackles instead of ostrich herl for the tail). These are very good especially at night and tied in all-black.

They are also excellent when used in the surf. I also like to use similar flies with the head made from rabbit strip instead. I especially like to hunt for bass right out of estuaries, along the sand bars with tidal currents and water 1 to 2 meters deep. Another favourite for the day-light hours is the clouser minnow, tied sparse with crinkled nylon in smoke-olive and smoke-tan and bead chain eyes...

Great for smaller bass.

This 4kg (8½lb) fish was caught near Principina (Grosseto) Italy, in June 2005 Here are some samples tied and photographed by Antonio Rinaldin. I’m currently working on a new book with him.

A typical dressing for the Angus is: Hook: Mustad 34007 (or similar) Size 1/0 Tail: 2 to 6 hackles Flash: Krystal flash Body: Marabou Collar: Deer hair Head: Trimmed deer hair.

A black version would be for night fishing. The red head is a good colour variant, others can be tied white with a chartreuse head and all yellow.

The last one is tied with palmered rabbit strip instead of deer hair.

(The original Angus is a fly by Eric Leiser).

A photo of the kind of Clouser we use a lot for small bass.

Hook: Aberdeen size 4 (Mustad 3262 or Gamakatsu LS 5013F) Thread: clear nylon Wing: Super hair or Unique hair: smoke / olive Flash: Silver Krystal flash Eyes: Bead chain.

http://www.medflyfish.com/ 11

Hooked on bass angling by a novice (Summer bass fishing on the Isle of Wight)

By Trevor Edmead

I

took up sea angling in 2002 after a twenty-year break.

I did this to fill in time during the course-fishing close season, which I did whenever I had a smidging of spare time. My sea angling was limited to a boat trip on Sundays, departing from various ports dotted around the Essex coast and not with nationally recognised skippers. And no, I didn’t target our friend Dicentrarchus Labrax!

Prior to the summer of 2002, I was preparing for my families annual weekly pilgrimage to Boscombe in Dorset, timed with the late spring Bank Holiday. Armed with a new rod and fixed spool reel, I participated in fishing from the local pier catching numerous small bass up to a pound in weight. Using the coarse fishers mantra of ‘Catch & Release’ all were returned to grow a bit more.

At this point my interest in bass was still to grow. The next holiday was our two-week vacation to the Isle of Wight. I had seen numerous anglers fishing from the end of Sandown Pier, catching Mackerel and Garfish. They seemed to be having a lot of fun either by blasting small leads out towards the French coast or fishing with floats that any coarse angler would liken to a submarine attached to tow ropes. Undeterred, I decided to give it a try.

My first foray into shore fishing was a bit of a daunting prospect. I had read up on as much material that my brain could absorb and armed with my own self-built

float rigs (I tied my own rigs for coarse fishing) I ventured into unknown territory. Having paid the customary £1 to fish the pier, I settled down at the end.

Soon after, I was joined by an elderly angler who set-up to my right. He introduced himself as Ernie and we got talking. I explained that I was new to this branch of the sport and he ensured that my float rig was set up correctly. I don’t mind learning at my age (I was 43 that year) so long as I can put into practise any lessons given.

Pretty soon I was into my first pier caught fish, a mackerel.

As the morning sun climbed in the sky, more and more anglers arrived to participate in what I believed to be a truly enjoyable way of fishing - things started to warm up and not just the temperature. Feeling the warm rays of the sun, with appropriate SPF 25 liberally plastered on exposed parts of my skin, seemed to be asking ‘why hadn’t I taken up sea angling sooner?’

I was getting regular bites and the sight of my float disappearing under the waves had me feeling like a child let loose in a toyshop, but with a bit more decorum being an adult. Mackerel and Garfish were readily accepting my hookbait of killer ragworm together with the odd sandeel. Some anglers gladly took the mackerel - at the time I had no idea that they were going to use them as live bait for bass!

Around midday, a chap fishing the inner pool, formed by the pier wall, hooked what everyone

12

believed to be a monster of a fish.

The bend in his rod led me to believe that here was a fish of some quality and I joined in the throng urging him to land it. Unfortunately, he lost it when it threw the hook and we all settled back to the more mundane task of catching mackerel etc. Having re-baited my hook with a fresh juicy sandeel, I allowed my float to trot with the tide close to the wooden pier stanchions on the outer edge. Suddenly my float dived like nothing I ever experienced in coarse fishing and I lifted the rod ready to strike into my alleged quarry. When I did the force that greeted me was akin to participating in a tug of war with me against the England Rugby Union team (sorry for the poor example). The rod tip bent over and everyone came over to see what I had hooked. To cut this tale short, I had hooked my very first decent sized bass. It weighed a shade over two pounds and no one had a camera, so I was unable to record the catch. It turned out to be my only bass caught that year but I still remember it as though it were yesterday.

Due to some rotten luck, 2003 was a total washout, fishing wise, as work pressure (I was now an Operations Manager for London Underground) and a tear to my right calf muscle put an end to any plans for fishing.

Come 2004, I was ready for anything. I purchased a copy of “Hooked on Bass” by Mike Ladle and Alan Vaughan. I read it from cover to cover and even emailed Mike for some further tips on lure fishing on the IOW. I was really pleased that he took the time to

respond to my enquiries and I set about planning my fishing trips for my forthcoming holiday. This would also be my first foray into lure fishing. I purchased a new 13’ beach rod, with a multiplier reel and a Mike Ladle designed spinning rod with accompanying spinning reel.

One night in early August 2004, I decided on a spot of night fishing on Lake Beach. The tide was quite high and the weather was set fair. Having visited the local tackle shop in Sandown earlier that day, armed with Ragworm, Peeler Crabs, Sandeels and Squid (I left them in our hired beach hut) I was certain I was going to break my best bass set in 2002.

The session kicked off at 22:30 with high tide due around 00:55 hours. I’d caught several small bass in the one to three pound range on a variety of baits and even a Red Gurnard, but at just before 02:30 hours I saw my rod tip bounce like never before. I let the bite develop, the hook was baited with the head and guts of a mackerel, and I struck into what felt like a good fish. After about

five minutes, I saw a large flash of silver in the surf and when I beached it I saw a whopper of a fish (well a whopper in my eyes).

Unbeknown to me my presence on the beach had attracted that attention of a policeman in his patrol car, at Sandown Pier. My camp was illuminated with various lights about 30 yards back from the surf line. I was unaware of him standing behind me until I heard him comment on the size of my bass. I gently unhooked it and weighed it in an old carp sack (now my bass sack). It weighed 6lbs 3ozs and was 55 cms in length. I failed to bring any scale packs with me but that didn’t matter there and then. With no camera to hand I released the fish back into the water. Now I was well and truly hooked on bass fishing!

After that specimen all I could land was small stuff until I was smashed up at around 04:00 hours. I wasn’t in a position to remark on what had done this but I was suddenly dreaming of a new shore caught record bass.

Still, never mind I was pleased with my session so far.

To round off the session, once the sun came up and the waters surface was like a mirror, I decided to try out lure fishing. With my new ‘Mike Ladle Surespin’ rod and a Rapala J11 at the business end, I had my first foray into this branch of sea angling. Guess what? On my first cast I managed to catch my very first lure caught bass weighing in at 2lbs 7ozs. What a way to end the session.

Since that night I’ve not caught any bass of over 3lb, but I am not downhearted. I enjoy the new found freedom that sea fishing offers, the tranquillity of the early dawn as the sun rises over the sea cannot be bettered by anything.

Even the mist on the surface of a pond with those tell tale needle bubbles, indicative of feeding Tench, cannot beat the sea at dawn and dusk. Oh roll on summer 2006. I will be there again to sample the delights of summer bass fishing on the Isle of Wight.

Not forgetting my home county of Essex and the delightful bass fishing that is on offer here too.

Fish-in/Teach-in, North Cornwall, 2006 Dates…………………Friday 6th October to Sunday 8th October.

Base………………….Sandymouth Caravan Park Nr. Bude.

Venues: Atlantic storm beaches, similar to Inch strand on the Dingle peninsula, Northcott mouth is a small rock-infested sand beach ideal for plug or fly if not too rough. Summerleaze and Crooklets beaches at Bude are surfers favourites, so are best fished early morning/late evening. The smaller beaches are a bit of a hike to get to, but worth the walk for the view. There are rocky outcrops where those fleet of foot can plug, spin or flyfish. Puny #5/6/7 tackle is OK for nearby trout lakes, you will need a #9/10 for this area.

The Sandymouth site website is http://www.sandymouthbay.co.uk/, where you can enquire and book, Bude have a website at http://www.visitbude.info/ which has info on B&B and more luxurious accommodation.

For more info on the fishing in the area contact Phil Hyde philthefish@blueyonder.co.uk Tel: 01803 409127 evenings.

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Recent Catch Reports by Allan Hughes & John Morgan

R

eports of catches from the South coast have been mixed…some people appear to have found fish whilst most seem to have struggled. The season started slowly, presumably due to the relatively cold weather, and baitfish were very scarce right through the spring. The impact of this was felt not only by us shore anglers, but also by many coastal birds who’s inability to find food resulted in many starving youngsters. Mackerel now appear to be plentiful in inshore waters and the signs are that August will see an upturn in catches for members.

Please report what you can to us, any report of a good fish or session breaths hope into all our efforts.

Devon Laurence Egerton has experienced the strangest start to the season he can ever remember in his area. Fishing up until just recently has been a struggle, with only the odd fish willing to take a lure. The fish seemed to be there but are totally preoccupied on an unusually large amount of small sand eel fry to consider a lure. Laurence was lucky enough to come across a shoal of Bass feeding on fry in June, but an hour spent casting numerous lures at them didn’t produce a single take, with the fish at times only 3ft away. However he did fish a local mark early in July and found the surface alive with sand eel fry. Once again bass could be seen amongst the baitfish, but three hours spent presenting live sand eels, small poppers and lures in front of their noses produced no fish, yet again! Having run out of eels and with the sea getting a little too choppy for his kayak he just had time to try one last tactic. Laurence decided not to “match the hatch” and put on a large Toby which produced six fish in six casts. The fish were all between 5 and 7lb 8oz.

July produced several schoolies and 22 fish between 5 and 10lb, most taken on a homemade jig, including a fish of 10 lb 6oz, another lost at the net of a similar size and a nice fish of 8 lb, caught on a popper. Average sessions in the last few weeks only seem to produce one or maybe two fish, although these are quality fish.

Looking at his diary for this time last year, five or six smaller fish to 3lb per session was the norm, with the odd good fish every few sessions. According to Laurence the fish are still strangely unpredictable in their feeding habits and locations at the moment, one minute they are inshore the next offshore, behaviour he would expect down in Devon in November when sprats have them fixated.

Tom Vallack and Mike Duckett have managed to find a few fish operating from Tony’s own small boat around the Plymouth area. Most have come to live sandeels and have been around 2 – 3 pounds in weight. One exceptional fish he sneaked out recently however came to a live mackerel….this beauty weighed in at 8lb 14oz and a scale reading revealed it to be a 1995 year-class fish.

Many members have reported (mostly via the new BASS forum) that fishing has been very difficult this year so far, although a few people have found good numbers of smaller fish on occasion. Austen Goldsmith is one such fly angler, he’s had dozens of fish so far but nothing yet over 3lb.

Ian Morris managed a few sessions whilst holidaying in Cornwall and caught around twenty bass with the biggest fish going 2½lbs. He also managed to land a 3lb triggerfish on a lure! A most unusual catch and an even more unusual way to catch one. Rumour has it he caught it on a Jointed Thunderstick, an older style of lure not much used nowadays as there aren’t many of them available anymore outside of Wales.

Dorset Malcolm Brindle, from Weymouth, reports that the shore fishing began slowly this year because of persistently cold winds. The mackerel didn’t appear in any numbers on Chesil until the first week of June, which is very late. When the mackerel did turn up they drove whitebait within reach of Malcolm’s fly rod and he had great fun catching up to 18 an evening…but the bass fishing has been very poor.

Further east along the Purbecks and around Poole and Christchurch, May was a good month for some members but many fish seemed reluctant to come right in close to shore. The start of June was very good, although the fish were very often localised, but catches slowed down for a few weeks until July kicked off with better catches again. There were lots of Mackerel offshore in July (there still are!), which might have contributed to lower inshore catches of bass. Steve Binckes enjoyed good sport from the shore on fly gear, as did a few others who fished the same marks. Amongst the normal stamp of 2lb fish, Steve managed to land a cracking 4lb12oz bass from the shore and two 5lb fish whilst fishing off Allan Hughes’ boat.

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Method

Terrain Weight Length Girth

Scales / Age

Date

1998

1996 1998 1999 1999 1998 1999

May May June June June July July July July July July July

1999

July July

Replaced Replaced

July July

Notes

Allan Hughes Jack Jack Jack Hardnose Hardnose Duel Slider Live Macky Jack Jack Fly Fly Fly

(All Boat) Reef 6lb Reef 5lb Reef 8lb Reef 5lb Reef 4.5lb Reef Rocks 8lb Race 3lb.12 Race Reef 3lb Reef 4lb Reef

20" TL 28" TL 22.5" TL 20" TL 20.5" TL 23" TL 19" TL

Hardnose Duel Slider

Reef Reef

4lb 22.5" TL 11"

Steve Binckes Fly / boat Fly / boat

Rocks Rocks

5lb 5.25lb

Fly / kayak Fly Fly Fly Fly Fly Fly Fly Fly

Reef Shore Shore Shore Shore Shore Shore Shore Shore

4lb 8oz 3lb 3lb 8oz 3lb 4oz 2lb 2lb 2lb 8oz 2lb 8oz 4lb

July June June June June June June June June

Black and Gold Clouser 6" Chartreuse and White Deceiver Black & Orange clouser Chartreuse & white clouser " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " Olive & Smoke clouser minnow

6lb

July

+ 3 others up to 2.5lb

July

Approx 6 fish in all, to 2.5lb

May May June July

+ 10 fish 38-45cm length

Tom Hughes Duel Slider Reef

10" 14" 10.5" 11" 10.5" 11" 11"

Rob Thomas Duel Slider Rocks Malcolm Brindle Shad Shad Fly Fly

Shore Shore Shore Shore

59cm 48cm 56cm 54cm

1998 1999 1998 1998

+ 2 fish upto 2lb +2 fish upto 2lb 6" yellow and white deceiver 6" yellow and white deceiver 2.5" chartreuse and white clouser + four fish to 2.5lb +Eight fish to 3lb

Clouser Clouser

Hampshire Further along the coast in Hampshire, Silas Hall has been enjoying great early summer sport, fly-fishing from his small boat with a friend. Like many small boat owners, Silas fishes extremely shallow water, the tactic being almost akin to fishing from the shore in many instances. Using surface popping flies he has caught dozens of fish up to 4lb 4oz during a few hectic sessions when the fish have been around in numbers. Silas is now concentrating his efforts for the rest of the summer on landing a 5lb plus fish hopefully on the fly, but he believes he may have to break open the plugging gear to get into this better stamp of fish.

15

To July 31st

2006

Compiled

By

John

Date

Weight

Length x Girth

Year

19th April May

3.11 4.12

1996 1996

Steve Binckes

13th - 14th May

3.4 4.8

No scales No scales

Simon Everett

9th June 10th June 11th June 24th June

3 to 4lbs 9 to 3lbs 3lbs (est.)

2lbs (est.)

No scales No scales No scales No scales

28th May 6th June 6th June 12th June 13th June 13th June 13th June 17th June 17th June 17th June 17th June 17th June 17th June 17th June 19th June 21st June 22nd June 26th June 26th June 27th June 29th June 29th June

3.10 3.8 (est.)

2.4 (est.)

2.4 3.6 2 5.2 2.6 2.4 5.14 3.1 2.14 4.10

1996 No scales No scales No scales 1999 2000 1996 2000 No original scales 1995 1998 1999 1998

29th June 6th July 17th July

3.6 4.14 5.12

North Wales

Morgan

Name James Molyneux

South Wales John Thomas

Paul Owens

3.2 2.4 2.12 4.14 3.0 3.2 3.0 (est.)

2.8 (est.)

17 x 10 20 x 11¼ 16¼ x 9½ 22¾ x 12½ 18 x 9½ 17½ x 10 24 x 13½ 20 x 12 18 x 12 21 x 12 19 x 11 17 x 10 19 x 10½ 22 x 13¼ 19 x 11 19½ x 10½

1999 2000 1999 1995 1999 1999 No scales No scales

23½ x 12

R

eports of fish are minimal so far this year – possibly due to the very cold early part of the year. Who knows? Whatever the reason I’ve received few reports since taking over as one of the Fish-recorders. Perhaps people don’t like me?

NORTH WALES James Molyneux caught his first bass of the year on April 19th – using some recently collected crab he fished an evening tide and reports that just into darkness, and after a few missed bites, he connected with, and landed, a 3lb 11oz fish. He returned to the same mark in May in almost identical conditions he hooked a powerful fish, which gave a good account of itself. When eventually landed it weighed 4lb 12oz.

16

BASS magazine editor, Steve Binckes, travelled up to North Wales to fish over the weekend 13th & 14th of May. He winkled out five bass: 3lb 4oz and 4lb 8oz (both on Clouser Minnows) and another three fish which he says were under 2½lbs. All the fish were taken whilst saltwater fly-fishing.

Meanwhile our Secretary has been busy paddling madly back and forth in his Kayak (that’s in between whizzing around the country – nay, the world – photographing everything from motorbikes to motorboats). Simon opened his account on the June 9th and was fortunate to find himself caught up in a bait-bust; however, the bass must have been preoccupied because he only managed three bass to 4lbs. Things looked up the following day when he caught nine bass to 3lbs – all took surface lures. However, the 11th June was mediocre with just one bass of about 3lbs on a 20g Toby. The Toby was once again successful on the 24th June with another bass approximately 2lbs. All the fish were taken while fishing from his kayak and all were returned; Simon commented that all the fish went back strongly.

SOUTH WALES John Thomas has been fishing hard since the start of the season but reports that crab was hard to come by – so hard that on three or four occasions he had to return home without wetting a line. His first fish of the year came on the 28th of May a fish of 3lbs 10oz. June produced far more fish however with a total of thirty-one bass with the biggest being 5lbs 14oz. The fish were caught on a variety of methods and baits ranging from sub-surface lures and ‘sliders’ to bottom fished crab and float-fished Blenney. All the fish were caught from the shore (NB: John fishes very hard often several tides over the course of a few days – John M.) Paul Owens visited a favourite mark in July, bait was mackerel fillet and as usual is fished at very close range.

The first spot fished was unproductive so Paul moved to a back up position. The moved paid off as Paul had two fish in his first two casts the first fish was 3lb 6oz bass; unfortunately the second was a humongous silver eel. A return trip a week or so later resulted in a bass of 4lbs 14oz. Paul commented that the fish appeared very lean and: “Judging by the head/shoulder I reckon the fish would have deserved more weight if caught later in the season but it did seem a bit on the lean side.”

Paul was back on the 17th of July with high hopes, as the mark had been consistent up to now, – he found conditions were almost flat calm with just a rolling smooth swell pushing in. He had only one run but it resulted in a 5lb 12oz bass!

Recent photos of BASS members catches

Top left to right…

Silas Hall with one of his Sussex, fly-caught, bass.

Silas Maitland with a 5lb Dorset fish.

Steve Binckes with a Dorset, boat caught, fish of exactly 5lb.

Bottom left to right...

Laurence Egerton with one of his kayak caught bass.

Julian Fox with a boat caught N. Wales fish.

17

Tackle Under Test Wychwood Rogue Carp rod

By Phil Hyde

N

ot another carp rod I can hear you all saying! Last year my wife, Jo, was lucky enough to win a cruise to Bermuda. This involved a flight to Newark and an overnight stay in the Sheraton, which was followed by a limo ride to the cruise liner.

Neither of us were interested in doing what some of the Americans do, lazing around on the beach and then filling themselves on 5 or 6 course meals every day.

One chap asked for and got three whole lobsters! Our plan was different.

cast plugs/spinners and bottom gear. What about telescopic?

Tradition says, ‘rubbish, kids stuff etc’, OK so I was biased.

There are 2 rods in the range, both 12ft, one a 2.75lb test curve and the other 3lb. I opted for the 3lb version. For sea anglers, this is about 1 to 3.5oz’s, so bass rod capability.

fixed-spool reel, I used a Shimano Biomaster III 6000, loaded with 10lb mono. Rapidly changed to an Abu 5500CL with 25lb braid, which worked beautifully.

Having used the rod in Bermuda, and the U.K, I can highly recommend it. It is sensitive in the tip, yet has more stopping power than my other carp rods. Will throw a float fished sandeel nearly out of sight (doesn’t matter, you can feel the float being pulled under by a fish if you are holding the rod).

Puts a plug a respectable distance and a 50/60 gram bar spoon just vanishes into the distance.

We packed all the usual gear but wanted a travel rod that would

The rod is in eight sections and is fitted with seven, high, standoff rings - from size 12 tip, to a size 40 butt ring. All the intermediates, except the butt-ring, are single-leg and they are Silicon carbide… Nearly 45 Pounds worth in the UK, if they were Fuji’s! The winch is a good quality screw fitting in size 22, bigger than most carp rods. Because this rod is a collapsible, it has a faster taper than normal carp rods - which for sea anglers is highly desirable. It is obviously aimed for use with a

*

*

*

Norman Speed Clips

For plug fishing, I simply tie the link direct to the line (14lb Fireline - mainly utilising a uniknot) and attach the lure, some use a short mono leader. It’s up to you. If you want to use it with spoons or spinners then it is relatively easy to attach a suit-

I hadn’t seen anywhere in the UK retailing them and so, in order to provide a service to BASS members, I’ve obtained limited quantities. In this day and age you can quite readily order them yourselves if you wish, via the Internet. BUT, whilst a pack of 50 clips is only $8.49 there is a minimum shipping charge for international orders of $15.00 (and that’s for surface shipping).

By John Morgan

I

’ve tried numerous links and clips, to attach the mainline to my lures, over the years and had never found one with which I was totally happy. Now I’m not going to claim that the Norman Speed Clip is the be all and end all, as regards links. I know for a fact that at least one person doesn’t get on with them, however, as far as I’m concerned they are the best link for the job that I’ve come across. The real beauty of the ‘speedclip’ is in its compact size (14mm by 5mm).

able swivel to the link if you should wish. I will say that due to their small size they can be ‘fiddly’ to attach, particularly if you have wet/cold fingers. But as I’ve said it’s their ‘size’ that I like.

18

These rods retail at less than £50 and for that amount you have to ask, “How do they do it?” The rod comes with a ring cover and a cloth bag, but at that price, who cares! Stick one in your boot and be ready for that short session.

Available from LEEDA stockists.

BASS has a limited number left (180) at a cost of £2.50 per ten (inc. P&P). Any profits go into the Restoration Fund. Cheques should be made payable to BASS and sent to John Halton, our Treasurer; John will notify me via e-mail when the cheque is received. ***

RON MISARI’s BASS MEMBERS LOOK-ALIKE GALLERY Once again Ron has given us clues to help discover the identities of these well known BASS members… Is it you?

Q. What's the “MO”?

A. Not bothered as long as I’m wearing neoprene!

Basildon Bond; Comical MI5 agent.

Kerry Leg-end; A fistful of duty-free bacca

Lee Van Cleef; Old Angel Eyes himself

SW Fly fisher; Wading biped that chews cork.

A Beaver; Industrious rodent that chews trees.

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Secretary’s Report By Simon Everett

W

ith the anticipation of the first measures within the BMP being announced the last months have actually been a busy time. There has been a growing groundswell of interest from various quarters of the general public.

Against this background I have actually been tasked with writing a few letters to try and expand our argument amongst a wider audience.

Some of you may have seen the BBC program about catching bass from a pier and taking them home to cook. Nowhere in the dialogue was the legal size for retaining bass mentioned and it is possible that some of the fish retained were undersize, those who saw the program commented that the fish kept were very much on the small side. I have written to the BBC on behalf of the Society to inform them of the legal situation and to request that further programs, which include bass, make mention of the legal requirements before bass may be retained. However, I am still awaiting a reply.

should be trying to change the public perception of the bass they eat – instead of eating baby bass we should be getting the message across that they should be eating mature fish, like they would salmon. Farmed bass just have to be grown on a bit longer and wild bass targeted at a much bigger size – but the spawning grounds and shoaled bass would need to be protected, which is not an easy task.

acres, I would think, it might have been bigger, just boiling with fish feeding on sprats. As I paddled there were sprats pressed hard up against the paddle blade - they were that thick! Bass rolled in the waves right beside me and some were good fish too that I would have been very pleased to have bending my rod. I had gannet’s dive so close to the kayak that I could see them go underneath it! It was fantastic just to be there.

I heard the other day that Ben Bradshaw was given a representation from recreational shore anglers AGAINST raising the MLS to 45 cm as it would mean they would not be able to retain any fish because all the fish they caught were smaller than this. I can’t believe it was from a genuine RSA source. Having had first hand dealings with the underhand tactics used during the Hunting Bill, it is not beyond possibility that commercials are hiding behind RSA to scupper our argument from within our own ranks… Be on guard for this kind of thing!

As I was out for tope I only had trolling lures with me and the Joey mackerel wasn’t looked at. I changed to something smaller and shallower diving, again without success. Finally I rooted about in my box and found an escaped YoZuri lure that was about the right size. It created immediate interest and I managed to connect to nineteen bass, the best was about 6lbs8lbs. I didn’t get it into the kayak, but had hold of the lure. Then, while rooting about for the camera to try and get some pictures of it in the water it came off!

My next job is to write to the big supermarkets, especially M&S, as often these types of businesses have environmental funds, or conservation funds that people can apply for. It is only a stamp and the worst they can say is “sorry”.

M&S are publicly advertising their line caught fish on the side of their trucks – so if we could get involved with them and make use of their PR machine it would do us a power of good. I think we

Finally, I have managed to get a few days of fishing in this year and found myself amongst the biggest bait boil I have ever seen. I was out in my kayak, to try for some tope, when on the way back in the sea erupted all around, gulls, gannets, terns, they were all taking advantage of the situation. It was over a reef about one mile offshore.

There was an area of about five

The best one I landed was about 4lbs. They all went back happily and I have the pictures of that evening running in my head like a film clip. Afterwards I realised I should have taken some pictures.

Sorry, I went into angler mode and spent my time trying to get connected! I hope you all experience something like that some time this year. If you do, please be thoughtful and only keep one or two. It is all too easy to get carried away and then regret it later.

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20

A change is better than a rest

By Allan Hughes

I

nshore plug fishing for bass from a small boat is great fun, especially when in the company of good friends. Everything is shared – the small deck space, the best water, the tackle, even (sometimes!) the contents of the flask and the cherry bakewell tarts.

In the circle of friends I fish with most often, we use between us a range of perhaps thirty different plugs and lures, but during 2005 we developed a habit of very rarely fishing the same lures at the same time. One lure usually proved to be the most effective under a particular set of conditions, such as tidal parameters, weather and light conditions, water and air temperature, abundance and type of bait fish etc.

When fish were plentiful and widely distributed it was possible to catch on different plugs, but often the majority of fish fell to a specific pattern fished in a particular way.

If one angler caught a couple of fish in quick succession on the same lure, then this lure suddenly became the “hot favourite”, with everyone fishing it for five minutes in the hope that there were more fish down there that were tuned in to this particular pattern; then if nothing more came to the net the lures were all changed again. Fickle or opportunistic?

When hunting individual fish, or small numbers of non-aggressivefeeding bass, I have witnessed many instances where a previous hot lure is either just followed or, more interestingly, flatly refused.

This fish took a 5" black and gold YoZuri Mag Minnow… One of my favourite diving lures "How do you know when it has been refused?" one might ask...well if you catch a fish on the very next cast from the same water, but on a different plug, I would suggest that this may be what has happened.

I accept that this may not always be the case. When fishing in fast moving water, say in tide rips off coastal headlands or when fishing big spring tides over shallow reefs, the water, baitfish, bass plugs and flies all fly past one another in double quick time and it’s sometimes a wonder that they ever should meet at all. However, when fishing venues were bass may be holed up amongst boulders or in a relatively sheltered area with perhaps four foot or more of water above them, I believe it is reasonable to assume that if a fish hits a 2nd or 3rd lure cast into the same swim, then it almost certainly saw and refused the first lure you cast.

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Towards the end of the 04 season, my buddies and I got very proficient at changing lures - that wonderful little gem of a lure connector, the Norman Speed Clip, has proven to be a very useful commodity. It makes changing lures a five second exercise and doesn’t involve any re-tying of knots, a real blessing giving everyone’s preference to be fishing rather than fumbling around with braid and nail clippers.

When bass fishing on my own, I now deliberately try not to cover the same water twice with the same lure - if something doesn't work the first time, doing exactly the same thing again rarely results in a different outcome. This isn’t always the case I accept, and I’ve had my share of fish on a chug bug when this was the only lure I used to cast repeatedly into the same swim; and I know some people will say that you can tap into the aggressive predatory instinct of a fish by annoying it with

the same baitfish imitation. But I have found that even fishing the same lure in a different way - perhaps more slowly or slightly quicker - is a method that works more often than simply repeating the previous retrieve that failed to rise a fish. Most lures fish at their best when retrieved in a particular way, and having confidence that the lure will catch bass generally comes from knowing you are fishing the lure in the most effective manner possible. Success does funny things to one’s confidence levels.

For example, I have found that retrieving the Maria No.1 mackerel diving lure very quickly, almost always results in more frequent and positive hook ups from bass than when retrieved slowly, so this is the way I will usually fish this lure. I discovered this two seasons ago after witnessing many occasions when a bass would follow the slowly retrieved lure right up to the side of the boat without hitting it.

If I want to fish a comparable diver more slowly, I would pick a different lure rather than fish the Maria in a manner that is not, in my experience, the best way to do so. If I want to catch garfish on

4½lb bass caught (2005) on a fast retrieved Maria No. 1 diving lure this lure, I know that a pumping action delivers results‌ same lure, different retrieve, different target species.

We all know that you need to be confident with the lure you are fishing with, so like most other people I tend to have seven or eight current favourites that are most often connected to the end of my line. As I cover a stretch of water I like to fan out my casts and then repeat the exercise using a different lure - or if

Tom Hughes, with one of five similar sized fish caught in quick succession, using a modified popper

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I feel a specific area looks like it should hold a fish I often throw three different lures over it in succession, and it is remarkable how often this has paid off with a fish hitting the 2nd or 3rd lure choice.

My basic approach in this situation is to fish a slider or small popper, then a shallow - diving darter (which is retrieved quickly), then if the water depth is sufficient, a slower, deep diving lure. I have no particular preference as to what order I fish these lures, but I have a suspicion that it is better to work down the water table rather than up it, this way the noise and water displacement from the surface lure will create an additional attraction that may bring fish into the swim from the surrounding area, so giving the 2nd and 3rd lures the opportunity to be seen by these fish.

I guess what I'm saying in a nutshell is that I expect a bass to hit a correctly presented lure the first time it sees it. If the same lure must be thrown over a fish twice, then better it be fished more correctly (i.e. differently) the second time, or better still throw a different lure into the water instead, and fish this lure the best way you know how.

Internet news (For those members who, for whatever reason, don’t use a Personal Computer) The following two articles first appeared in the Guernsey Press & Star and featured around midApril. Unfortunately they missed the deadline for 117 but I have included them here as this is a year on year problem that needs to be highlighted.

Ed Fishing ban extension considered An extension to a netting ban is being considered to protect bass stocks off Guernsey's West Coast.

They gather on the Boue Blondel reef, in particular, to spawn. Attracting anglers and commercial fishermen, which caused some limits to be introduced.

Deputy Duncan Staples, from the Commerce and Employment Department, said fishing levels were being monitored to ensure stocks were sustainable.

The Sea Anglers Conservation Network said more work needed to be done.

Tagging stock Hundreds of bass caught around Guernsey are currently being tagged and released as part of a survey into fish stocks.

It is hoped the 500 fish will help gauge the strength of stocks in the reef. More than 300 have been tagged so far.

But the regional executive of the Sea Anglers Conservation Network, Andy Marquis, said more work needed to be done to ensure stocks were protected, even before any results from the tagging could be analysed.

He went on to add a that a lot of the image, from overseas, is that it’s not being looked after as well

as it should be. At least while they are looking at this tag issue they could do something before they got the results.

"It might be best to take action to make sure that the stock is safe as opposed to waiting two of three years for results."

Deputy Staples said much work had been done to try and conserve fish stocks around the whole island.

He said: "Before 2003, there were not actually any regulation whatsoever! The zero to 12-mile Bailiwick coast was completely unregulated. Any fishermen, any vessel could come in.

"The States introduced a licensing regime in October 2003 and that has had the effect of vastly reducing the size of vessels that can fish in our waters." * * * THE island is in danger of losing the growing number of holidaying anglers.

Criticism of bass fishing at the Boue Blondel is increasing both locally and in the UK. The National Federation of Sea Anglers is receiving adverse comments from a number of sources and questions are being raised as to why it is continuing to support Guernsey when the island allows the slaughter of the spawning bass.

The NFSA currently brings three national finals to the Bailiwick each year, which gives tourism excellent publicity.

However, unless some action is taken or assurances given that satisfy the critics, the NFSA will find itself in an impossible position.

It is not inconceivable that it will be forced to move the finals elsewhere, with the resultant loss to our tourist trade.

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A rising number of anglers have been coming to the islands.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the situation the adverse publicity surrounding this issue is already causing many potential visitors to cancel their holidays here.

By the way, Sea Fisheries’ aim of tagging and releasing 500 bass at the mark may not be achieved.

Adverse weather has cut down the number of planned trips and as a consequence only 332 have been tagged to date.

With the shoals breaking up and dispersing, it is very unlikely that the target will be met. * * * The next piece of news will be all but over by the time 118 is on your doorsteps… Or will it?

As reported in The Independent, around the middle of June, Tesco are to dabble in the fishing tackle market.

In the U.S - Wal-Mart already do this and I personally still own a rod & reel combination that I bought there some years ago.

I wonder how the tackle trade will receive the news?

Ed Tesco have come up with a brilliant ploy to sell more baked beans, ice cream, cheap pizzas and instant meals in their 960 stores. They are opening a fishing section.

Actually, that's not quite accurate.

They are dipping a corporate toe in the water by offering a limited range at 70 Tesco Extra stores from Monday. They will sell tackle until August, and then decide whether it is another step in Tesco's plan for world domination or a waste of space.

WHERE TO FISH? Apologies if you are expecting to be given a detailed list of bass fishing marks for your area.

Unfortunately it doesn't work like that.

B

ass are regarded as a much sort after quarry, not only by sport anglers, but also by 'others' (both commercial and so-called 'anglers', who sell their catch), as a result, bass fishing marks tend to be kept as closely guarded secrets, known only to a few friends. Many bass anglers spend years studying areas and locating good fishing spots, so they tend to be a bit 'cagey' about divulging their favourite marks to strangers.

In our view, much of the enjoyment of bass fishing comes from the challenge of discovering places to fish for this wonderful species. There is nothing more satisfying than researching your own bass mark, then enjoying the thrill and satisfaction of catching (and releasing) your first bass from it and subsequently sharing your new mark with friends.

We hope the following tips will point you in the right direction in your search for bass.

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A lot can be learned by reading about bass. Read the fishing reports and competition results in the media, these will often give you a clue about an area where bass are being caught. All you then have to do is to concentrate on that area to find a suitable mark to fish.

Visit your local tackle dealer, it is surprising how much information you can 'glean' from them, particularly if you spend a few quid!

The internet is another excellent source of information. The 'chat' on the various forums is often very helpful and you can occasionally pick up useful hints concerning fish location, despite the fact that many forum members are wary of giving out too much information.

Purchase a large scale map of the chosen area, start off by looking for any rivers or streams entering the sea, always a good place to begin. Rocky headlands are also worth investigating , in fact any rocky area, particularly if there are kelp beds, or weedy areas, in the vicinity.

Once you have decided on the area, walk the beach. Obviously low water is the best time, as all the features will be revealed, but do check the tides first, as you don't want to get 'cut off'. Bass like tidal flow, so look for places which create it. Check for rocks, rocky points, loose boulders, sand bars, depressions in the beach, gullies, piers, outflows, jetties, breakwaters, etc., not forgetting weedy areas. Weedy areas are a source of food as many of the creatures that bass seek out for food inhabit weedy areas for protection.

Bass are a predatory fish and hunt for food, preferring the clearer water to do it. They search out crabs, shrimps, prawns and small fish which all follow the tide in as it covers the beach, rocky outcrops and weedy areas.

You will be surprised how little water a bass needs to search out its food, so do NOT discount very shallow water. In fact check it out first, but you need to be careful and ensure your position is not disclosed to the fish. Don't wade straight out into the sea. Fish the edge first, many large bass have been caught within 2 or 3 yards of the shoreline OBSERVATION is the key word.

Keep a look out for sea bird activity, gulls, gannets, terns etc., diving into the sea in the same area. They will be feeding on a shoal of baitfish. Beneath the shoal, predatory fish, invariably bass, will be harassing the baitfish and forcing them to the surface. If you can reach, fish the edge of the area of baitfish activity, you have more chance of success there than going for the centre of activity.

Spend time looking for bass in calm conditions, particularly at dawn, or dusk. You may see an odd swirl, where a bass has turned, or a spiky dorsal fin sticking out of the water, as the bass 'grubs ' in the shallow water looking for food.

Visit the area at different states in the tide. Observe how the marks you saw at low water, now covered, affect the tidal flow. Look for 'tidal rips' (where tidal currents meet), bass will patrol these areas waiting for baitfish to be washed towards them.

REMEMBER, bass are a slow growing species and creatures of habit, they tend to frequent the same area, year after year, so take care of any bass you find. Once a bass is removed it will take many years before a bass of similar size takes over the same patch.

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•

FINALLY, now that you have joined BASS, you are amongst other like-minded souls, with the quarterly magazine giving lots of interesting articles and tips about fishing for and locating bass, but please do not expect the magazine to ever contain a published list of marks, for the reasons already stated. However the members are a friendly lot and once you have gained their trust and formed a friendship, you will find members only too willing to assist you.

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We hope you are successful in your quest for bass. Oh, and if you do find any good marks, let us know! *

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BASS MEMBERS FORUM BASS members area & password protected forum A password protected BASS members forum has been added to the BASS web site. All members, who have an email address, are eligible for membership. If you have not yet been given access to the forum, please email the forum administrator, David Riley <dsriley1@mac.com> in order that you may be registered and notified of your username and password. So far we have 238 registered members, which is nearly half of the BASS membership. The Forum is only available to current BASS members.

A password protected BASS members forum was one of the suggestions made at the March 2006 AGM. The BASS officers and committee are keen to promote greater involvement by the members in the Society and hope that many of you will participate in the forum. It is an ideal way to increase your bass fishing knowledge, share tips and information as well as ‘meet’ up with other members and hopefully making a few new friends along the way.

The committee asks you to observe the following guidelines, when using the forum…

We ask that you use your real name (full names) for making posts – no ‘nom-de-plumes’ or nicknames Please do not disclose specific mark location details in your posts.

No offensive language or remarks.

Please no blatant commercial advertising.

[It is acceptable to mention commercial products or services by name, provided that it is relevant to the content of your post. However it is NOT acceptable for you use the BASS members forums to promote your own business, business products, or services.]

Only paid up BASS members are permitted to use the forum, so if you have not paid your BASS subscriptions (due 1 January annually) by 31 March annually, your membership of the forum will be terminated on 1 April annually. It will be re-instated when you renew your membership of BASS. Please regard the BASS member’s forums as an additional service for members. It is certainly NOT the intention that the BASS member’s forum will, in any way, replace the BASS magazine. The magazine will always remain at the heart of the Society, especially as many members do not have Internet access. However those of you that do, we hope you will find time to ‘log in ’occasionally and participate.

http://www.ukbass.com/membersarea/ 25

“Backlash” Letters to the editor “Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most" Anonymous

Dear Steve Just a few thoughts on footwear…

I have no axe to grind, except that I have woken up looking down twenty feet into the murky depths with a bruise on the forehead and spread-eagled on some large boulders.

Reason; tungsten studs on flat sloping rock (one step for temporary support and I don’t remember anything else until waking up) and yes I did have an inflatable collar!

Mike Davies Penclawdd, Swansea Dear Mike A tale of woe for sure and reason enough not to fish alone. Sometimes, fishing can take us to dangerous places and safety should always be our No.1 concern. After all, a fish is not worth dying for.

I have included Mike’s “Footwear in fishy places” on page 34. It is a well thought out piece, based on Mike’s unfortunate experience.

Steve * * * Hi Steve Good luck in your new role as editor of the BASS Mag. Peter and John have both done a great job over the last 10 years, each bringing their own individual style and flavour as editors to the

pages of our great magazine. I hope you are supported with lots of articles and letters from the membership to give you the opportunity to put together a great magazine…

Allan Hughes Ferndown, Dorset Dear Allan Yes, both John & Peter have done an excellent job with the magazine and I hope to carry on in a similar vein. The magazine is the voice of the Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society and would not be what it is today without the continuing support of it’s membership.

Steve * * * Dear Steve Well done on BASS 117, The new colour cover and glossy feel to the magazine gives it a really professional look and a great improvement on what someone recently described as the 'blotting paper' version for which I and my predecessors were responsible. I liked the content very much, especially as I did not have to put it together.

All I had to do was read it and enjoy it. Now you have found out what is involved, I hope you are still speaking to me!

I also hope you are getting in some fishing time despite the hours that the magazine takes. I have been getting out in my boat more. I have reverted to oldfashioned bait fishing and am spending my time drift lining and sometimes float fishing, live sandeels. The reason for the change away from fishing artificials is, partly, to do with my back; I have been suffering quite a lot of pain after long lure fishing sessions (less with fly than with plugs, though both can be painful), and, partly to do with fancying a more laid back and lazy style of fishing now that I am 60.

It occurred to me that it is a long time since anyone wrote anything in the magazine about fishing live sandeel from a boat, so would you be interested in an article with some photographs (of boat and fish) and some diagrams of the bait set-ups?

Thanks for the front-page exposure, by the way.

Very best regards...Peter Dear Peter Thankyou for your kind words regarding the magazine and yes I will still speak to you. Sorry to hear about your back problem, I hope it sorts itself out soon.

I suspect that many of the membership would be interested in an article on live sandeel fishing & presentation. Please, send it in.

Steve

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Dear Steve Reading recent BASS magazines, it seems that everyone is having poor fishing on the Dingle Peninsula? The main Brandon surf beaches have not fished well for a few years although they can produce some very good fish when conditions are perfect, especially on The Back Beach (Fahamore).

They also fish well at night for codling from October to January.

Inch Strand can be a bit of an enigma but has produced some good catches over the last three years. My best results have been at night, two hours before high water and two hours of the ebb. I fish just less than a mile (0.8 on the tachometer) along from the car park. Neap tides have been the most productive. It really pays to drive along in daylight to check out the weed. Lug has out-fished everything else at night for me, but razors and crab will catch too.

Ideally there should be about four lines of surf about two to three feet high for night fishing; the sort of surf that would not look very productive for fishing during the day.

I make maybe four or five trips to Dingle every year and the most productive ones are in November and December. I rarely bother fishing the Brandon beaches as I am getting too old to stand in the surf for hours in the vain hope of finding a bass. There are dozens of other places to fish, especially at night and some are quite productive.

Last November I fished for a week but only put in about eighteen hours night fishing and ten hours in daylight. I had thirty two bass from 2lbs to 6lbs. Conditions were good with warm South and South West winds. It was a memorable trip and while the average weight per fish was only 3lbs they were caught at roughly one for every hour of fishing.

In mid December the long-range weather forecast was favourable

so I went over again. I did not expect the fishing to be as good, but it was even better. In fifteen hours of night fishing I had over fifty bass (it was hard to keep count sometimes). The average weight was only just over 2lbs but there were six fish of 5lbs and over. On two night sessions fish were biting within seconds of casting. It was just too easy, and I packed up while they were still biting as there really was no point in carrying on! The best bait, by far, was lug with crab coming a poor second. I usually fish with a friend who lives in Tralee. His results were similar to mine, although he is a good long distance caster and often fishes too far out at night. The bass are usually only fifteen to fifty yards from the shore.

of any other marks that produce some bass. The only thing I have learned during the twenty five years I have been fishing there is that if one mark does not produce the expected results, go somewhere else. There are so many interesting places to try. Check them out at low tide; see where the main tidal current runs, look for gullies, small depressions and other features, and fish from dusk.

Fishing in the surf is truly wonderful, but if the bass are not there it is just a pleasant waste of time.

There are some excellent places for bass and rays near Tralee, but my friend will probably kill me if I give any further details!

Good luck with the magazine.

All the best

The daylight fishing was not so good but in reasonable surf conditions I had eight bass between 3 and 5lbs with frozen sand eel being the favoured bait.

The most productive beaches were around Smerwick and Ferriters Cove. Best bass came from the Castlemaine estuary, at the old ferry crossing at Keel (turn down the small road past the burial ground). Fishing the flood in darkness is most productive. Flounders can be a pest here, but using large crab or mackerel baits on a size 4/0 to 6/0 hook helps avoid them.

Also, using a large popped-up bait increases one’s chances.

There are dozens of other good marks between here and Inch that fish well at night for bass, but they only produce flounders and thornbacks during the day.

David Himsworth Kennythorpe Malton Dear David Thankyou for a very informative letter that could quite easily be classed as an article in it’s own right.

You have given the membership many hints and pointers as to the whereabouts of some decent bass fishing on the Dingle Peninsular and I hope we see some feedback as a result. Understandably, It is all too easy to become very ‘hushhush’ about your favourite marks & places to fish and I find it a refreshing change to see .* * *

Another venue that can produce decent size bass is below the old castle at Minard. There are not a lot of fish, but a four hour session at night usually results in two or three bass over 4lbs. But, beware of the dogs!

I hope to be in Dingle again this autumn and I will let you know

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Beefs, Gripes, Whinges, Tips, Advice, Rants & Raves...

If you have something you’d like say, why not drop me a line!

Ed

SHELL ISLAND 2006

By Steve Butler

A

s true as the blossom appears on the trees and the summer birds migrate back to our shores, the Shell Island fish-in comes around once again.

Each year, having a bit of bait for Shell Island helps, as you never know what the weather is going to do over the three-day period? This year Ian Morris and I made the journey to our North Wales crab picking grounds, arriving at 9.30am on a chilly morning. Initially, we found it very hard going as we moved along the shoreline lifting weed and turning over rocks. In fact, we had only collected around ten crabs in the first hour! Time went by, blisters had started to form on our fingers and barnacle scraps on our forearms, but at least our collection had grown to a healthier number of around fifty. Things were looking up.

weed to keep them cool. I change the ice packs every morning & evening to help prolong the life of the crabs, as they would have to keep for the best part of a week.

During our crabbing session, I had a call from fellow Bass member Alan Wilson, who was also out collecting crabs with his mate Philip Hargest. We arranged a meeting and he handed over their collection of crabs for a small fee, just to cover their petrol costs: (thanks Alan & Phil). When sorted, the peelers were put into one bucket and the softies into another – I do this to save the softies getting damaged by the claws of the peelers. At the end of all this we had a grand total of around ninety peelers and seventy-five softies. All the peelers were put into my bait fridge while the softies ended up in a big box with four ice packs and some

During Thursday evening, I had a call from the Crimson gypsy, Frank Whittingham, to say that he had arrived at Shell. Most of us were due to arrive on Friday afternoon and evening. After an early finish from work on the Friday, Ian and I were on our way to Shell, stopping off at the tackle shop in Colwyn Bay to pick up some ordered crab for Mike Oliver and Dean Mallows.

This was followed by another scheduled stop to pick up our survival kits from the off licence! Finally we were off to meet up with the other members at the campsite. Marc Bevan sent a text to say he had already arrived earlier in the day.

“When landed it weighed 4lb 4oz, a nice fish for my first session”

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As we pulled into the campsite we could see the BASS shantytown had started to build with rods leaning against tents and vans all ready for their first Shell Island session. Things were looking very promising when Marc Bevan and Frank Whittingham returned from a session to say that Marc had landed eight bass to 3lb 8oz, all on crab bait. Marc also reported that it had been a bite on nearly every cast and savage bites at that.

Frank had been fishing from his kayak and landed three small bass on lures. John Taylor also reported landing a bass but not from Shell Island. It turned out, John had made his way to Anglesey to collect some bait, so he could take it down to Shell, but found the crabbing tough going and only managed a few. So he decided to have a fish with what little bait he had collected and his short session resulted in a 4lb bass, which made John’s day.

After pitching the tents and wind breaks, setting up the stove, getting fishing gear ready for the next morning, plus getting water, it was time for something to eat.

Frank made a curry for a good few of us, which went down very well, before it was up to the pub for the Friday night meeting with the rest of the lads. While in the pub we got talking to BASS members, Ritchie Davies and Paul Shackley, who told us they had had a good few small Bass on bait. They had arrived, at shell, on Tuesday and made the most of their week off work.

We didn’t go mad on the beer.

Only four pints, so we’d have a clear head for the morning session. Well, some of us only had four pints - he will be revealed later!

On Saturday, we woke to a flat calm sea and remembering the success Marc had with bait, Ian and I opted to fish free-lined crab bait. The tide had been flooding for around an hour when we arrived at the mass of rocks. We baited up and made our casts. It’s surprising how far you can cast with just two soft crabs and no weight! Within five minutes, I had a solid knock but missed the bite.

I indicated this to Ian then baited up and made my second cast. In no time at all, I had another solid hit on my rod. This time I waited and could see the slack bow forming in my line. I started reeling in the slack very slowly and it soon became obvious the fish was swimming in to the shore, with my bait in its mouth. I carried on reeling slowly then made a hard strike and contact was made. It was a bass, I could tell by its speed as it shot off to my right.

When landed it weighed 4lb 4oz, a nice fish for my first session. I baited up and cast out once again and witnessed Ian making a hard strike, but missing the fish.

Frank paddled past in his kayak and we had a brief chat, then he was away and began casting his lure. I watched him land and re-

Landing a lure caught Shell bass lease a small bass from his craft.

Ian then made another cast, into the same area where he had his original bite, and It wasn’t long before he was into a fish, which weighed 2lb 8oz. These were the only fish we landed on that session, so it was a slow stroll back. On the way back we had a chat with Steve Prince and his mate Mark Johansson & family for around fifteen minutes before moving on. Back at the camp we found out that some of the other lads had done well on

lures. Early that morning Tony Spiller, Mike Oliver, Mike Castello and Dean Mallows all headed to the opposite end of the beach to where Ian and I had fished. The lads reported that they had a shoal of fish around them hitting sand eels. Using a variety of lures Tony Spiller landed six bass to 4lb, Dean Mallows landed five bass to 5lb and Mike Oliver landed three bass. Frank Whittingham also landed another two bass on his shallow diving lure, fishing from his kayak, plus he’d

Frank headed off while I had the tune to Hawaii 5/0 in my head

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seen a few garfish and sea trout, as did both Ian and I. In the camp we all started asking the question, where did Marc fish this morning as none of us has seen him out and about? After a five minute discussion I walked over to his van and looked in.

There he was fast asleep and had been all night and morning due to too much ‘black stuff ‘ the night before! When he finally crawled out from his van he said he was in no fit state to go fishing that morning - then made a large yawn and with his arms stretched out wide as if indicating the size of the fish he’d been dreaming about. We all then sat down and had a brew and some of Tony Spillers Welsh cakes (thanks Tony’s wife for making them, they were spot on). Rob Thomas called into our camp for a chat.

Rob was camping in a lower field with his partner plus Paul Owens and his partner plus the kids and not forgetting Robs dog.

At 11.30am I watched the scousers, John Keane and John Taylor, gather their tackle and load up the car. They then made their way to their secret mark hoping to land a big Bass! During the afternoon the sea roughed up, so most members bait fished at the far end of the beach. During the session Frank Whittingham, Mike Oliver, Dean Mallows and myself only landed doggies but Marc Bevan, who was fishing to my right, landed four small bass. Ian Morris had one small bass and Tony Spiller landed two bass with one going just over 4lb.

Back at the camp, after our fishing tackle was put away, Frank and I were walking past Mike Costello’s camping area. Mike was cooking a very, very large stir-fry, which smelt wonderful.

“Hungry lads? Some pork stir fry here” Mike said in his American accent - he didn’t have to ask twice!

Frank and I sat down and tucked into the best stir-fry I’ve ever

tasted. We all know Frank is king of the curries but now Mike Costello is king of the stirfries and it will take some beating to knock him off his throne, believe me!

Later in the evening it was Marc’s turn to make a curry, under the supervision of our 5th Dan black belt on curries, Frank. Marc was doing an excellent job and everything was going perfect until he made a start on the Basmati rice. The rice was boiling away when Marc made a sudden and fatal attempt to stir the rice. Just as his hand was going to make contact with the lid, the sky started to darken and every thing went into slow motion (a bit like the Matrix film and the six million-dollar man mixed together). Marc’s hand was knocked away to a sound emitting from Frank’s mouth “Noooooooooooo yooou’llllll ruuuuuin iiiitt”. Marc had felt the full wrath of 5th Dan Frank… “ No one messes with Franks basmati rice, no one!

In the end it turned out to be a very good curry. I only had a bit

Frank preparing one of his legendary curry’s because of the stir-fry earlier but Marc, Ian and Tony eat their fill as we all laughed about Frank protecting his beloved rice.

During the evening a RAF Helicopter came over the camp, hov-

30

ering around 40ft above us, searching for a missing boy who was apparently still lost. The inshore lifeboat was also working its way along the shoreline, very close to the high tide mark. The helicopters downdraft was unbelievable and quite a few chairs were sent flying, even the odd baseball cap was blown off their owner’s heads! Rob Thomas reported that his barbecue was blown over with hot ashes flying all around the camping area.

Thankfully the missing boy was found safe & sound and Robs tent didn’t burn down. Also, that night a car had driven off the causeway, with the occupants standing on the roof of their vehicle surrounded by water, waiting to be rescued. Who said Shell Island is boring?

In the end it turned out to be a very good curry. I only had a bit because of the stir-fry earlier but Marc, Ian and Tony eat their fill as we all laughed about Frank protecting his beloved rice.

During the evening a RAF Helicopter came over the camp, hovering around 40ft above us, searching for a missing boy who was apparently still lost. The inshore lifeboat was also working its way along the shoreline, very close to the high tide mark. The helicopters downdraft was unbelievable and quite a few chairs were sent flying, even the odd baseball cap was blown off their owner’s heads! Rob Thomas reported that his barbecue was blown over with hot ashes flying all around the camping area.

Thankfully the missing boy was found safe & sound and Robs tent didn’t burn down. Also, that night a car had driven off the causeway, with the occupants standing on the roof of their vehicle surrounded by water, waiting to be rescued. Who said Shell Island is boring? smoke. They’d been up all night playing cards, after being kicked out of the pub at last orders, it was

Waiting for the shell ‘bite’ now 5am! My decision was to leave them all to it.

Most of us lure fished that morning on different parts of the coast.

I fished the area I’d landed on bait. As I was casting my lures Frank came paddling towards me for a chat, then headed off to the tune of Hawaii 5/0 in my head, as he paddled the water. I was frozen that morning from wading chest high and to cap it all, I didn’t land a thing. Tony, Marc, Dean, Mike C and Mike O all blanked as well, but Ian did land two bass on lures, while Frank landed four to 4lb.

John Taylor bait fished his secret mark and landed a Bass of 3lb.

John also reported that John Keane had blanked once again (J.T told me to add that last bit).

Mike Costello had to return home, so it was to be an early pack-away for him, as he wanted to get off the Island before the flooding tide would cut him off. I hope Mike returns next year and It’s not just for your stir-fry Mike, honest.

Remember Casey Jones?

Sunday afternoon Rob Thomas was all set up to have a paddle around in Franks Kayak. He was dressed all in black, very similar

to the Milk Tray man; do you all remember him? Anyway, Rob paddled past the camp looking very comfortable on the water, and really did look a natural.

Truthfully, I think we were all waiting for him to fall in which didn’t happen.

Later that Afternoon it was a few beers in the pub, Ian, Tony, Marc, Rob, Frank and Myself, Paul arrived later on. We only had a couple because we had planned to fish the evening low tide and flood, except Frank, who had to go home.

Sunday evening saw us all out fishing again. I free-lined bait but didn’t get a touch during my two hour session. Marc baitfished and landed doggies, while Ian free-lined bait and landed two small bass around 2lb 8oz each. Mike Oliver flyfished and blanked but Dean lure fished and landed a bass around 4lb on a chug bug, down at Barnards point (your still with us Chris). On Sunday evening the clouds had started to gather and by 9pm it had started to Rain, by 10pm it was chucking it down with that distinctive

31

sound rain makes when it hits your tent. All the lads had gone to the pub. I stayed in my £24.99 tent with a couple of cans of tramp juice and the Sunday paper. With the rain getting even heavier and the wind started to pick up I started to worry that my tent would be up to the job. In the middle of the night our table, that housed the cooker and dishes, ended up crashing to the ground with the force of the wind. Tony Spiller put guide ropes on his windbreak to help shelter his tent, while Marc Bevan was rocked to sleep, by the wind, as he slept in his converted fishing van.

The following morning no one fished due to the weather, plus the sea had roughed up with very heavy waves breaking on the rocks. Most anglers were packing away so they could leave the Island before the tide cut them off.

Marc, Tony, Ian and I decided on a large breakfast, then wait for the tide to retreat, before we all set off for another year.

With all the Bass added up, this year produced over fifty. If you’ve never done a Shell Island fish in, just try it once and you’ll be

Alternative Bonefishing Part 2

By Mike Ladle & Steve Pitts

L

ast time we gave an account of how to spice up your tropical holiday by catching hard-fighting bonefish on float gear. A couple of years ago Peter James, a fellow member of B.A.S.S. who has done quite a bit of fishing in the Virgin Islands, told us of another way to catch bonefish that is even more surprising. According to the accepted wisdom delicately presented flies and hours of stalking in gin clear waters seem to be the order of the day, but Peter uses small plugs on light spinning gear to tempt his bonefish from the flats.

The same type of spinning/carp rod and fixed spool reel that we suggested for float fishing will do but you will need to add a wire trace because barracuda, lizardfish, houndfish and other toothy critters will be keen to take your plugs! A few smallish, shallowdiving plugs such as the Rapala J7 or Rebel J10 should complete your outfit. We have now tried plugging tactics for ourselves and caught good bonefish, while anglers using conventional fly gear went fishless. So we’ll describe a few of our experiences just to whet your appetite for the action.

The basic technique is to fish with a floating plug that dives to about 0.5m (or less) deep. Our first catch was almost by accident and was certainly a surprise.

Mike was spending a few hours with the family, in the middle of the day, on a sun baked sandy

Steve with an Aigle Magnet Slider caught bonefish beach in the West Indian Island of Tobago. Reluctant to sunbathe and mindful of Peter’s advice he picked up his spinning rod, attached a J7 Rapala and waded a few hundred metres through the clear, thigh-deep water out to the reef. Sparkling white waves were breaking over the shallow water of the reef as he cast and retrieved his little plug through the surf, much as he would be doing if he were fishing for bass, back home in Dorset.

After about ten minutes there was a tug and a boil but the fish was missed. A little later – near disaster! Mike must have failed to push home the middle joint of his ‘travel’ spinning rod and when he cast, the end two sections hurtled out to sea. As he reeled in, carefully, the errant joints slid down to the swivel on the trace and began to plane across the surface back to where he stood. Suddenly the line

32

tightened and to his astonishment there was a fish on.

Line poured off the reel, the fish rushed out to sea and the top joints of the rod went with it. The extra drag hampered the fish a bit but it still put up a long and spirited fight. As the line shortened mike saw that he had hooked a good bonefish – his first on a lure – and was desperately keen to land it.

However, the fish had other ideas and it was some time before he was able to recover the top half of the rod, jam it back onto the spigot and land the fish proper.

Since then we have landed a number of sizeable bonefish on plugs.

At first they were caught in the tables of water breaking over the coral and turtle grass beds, because that following Mike’s experience, is where we were fishing. In the same situation we hooked and landed snapper,

houndfish, barracuda and jacks.

Tarpon, to 30lb or more, also took the plugs but as usual they shed the hooks with their head shaking leaps.

We thought that perhaps it was an unusual situation and that the ‘bones’ were taking our plugs keenly because of the turbulent, broken water conditions. Since then it has become clear that the fish are perfectly happy to take plugs even in the clearest, calmest conditions of the shallow lagoons.

We’ve now landed bonefish on lures up to eleven centimetres in length – much, much bigger than even the largest flies used for these fish.

On our most recent trip Steve and I were wading the flats with our spinning gear. Steve was after barracuda using a good-sized surface slider and the obligatory six inches of wire trace. The technique was to cast 50 metres ahead of him and retrieve as fast as possible, so that the lure created an attractive wake across the calm surface.

Suddenly, I saw him strike into a fish which tore off through the shallow water at lightening pace.

We both thought that he had hooked a barracuda and waited for the usual leaping and thrashing about that these fish are renowned for. This fish, however, continued to rip line from the reel, as it raced across the flat. It was some time before he was able to subdue his catch, and when it was close enough for a good view we saw, to our amazement, that it was a decent bonefish.

“Bonefish take the plugs firmly, usually by the tail treble” contents of 385 bonefish. Apparently earlier studies have shown that these fish normally eat a wide range of crabs, shrimps, worms and clams.

However, in this more recent work fish were found to be a major part of the diet – particularly in the case of larger bonefish of over 44 centimetres in length. Almost half of the fish examined contained the remains of anchovies, sea horses, snappers, gobies, triggerfish and particularly toadfish (like little bullheads). In other words if you want to catch big bonefish you

could do worse than use fish imitations as bait.

Our experience is that bonefish take the plugs firmly, usually by the tail treble and boy do they fight! Plugging is a good way to explore the flats and you may want to return to hot spots with your float or fly gear the following day. One thing’s for sure...

Fly, float or plug - when the line is screaming out and you are hanging on to the rod for dear life you can’t fail to enjoy your holiday.

Fishing with plugs certainly has the potential to be an exciting method for catching these wonderful fish?

No doubt bonefish living in different places eat different types of food. As a matter of interest we recently came across an article published by scientists from the Florida Marine Research Institute who investigated the stomach

Mike with an alternate species, a nice Snook, which took a plug

33

Footwear in fishy places

By Mike Davies

J

ust a few thoughts on the most important item of any angler’s kit, as one slip in the wrong place could mean curtains!

Footwear is always a trade off between comfort, support, weight, cost and a number of other lesser aspects. Probably it is best to have two or three different pairs for different conditions as the perfect, single type, footwear for all situations has yet to be invented.

(Or have I missed something)?

Bass fishing involves sandy beaches, flat and sloping rocks, covered in weed, barnacles, vertical drops for jumping down (and somehow getting back up), wicked muddy slopes, gooey mud and other delights.

Agility is sometimes necessary but you can’t be a gazelle in clodhoppers! Sometimes you need to wade and sometimes you will be entirely dry. Select footwear for the worst likely scenario.

when standing one legged on pointy rocks, is fairly clumsy, can take tungsten studs, needs stamina to wear and travel.

A lighter boot is easier on the foot but not so supportive, is prone to give a bit on the sole instep but is usually the best compromise.

Very light (Tennis shoe type) allow maximum agility, speed and comfort, but you will have to pick your route well ahead to avoid getting into a ‘no escape from the slippery stuff’ scenario.

Stay on the front part of the foot, as instep bruising can occur.

Points to remember…

Don’t use tungsten shod soles on smooth sloping rocks or you’ll go down the chute fast and don’t use felt soles if they are likely to get clogged with mud. It’s surprising how much mud there is near bass marks.

You will go skiing!

A strong boot gives good ankle support, good instep protection

Watch out for boots described as suitable for dry conditions!

Angling Accommodation in Dorset Fly-fishing from the shore for bass, scad, mackerel, pollack & garfish Over forty years experience with advice given on plugging, beachcasting etc.

Bed & Breakfast £35 for one night or £25 for two nights or more. Private parking available.

For further details contact Malcolm Brindle on 01305 832305

34

Continued from back page amongst anglers that the glory days of sea fishing for Guernsey are over, as commercial fishing takes away the jewels.

‘Not as good as it used to be’, is the answer I get when I ask those who have some experience of fishing in Guernsey.

Even Phil is going to Ireland this year, where the bass are protected by restrictions on commercial fishing, and anglers have to conform to bag limits. This is designed to preserve the stock of specimen fish that have visitors passing straight through the wonderful scenery of North Wales, to catch the ferry from Holyhead, and spend their pounds as euros in Ireland’s guest houses, hotels and restaurants instead.

I can only wonder at the shortsightedness of those who should be boosting the reputation of Guernsey as potentially Europe’s premier saltwater sports fishery.

Appealing to both traditional sea anglers as well as the new enthusiasts for saltwater fly-fishing, and kayak anglers.

I begin to feel sorry too, for the excellent angling guides and charter skippers, whose fish-finding skills and local knowledge are essential for visiting anglers.

Who, along with the shops, restaurants and activities earn money by catering for the needs of anglers’ families while on holiday.

But as Guernsey’s reputation amongst the angling community slips, it hasn’t been terminally damaged. Not yet! There is still time, not only to halt and reverse that damage to Guernsey’s reputation as a premier saltwater sports fishing destination, but to build upon one of its potentially greatest economic assets. Being a small island with fish of good size, to delight the visitors and keep them happy to return with their families again and again.

Continued >

The fishery causing so much concern to anglers who visit Guernsey was only discovered recently.

In an area of shoals, large quantities of mature bass gather.

With the tide too strong for set netting and a set net ban in place within 0.5NM of the Boue, both commercial and angling boats are fishing rod and line, taking turns drifting across the shoals and later returning to shore with boats full of large bass. Trawlermen move in when the tide slackens, and the fish move away from the main reef, catching many tonnes of Bass in a single hit. [Note – this is what the real problem is. Many believe that the fishery is sustainable by rod and line only but there’s still the breeding fish issue – Andy] With anglers on some charters ‘fishing for the boat’ - others are rumoured to be selling their catches. Anglers are seen as part of the problem, although for some time conservation minded anglers on the island have been campaigning for better regulation of this fishery, and asking for local bylaws to be bought in by the Guernsey Sea Fisheries Committee.

A public meeting was held and Dr (?) Mike Pawson bought over to address the meeting.

His apparent advice was that bass are being fished sustainably, but there is some confusion as to whether he was talking about the region generally, or these specific local congregations, that could otherwise be developed as an important recreational resource for the island, if managed with care.

It could be that fish from the region would visit the shoals to feed, with numbers on the shoals limited only by the available space and food supply.

In which case, the fish removed will soon be replaced from the

wider regional population and those taken by this fishery just a fraction of that being taken by the pair trawlers further out.

Or, it could be that these are ‘local’ fish? Once the population has been reduced it will take many years before we see the like again! There was a similar area off the Conwy, in Wales, where shoals of bass and salmonoids gathered. These too, were heavily fished until (apparently too late) a bylaw was introduced by the NW&NWSFC closing the area during the time when fish congregated there.

When the SFC came to revise its bylaws, a number of years later, the reason why the area was being closed seemed almost forgotten, as few people tend to fish there now, due to a lack of fish in the area.

Some tagging is taking place to find out what is going on with these Guernsey fish, but it is likely to be several years before any definitive information is available. SFC has said that not all of the 500 tags have been deployed. The reason being that they were issued too late to hit the majority of the shoal before it moved on, with the shoal arriving and departing about a month earlier than previous years.

Meanwhile anglers are already reporting a noticeable scarcity of bass both on the spawning grounds and on other island marks.

There is also a gathering fear that with nearby Jersey recently introducing a ban on large inshore trawlers, and pair-trawling being banned by UK boats in UK waters (which doesn’t apply to Guernsey waters), effort will be displaced onto the inshore waters of Guernsey.

The Guernsey SFC, having dis-

35

cussed the matter, are proposing to introduce bag limits for angling charter boats. But campaigners are trying to persuade them that such restrictions on the recreational fishery are only acceptable as part of a much wider package of conservation measures, that will reduce the overall pressure on the stocks, rather than reserving fish for the catching sector and protecting its market.

Guernsey has recently introduced changes to its taxation system to remain competitive with other tax havens. But this has left a black hole in its finances, added to which a recent £2 million campaign to attract more visitors to the island has proven to be a damp squib.

So, the island is economically vulnerable to a sullying of its reputation as a premier European saltwater fishing destination. So long as they get the message loud and clear that many visitors go to Guernsey, at least in part, to experience what it has to offer the, holidaying, recreational sea angler.

Further information is available at http://www.fishingguernsey.co.uk/, including on the website’s forum, and on the pages of the local paper. The Guernsey P r e s s a t h t t p : / / www.thisisguernsey.com (search articles and letters).

If you would like to comment, please email... newsroom@guernsey-press.com

"The newspaper reserves the right to edit letters. All letters must be signed, addressed and include a telephone number. Requests for anonymity should be capable of justification. Letters should ideally be restricted to 250-300 words. E-mails should include a postal address."

‘Roskilly’s Reflections’ A Holiday Maker’s dream

T

here’s just something about being away from the bustle of town, the frantic manoeuvrings in the office, the tediousness of a routine that involves a daily journey crushed alongside others. To stand next to the waves with the sounds only of the sea and the gulls, waving a fishing rod purposefully out over the sparkling surf.

Even when the exercise seems practically pointless, as yet another cast of the lure is retrieved with diminishing expectation, the mind focuses on other times when fish were more plentiful and bigger.

Good companionship is the other ingredient needed to diminish the growing feeling of futility. It is my fishing companion, Phil, who completes the contentment of a fishless day with his tales of recent visits to Guernsey and his greater success there with more willing and plentiful fishing opportunities.

It is as he paints a word picture of a retrieved lure, attracting the attention of a predatory Guernsey bass of enviable size that my own imagination takes over.

They say that the grass is always greener somewhere else, but when tales are told with repeated consistency of more productive fishing elsewhere, it creates the desire to go and see what’s really on offer for one’s self.

With tales of Guernsey’s other excellent fishing opportunities, read in magazines, discussed in angler’s Internet forums and told

by those who have visited in the past. It is another destination of legendary potential to be added to a small list of such places, perhaps worth visiting one day.

Striped bass fishing in Maine, the barramundi of Northern Australia, bonefish on tropical beaches, huge cod from the Norwegian fjords. Now the bass and mullet fishing from the rocks, beaches and harbours of Guernsey, all competing to attract the visiting angler, along with their families and their chequebooks!

For, as my family well knows, when we sit together to discuss our holiday destination, even though I may be the only angler amongst us all, it is useless to suggest going anywhere where there isn’t at least the opportunity of some decent holiday fishing.

Even if I rarely get the chance to sneak out to wet a line in the surf, or book a charter trip during a week or more of visits to horse-riding establishments, restaurants, shopping in unknown towns, tours and attractions - where my money seems to flow freely from the hands of other family members. The possibility of taking home the memory of catching an outstanding fish (usually to be returned straight back to the sea) is the essential attraction for me.

As I pull my lure back through the water and listen to Phil’s recounted adventures along Guernsey’s shoreline, the idea is already growing firmly in my

36

head.

Maybe Guernsey doesn’t have the exotic appeal of tackling mahseer in the foothills of the Himalayas, or offer the extreme excitement of battling with gigantic black marlin off Australia’s barrier reef. But it is close enough not to be overly expensive getting there, and has just the right balance of exotic and familiar to cater for all the family’s tastes, with an understandable language, currency and customs.

Perhaps more importantly, if the fishing is nearly half as good as I’ve heard, it’s close enough to revisit, maybe a couple of times a year for a short break or two, when the fish are at their most obliging.

And so the idea develops, as does the plan.

Holiday brochures extolling all the delights of Guernsey are left casually on the coffee table (it helps if another member of the family makes the initial suggestion, and I reluctantly agree).

Earning precious brownie points for extra fishing hours as a reward for not putting my foot down too firmly in favour of the mosquito ridden beach amongst the mangroves of the Amazon, where monster fish are known to lurk.

But then, just as the plan seems to be coming together, the black clouds appear.

‘Guernsey Bass slaughter!’ screams the headlines of the Internet postings. Word spreads Continued on page 34

Are you an Angler?

Interested in bass?

BASS Magazine is the journal of the Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society (BASS), founded in 1973 to promote a sporting approach to angling for the bass, Dicentrachus labrax, and to campaign for conservation measures to counteract the effects of over-fishing. Some of the UK’s best-known bass anglers are or have been members.

•

BASS believes that since the bass is Britain's premier sporting seafish, but is a species which has declined seriously in numbers, anglers should display a responsible attitude toward its conservation; BASS recommends to its members a season bag limit of not more than ten fish, and the application of a 45cm (nose to fork-of-tail) Minimum Landing Size.

The UK/EU MLS has been 36cm since January 1990.

•

• BASS takes a radical attitude toward bass conservation, emphasizing for example the

economic value of recreational bass fishing, and arguing that this must be taken into account in the establishment of fisheries policy.

• BASS is a democratic organisation. Its Officers & Committee submit themselves for (re-)

election at each Annual General Meeting of the Society, held in March. The AGM is only in part a business meeting: there is usually a tackle stand, and presentations by guest speakers prominent in the angling world always prove popular.

• BASS membership is nationwide, though inevitably most numerous in Wales and the

South & West of England. We have members in most English counties, in Scotland, both parts of Ireland, the Netherlands and France.

• BASS organises bass angling weekends to various venues around the coast of the UK three

or four times a year, as well as occasional week long trips to Ireland.

• BASS Magazine is published quarterly and supplied without charge to paid-up members.

The current annual subscription £18 per annum (individual), £9.00 (Junior & OAP), £27.00 (family or affiliated organisation) Subscriptions are due on 1st January each year.

• Magazine distribution target dates

are March June September and December. New members will usually be provided with a copy of the most recent issue prior to receipt of their subscription, subject to availability.

Membership enquiries to: Simon Everett, BASS Secretary, Hildene, West Hill, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. ST14 8BN.