Mojo coming back

I like to post quite regularly, but recent science commitments have limited fishing time, and to be honest I haven’t had much to write about when I have gone. From what I can make out, and please correct me if I’m wrong, while other areas are starting to see bass, things are still pretty quiet on the whole in Cornwall. The longer this goes on, the more you begin to wonder if the resident fish have been wiped out over the winter by the gill netters who target the pre-spawning aggregations off the Southwest.

Mojo coming back

It had got to the point where my fishing mojo, usually bullet-proof, was flagging, but recent boat fishing reports, and some modest success from a recent shore trip on the coast, have  led to a mojo revival (at least partially!). Note that this was followed by another couple of blanks!

After a pretty rubbish start to my season, it was nice to feel a bend in the rod again; let’s hope this is a sign of better things to come. Things (at least in my world) still seem pretty quiet in the estuaries though. If others are finding the same this probably means the fish are late arriving – if not, it could suggest that all the resident fish on the marks where I fish have ended up on a fish slab somewhere.

Keeping a record

As readers may know, I run the BASS Catch Recording Scheme. In addition to this, I’ve just started recording my catches in the Sea Angling Diary scheme. The latter is focussed on providing estimates of participation, catches (all species) and spend at population level – good for making the case for the recognition of sea angling as an important stakeholder, and hopefully giving a more accurate picture of the number of fish kept. I’ll feed back later in the year when I’ve had a chance to get to know the scheme, and how it compares with the BASS scheme.

All About The Bass

I really enjoyed being involved, on behalf of BASS, from the outset in planning and delivering the ‘All About The Bass’ symposium at Essex University. Not something I envisaged doing in my 70’s, but you never know what you can achieve when you  step out of your comfort zone. The team at Essex, and all the speakers, were so nice, and I took some treasured memories back to Cornwall, which will stay with me always.

This was a great opportunity to hear about the latest in bass science from leading experts in the field around the UK, Europe and Ireland, and to co-develop ways of anglers collaborating with scientists to provide data and evidence to improve the management of the bass fishery. It was nice to see BASS’ contribution to bass science recognised in several of the presentations, which also included research findings which reflect some of our concerns and should help to move the dial. A useful platform for anglers to voice concerns to scientists and those in a position to influence management and policy, and to develop good links with them.

Here’s an Executive Summary of the symposium:

AAB Executive Summary-2

Tagging bass

One of the areas where anglers have helped with bass monitoring and research is tagging bass. Anglers in Ireland do this on a regular basis, and I’d like to see this happening in the UK, if any barriers to this can be overcome. Here’s a video from SpecimenDaveTV. Not only is this a great watch, it shows how easy it is to tag bass with just a little training, and how a number of fish can be tagged in a short space of time. Hopefully someone will find these tagged fish, so that scientists can work out where the fish are going.

Juvenile bass surveys

Another area where  anglers can help in conservation and science is juvenile bass surveys. Check out our Cornwall Bass Investigations Group website for information. You can download a very short interim report, which we posted on 1st July.

I’d really like to see surveys like these happening elsewhere in the Country, so have a think about starting them yourself – I’d be happy to share my experience with you.

That’s it for now folks. Tight lines,