Closed Bass Season 15th May to 15th June inclusive

Hi All,

We all know that closed season for bass is going to start tomorrow. I want to ask you an important question about it. In all guides that I have reads that: “all bass must be return alive”. Does it mean that you can still target bass and fish for it? Or you can, but it is in a good taste to not doing so? You probably already found that I’m catch and release angler, but I’m asking because it is not quite clear to me and as east european I’m especially interested in that topic, also to give a information and good example to other ee fellows. To not be associated with pattern of guys that ‘fish with frying pan ready’ as it was mentioned somewhere in Irish Angler magazine.

Second question is – can sea trout be targeted during bass closed season? And if so, how could I target it to minimize accidental bass hook ups? Or again – it is just a matter of principals – to not do spinning angling in the sea during that time.

Waiting for your reply.

There's a lot of confusion about this. According to the bye-law, it is "prohibited to fish or attempt to fish for bass" during the closed season.

However, I don't see that the law can prohibit you from targetting other species that require the same techniques. If you do catch a bass using these methods, then you just return it.

One day left!!

in reality its a metter of personal morals really, if you dont want to give up sea fishing altogether, which i can understand most people wouldnt, then you just have to assure yourself that you are doing all you can to not purposely target them, and try to avoid them. if you do catch one of course by accident get it back asap

also can i commend you on your attitude, i truly hope it spreads to all anglers. good on ya

adam

Hi

I am off to the Cunnigar with Bruce and Cortaz on Sunday - a few days after the ban takes effect, so the lure box will stay in the car and we will be targeting the gilt heads. I would be surprised if a few bass do not show up but they will all be released and if anyone asks, they will be able to look at the hook size, baits and rigs and anyone with a few ounces of sense and experience will know that we are not targetting the bass...

I suppose if you are fishing a known bass hotspot you need to ensure your tactics are such that you can defence your case, as per above.

So, size 1s and bits of oyster to judge from previous reports! :cry:

No the tricky bit has nothing to do with a fishery officer, the tricky bit will be explaining to the wife why I absolutely HAVE to go back down there for another weekend so time later this summer...

:wink:

Do we have to mention the closed season...... :(
As bass are all I fish for its one bummer of a month for me.

I'll get my fix reading Bass books and watching dvd's etc.

Allot of small bass being caught anyway, 2Ib average. Seems the bigger bass are absent spawning already.

Lets all try to play our part and give the bass a month off.

so i guess that i should cancel my "flounder trip" to dungarvan so. pity i had my 3/0s tied and big lug dug :lol: :lol:

Thers still a few hours left yet, mayabe i can squeeze one in before midnight!!

i bet art is ripping his hair out (or else working on getting his night vision up to scratch so that he can fish in secret) :lol: :lol:

6 hours and 43 minutes left. I've finished work. The rods are in the car, the peelers peeling and I've selected my lures.

And it's pouring rain :evil:

[Marty Harrison]

Hi

I am off to the Cunnigar with Bruce and Cortaz on Sunday - a few days after the ban takes effect, so the lure box will stay in the car and we will be targeting the gilt heads. I would be surprised if a few bass do not show up but they will all be released and if anyone asks, they will be able to look at the hook size, baits and rigs and anyone with a few ounces of sense and experience will know that we are not targeting the bass...

I suppose if you are fishing a known bass hotspot you need to ensure your tactics are such that you can defense your case, as per above.

So, size 1s and bits of oyster to judge from previous reports! :cry:



:wink:

Do you really think it is possible to target Bream on the Cunn and avoid Bass? Having fished it and caught both species off it this year I would doubt it! I would worry that smaller hooks would lead to deeper hooked fish if anything with the bass considering the way they feed along that mark on the Cunn. The man himself told me the Bass on the Cunn are a bit more finicky and he uses 15lb snoods and size 1`s for them to get a more positive/confident take from them, if you go much lighter in the snood department I would think you run the risk of leaving a lot of hooks in bass’s mouths? Personally I don’t think a smaller bait on a size four or six instead of a one is going to put them off either in the bait department.

Was Arthur not using oysters for bait last week for Bass with decent results?

Sorry boys but I recon it’s next to impossible to avoid them there.

Not knowing the spawning routine of the bass makes it impossible for anyone to say if the one month period is sufficient to give them space to spawn or if it’s even the right time of the year. Knowing this I wouldn’t feel to bad about catching an accidental one and returning it. If I was an angling journalist in a position of influence I sure wouldn’t go advertising the fact on a forum thread (I wouldnt be doing it in the first place anyway) where someone is looking for guidance on how to approach the close season in regard to accidental captures :(

Its a good 4 weeks for other species round our shore (mullet, wrasse, rays, smoothies etc), why not just target them instead?

Dissapointed,

Marty.

Last edited by Marty Harrison on Mon May 14, 2007 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

not been bitchy but i agree with Marty.but to be fare even if you stay away from the bass hot spots once you are fishing in the sea you can still get bass.i have even caught bass while fishing for conger off deep water rock marks.
stopping anglers fishing for bass is not going to help the bass,the big problem is poachers netting bass :evil: .i don't see why the honest angler has to worry about catching and releasing a bass in closed season when you can report seen people out with nets and it takes 24hours for bailiffs to show up!!!!!!!

I dont know exactly when bass spawn - i caught fish 1,2 and 3 weeks ago full of milt. Last year i caught them into July also with milt. 15th May to 15th June may be statistical. Saying that there are only small fish around and big fish are 'off' spawning is not neccessarily true.

I personally close all international and national bass fishing here from tonight. That means i dont go fishing for bass in productive/other areas for four weeks. Thats a lot of income loss for me that has to be factored into any annual business forecasts etc.

As a guide i have to obey the bye laws. I have to be seen to act responsibly.

And yet throughout May in Wexford hbr and other estuaries small boats will troll lures up and down all day long catching bass. Nets will be out regularly too.....

All the normal tourism impact that SEAi has on pubs/restaurants/local shops etc - stops. Its not enormous by any means i realise that but i do know one thing

The impact that fly fishing with a single barbless hook in the presence of guide with six years experience has on the bass population is zero.

Its also sustainable, manageable, generates tourism revenue and portrays Ireland as a World Class fishing destination while helping to promote and develop the fishery.

Would you give up one month of your six month salary knowing what goes on around you during that four weeks makes no sense at all, and worse still, is illegal and will possibly impact negatively on your future business?

Hi,
First I’d like to tank you all for your posts. I found it very interesting. As for the bass fishing, personally I decided to give up completely fishing in any bass venues – may be it will be a good kick for me to finally go to the open sea on charter boat.

But topic is more interesting than I thought. Some of you point that we do not really know is that one month ban for bas fishing really matters for protecting bass population. This reminds me one hell of discussions that were thundering through some polish angling forums some time ago. These were regarding regulations for cod angling in Poland that seems to have nothing to do with protecting cod, but protecting fisherman’s business instead. And of course we all know that fish-industry is to blame for significant decrease of cod population.

I personally was surprised that closed season is only one month’s long. But I though that there are some good reason for it. Alas from your posts I can see confusion is it really matters and why it is at that time not another. At least it is better to have one month closed season than none – and let’s hope that it would make even small relief for bass population.

Sadly I read in your posts, that there is also problem in Ireland with nets and poachers. Alas, again, this sounds familiar to me.

Please keep on posting on everything that comes to your mind and it’s connected with bass closed season. I’m very interested in your opinions.

Hi

I am off to the Cunnigar with Bruce and Cortaz on Sunday - a few days after the ban takes effect, so the lure box will stay in the car and we will be targeting the gilt heads. I would be surprised if a few bass do not show up but they will all be released and if anyone asks, they will be able to look at the hook size, baits and rigs and anyone with a few ounces of sense and experience will know that we are not targeting the bass...

I suppose if you are fishing a known bass hotspot you need to ensure your tactics are such that you can defense your case, as per above.

So, size 1s and bits of oyster to judge from previous reports! :cry:



:wink:

Hello.
My first post on a subject that is very dear to me. To be quite honest the attitude of one of the countries reguarly published angling journalists has disgusted me, Correct me if im wrong, but what I'm reading here is a method to get around the ban ?.If not I apologise, However if I read it as such how many others will do the same ?

Messers Kennedy, Ladle & Vaughan and other authorities point to scientific evidence of bass being in spawning condition from as early as the first week of Feb to June in Irish/UK waters, So the closed season may well be mis-timed and if anything, too brief in duration.
As a responsible angler, the least one can aspire to, even in a fully C&R fishery, is to at the very least, observe the closed season. Those who truly care about their fish and who aspire to observe not just the letter but the spirit of the closed season, would not fish at all in such places or by such methods that bass might accidentally be taken.

Anyone who considers themselves able to go to a known bass mark during a closed season, professing to be targetting 'other' species, is fooling only themselves. At the very least, guilty of fooling themselves, at worst guilty of leading other anglers to a conclusion that it's acceptable to catch bass in the closed season, provided it was 'unintentional"


Disgusted

M.L

Personally I dont see what all the fuss is about....

So someone catches a bass...put it back.. end of.

okay...

Some clarification obviously required... before all hell breaks loose!

We ARE going specifically to target the gilt head bream as neither of us have ever caught one before. I did state that quite clearly and if you are targeting giltheads it is either Dungarvan or Barley Cove in West Cork or the channel at Rosscarbery or a few boat marks in Cork Harbour - I don't know of other marks and whether we like it or not, bass tend to live in the same habitat. If I could get another weekend off, trust me, it would have been outside of the closed season. Unfortunately I am very restricted in terms of when/for how long I can travel... hence the joke at the end of the original piece about time away.

We will be using rigs and baits that have proved effective for the gilthead bream as per recent reports and in what seems a common sense approach to me, if we do catch a bass, we will put it back, but we are expressly targeting the gilthead bream.

I have erred in naming the Cunnigar as it may not be there at all. all I know is that the marks will be somewhere around Dungarvan...

Art will be guiding us to marks in the general area that holds bream in particular, although as with just anywhere in waterford during the ban period it is possible to catch bass, in which case it will go back as I have always done with bass since my teens in Lahinch 20 years ago. I am really surprised that people might question my credential around conservation. People who know what I have done around conversation and illegal netting in particular would, I feel, not question this.

But while we are on the topic, are we saying that in some locations you can not go fishing at all for fear of catching a bass, or is it possible to fish and if you catch a bass, release it? Are all the beaches in Kerry to be closed to anglers for the bass season?

I was approached by four French anglers who want to find sea trout in Mayo. If I send them to the mouth of a given river and they catch a load of sea trout (as they will) and they catch a stray bass - unlikely but possible - have I done wrong? If they are informed of the season and release them (as they will), what harm has been done, or what harm has been done in comparison to illegal netting and the alleged industrial wholesaling of illegal bass caught to order across the south coast?

But just for the record, I was not suggesting that anyone should seek to deliberately circumvent the ban - in fact my intenton was quite the opposite. My intention was to suggest people choose methods with care to ensure that they would be less likely to catch a bass by accident, and I think that many of the initial regular readers picked up on this.

Anyone who goes fishing in late May / early June could catch a bass - sea fishing is like that. We will be led by Art's judgement on this, as he knows the marks best, and I am sure he can corroborate that we have been at pains to ensure that we try to avoid bass hotspots during the trip, in fact we literally will have a box of new lures and they will - as described - stay in the car unless we go off looking for pollack.

Again if you read the original and I accept flawed thread, you will find I have said this. On reflection I might have described thetrip in more detail and explained the purpose of it... which is - as are most of my trips - to get more decent info and decent picture of the marks for the magazine... and that will include the Cunnigar and I hope to return there after the closed seasoon to seek out a bass with a spinning rod and a box of lures.

I thought it was a lighter comment, but one that would help to highlight the ban - which it has done, albeit not as planned.

My apologies for any offence caused, it was unintentional.

Thanks

Correct me if im wrong, but what I'm reading here is a method to get around the ban ?

I didn't interpret any of the previous posts in that way (except for paulocallaghan's post, which i'm sure was tongue-in-cheek).

People should take note of Jim's point. Responsible anglers and guides will not target bass during the closed season. This is not for fear of getting caught but rather because thay believe it is the correct, ethical thing to do.

We don't need to disguise our bass fishing as something else. I could quite happily fish away with surface poppers and J13s without fear of ever being caught. After all, the alleged illegal commercial fishery appears to be able to operate throughout the season with little risk of prosecution or even being caught. This is the problem that we need to focus on.

It is important that we debate our bass regulations and bye-laws regularly. My own gut feeling is that we do need a MLS. It is also my personal opinion that we should maintain a bag limit. I also feel there should be an annual limit for anglers.

I am unconvinced, however, about the need for a closed season while we still have an illegal commercial bass fishery allegedly in operation. Compared with the damage done by alleged illegal commercial fishing, which targets smaller bass, I believe the closed season for angling is ineffective. Having said that, I have put my lures aside until the 15th of June because I am am willing to accept that it may have some benefit and because I respect the laws and regulations, even if I don't have faith in their effective enforcement.

Is the closed season really a necessity?

Yes. Every bass that is not targetted by anglers has a chance to spawn without the stress of catch and release, or the risk of being stressed by capture or killed inadvertently. It does happen, which is unfortunate.

Is bass poaching an excuse to ignore the closed season?

Not for any legitimate and self respecting angler. A bass killed by an angler (even by accident) is just as dead and unable to reproduce as one that ends its days in a gill net.

Is it ok just to assure yourself that not meaning to catch a bass during the closed season makes it ok to fish marks and methods that may take them anyway, however accidentally?

No. There is both a letter and a spirit to the Bye-Law. Any angler with any respect for themselves or their quarry will go out of their way to avoid that risk. One can make any amount of excuses to suit whatever circumstance one may find ones'self in, but at the end of the day, consider that not having actively meant to break a speed limit, for example, is a pretty poor defence in court for speeding.

Should we have an annual bag limit for Bass?

Hell no, no more than we should have a bag limit for tope. If we are to have a sport fishery for Bass - the sort of sport fishery people like Jim depend on for a living, no way. Declaring bass as a sport fish that is 100% C&R gets around all the need for carcass tagging and all that jazz that would just open a door wide for commercial sale of illegally caught Bass.

Is the closed season too short, mis-timed or otherwise less effective in itself than it could be?

Quite possibly. There is a need for a lot more research on the whole life-cycle of Bass in our waters.

Is the MLS too small?

Certainly, if you wish to keep Bass. It's well below their scientifically acknowleged minimum reproductive length. In a 100% C&R sportfishery, this, like a bag limit, would be wholly unnecessary.

Given that there are plenty of places where one will not be at any real risk of catching bass, and plenty of species out there which could be fished for, similarly without risking taking a bass, I would have hoped that Marty's points would have been taken.


M.L

Is the closed season really a necessity?
Yes. Every bass that is not targetted by anglers has a chance to spawn without the stress of catch and release, or the risk of being stressed by capture or killed inadvertently. It does happen, which is unfortunate.

But there's no closed season for the illegal fishery. While every little bit helps, the benefit of a closed season is far outweighed by the damage done by illegal netting. My problem isn't with the closed season. It's with the lack of enforcement that makes my observance of the law almost irrelevant.

Is bass poaching an excuse to ignore the closed season?

Not for any legitimate and self respecting angler. A bass killed by an angler (even by accident) is just as dead and unable to reproduce as one that ends its days in a gill net.

I don't think anyone would argue that it is an excuse.

Is it ok just to assure yourself that not meaning to catch a bass during the closed season makes it ok to fish marks and methods that may take them anyway, however accidentally?

No. There is both a letter and a spirit to the Bye-Law. Any angler with any respect for themselves or their quarry will go out of their way to avoid that risk. One can make any amount of excuses to suit whatever circumstance one may find ones'self in, but at the end of the day, consider that not having actively meant to break a speed limit, for example, is a pretty poor defence in court for speeding.

So I should stop fishing for flatfish, smoothies and codling on North wexford beaches? The techniques for these species in this location will catch bass.

There is a lot of mystique about bass, but they're not hard to catch. You can do things that improve your chances, but you can also buy a 10 euro toy rod, 20 rag and catch a specimen fish.

Should we have an annual bag limit for Bass?

Hell no, no more than we should have a bag limit for tope. If we are to have a sport fishery for Bass - the sort of sport fishery people like Jim depend on for a living, no way. Declaring bass as a sport fish that is 100% C&R gets around all the need for carcass tagging and all that jazz that would just open a door wide for commercial sale of illegally caught Bass.

We don't have a 100% C&R fishery and are unlikely to ever have one. Currently the annual bag limit for bass is 670 fish. I think it should be less. I think a zero bag limit would lead to fewer people observing the limit. A reasonable bag limit would gain wider respect.

Is the closed season too short, mis-timed or otherwise less effective in itself than it could be?

Quite possibly. There is a need for a lot more research on the whole life-cycle of Bass in our waters.

With no commercial fishery, it will be hard for anyone to get public funding to conduct resrearch in Bass. This is a major problem. When the government thinks fishing, they think commercial fishing and completely fail to see any benefit from RSA.

Is the MLS too small?

Certainly, if you wish to keep Bass. It's well below their scientifically acknowleged minimum reproductive length. In a 100% C&R sportfishery, this, like a bag limit, would be wholly unnecessary.

Given the absence of a commercial fishery, it's hard to argue against increasing the MLS.

Given that there are plenty of places where one will not be at any real risk of catching bass, and plenty of species out there which could be fished for, similarly without risking taking a bass, I would have hoped that Marty's points would have been taken.

Where in Wicklow or Wexford can I fishout without any real risk of catching bass?

Hello

Before I address any of the above. Can I ask ? are these your own views or the views of the Irish Bass Protection and Awareness Group ?

M.L