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Guernsey 2018
- Thread starterlittle sarge
- Start date
Thread Status: Hello
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Controversial, but have you ever tried cooking a spider crab upside down on hot embers in the pizza oven? did one in my folks last year, it was amazing, getting timings right was tricky, but the first time I tried it the crab turned out as good as ive ever had, 2nd time the legs weren't quite right
Still no Jsy thread?! Come on boys.
Still haven’t been in yet this year, going to have to get a move on or at this rate Mr Magpie will be diving before me......
Still haven’t been in yet this year, going to have to get a move on or at this rate Mr Magpie will be diving before me......
So just to be absolutely clear.
Are we legally fine to shoot bass if we walk in from the shore?
Are we legally fine to shoot bass if we walk in from the shore?
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If you mean is it against the law...then apparently no, there is no law in place to stop you taking bass from the shore. but ... will it cause you hassle or will some folk be reporting you to sea fisheries, I don’t know!
If it’s not illegal then the point in reporting you to sea fisheries would be........
First dive of the year yesterday with Ed and Brandon. Decided to try a new spot I had been looking at last year. Vis was abit patchy but found a great mixture of ground so will definitely be diving there again soon as it has great potential. Sea temp was saying 12•c and I was feeling cold after about 40mins. Bigger bass of the two taken was 4lb 10oz, good start to the season. Cheers for the dive boys. (Won’t let me upload pic for some reason)
I don't know if there would be any point but, I can assure you there are a lot of people in Guernsey who 'are' following the UK & European regulations & these people would not be happy to see a spear fisherman carrying a bass up the beach.
If people want to take advantage of the situation then I guess they will have to deal with any complications, as and if, they happen....
There are already people on facebook implying they are taking bass, personally I don't have an issue with folk taking a bass home for tea but... it just seems foolhardy to advertise the fact?
I think that if sea fisheries were to make a statement saying that " in fact there is no law in place" then it would be a different story but every statement I have seen, sea fisheries seem to suggest there is a ban & that is how a lot of people I have spoken too accept the situation.
There will not be any bass on this years 'Guernsey fish in' specimen hunt list.
As the main organiser of the competition I don't want the responsibility of any repercussions that might happen leading to bad press for spearfishing in Guernsey.
The decision about the fish in makes sense to me mart. And I agree posting it on social media like Facebook is not a good idea, simply because there is a “no bass bandwagon” and although it’s evident now to those in the know it’s not currently a prosecutable offense to shore fish for bass in guernsey Jo bloggs on Facebook/Twitter who enjoys a good troll/wind up, is not going know and will probs go off on one.
That said I will most certainly be intending to take the odd bass here and there for the table as I consider that off my own personal experience to be sustainable (also largely as the always miss )
That said I will most certainly be intending to take the odd bass here and there for the table as I consider that off my own personal experience to be sustainable (also largely as the always miss )
Yes of course, my point is not about objecting or justifying but, about a minority sport that uses guns, raising it head above the parapets.
Got in Monday evening to try a new west coast mark, the water was pretty clear and within 10 minutes of stalking the bootlace I had seen a fair few bass and had one on the stringer, carried on the dive in to slightly deeper water where I picked up another bass, finished off looking for a pollock but none to be seen
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I understand what your saying Mart but you could spend your whole life trying to make people happy and never succeed. That goes for everything in life not just this particular topic.
When shooting bass becomes illegal then I will stop no questions asked but until then I will continue as I am. We are 6 months into 2018 and I have taken 2 bass for the table! I hardly think I am making a huge impact on the bass stocks! All the guys I fish with are very sensible and never take more than they need.
If on the day of the fish-in a group of people turn up and say they are not happy about you shooting mullet would you remove them from the list? And another group turn up and say the same for bream would you remove them? Where would it end? No matter what is on the species list you will be upsetting someone somewhere and that’s a fact.
To shoot a bass on a shore dive is either legal or illegal. I'd agree that Environment/Sea Fisheries have been quite careful with their wording which has led to a situation of confusion. I believe that this lack of clarity is deliberate as it would be easy for them to either state that it is an illegal activity (and produce the law to back that up) or to state that it is legal.
Hopefully they will do so at some point today after Mart's question to them.
If there is a deliberate lack of clarity then you have to ask why. What purpose does it serve them not to clarify the situation? I don't know why they would want to do that but the outcome is one where the general public believe that it is an illegal activity to shoot bass. I've had comments at work from people who don't spear or fish to that end.
I think that the number of bass that spearo's catch is pretty low - far lower than the numbers imagined by other parties (general public / anglers etc). Over the last few years I think that everyone has become alot more aware of diminishing stocks and despite the unfairness of the recreational/commercial divide, we are all self regulating.
This self regulating is down to experience and choice - most of the guys I dive with won't catch more than two or three at the most of any species in a day. This is the upper limit but on most days we don't actually catch anything. I've had 8 dives this year so far since mid-April. 12 hours in the water. 4 bass. 5 spider crabs. It's a selective process. I've seen vast shoals of bass, all at the legal size limit but all left to grow. I've seen spider crabs every few metres crawling along the bottom but left most of them. I saw a double figure mullet on the last dive, an absolute monster, but admired it and left it to swim around me.
It's a double edged sword where you're damned if you don't stand up against encroachments (we will see more and more legislation and restrictions I am convinced) and you're damned if you do (we are a tiny tiny minority who spearfish and have very little weight).
Hopefully they will do so at some point today after Mart's question to them.
If there is a deliberate lack of clarity then you have to ask why. What purpose does it serve them not to clarify the situation? I don't know why they would want to do that but the outcome is one where the general public believe that it is an illegal activity to shoot bass. I've had comments at work from people who don't spear or fish to that end.
I think that the number of bass that spearo's catch is pretty low - far lower than the numbers imagined by other parties (general public / anglers etc). Over the last few years I think that everyone has become alot more aware of diminishing stocks and despite the unfairness of the recreational/commercial divide, we are all self regulating.
This self regulating is down to experience and choice - most of the guys I dive with won't catch more than two or three at the most of any species in a day. This is the upper limit but on most days we don't actually catch anything. I've had 8 dives this year so far since mid-April. 12 hours in the water. 4 bass. 5 spider crabs. It's a selective process. I've seen vast shoals of bass, all at the legal size limit but all left to grow. I've seen spider crabs every few metres crawling along the bottom but left most of them. I saw a double figure mullet on the last dive, an absolute monster, but admired it and left it to swim around me.
It's a double edged sword where you're damned if you don't stand up against encroachments (we will see more and more legislation and restrictions I am convinced) and you're damned if you do (we are a tiny tiny minority who spearfish and have very little weight).
I’ve just spoke to a committee member of Gbass, while they are all about c+r at the minute, from the 1st of July they will allow members to keep one fish per 24hrs.
Also there is the Jason Pirou charity comp next month where all fish have to be brought back to the scales to be officially weighed.
If there was an issue with keeping bass I couldnt see these clubs going a head with this
Also there is the Jason Pirou charity comp next month where all fish have to be brought back to the scales to be officially weighed.
If there was an issue with keeping bass I couldnt see these clubs going a head with this