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| 30052008 |
| The great day has
arrived, halfway through the night I am up and away to the USA, seeking
Striped Bass, Bluefish and whatever else happens along. A small group
of us organised by Austen Goldsmith from UK Saltwater Fly have rented a
house at a place called Harwich, close by some of the richest Striped Bass
fishing waters in the world. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us. Malcolm Gilbert and his pal are already over there and from my conversation with him last week, there must be dozens of other UK anglers who will be there at the same time and the beauty of it is there is room enough for all of us. All fishing catch and release, there is the likelihood of some good fish to 20 or maybe even 30 pounds to fly and plug. Take care.... will post again in a week or so. |
| 21052008 |
Went up the Skerries
with RW aboard Deep Blue last Saturday. Going up was fine but when the
tide changed it was wind against tide and it got
a bit lively... didn't need any rocking to sleep that night. Between the
three of us we caught fifteen, maybe more, Plaice, which would not win any
medals for size, but it was a good fun day out. Peeler crab is a bit
scarce at the moment, so we used Sainsbury's best uncooked prawn instead,
to make a worm, prawn, squid cocktail bait, which did the trick so well,
that paying over the odds for peelers will warrant some serious
consideration next time.. Mike Conc' reckons the Garlic flavoured
prawns work even better... my guess is that a curry flavour would
have a hard job getting on the hook!!Some of the
guys fishing the Western Reefs have been catching some Spring pollack and
a few cod, but the amazing thing is that some fine anglers, using high
quality tackle, have been smashed out of sight. Not just from one boat,
but over a few days and anglers on different boats experiencing the same
high speed crunching smash takes. End of the month I am off to Cape Cod in the USA, to try and catch a double figure Striped Bass on fly. I have been just a little busy over the past few weeks tying a fly called Juro's Deep Eel. All the years I have been fishing a fly in saltwater I have always thought that there was an ingredient that was somehow missing, which was a fly that was a really good sandeel imitation. Juro Makai is a guide on Monomoy Flats off the South end of Cape Cod, who devised the Deep Eel fly, which I reckon is totally brilliant. It looks nothing on dry land, but take it for a swim and the illusion created is, well it is just a sandeel!! I can't wait to give it a swim off the Erme or Penlee when I get back. More later. |
| 16052008 |
|
Below is a Press Release from BASS in which the stocks of Bass around our
coast are said to be in danger from the ruthless exploitation of the
commercial fishing industry. When last year Jonathan Shaw said that there
was scientific evidence that Bass stocks were "healthy" a very highly
qualified Marine Biologists who live in the Westcountry said that
statement was total B*****ks.
I am 65 in a few weeks. As a 15 year old I was fishing for Bass on the
Eddystone with Spencer Vibart, when at daybreak we would see Bass browsing
on the surface, covering an area at least the size of two football
pitches. I have not seen anything like that in the last thirty years, ever
since the monofilament gill netting started.
There is some heavy reading in the Press Release, but read it through so that you have a clear picture of what is actually happening. Then if you feel like me, join BASS, so that you are supporting the voice of recreational anglers for whom the Bass is a symbol of where we stand. Go to the website at www.ukbass.com to find details. Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society (BASS) Fighting for the UK’s Greatest Sportfish.
Press Release 16th May 2008 – For Immediate Release
Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society (BASS) Conserving the UK’s Greatest Sportfish UK Bass Stocks Are Collapsing
Recent scientific evidence shows that UK Bass stocks are collapsing. Bass Society demands urgent Government action.
John Leballeur, Chairman of the Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society (BASS) Restoration Project Team says “In over 20 years of bass sampling I have never seen a period when the numbers of young bass have been so low for so long”.
Shocked by the emerging evidence the society has written to Jonathan Shaw, the UK Fisheries Minister, demanding urgent measures to halt the disastrous collapse, demanding that both the recreational and commercial bass fisheries are closed during the 3 month breeding season when spawning congregations of bass are particularly vulnerable, and suggesting the establishment of designated Marine Protection Areas designed to protect bass stocks. Recommended as a species to be regarded as recreational only in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Units ‘Net Benefits’ report, bass was recently described by the current Fisheries Minister as ‘an important displacement species’ for the hard pressed commercial fishing industry when the Minister cancelled measures designed to protect the species last year, despite the superior value of the UK recreational bass fishery. Even some commercial fishermen have since expressed concerns at the present unsustainable level of exploitation. In his letter to the Minister, as well as offering the new evidence, John Leballeur points out to the Minister that he now faces a catastrophe on his watch as Fisheries Minister, unless he acts with urgency to bring in effective measures to protect the species.
Background
Since 1984 members of the Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society have collected information each year from estuaries such as the Tamar on the numbers of juvenile bass which are present. The young fish are caught in nets from the same place at the same time each year to measure abundance and to estimate how healthy the bass populations will be in future years. A variety of factors govern how many young bass survive including winter estuary water temperature, natural predation and food availability. Cold winters can significantly decrease the survival chances of young fish. The numbers of young fish captured each year naturally fluctuate. In some years the numbers of young bass are low whilst in others it can be high. In general, where there are large numbers of young bass caught, it indicates that there will be a lot more fish maturing seven years later. Often these years of high abundance are reflected in later years by an increased abundance of larger bass caught from coastal waters. In the period 1984-1986 the populations of young bass recorded from estuaries was very low due to very cold winters. In response to this the government introduced measures to protect bass to keep populations healthy. Between 1986 – 2006 the numbers of young bass recorded from the Tamar have fluctuated each year. However, since 2000 the netting samples from this Westcountry estuary have shown a very worrying continual downward trend. Between 1985 and 2006 there were 11 years where the numbers of young bass recorded each year were below average. Of most concern is that five of these poor years all fell between 2000 – 2006. Since 1984 when recording first began, there has not been another period where the numbers of young bass in the Tamar samples have been so low for so many years in such a short period.
John Leballeur of BASS who co-ordinates the sampling for young bass is very worried about what these results mean :
“In over 20 years of bass sampling I have never seen a period where the numbers of young bass have been so low for so long. With warmer winters giving ideal conditions for the survival of young bass and defra telling us that the spawning stock is healthy, we should be seeing healthy juvenile populations. I am very concerned that what we may be seeing are the first signs that adult spawning bass have been over fished from the Western Approaches and from autumn inshore marks, significantly reducing the number available to spawn and sustain healthy populations in south coast estuaries. Inshore fisherman who have run out of quota species have now upped their effort on bass which is also not helping matters “
Also I believe that the biomass has in fact halved since in recent years and not doubled as Jonathon Shaw was advised in the recent bass mls decision . A consequence of the poor recruitment will be that, in a short time, the stock will decline further and catches by the much-increased fleet that fish for bass will exacerbate this. The fishery will then become uneconomical, or collapse, as has been seen with so many other stocks of fish.
I ask the Fisheries Minister to consider a closure in the breeding season for all stakeholders commencing in February 2009 for three months of each year so as to address the balance and also make the main offshore bass fishery area a Marine Protected Area to run parallel with the closed season. The breeding stock and cessations would be protected during the main reproduction cycle. All stakeholders would benefit by this precautionary measure and we would not witness the collapse in the bass fishery some years down the line. Another benefit would be the protection of cetaceans that have shown unacceptable losses due to this fishery. Alarm bells are ringing loud and clear and the pre-recruitment survey indices are an accurate barometer of the future spawning stock.
Open Letter to Jonathan Shaw MP
Open letter Bass Recruitment Failure 15th May 2008
Dear Jonathan Shaw Fisheries Minister
When you took office you inherited the postponed decision from your predecessor, Ben Bradshaw, of the BASS MLS (Minimum Landing size). After a long drawn out consultation, which received over 2800 responses of which 85% were in favour of increasing to 45 cms, this was diluted down to 40 cm as a result of pressure from the commercial < 10m catching sector whilst ignoring RSA's desire for more and bigger fish. You took the opportunity of meeting both the commercial catching sector and RSA before making the decision not to increase the MLS. You were advised that the bass biomass had doubled since the 1980s and the fishery was being fished sustainably. You stated that you did not want any collapse whilst on your watch, however, there is a danger that, in the English Channel, this may soon be the case. I have enclosed two CEFAS documents; one is a graph displaying the bass pre-recruit index for the Solent, Thames and Tamar of both '0' group and '1' year old bass sampling survey results, together with the worked up data from the named locations. On examining the recruitment indices for the period 1989 – 1999 and also from 2000 until last year.
Solent 1989 – 1999 = 1.42 Average 2000 – 2005 = 0.60 * There is no up to date survey information for the years 2006 or 2007
Tamar 1989 – 1999 = 1.22 '0' Groups 1989 – 1999 = 1.34 '1 yr olds' 2000 – 2007 = 0.76 " 2000 – 2007 = 0.87 "
Thames 2000 – 2007 Average 1.45 This is a relative new sampling site, when compared to the Solent & Tamar whose records commenced in 1977 & 1984 respectively.
The Tamar clearly shows the failure of the recruitment for the years of 2005 – 2006 and last year 2007, which is also indicated by the Solent provisional figures and graphs, which samples 2 yr old fish and above. These figures suggest the beginning of a decline for the Solent, which is two years behind the up to date sampling data of the Tamar. These figures clearly demonstrate that recruitment has halved since the 1990's . The last time we witnessed these figures and circumstances was in 1985 – 1986 – 1987 when MAFF immediately implemented the precautionary approach and increased the MLS and introduced the nursery area legislation.
We have had no up to date landing figures from IFREMER, France regarding the winter offshore fishery for a number of years since the last ICES BASS conference study in 2004, who concluded that fishing effort should be capped to the year 2000 and average for the preceding five years. This has never been implemented and effort has significantly increased since. Global warming has contributed to warmer winters, and higher sea temperatures around our shores for some time now, yet we are witnessing the failure of the recruitment year classes in the English Channel and Western approaches at a time when, according to scientists, we should be seeing strong broods.
It is now very obvious that the increase in fishing effort and the reduction of the breeding stock is now seriously contributing to this state of affairs Also I believe that the biomass has in fact halved since in recent years and not doubled as you were advised. A consequence of the poor recruitment will be that, in a short time, the stock will decline further and catches by the much-increased fleet that fish for bass will exacerbate this. The fishery will then become uneconomical, or collapse, as has been seen with so many other stocks of fish.
I ask you to consider a closure in the breeding season for all stakeholders commencing in February 2009 for three months of each year so as to address the balance and also make the main offshore bass fishery area, a Marine Protected Area to run parallel with the closed season. The breeding stock would be protected during the main reproduction cycle. All stakeholders would benefit by this precautionary measure and we would not witness the collapse in the bass fishery some years down the line. Another benefit would be the protection of cetaceans that have shown unacceptable losses due to this fishery.
Alarm bells are ringing loud and clear and the pre-recruitment survey indices are an accurate barometer of the future spawning stock. You indicated at our first meeting that whilst you are on watch you do not want any catastrophes. Please treat this very seriously and urgently consider the above recommendations so as to address the last three years of recruitment collapse of bass.
I look forward to your speedy reply upon this matter.
Yours sincerely,
John Leballeur Chairman of the Bass Anglers Sportfishing's Society Restoration Team
|
| 29042008 |
| Received today from 10 Downing Street,
this email response to an online petition which I signed earlier this
year. I know this response has been common knowledge for several months,
but I feel it cannot be let pass without some comment. The "Inshore fishing fleet" which is referred to is small beer by comparison with the recreational angling effort put into Bass fishing and the consequent money spent by those anglers. I recall reading well over a decade ago that research done by two eminent fishery Scientists from Hull, if memory serves me. Pickett and someone else? at that point all those years ago, the recreational spend on recreational Bass fishing was over £18 million pounds. Quote from that document Found for me by Andy Rees. Thanks Andy. 2. The fishery is exploited by commercial fishermen and recreational anglers. It is estimated that in 1992 there were around 272 full-time commercial vessels employing about 430 fishermen and over 1,000 part-time vessels. The estimated first sale value of commercial bass landings in 1993 was £7.9 million with a wholesale value of £9.9 million. The recreational sector is an important element in the fishery. It is estimated that there were around 361,000 bass anglers in England and Wales in 1992, spending £18.3 million on their activities Today's figure would likely be at the very least two
or three times that amount. All money spent without grants or aid propping
it up. Take away the efforts of the so called inshore fleet and the money
generated by anglers
would expand exponentially, as the American Striped Bass example shows
very clearly. Then there would be no need for people like myself and
friends to go to Cape Cod next month fishing for decent size Striped Bass,
we could stop home and fish for Labrax. We received a petition asking:
Read the Government's responseThe Government announced on 25 October that the minimum landing size (MLS) for bass would remain at 36cm. In reaching this decision, the Government considered all the available science and evidence and listened carefully to representations from sea anglers and commercial fishermen. Bass is a particularly important stock for the inshore fishing fleet, which would have borne the brunt of the cost of increasing the MLS. The Government cannot justify introducing a measure which would have such an impact on those fishermen given the current pressures they face and the healthy state of the stock at present. However, a package of new measures has been announced that will provide benefits for stocks of bass and more widely for anglers. This includes plans for a review of Bass Nursery Areas (designated for the protection of juvenile bass) and inshore netting restrictions. |
| 21042008 |
| Last weekend went up to Wimbleball
Reservoir with my Instructors hat on to help out with "South West Fishing
for Life" which is an organisation for Ladies who have suffered from
breast cancer. The upper body exercise involved in casting a fly rod has
been found to be beneficial to these ladies in restoring muscular tone and
tissue. Organised by Gillian Payne and Sally Pizii with South West Waters
Chris Hall doing his usual sterling job of organising the facilities. Sally rounded up a bunch of GAIC instructors to demonstrate, show and tell. The ladies seemed to have a good time taking in the casting, fly tying, bug watch and barbeque.  Sue
Willies the Lady who had to put up with me, said afterwards that she had
no idea that Fly Fishing was such a fascinating outdoor activity,
especially if you tied your own flies. I think somehow I will see
her again on Sunday May 11th when the next event is held. Any one
interested in attending should contact Sally Pizii at
pizii@supanet.com
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| 20042008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Had a fair bit of trouble recently with my
Virgin Media internet. It has been on and off in my area for a couple of
weeks. Finding out why and getting some sense out of them has been just a
little frustrating, making me somewhat less than a happy bunny. We had a
fellow from Sky around to put their case and he made a pigs ear of his
presentation, so we have decided to stick with Virgin for the moment and
see what happens over the next few months. According to the Financial
pages all sorts of things are possible and some are quite probable over
the coming months. So we will wait and see. The one thing niggling in the
back of my mind is that although the Sky fellow got his sums wrong I
reckon that like for like they are quite a bit cheaper than Virgin. Give
it a few months... Been working on Sushi getting her ready for the new season, tying flies for Cape Cod next month, they reckon the Striped Bass are up there already, excellent!! Had a day with Dave Malpas fishing Blagdon last week, we had seven fish between us all on buzzer and Diawl Bach. Boy did those fish go, beautiful bars of silver almost as if they were overwintered fish. Got another day with him next week and I am looking foreword to it. Blagdon has got to be the best value for money fishery in the country if it carries on fishing like that.
Had a long conversation with Mike Concannon in the week. He had just got back from a day on the Skerries where six anglers took nearly sixty Plaice between them. The fish were disappointingly small about two and a half pounds the best fish, which could be an early indication that the Skerries is becoming a recruitment fishery, where the adult fish have been netted leaving just the young fish. |
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| 30032008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Been busy around the house for the last
couple of weeks , the painting and decorating never ceases!! Got several
of the big jobs done as well as the small ones I have been putting off
..... and off... I am sure you know what I mean. The path at the bottom of
the garden is a job I am not looking foreword to, but if I can get it done
before the Bass arrive then I will be well pleased. I think it will take a
mad moment to get myself started.... ten minutes with a pickaxe ... then
it will have to be done!! Had a day down at Innis Fishery yesterday and despite the worst weather I have ever used a fly rod in, managed to catch a few. It was the annual Innis Spring Cup competition sponsored by Snowbee. Forty anglers turned up, with some even travelling down from Wales for the day. When I said it was the worst weather I have ever tried to throw a flyline in... I was not joking, believe me it was crazy!! Having said that it was a laugh and a joke from the off, we fished through the day till everyone had completed their pegs, when there was a mad dash for the clubhouse and the ham egg and chips that Innis had laid on and of course a Guinness to wash it down. One day if we keep going long enough, the law of averages must work through to the Spring Cup competition actually enjoying a wind and rain free day, maybe even a little sunshine... now that would be good! Last Wednesday went up East with RW aboard his boat Deep
Blue 2 to visit several of the wrecks to the west of Bolt Head. We got
there quite early in the day in company with Ian Williams in his boat
Summer Leigh. We drifted several wrecks and took a few Pollack which
looked as if they had spawned and were in need of a good feed of
sandeel's, which should be arriving any time now providing we get some
sunshine and settled weather.
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| 11032008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Below are my answers to the Defra Questionnaire at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/sea-angling/index.htm These are my own personal views and although some of you might not agree with what I have said, I would refer you to that wonderful statement made by Winston Churchill, in which he said. "I might not agree with what the Honourable Gentleman said, but I would defend to the death his right to say what he did". Please find below my views and answers to the questions posed on the Consultation on a Recreational Sea Angling Strategy for England page of the Defra Website. Question 1. My views on the overall strategy document are that it is good to see that Recreational Sea Angling is at last being recognised as an industry which turns over several times the total worth of the Commercial Fishing industry, in monetary terms. I think the document itself has difficulty in reflecting this. Also the fact that there are more than a million participants in Recreational Sea Angling who catch a little over three percent of the entire Commercial catch. Which begs the question “how many would participate if say ten or twenty percent were ringfenced for RSA?” In turn how much would this be worth to UK Ltd… Question 2. I fish on
average three times each week. Mostly out of Plymouth to the reefs and
wrecks of the Western Approaches. Question 3. I go Sea
Angling because I love the Sea, and sea angling gives a purpose to taking
a boat ten miles or in some cases a hundred miles into the Western
Approaches, where in the last six months I have seen turtles, Killer
whales(Orca), Minky whales and Fin whales. Caught a lot of fish and
enjoyed some good company doing something worthwhile, instead of being a
spectator or a couch potato!! Question 4. I feel that the Aims and Objectives of this strategy Document are not clear in their intention, that they fail to say with some clarity what this document is to achieve or what its ultimate aim really is. An objective is a milestone toward achieving an Aim. The question I ask is what are the final Aim(s) of this consultation? Some clarity would be helpful. Question 5. Fisheries Policy should reflect that RSA turns over more money than does the Commercial fishing Industry and does so without any subsidies. The best way to achieve that is given in (6) Question 6. I value the Bass above all other species. I would like to see a “no fishing season” during the months when the fish congregate to breed. Maybe this Seasonal “no fish” policy should extend to other species. By this “no fish season” I mean no one, Recreational or Commercial should fish for these fish during the breeding cycle. Question 7. If a Sea Angling licence were introduced I would be willing to pay £25/£30’s per annum. I already pay £65’s per annum for a full Game Fish licence, so the idea of paying for a licence is not foreign to me. Question 8. Yes! I
would support a bag limit, particularly in those areas which are breeding
areas such as the Bass conservation areas. Not only a Bag limit, but also
a size limit, so that fish over and under a size should be returned alive.
See the USA Striped Bass regulations. Question 9. I already spend a lot of money on my fishing! If I were to win the Lotto I would buy a Targa 35 with twin 500 hp engines… or maybe a 38 foot catamaran?? Question 10. This is a silly question! By virtue of the fact that no “new” sources of information would give you the historical evidence that you are asking for. Angling business turnovers are the confidential information of the owners of that business and only shared with the Inland Revenue. Perhaps you should ask them!! The only empirical evidence would be the results of ongoing competitions such as the Torbay Festival. There should be a list of winners and what was caught going back over half a century or more. But these results will only give the “best” fish not the numbers of fish actually caught. From my own perspective. I am 65 in a few months and have been angling since I was a child. In my lifetime I have seen the best and am now seeing the worst. At one time Plymouth
had 28 full time charter boats licenced for 12 passengers. They were
taking trips for over 200 days each season. Since the advent of Gillnets
that number of full time boats has dwindled to about six full time and
perhaps another six just working weekends. Entirely due to wreck netting.
Comment: Give us Maritime National Parks. Say the Shambles, the Skerries, a mile radius around the Eddystone Reef. The great reefs of the Western Approaches, Hands Deep, Hatt Rock, The Brendons, as an example on my own patch. Taken all together they would only be a small percentage of the total sea area, yet they would support a thriving Charter boat industry, guesthouses, hotels and restaurants, as well as the obvious such as tackle shops and pubs. There is no easy answer to this vexed question, but Maritime National Parks would be a good start. Russ. |
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| 10032008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Deep Blue went back into the water on Friday last. The new Tilted Element Transducer worked well and didn't leak... didn't think it would, but after drilling nearly a four inch hole through the hull I think it human nature to be just a little concerned! Didn't have a lot of time to check the transducer operation out because RW had to get back to the office, the 2008 Snowbee catalogue had just hit the doormats of a few thousand customers and the phones were going mental. However, we did check out the deep water channel out by the Melampus buoy just to see if the new transducer was working...just had to be done. The onscreen picture in nearly 100 feet of water was sensational. It was as if the bottom delineation was being drawn with a fine dark pencil. The Lowrance sounders have always been good, but the combination of this Air Mar tilted element transducer and the superb quality of the Lowrance screen is something special. When we get out after this awful weather we are experiencing at the moment I will make some recordings and put them up for you to take a look at. Sunday I went down to the Marina to give CR a hand rig his moorings ready for this horrendous blow that is coming through today and tomorrow. At least 80mph and maybe a few gusts to 100mph, so it is said. We ended up buying some more one inch diameter rope and doubled up fore and aft using a pair of heavy duty rubber shock absorbers to take the snatch out of motion of the boat in the SE corner of the marina. Should be OK but I really don't like this wind and the combination of such high and low tides as we lead up to the Spring Equinox. I think the boys on the Marina will earn their keep over the next few days... |
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| 07032008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Some Sense at last!!!!!!!!!! I truly believe that the following Media release is the most significant statement regarding the various angling organisations that I have seen in my lifetime. I will do everything in my power to help the formation of this united angling organisation, because I truly believe that this is the only way foreword for recreational angling in the UK. I urge any of you reading this to help in any way you can to see this organisation succeed.....at last some common sense and a sense of common purpose. Norman Berry Editor of (Sea Angling News) Commented: This is, as far as I'm concerned, the only way forward for sea anglers. The membership of the NFSA was never going to influence DEFRA or this government, as opposed to the slick PR organisations employed by the commercial sector. Perhaps with ALL anglers united into one large organisation with up to 4,000,000+ members, a united, single voice for common sense will be heard above the many strident cries of the avaricious commercial lobbyists who will never be satisfied with the quotas they get as long as one fish still swims in the sea.
Media Release A bumper sticker from my friends of the Recreational Fishing Alliance in the USA.... just a little something to think about... all five million of us!!!!!
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| 03032008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attended the meeting with Defra concerning
the "Consultation on a Recreational Sea Angling Strategy for England" last
week along with about 50 or so other local anglers. I decided early on
that I wasn't going to write about this meeting for a week or so, because
I needed to ponder on not so much what was said.... but on what was not
said..... Points that spring to mind from this meeting are:
These are not all the points raised and for those that I
have missed, I apologise. But these were the points that stuck in my mind
and will serve to give a flavour of the meeting. For another view of the same meeting, take a look at Mike Concannon's website at www.fishingdartmouth.co.uk/how_fishing.htm |
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| 23022008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spent the day today fitting a new
transducer to Deep Blue. I have to say it was a bit scary punching a 95
mil hole through the hull. But once through and a little work with a half
round file to get a good fit, the body of the Airmar Tilted Element
transducer fitted well. The beauty of this style of transducers is that it
protrudes a bit less than half an inch from the hull of the boat, so there
is nothing to knock or very little to bump if the boat is put in a cradle
or perhaps even more relevant, putting the boat onto a trailer.  The
big problem we had was tightening the nut. At about five and a half inch
across flats the Stilson we had would have fitted, but it wouldn't fit
into the space available. I would have hack sawed the handle off till it
fitted, but RW had borrowed it from his local plumber and that was out of
the question. So we Sikoflexed everything into place to make a seal and
tightened the nut as tight as possible by hand and then drifted the nut as
tight as we could with a big screwdriver and a hammer. It shouldn't work
loose and the Sikoflex should make the seal OK. We could have done with an
old fashioned Dockyard flogging spanner!!At a thousand watts in 50 and 200kHz
it should give us a magnificent picture on the Lowrance. Something we have
been sadly lacking for the past season. I think the previous transducer
had become damaged somehow. But hey ho these things happen. Next week we have to do some woodwork to fit a seat in the cockpit and then just the antifoul, back in the following week, when hopefully we will get a few days calm to go and try the new toys on the backend of the winter fish. Take a look at these fabulous transducers at www.airmar.com |
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| 15022008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The weather has been sunny but windy
recently. RW and I got out last weekend for a run up the river to have a
try for some Ray. Found a nice little pit, put the anchor in and enjoyed
the sunshine. Caught a few dogfish and some small whiting which all swam
away to grow some more. Despite using the last of the frozen crab and some
prawns the ray proved to be elusive, but it was really good to be afloat
again. Now it has turned cold and quite windy again, so this coming
weekend could be a time to earn some more "Brownie Points!" In other words
get the decorating done before the season starts in anger..... Been busy this week or so with a big job for Trout Fisherman, then sorting and processing fishy pix for another catalogue, but such is life it has got to be done... Sorted out some reels for a big expedition we are mounting in the summer... weather, wind and tide permitting. So next week I will take them up to Dartmouth for Mike Conc' to pass on to  Adrian
Hodge who services all my reels these days. There are a couple of big
Shimano's and Accurate's that need a strip down and re-lubing with the
right grease, ready for the prospect of some heavy duty use, when and if
the Gulf Stream put in an appearance in 2008.We had a water temp of 11.5C last weekend which I have to say is between three and four degrees up on a normal winter. There have been Turtles washed up all along the shores of Cornwall in the past weeks since Xmas. It seems to me that we already have a flow of warmer water. Maybe the GS will be early this year, we are due a good one!! With all this "holier than thou" guff about so called global warming being spouted by so called experts. Perhaps I should say what was told to me by a very eminent scientist who loved his fishing. He said to me that our weather is "cyclical" and that generally around our shores it goes in twenty five year cycles. With one cycle generally colder than the other. Well I am in my sixties now and I reckon we are due a warm cycle.... that'll do!! How else could the Vikings settle for many years and grow wheat in Greenland. Were they burning to many virgins or something?? |
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| 30012008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Got out on Sunday with CR for a shakedown
after the annual refit. Couple of things need sorting before the start of
the season proper but nothing serious. The Copper based anti foul has made
a difference, a little over 20 knots at 3000 rpm, whereas it took 3400
before, so if it stays like that, as advertised, then that should save
some fuel. Sunday was like a Spring day, I have to say it was a lovely
warm day like early Spring, the water was crystal clear with a temperature
of 52.9 f which is about 11.5 centigrade, a little over the trigger
temperature for Bass. So we trolled a couple of lures along the coast more
in hope than anger, what a pleasant few hours.
This is a sounding of a wreck showing the fish towering above, which is what I suspect will happen again toward the middle/backend of February when the shoals of baitfish move off into deep water again. |
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| Received this Press Release
from Leon today which as far as I am concerned states the obvious. Those
of us who live in the Westcountry could see this coming a mile away!!
The "Golden Mile" all around our coast would give these fish an area of respite, but then that would force the inshore fishermen in their small boats to take risks which they should not have to. It would be far better in my view if we all had to observe a "closed season" so that fish could breed and perpetuate their species. Not just for Bass, but for other species as well. Sensible Bass bag limits applied equally to commercial fishermen and recreational anglers alike would further protect the species for future generations. The Bass Protection areas are nothing more than ad hoc stock ponds, because the moment these young fish venture out of the protected area they are netted and taken away before they have had a chance to breed even once. This cannot be right and the dozy fisheries minister who allowed this sad state of affairs to continue is in urgent need of an injection of common sense, maybe also some new batteries for his hearing aid so that he can listen to the fisheries scientists who gave the good advice to his predecessor. I just hope the Tories will have a bit more common sense when they are elected.
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| 18012007 Had a nasty fall last week, sprung a rib and tore some chest muscles. Sneezing was pure agony!! But a week onward and its getting better. With the weather we are enduring at the moment, perhaps its just as well to get the bumps and bruises over with in the Winter!! Naturally enough there is not much fishing going on at the moment. The die hard's are fishing the river for Cod but even that has gone quiet. Most likely due to the incredible amounts of freshwater running down the Tamar. Hey ho... is it better than snow??
There is a lot of "politicking" going on at the moment in relation to the
Governments attitude toward Recreational Sea Angling (RSA). They seem to
have discovered that there are a lot of us out there, all spending money
each week and it seems that they are not content with the VAT that they
receive on what we spend. They are building the spin, facts and figures
toward imposing a Licence on us. I have this inevitable notion that it
will happen whether we like it or not. Say what you like RSA does not have
an effective organisation in place to put up even a token resistance. The
NFSA is full of good intentions, but can only speak for a minority because
its membership is only a small percentage of the whole.
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Some
of the other boats went deep, it really was that nice. But they had a
wasted journey, the wrecks were totally barren. One of the guys visited
eleven wrecks for just a few fish. Checking out other boats up and down
the coast from Falmouth to Dartmouth it was the same story, not much fish
at all. Seems strange, but it has happened before back in the mid
nineties. All the fish were out in mid water chasing the mackerel,
herring, sprats etc. Then in mid February they were back on the wrecks fat
and sassy when that fishing lasted on right through the summer. I suspect
that this year (hope that) this year will be the same.
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