The closed season for bass needs to be amended?

The closed season for Bass should be amended to catch and release. Smooth Hounds run the same beaches at this time and it is impossible to be selective. Yes one could put the rods away for a month, fish different venues, or target other species, which as responsible anglers we do. However May and early June are synonymous with Smooth Hound fishing and the new fisheries agency “Inland Fisheries Ireland” really needs to look at this anomaly as a priority.

A fishing trip yesterday evening, see report: www.anirishanglersworld.com, brought this home to me. I was aware before setting out of the possibilities, but seriously do we really have to not fish beaches for a month in May and June. Catch and release is employed for salmon in rivers, it should work equally as well for bass.

Anglers do not need to target them, and if they come on as they did for me last night, one can always pack up, which again I did.

Opinion and suggestions please.

yes there is a catch and release system on some rivers for salmon but every river has a closed season,closed seasons are there to protect the species lessen stress at breeding times etc and should be kept the way they are ,plenty other fish to target .

I am completely against this idea. The current model is working fine as it is and every change to that will just water it down. Give the poor bass the well deserved break and go fishing for wrasse etc. instead.

Is it not current practice to release any Bass caught during the closed season? I believe it is and to that end no need for the rules to be changed IMO.

If anyone is that concerned about catching accidental Bass stay at home! Enforcement of the Ban would be a more appropriate measure.

precisely, and just to quote a statement from the website (mentioned by the OP above):

Bass, a recognised food and sport fish, are on the increase as a direct result of the 1990 conservation measure. Protection works.

The Enforcement does not! Sad but true...

I have been talking to people about this subject recently with some anglers refusing to even go fishing and some going fish as normal and targeting bass. I think catch and release as oppossed to a total but for a longer period maybe 2 months to account for different spawning times in different areas.

Enforcement also need to be improved regardleess of what the law states as there will always be people who just do their own thing

Also a lack of anglers around the bass hotspots only opens the door for illegal netting to go unotticed

just reading your report on your site it said you were fishing the guter and fishing at 80 yards with lug baits obviously thats were bass would be feeding i have never caught a bass fishing for hounds cos like most i would be fishing well over 100 yards with crab as bait

To assist the debate, bass are fractional spawners and therefore do not lose condition in the same way that salmon or sea trout do. Also, in my neck of the woods we sea anglers tend to leave the beaches at this time of year due to the fact that we will catch bass when targeting smooth hounds, as happened to me last night. You feel uncomfortable that you might gut hook one, which I hasten to add I did not, they were all scissor hooked, and then you pack up.

As the beaches are less frequented poaching unfortunately increases. Finally, those involved in Bass tourism lose a months business, and all guides practice catch and release.

If it is correct to maintain the status quo I am all for it, however the legislation is twenty years old, times have changed and we certainly know more about bass. I feel that it is time for a re-evaluation.

To answer ShaneH, the beach in question is a "steep to" beach and the hounds can be anywhere from the gutter out and funnily enough take lugworm readily at this venue.

To answer ShaneH, the beach in question is a "steep to" beach and the hounds can be anywhere from the gutter out and funnily enough take lugworm readily at this venue.

you would have more chance of a bass on lug than you would a hound so why use it when it is closed season all you had to do was fish with crab over 100 yards to cut out the bass its as simpel as that

Current legislation is almost impossible to enforce (i.e. anyone attemping to fish for bass( very hard to prove joe bloggs sitting on the beach is fishing for bass (lure fishing is slightly easier maybe)).
The only way anyone could be successfully prosecuted is if they were caught with a bass in their possesion. Therefore why not change the law to make it clear anyone taking bass during this time frame is prosecuted (Clear law, Clear penalties, no wriggle room). I recently got a bass at distance in the middle of a flat calm day on crab it can happen.

I recently got a Bass at distance in the middle of a flat calm day on crab it can happen.[/quote]
ye it can happen but fishing for hounds close in with lug like come on you mite as well be fishing for bass cos most likely your going to catch them

So should Ashley and his mate be prosectued for fishing in close with lug?

I think the point that anglers on beaches will deter poachers has some truth, although i presume poachers will just return later, when the anglers are gone, i agree with Shane when it comes to the lug for bass although i have never fished for hounds and maybe thats as far ashley can cast (not being funny or mean) also maybe lug works better there for hounds than crab, but if you catch bass and return them i dont see a problem, terrible for this month that bass are a nuisance catch , lso i hate the fact that the weather is always incredible for the bass ban

I couldn't agree more with Martin and with kstaff. I am against this proposal/idea. Leave things well alone with regards to this. The ban is there for a purpose and it should remain as it is. It was put in place for several reasons, most importantly to give our bass stocks a break while breeding and it is vital that this remains the case. Protecting our stocks should and must remain our priority.

It is of the opinion of me and others that our bass stocks have increased since the ban was first introduced with bigger fish now being caught again in higher numbers and that is very positive and shows it works and should remain as it is.

Fair enough, there is a debate from some sources on when actually our bass do breed, some think it is earlier than the current dates stated on the ban, some say it could be later but the point is that having that month of a closed season allows our bass to have a break allowing those fish that are breeding to do so in peace.

Alot of people worked very hard behind the scenes to get the current ban and laws regarding our bass in place/enforced in the first place and trying to suggest that this is now changed/amended is an insult to all the hard work they have done.
I also think that this could leave the rules behind fishing for bass during the ban open to abuse whether the rules are its catch and release.

I understand it's hard to avoid catching them on occasions as alot of the baits that you would be using to target them are used for other species too. I don't expect people to stop fishing altogether during the bass ban either, just that perhaps they could concentrate on other species and if they do catch a bass by accident then it is released.

But, keep the ban in place, it's vital for our stocks, especially at present when they are already at risk/in danger of being caught commercially exploited if current laws are changed or passed which would be a disaster for bass fishing in this country as a whole and one which I think would ruin our recreational fishing for them forever. I don’t think our stocks would ever recover if this happened and that would be a very sad for me indeed.

I am not naive, I know there is people out there who do still fish for them during the ban but if the law is there then at least the message is out there to the majority of us that it isn’t allowed which then will stop alot of people who thought about going out and fishing for them during the ban. If we can stop even some people then that can only have positive results.

Not being able to fish for bass for one month is hardly going to kill us – but it might kill them if current laws are changed with regard to the closed season!

With all due respect to those that have posted so far, and the points are well made, please read the initial thread. The debate is about amending current legislation not removing it, because the essence of the legislation, ie, the protection of atlantic bass works.

However, twenty years on there are obvious flaws in the bye law which need serious consideration, and the potential implementation of a catch and release policy within the current period 15th May to 15th June has to be considered. Also an extension of this period back into April, a possibility as well.

Furthermore, while developing a recreational tourist bass fishery in our southern counties we shoot ourselves in the foot by closing the bass fishery for a month at the beginning of the recreational bass angling tourist season. As they say, "only in Ireland".

Bass are fractional spawners which spawn in deep water off our coast not along our shoreline. Therefore the fish along are beaches are well capable "in principle" of being targeted on a catch and release basis. This principle needs to be researched if a viable tourist product is to be created. A viable tourist product strengthens the call for a recreational bass fishery. Sea angling needs to think outside the box.

those involved in Bass tourism lose a months business

why I am not a bit surprised that that's the major incentive for a re-evaluation?

the legislation is twenty years old, times have changed and we certainly know more about Bass.

Do we really? Have we honestly not learned from mistakes made in the past? Is money really the god we should all bow to?
Paula has made very good points in her post and I fully support her views. We all know too well where misinformation and misguided greed has lead this country into. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

With all due respect, it is my opinion that there are those out there who like to start up topics on here that are controversial and although any good discussion is to be welcomed on here as it is a public forum after all I would have to question the motives/intentions of some people when such a question like this one is brought up in the first place. I have always been a suspicious person but I think that is a good thing sometimes.
Keeping the current ban intact/as it is now is not only important to alot of us individual anglers, it’s also important not least to the tourism industry as without the presence of bass in the country alot of people would stop coming to Ireland to fish and alot of money would be lost as a result of this BUT - money shouldn’t be the main issue here, protecting our bass stocks for generations to come should be our priority.

[ShaneH]

So should Ashley and his mate be prosectued for fishing in close with lug?

hold on im just stating the obvious that he is using bass tactics to catch hounds and then starts this tread cos he catches a bass if he is really that concerned about bass he wouldnt of used lug close in on a wexford beach i couldnt care if he caught bass but he put himself in the situation were he would catch bass and he knows it

Last edited by ShaneH on Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I think that ashley has started a good debate here,i, as an ex guillie for salmon,have always had a close season,this being from october to april,bass guillies, and associated businesse's have only one month to contend with. Anglers will travel at any time of year for their sport,so the arguement of losing out on the season is a non runner.With the debate on when bass spawn ,the answer for me is,a catch and release policy brought in in april,with a total ban on keeping bass extended form the start of may till the 15th june.This' in my opinion' would help more bass get the chance to spawn.Now if i could only catch ONE!!