Just wondering - average size of bass caught?

[Tanglerat]

I want to make a point with someone: What is the average size of Bass caught in Ireland?

Not what anyone in particular can catch, or their pb, or a "good" fish, but just the average size of fish you'd expect to catch. I don't get enough bassing done to really have a worthwhile opinion, certainly not recently with the red tide hereabouts, but I'd have said 4 lbs average up this way.

What do you think?

[saving private brian]

you are quiet right about your weights,,,average for up here in this part of the country is 3-6 lb,,and they are rear,,,if you go to inch in kerry you will get tons of 2-4lbers but the bigger ones will be around which will be over 6lb,,,,,cork harbour seems to throw up the biggest bass every year,,,,,i think in 2011 the biggest was over 16lb,,,be interesting to see what 2012s records are

[donal domeney]

Any of the Bass I've been catching along the East Cork beaches have been over 3lb. and an average of 5lb.
I see very few schoolies been caught

[Donnyboy1]

Yep, I'd go with 4-5lb in east cork

[razor2]

Average in East Cork for me would be 3 or 4lb anything over the 4 i would class as a very good fish

[roooster]

most of the ones i catch around east-cork are about the 3lb mark,so dont know what youd make the average,but definatley anything over 4-half or 5 now would be considered a good fish,in my book anyway.

[tex]

3lbers

[JimH]

a brilliant thread T

Personally witnessing a declining 'numbers' base with an increase in quality through 2011 and 2012 (very infrequent though) - see the notes below from Justin Anwyl a bass fishing guide based in Chichester Hbr.

When wading, the story has been very different and has been extremely challenging all season, with the usual areas yielding very few shoals of Y1-Y3 Bass - this is a worry as these year classes feed into the future catch returns - only time will tell but the commercial fleet are saying they are reading the same pattern with fewer fish being brought to port. Many of the fishermen who operate within the 10 mile radius I speak to swear this is cyclical so we may be seeing the low point of the curve over 9 seasons.....Are any of you seeing this pattern when you wade the inshore fishery?

At Wexford

I dont want to cloud the issue - overall average here over seven different locations from 2003-2012 to date is declining from 4.0lb to 3.45lb

There have been two significant changes for me and the business

2011 - years numbers of expected versus actual decreased by 65% - indicated october 2011 on probassfisher
2012 - years numbers of expected versus actual has decreased by 88%

This is not attributable to angling method, or skill or indeed a decrease in the customer base. In fact as I get 'better' at what I do it gets tougher to do the job!

Two locations still hold their own in terms of quality and numbers (when fishable) - of the remaining five all show a significant decrease in larger fish (5-9lb) but 2 show an increase in VERY large (9-14lb) fish with a corresponding decrease in numbers of < 5lb fish in one of these - the other location NEVER held sgnificant numbers of < 8lb fish.

You do have to ask the question - With a 20 year 'protected' species swimming on our coasts where are the better and numbers of fish? (Ignoring the current trend)!

[seanie35]

Average size for me this year is about 2.5lb-4lb

[Ric0shay]

The average weight from all the bass I had so far this year is 4.8lbs.I had only two fish under 2lbs and one just over 7lbs

[baitdigger]

As everyone else has said I have struggled to find them since the ban but the ones I have landed have been around the five pound mark.
In the winter on baits they would have been around the one and a half to two pound mark schoolies