Well Its now spring 2009 and and lots of things have changed over the winter, I have already had a Plaice trip out to the Skerries with Paul and the weather is really perking up now, but before I get bogging 2009 style I better finish 2008 first. Things got really busy at work at the end of the year and did not get around to my last report so here we go.

Before light Paul and I made our way to hopes nose to try our luck for Bass, we needed bait so jigged for baby pollock & Pouting, we managed enough for a couple of casts each

Second cast I hooked up with a beauty of 7lb 6 oz  a personal best,Thanks to Paul for netting what an end to 2008

Time off work will always equal a fishing trip.

Set off for Start Bay at 5 am to give me plenty of time to see the sunrise at my mark, and what a fantastic one it was the best of 08 so far.

I had a really good days fishing with five Bass in total up to 3 lb really good sport all Bass were returned to fight another day.

Due to work commitments fishing has been a little sparse lately so when the opportunity came up this morning it was taken with no hesitation

With the wind in the west Brixham Breakwater was the Ideal place to fish 

I collected Live prawn the night before and set off at 6 am, a little early really but that was my eagarness to get fishing, started fishing about 7 am high tide was 7:33 and a nice big 4.8 meter rise. Three drifts later I was into my first Bass for a while, only a small fish but just felt good.

About an hour went by before my float shot under with some vigor my line tightened up and I lent into a good size fish, a 3 lb plus Bass was landed five minutes later. I had one smaller Bass  but I ran out of bait so packed up about 10 am, very happy with this mornings fishing : ) roll on next trip.

Just off the back of seven days of hard graft at work I needed to get out fishing, conditions could not of been better. What a fantastic day,of course the icing on the cake would be Bass !!!

The alarm went off at 4am a bit early but so keen to get out and see the sunrise and catch fish, got to Pauls just after 4:30 to find him ready to go.

We headed to a local mark that had produced very well last year in the hope that all the fish we had released  would be back for us this year ( mmm probably in a commercial net more like )

We arrived just after 5 with a bucket full of medium sized prawns not up to the massive ones we fished with late into october last year but big enough to catch.

BASS ! it did not take long to entice the first of eight fish we had this morning, felt so good to be fishing again, about an hour later Paul hooked into a small fish but not long after he felt the knock of a 3 pounder in prime condition this was turning into a good session.

It ended up 4 fish each that ranged from 2 to 3lb fish, fantastic sport we wanted to return all the fish but due to one fish hooking through the gills and one fish getting hooked deep from past experience we decided to keep them, there is nothing worse than returning a fish to the sea to find it has not survived, but six fish returned to fight another day.

Back in 2007 I signed a petition to up the Bass MLS (minimum landing size) to 45cm This would allow every fish to spawn at least once and allow us to move to a more sustainable Bass stock. We also urge the government to lobby the EU to introduce the MLS in all member states.”

Here is the response (not good enough)

The Government announced on 25 October that the minimum landing size (MLS) for bass would remain at 36cm. In reaching this decision, the Government considered all the available science and evidence and listened carefully to representations from sea anglers and commercial fishermen.

Bass is a particularly important stock for the inshore fishing fleet, which would have borne the brunt of the cost of increasing the MLS. The Government cannot justify introducing a measure which would have such an impact on those fishermen given the current pressures they face and the healthy state of the stock at present.

However, a package of new measures has been announced that will provide benefits for stocks of bass and more widely for anglers. This includes plans for a review of Bass Nursery Areas (designated for the protection of juvenile bass) and inshore netting restrictions.