Bass ban - but stay more vigilant now than ever - pleeeeease

Considering the bass closed season is just over a week old now chances are most bass anglers are pike fishing or just simply dreaming about June 16th 2012!

However the closed season is sometimes unfortunately a time when illegal bass netters have a free reign over the local bass population in certain areas.

Therefore I'd urge as many of you as possible to please even just pop down to your local mark for 10 minutes in the morning and the same in the evening until June 16th 2012.

If you see anything suspicious then obviously report it to the IFI - you can use the following number: 1890 34 74 24

Yours hopefully,
John D.

They don't have a normal landline. If anyone knows it....

Its not all illegal netting pressure here in Wexford - its recreational activity too - lots of fish landed here in one particular location at the weekend.

From 2010

Respecting the close of the season empowers you (even if you may have questions) as an angler to pursue the ownership, the protection, and to challenge and to contribute to the changes that are necessary now more than ever to protect and develop this fishery - like a broken record I'm saying it again - we have something that the world wants - something that contributes considerably not only to our economy but to ourselves through social well being, a feeling of rejoicing and partaking actively in a natural resource through a sustainable activity that makes us feel good.

What makes the people currently actively fishing for bass in Wexford different than the rest of us - what makes them special?

Grrrrrrr!!!!!

Another way of contacting the IFI is 1890 FISH 24

I hope that helps.

John D.

Why dont you come down and take a look yourself John - then maybe you might get a look see, if the perpatrators havent decided to change then ring the number and see what happens!

I am all for the ban, it's the reason we have Bass left in Ireland but what can a person do when you see two blokes BLATANTLY plugin for Bass!... Its not worth a black eye or god knows what else....

If you do ring the number you are ether to late " Im a night angler mostly " or end up leaving a message.

For this ban to actually work they need people patrolling the bass spots and that takes funding which doesn't exist.
Same with nets, if you do see any and report it chances are the nets will be gone by the time any of the IFI get there.

Its never worth getting involved to that extent for anybody - its a difficult situation no doubt.

If you want to see blatant bass fishing/take during a closed season then go to Wexford tonight between 16:30 and 22:00

The Garda should be called on them, after all they are breaking the law!

The Garda should be called on them, after all they are breaking the law!

my thoughts precisely! It is one of their duties to make sure that existing laws are enforced and perpetrators are brought to justice.
http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=5416&Lang=1

It really annoys me that certain people cant simply target another species for the sake of a couple of weeks . Something has to be done to make sure that the bass species is protected a bit more. I will certainly be using the above number, handy to have in my phone,thanks for that

How do I report illegal fishing or poaching?

If you think you have witnessed someone fishing illegally or poaching you should contact the local IFI office as soon as you can.

IFI Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Tel: +353 1 2787022
IFI Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. Tel: + 353 52 6123624
IFI Macroom, Co. Cork. Tel: +353 26 41221
IFI Limerick, Co. Limerck. Tel: +353 61 300238
IFI Galway, Co. Galway. Tel: +353 91 563118
IFI Ballina, Co. Mayo. Tel: +353 96 22623
IFI Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. Tel: +353 71 9851435

Source: http://www.fishinginireland.info/faq.htm

The Garda should be called on them, after all they are breaking the law!

Gardai are empowered as fisheries officers too, but you will find that aprt from those gardai who actually fish themselves, none of them actually know anything about fisheries law, and fewer still have any interest. I don't think fisheries law was covered in Templemore college when they were doing their training...

Seriously lads, call the 1890 FISH24 number when you see something happening - not when you get home, not the next day, not the next week. There's a much greater chance of apprehending offenders if information is received in time. If there is no action taken, there may be a prefectly good reason, as there are not that many fishery officers and there may be none in the area in question, but do follow it up with a call to the local fishery officers or local office if you are not happy with the lack of action.

With the greatest of respect, the Gardai are going to do NOTHING to stop the illegal fishing going on in that corner of Wexford.

It is an IFI issue. The IFI know about it, have received letters about it, have been rang about it. It is one of the easiest pieces of coast to monitor. The illegal fishing happens in an area 1/5 the size of a soccer pitch. There is a hill behind it where you can comfortably observe all that is going on. The fellas catching the bass have to bag them and haul them off the strand hundreds of yards to their cars.

Surely this spot has to be the testing ground for the bona fides of the IFI and in particular their commitment to the new draft bass policy that is being currently put together. There are grand words in the draft about protection, IFI working closely with anglers etc etc etc.

YET, here we have illegal fishing on a rampant scale going on and they are doing NOTHING on this particular spot, DESPITE the best efforts of concerned anglers in notifying them time and again.

A suggestion: If the voices of local anglers are being ignored, can Irish Bass get the IFI down there? Is there anybody on here from Irish Bass and if so can you/ have you added your voice to this particular problem.

Get down there in a group yourselves lads and picket the mark. Mob handed. Intimidate them out of it. First sign of trouble, phone the guards.

Easy for me in Donegal to say......

Could somebody take a picture and send a report to the papers, local/national, re the scandal of the authorities sitting at home while a national resource is plundered? There's always one paper looking to do a bit of sh*t-stirring, and its amazing how a bit of adverse publicity can get officialdom moving.

Lads in all fairness, the authorities have no interest in protecting our fish stocks and never had, maybe with the exception of Salmon, our rivers and lakes have been netted to a point of insanity. A few years back, Matt Hayes in his Greater Rod Race saw and advertised to the angling world ,the utter destruction of Irish coarse fishing in this country, this was attributed to one immigrant minority.

I am a coarse and sea angler, not really interested in Salmon or trout, and I every year I see the complete disregard some " Anglers " have for the laws and bye-laws that are designed to protect fish stocks in both fresh and salt water. Wexford is mention on this thread, I know for an absolute fact that, now , during the ban, there are huge numbers of " anglers" fishing with rod and nets for Bass in Bannow, Duncannon Beach, Rostoonstown, Rosslare Strand, Cullenstown and pretty much every beach on the Wexford coastline where bass are found. The same can be said for the coasts of Waterford, Dungarvan and Annestown in particular and is just as prevalent in Cork and Kerry. It is absolutely sickening to me that this is allowed to continue, the ban is in place to allow the fish to spawn and increase their numbers. One guy told me he had sliced open 2 fish and there were no eggs so it was ok!!! what??, are males not required for reproduction too!! Some time back I spotted some guys netting roach in a local lake, I called the Gardai, not interested, same when I spotted elvering in the Shannon estuary, the authorities did not give a toss. Last summer I watched a bunch of polish guys fill their buckets with juvenile pollack, none more that 6 or 7 ounces, a disgusting practice in my mind
I don't have the authority to stop this activity, I personally would lock the scumbags up and throw away the key but sadly I am not a bailiff.

In my mind the true angler is also a conservationist, it is up to us to protect the stocks so our kids and grandkids can enjoy the sport. We need the authorities to get off their backsides and stop this.

Anyway, enjoy the weather , that's my whining over

i have to agree with bassist on this one.....

[JimH]

This particular location and the issues mentioned here has many associated items open for 'discussion'

Currently it is forbidden to fish for bass at this time we all know that, May 15 - Jun 15

The draft national policy proposes to amend this to C+R - this is not currently in place but may have given 'permission' by interpretation

This particular location is particularly sensitive to angling pressure, more so than many others in the same county at this time of year March - June
The physical take of fish from this location based on previous indications will eventually have an impact
It is my opinion that the act of angling does not intefere excessivley with the spawning process of bass at sea - I would be happy to see the period extended and in fact closed on some locations - its the 'take' combined with certain angling technologies that will have the impact

You cannot have active promotion without engaged protection - this is an example of what happens and watch as further examples continue to proliferate

Dont start the commercial versus the angling debate

Last edited by JimH on Sun May 27, 2012 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

In my mind the true angler is also a conservationist, nice one Bassist - nobody on that mark at the moment has any respect for the fishery.