114 members....but

[Coddo]

[/quote] there was reports of codling between the b/camp and cove,next thing an inshore boat is shooting nets within 80 yrds of the beach,he only pulled out to 200 yrds to pass another angler and myself then came back in!! [/quote]


very good point edward! im also sure alot of the local commercial guys use forums such as this for thier own devious ways. remeber that time at abbotsbury one came within 100yrds, or is that the one you were on about?
the main culprits for ploughing up chesil are boats out of brixham and quite often they dont even pull up thier gear for anglers

[dean macey]

we have same problem with local papers though as soon as fish are showing the nets turn up all over you.a well known plaice bed was destroyed a few years ago by nets who overheard a conversation on the radios you use in boats,you cant stop it they are ignorent,ban them from netting within 2 miles of the beach is the only answer.

[RichardB]

Yeah, I know that's a concern.
To me it still beggars belief that any comercial worth their salt would rely on a few hobby anglers chatting about what they caught at the weekend.
I know it happens though.

[eddy]

no johnathon,i was fishing just behind the adelaide at the time,abbotsbury is another case,as is stokes bay before dec last year,some one posted about whiting and plaice with a few sole ;D

[eccles]

I know you guys are pretty well right about the commercial b*****ds. Actually, they are not true commercials in my view they are just local bums who take anything they can get, kill loads of undersize fish and don't give a dam. When I was a kid, there were plenty of herring in the channel and they were bought into Pompey by the ton. Due to the activities of the greedy bums, that fishery was virtually destroyed and they are now rare - I have only caught one on the last ten years - at S. Parade Pier oddly enough. We all know about the Southsea mussel bed which was destroyed by commercials a few years ago too; dumb and ignorant are the right words basically. I personally will not be reporting any decent catches in future except those in places which the bums can't get to. Also if I ever find a gill net, it won't stay put very long. I recall an incident a few years ago when we were fishing a wreck off the Devon coast:- It was quite a dodgy wreck but we were doing fine. A commercial spotted us and came charging up to shoot his nets. Don't worry said skipper he is taking a hell of a risk with this particular wreck. We backed off and watched for 15 minutes and it soon became obvious that matey had got his net well and truly snagged; larf, we didn't know when to stop!

[dean macey]

we used to have herrings to not any more.what gets me is it could be sorted so easy just a bit of comman sense.

[darenw]

How do you all define a "commercial"?. What about the small boat anglers who sell their catch,especially bass and make a lot of money - some of them. Is there a difference ? A guy I spoke to last week ( ex charter skipper) told me about a reef 40 mile out that the commercials cannot net, despite trying as its in 200 ft of water. This reef throws up large numbers of cod and bass because of the lack of pressure. We then spent 5 minutes moaning about the netters. He then told me that one day him and 2 of his mates had well over 150 bass from the same place including his pb 14 1/2 lb fish. He lost one on the surface too which he thought could have pushed the record. Is this any better than what a netter does ? He sold them all, none went back and had a photo of the catch returned to him unused by the SA mag who said he had committed slaughter on a grand scale and that type of picture doesnt get used anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NB despite offering him a large quantity of my bosses paint he still hasn't given me the numbers

[anthonyk]

I have read all the posts and throughly agree with you. I don't want to show my age or go on about the good old days, but when I fished Dungie in the late sixties if didn't catgh cod over 12lbs I had had a bad session, but now you have had a good session with a few codling about 2lbs.Been out fished by commercials, pity the young lads just coming in to the game, there won't be any fish left.

[Pete B]

John Darling in his Bass Fishing book tells about trawlers using their radar to look for groups of smaller boats, these were the commercial rod & line bass anglers. All small fast boats running around following shoals. He mentions getting literally ran off of the fish by trawlers!

[eddy]

last herring i caught was last year,gosport marina whilst feathering for live bait,you do get a few in there,not any great size though.
personally i don't take many fish,mostly codling(if big enough,which normally means bigger than legal size)a very occasional bass,and mackies in summer,as and when i need them foodwise,i don't bother freezing for bait as it's cheap enough and blast frozen by suppliers,besides,the best mackie is fresh,i will in the last couple of weeks of the mackie season take around 18-24 for eating,any more is pointless.
the only other fish are,occasional pollack(for the rock gnome)garfish(if big enough)black bream,again has to be big enough.
i gave up fishing places like south parade,simply because of the idiots(and there were many)slaughtering under size bass by the bag load,along with gars/bream/pollack...used to be some geezer named 'sludge'or something,thought himself some kind of bass expert,him and his mates were forever taking undersize fish,the bloke who ran the tackle shop then turned a blind eye to it all.
i have seen people take smuts,last one was on haslar wall,around 3-4.5lbs,no law against it but not for me. ;D

[reelbargains]

Nice to see that a post that started off a bit negative and dare I say it, slightly unfriendly to new members has in fact turned into a bloody good read about issues surrounding commercial activity.
Personally, I have no problem with my posts being read by novices and newbies that are quite probably a bit shy and feel like they don't have a lot to input just yet. I'd feel quite chuffed if I thought I had increased the catch rate or enjoyment of a new angler regardless of whether they tell me or not.
A friendly 'hello' from me to all you reader-onlys out there - in case you're confused by the beginning of this thread I'd like to confirm that we still are THE 'friendly sea fishing forum'. :0)

[topbanana]

reading the words in your post reelbargains i have to agree with you 4 months ago that was me just reading the forums sitting in the background thinking people wouldnt want to read what i have to say or thinking that by asking a newbie question id get slated by the other members as ive seen and read this happening on other bigger forums but what makes this forum great is the people like yourself on here who understand that every one has to start somewhere and just because you have a bit more knowledge than someone else doesnt make you better its the choice you make to share this knowledge that shows your character,it is annoying if people are coming on here just to mace a bit of info but im sure the majority of new members are just like i was,anyway rant over,big RESPECT reelbargains for keeping this forum on a good positive coarse which makes it so good.
TB

[squideyebarnes]

reelbargains said:

Nice to see that a post that started off a bit negative and dare I say it, slightly unfriendly to new members has in fact turned into a bloody good read about issues surrounding commercial activity.
Personally, I have no problem with my posts being read by novices and newbies that are quite probably a bit shy and feel like they don't have a lot to input just yet. I'd feel quite chuffed if I thought I had increased the catch rate or enjoyment of a new angler regardless of whether they tell me or not.
A friendly 'hello' from me to all you reader-only out there - in case you're confused by the beginning of this thread I'd like to confirm that we still are THE 'friendly sea fishing forum'. :0)

I totally agree but new members should introduce themselves when they join its common curtsy,

[eddy]

i think maybe i might have worded the post wrong perhaps?,i was in no way being unfriendly or hostile to non-poster's,this was nothing more than an observation,that aside,i doubt if all the non-posting member's are nervous first time inexperienced anglers trying to summon up the bottle to post.
there are many sea forums on the net,and they all have their share of hanger's on,contribute s.f.a. other than the occasional wind up thread to cause ill feeling...this is not that type of thread,it was not posted to cause offence in anyway at all,if anything i was hopeful that some of the non-posters would contribute to this thread,and maybe get them off the starting blocks.
i trust this is now clear for all to understand. ;D

[reelbargains]

topbanana - Thanks for the kind words mate