Time to get some golf lessons!

I spent a few hours fishing in Easky on saturday evening and what I saw there was enough to send me to nearest golf club for some lessons and a membership!
I got there at about 5.30pm and there was one other guy fishing. He had already taken a lovely pollock of about 3lbs. I began fishing a floated sandeel on one rod and spinning with another.
After about an hour the other guy left and I was joined by 4 non nationals. They were fishing with their Lidil rods and a few feathers.
I began to take alot of small pollock on the eel while the others got nothing. After returning the first 3 fish, I was approached by one of the group , obviously he had the best English, who insisted I stop returning the fish and give them to him. As you can imagine I told him where to go. These guys then began crowding around where I was fishing in an attempt to catch these small fish. Feeling very pi**ed I packed up and left.
If this is what fishing is going to be like from now on I'm packing it in, because if these guys are allowed to take any fish they want, what will be left for us. As it happens this scene was repeated on sunday night when i was at Aughris, non nationals taking bags of mackerel, many of them under 5 or 6 inchs long.
Sorry about the lenght of this rant but I feel really annoyed. Has anyone else encountered the same problem and has anyone any suggestions, apart from what i felt like doing!

Looks like you're experiancing what the Course Anglers have been getting for a Brave while now mate.

Disgusting.

Not a lot you can actively do, unfortunately. My best advice is to stick to marks they're less likely to find.

As anglers, we don't really want to have to see minimum sizes and bag limits for recreational anglers introduced just for the benefit of being able to say that non-nationals (or indeed anyone) are breaking the law by keeping undersize fish.

Nor do we want to see rod licences introduced as the almost complete lack of enforcement of what little fish protection legislation we have would just be a waste of time and a further expense for legitimate recreational anglers.

It's sad to have to say this, but you might be better being a tad 'vague' with your reports as regards the maks you fish......

Its not the first time I have heard of Non nationals taking undersize fish. Aparently they are not doing our bass stocks any good by taking undersize bass on lug/rag.

thats exactly what the boys were at up in corraun co.mayo - taking every thing - mentioned it on a report a few weeks back

and again both days yesterday and saturday down in blackhead - big groups taking everything and destroying the place with rubbish - might ad no more than the irish mackie bashers(the rubbish part at least) :cry:

the fact that they came after you for your CATCHES and then effectively bullied you out of the place is even worse than taking the tiddlers

chronic :x [/b]

This is regularly happening on Lough Ramor in Cavan where I brought the girlfriends brother fishing a few weeks back, we had a lovely afternoons fishing catching numerous roach and perch etc which all went back in to fight another day while a large group of non-nationals (10-15) spent the day pulling fish as small as 4inches long out of the lake straight into a plastic bag without even killing them first. Mind you at the local tackle shop I was told last week that the gardai had arrived down the previous weekend and inspected the catches and warned a large number of the non-nationals not to take any further fish from the lake (not too sure if the fisheries board were involved but i would presume they were) - sure enough i drove down to the pier in virginia and our friends were no where to be seen - nice to see that something is being done about this problme, mind you i think this is the exception rather than the rule!

It is disturbing that this is such a contradiction to the posts made by the likes of John D and a few others. We see so many fellow anglers who nobly return the fish to fight another day and give others the pleasure of angling, but the likes of these hooligans will just take anything they catch. I'm afraid that no amount of lecturing or education will change their activities. Maybe we could persuade them to take up golf instead?

If it is possible to report thier activities so they get caught in the act, it may help a bit though?


:?

thats good to hear!

Never mind the gold lessons, I can think of a good use for the 3 Wood...!! :lol:

I've been out to coarse fishing lakes too and to see boxes of bream and roach dying slowly is a horrible sight. I've asked these guys would they not kill the fish quickly at least, and they look at you like you've got 2 heads... worse again is the fact the department have been asked by the fisheries boards for legislation to protect coarse fish stocks for over 2 years now and we still haven't seen it. They even came up with the line that "to totally ban killing of these fish would discriminate against the Eastern European community", because they're used to killing and eating these fish, so a bag limit would apply. :shock:

So far however, they still haven't produced anything, which is why fisheries officers have no powers to do anything about it. :evil:

I'm so glad to see that i'm not alone in my disgust. I don't care is your from Ireland, Poland or Mars. What I experienced over the weekend and what others have experienced is wrong and can never ever be justified. I couldn't care less if I never take another fish home for the pot as long as there is fish to catch and return the next day i go out.
If it was a salmon river or a trout lake that was being subjected to this type of fishing the government would nearly have the army out.

"to totally ban killing of these fish would discriminate against the Eastern European community",

so basically to hell with our fish stocks as long as it keeps the eastern europeans happy. doesnt make sense at all.

we get trouble over here with the eastern europeans taking small fish. its hard work to approach these people as you never no what might happen when you do, 1 against a dozen ?? no chance. in their own countries theyre used to eating whatever they catch nomatter what size, but in our countrys they should abide by our laws or go back. i no which i would choose. this tends to happen mainly where they have all been located to. fresh or sea water makes no difference!!

Well, we live in a democracy, so we're all supposed to make and obey the rules. So, in order to stop the above-mentioned carnage, what do we want to see happen?

To begin with, any law will have to apply equally to national and non-nationals alike. So, what laws would we be happy with, provided they could be and were enforced reasonably rigorously?

Would we like to see it a necessity to be a card-carrying member of the IFSA (or some other recognised angling body) before one could be sold any tackle or bait product - like it's supposed to be now for minors and alcohol/tobacco purchases - no ID, no sale?

Would we like all species to have a minimum or slot take size?

Should all angling be catch and release only - or maybe just certain species?

Should some species not be fished for at all?

Should certain areas be No Take Zones, or catch and release only?

Who or what would we like to see overseeing recreational fishery affairs?

Who or what body would we like to see enforcing any new angling-related laws, regulations or whatever?

Do we want to pay for a rod licence (or similar fee) to cover enforcement costs?

Doubtless there are other measures or models that people can think of and suggest - it's all good for a debate anyway. Some of it might even work in the real world.

However, one thing is an absolute, utter certainty. Don't ask, don't get. Simple as that. Not good sentence structure by any means but I can't think of a simpler way to put it.

It's long, long past time that recreational anglers got the thumb out and decided what they want to do with their fishery. Love 'em or loath 'em, the salmon anglers got organised, decided what they wanted and went out and got it.

So what do we as recreational anglers actually want? Until we can mostly agree on what we want and what we're prepared to do or pay to get it, we don't have a mission and the foreigners (and indeed some indigenous vandals) will be legally able to do what they want. It takes a hell of a lot of anglers practicing responsible angling to make a small difference to fish stocks, but only a few selfish individuals to do serious damage.

Now, I for one would in principle object like hell to having to pay for a licence for something I already own. I already have the right to all the fish I can catch, eat, kill, whatever - so I don't see why I should have to pay for it. I pay my taxes and feel that as a result my government is already charged with a duty of care to ensure that fish stocks are not abused - again, either by nationals or non nationals. But if I thought that it would safeguard my ability to practice angling by ensuring that my fish were protected, I'd pay.

Now, in slightly more enlightened countries, where governments take their fish stocks and recreational anglers a tad more seriously than we do here, I have seen the situation arise where proposals for fishery management have been put out for consultation and anglers have not, to put it bluntly, bothered their holes to speak up, only to get all bothered when whoever has stepped up to the plate and returned a response has a different view of the future to them. Their belated howls of protest only serve to make anglers and by extension the whole sport of angling, look stupid and fragmented and in short, not a force to be reckoned with

We, as recreational anglers, are already well down that exact same path in this country. Fortunately, it is not too late to change. The time to speak up and enter the debate on the future of angling is now. If, when the time comes to return a comprehensive and complete view of how we would like angling to be treated, we have not an agreed strategy, we will be brushed aside by other interests. On that day, it WILL be to late to speak up.

So, who's got an opinion and an idea on managing this?

I'm Irish, and while I would let fish back, my uncle (ie. the generation before me) would consider it completely nonsensical to fish without having the intention of bringing it home for the pot (or the cat).

A cousin of mine who helps to run an angling club that keeps some lakes stocked said that non-nationals were fishing the lake without permits. One of the committee approached them, and guess what, there was no arguement or violence. The guy just explained about the club, and asked if they would like to join for a modest sum. They did, with others, now the club has plenty funds for re-stocking the lakes in question, that's no word of a lie!

In all honesty clear communication through signage and a bit of understanding all round is the way to go. In a short time together we may have an angling fraternity with enough numbers to get some of what we want from elected politicians.

Blackie

We are all aware that there is a problem with non-nationals taking undersize fish. The problem seems to be more a fresh water issue than a sea angling issue. It is an issue that many are passionate about.

It would appear to me that there is little or nothing being done about the problem by the state bodies. I do not know if any of the angling organisations are doing anything either.

For example let’s consider Polish anglers, as they are the largest group within the country. Poland, like most other countries have minimum sizes for most species like everywhere else. Poland, like many other countries in Europe has a licence system for recreational anglers. I’ve no doubt that many foreign anglers are innocently catching fish unaware of the effects. I’ve no doubt there are some “bad eggs” there too. We’ve got some of them ourselves!

There are cultural issues at play here also. Continental Europeans in general have a different view of what constitutes an edible fish. Our coarse species are not considered edible by ourselves however many of these fish are considered prime eating fish on the continent. I’m sure that while a small coalfish would not excite most of us, it is no doubt quite tasty if cooked properly.

Is the first stage one of education and inclusion?

It would seem to me that in the face of lack of interest or apathy from the government bodies we should consider doing something ourselves.

Here’s one for the Website Steering Committee:

Lets see if we can produce a pamphlet in Polish (again I say Polish because they are the largest group in the country), something simple, to outline the opportunities, regulations and etiquette of recreational angling in this country. This pamphlet could be distributed to angling shops initially. Anglers themselves could carry a couple and pass them out.
We could:
Make contact with the Polish Angling Union and get some help from them. (Perhaps using their logo as well would help reinforce the message)
Attempt to source sponsorship to cover printing.
Make the pamphlet a SAI publication or send feelers out to other bodies as well. (sea angling on one side, fresh on the other?).
If we have any good Polish speaking contacts we could even set up a Polish Forum!

On the other hand we can do nothing!

Jim.

ttp://www.pot.gov.pl/wydawnictwa/w04/POLOW-ANG.pdf
http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.a ... 743E28.htm
http://www.pzw.org.pl

well put

Good stuff Jim, well said.

Hi Jim,

Hope you are well and happy!

Tell me what you want to put in the leaflet and I can get it translated over here in Poland. You are right about the licensing in Poland - you need both a rod licence and a fishing licence - even for the sea. I believe the main office is here in Warsaw.

I was also wondering if putting signs up in Polish to compliment the signs already there in English would help. There seems to be a surprizing amount of Polish people that cannot read or speak English even though they are living there!!