Bass Fishing, posting marks and Poaching.

[MAC]

Hi Guys,

I just replied to another thread with this post so I decided that I would post it here (more relevant) if anyone wanted to reply with their thoughts.

I am often shocked when I hear people asking other people not to post the catch reports or name marks with regard to Bass fishing.

As I have said before, please keep posting your marks here, especially if there are poachers working the area. Poachers are just that, poachers and know the area better than most. The will poach away regardless of any info on this site and are already doing so.

Do you think the Cunnigar only started being poached from catch reports on this site It has been getting trashed for years, most of the guys here are only reading about it now because Cortaz put up a few catch reports, people started to travel to do a little fishing and are now very angry about what is going on and calling the fisheries board when they see something. This is the kind of action we need. Get the number of the fisheries boards and call them, all the time.

Sure, most Bass anglers have their little spots that they like to keep to them self, but we should be sharing information on this site for the betterment of angling. If there are poachers in your area, post your catch results and try to get a few guys fishing the place. Give them the numbers of the fisheries boards and get calling every time you see a net. This is more likely to put poachers off an area than keeping quite and hoping they go away. They won't, not until all the fish are gone with them.

Think about it, Cortaz has been putting up some excellent catch reports of a venue that can fish it's head off and maybe only 15 or so people from this forum have had a go at the spot. I bet he still has it to himself most of the time. Naming a mark will not destroy it. It's just as likely that you will get another angler involved in Bassing and he will be just as protective as yourself.

If we keep going the way some people suggest, we will never defeat poaching and such, and there will be feck all anglers left in this country that care, because they will have died and passed on NOTHING.

How many kids do you know that fish.......... Not enough, who will campaign for angling when you are too old to keep fighting the fight.

Keep Posting,

Kev

[corbyeire]

mac -- a good post

you highlighted another good point however - that your mark wont get rammed with anglers

listening to all the talk of the cunnigar youd get the impression there were practically daily cortaz tours going on!!!

anyway it puts the idea that a place will get rammed into context - ie it wont

bass anglers appear 99 out of 100 times to be there for the sport and not to bash the bass - the poachers are doing that

[Donagh]

My main concern with putting locations up is other anglers. I don't kill any ray and hardly any bass (not that I get to fish for them much) but theres enough out lads out there that would be happy to fill a freezer load.

Donagh

[teacher]

listening to all the talk of the cunnigar youd get the impression there were practically daily cortaz tours going on!!!

Eh, I think that's pretty close to the truth

As regards posting marks, I can see the point MAC's making, but I'd still be wary about posting precise details. I enjoy fishing with folks from the forum at my favourite marks (of course, it's unlikely we'll catch anything) and occasionally pass on advice by PM to folks I know, but I wouldn't post precise details on the forum.

It has nothing to do with poaching in my case. I'm simply conscious that other locals not on the forum also fish there and they don't advertise the locations to the masses, so I don't think I should either. I also don't want to arrive at a mark after a crap day's work to find it crowded. I know that's selfish, but has anyone been to Greenore Point near Rosslare recently? Try fishing it during the summer on an evening spring tide. How would you feel if it was your favourite local mark?

[petekd]

My motivation for not putting up locations on posts is one of pure selfishness TBH, I like the solitude or maybe just fishing with a buddy. On saying that however, I have no problem giving out marks via PM. I take on your points about The Cunnigar Mac but some of the spots I fish from time to time would be a bit handier accessed and fished to be giving them a chance to become a free for all.

Not that I have had too many outstanding catch reports in fairness...

[MAC]

I agree about giving out percise info. I don't tend to do it that much myself. I will mostly give a rough where abouts and if I'm given the mark by someone else who doesn't want it shared, then I'll say what county I was in. I can understand people wanting to have some peace and quite and I totally respect that. I suppose anywhere close to a large population base will get hammered if the word get out. I just hate to see people asking people not to share marks because of poachers lurking on the site. I think this is total sh!te. A Poacher will know his section of the coastline like the back of his hand and will poach away regardless. I think if you fish such a mark, let people know there are a few bass there and at least you'll have a second pair of eyes on your mark.

I found on a coarse fishing forum people were getting serious stick for listing lakes where they were getting a few fish. Lads were saying that the poachers will be there,,,,,, like they scour the forums and go net a lake that's fishing well. A lake or sea doesn't have to be fishing well for a poacher to clean it out. Now this other forum is practically dead and the lakes of Ireland are under very serious threat, with many now a patch of what they used to be. This still happened even without people listing info. At least if there is a second or third set of eyes on your lake or part of the coast you are making things more arkward for any poacher.

Tight lines all,

Kev

[teacher]

Can't argue with any of that MAC

[Adam S]

hi

Mac i know what you mean about the coarse forum, but i dont think it was nescessarily "stick" that people were getting, more advice.

The way i see it there is a difference between freshwater and salt, mainly due to size. a group of people could do serious damage with rod and line to some small ponds if they kept everything, and until recently were legally entitiled to do so. that was the problem and was why some people felt it was better to share venues by pm to people who you can trust rather than to a whole public forum.

i think it was more rod anglers than poachers that were the problem in that case, and they were doing damage. without any legal backup (which we now have at least) secrecy was the only way to safegaurd some places. and as a number of the problem anglers in question were not locals, with no local knowledge it worked to some extent.

i agree on the bass point though. not that i fish for them but having a presence of decent trustworthy anglers has certainly helped to protect our local trout rivers in the same way you suggested.

we must do a session soon, but i will have to blindfold you so you cant tell where

[MAC]

Always on for a session Adam. Any big roach or trout of of "that spot" I'll give you a bell this evening and we can catch up.


On the coarse matter, I felt is was strongly worded advice with a bit of scare mongering thrown in. There is always the fact that the small pond can be hit hard and quickly even with the rod and line, but I think it is generally accepted that there was/is a lot of netting and such going on. I always felt that if you give a mark out, at least there will be a second set of eyes looking out for the illegal stuff. Most of the lakes in Ireland have fish in them and many of them are being poached. I think some people, especially people coming into the sport are just looking for a place to start. If you put them on one of your local venues, then maybe they will be as involved in the protection of the lake/river as yourself. Like you said, such information can be exchanged by PM, but that defeats the purpose of the forum if all that goes on is PM's behind the scenes. By all means keep you "favoutite spots" to yourself or exchange them by PM. A bit of general info here and there will help get people into our sport, especially where there isn't a tradition of angling in the family. We are solitary creatures, and it can be very difficult for people new to the sport to get involved.

I honestly don't think people would be doing any harm putting some good general information in into the public arena. I think in most cases it will do some good for local venues, especially if there is illegal activity going on there, which it seems is happening all over the country be it lake, river or sea angling.

Just my thoughts,

Kev

[JimH]

I think what you are saying here is essentially that you believe that bass poaching is rife in several areas, poachers troll this site and others for info in relation to finding new areas and that by increasing the number of anglers at any location it will have a positive effect by 'intimidating poachers' away.

Look at what Teacher says - he may have spent a lot of time researching, fishing, travelling, timing and trial and error effort to find a bass spot. He finds one and discovers that maybe 20 local people fish it irrregularly and he meets them often and they have a chat in the narrow lane. He likes the place, its quiet, its solitude, he takes a fish every now and again so do the locals, no big deal. It becomes a special place for him and he gives it to two of his friends whom he fishes with regularly and they share their experiences. They never see a poacher but sometimes have their suspicions.

He hasnt fished for a while. Then one evening he goes down the lane and cant get passed a 4X4 thats parked half way up on top of the ditch. He negotiates a trailer and he notices several other cars parked in the lane close to each other. He cant find space so backs up and walks down the beach to his favourite spot.

When he arrives the quad from the trailer is doing donuts on the beach, theres a guy in a wetsuit swimming around with four undersized bass on a string around his neck. There are at least twenty other guys throwing lures of all shapes and sizes in multiple directions. One guy has twelve fish in a bucket - Teacher informs him as to the legal restrictions and is told to f*&^ off!
There are some locals attempting to fish as normal and some other anglers making valid attempts to fish but spinner dodging is a major exercise. He jockeys for a position but somebody simply walks in front of him to continue fishing. He sees empty lure boxes, drink cans , monofilament, plastic bags, old campfires and barbeques.....he decides to come back tomorrow evening. Its the same, and the same thing for about a week.

He still has his suspicions about the poachers been still there -only now they are on a slightly different shift, and now the resource has several other issues as well.

Until we realise its a privilege to fish, and we learn to appreciate, protect and care for that privilege as anglers, conservationists, and naturalists, only then can we pass information positively and without hesitation. Why else would you not?

JimH

[/list]

[Adam S]

Hi mac

yeah getting one or two, but early -mid sept is the prime time, we will try to do a session then, it was too late in the year the last time didnt do it justice.

all in all i dont mind sharing info, tactics and bait i will give freely to anyone, and also what to look for and general areas, but specific marks or swims i do often like to keep to myself. especially small ones that can only fit one or two anglers.

good topic