species hunt

[Ell]

Tope mate, you\'ve tried the aerators and they didn\'t appear to work. The amount of oxygen you get into the water is dependent on how much you agitate the surface, the pumps don\'t actually blow it in (Apologies if it\'s Grandma and eggs) maybe the pump wasn\'t set up right? I do know it is a text book way of keeping live bait, obviously never done it meself though. I\'ll have a skip around the www

[Ell]

How, just had a quick google on Live Bait and apart from loads of sites on how to look after Nightcrawlers (Jeez) found a couple of sites giving off bad science. They are reckoning the Oxygen is released into water by the bubbles, I say tish and piffle. Any good Aquarist knows that the majority of Oxygen is exchanged at the Water/Air barrier (the surface) and bubbles are only a means of surface disturbance which increases the rate of exchange as a result of git scientific things.

I could be rang likesay

[mark]

I would have thought If you had a decent airstone, produce millions of tiny bubbles, theres got to be enough surface area for oxygen to exchange with the water????

especially on a moving boat as well

the only time I\'ve seen live bait held on a boat was in cornwall. A blue food grade 50 gallon drum in with a hose stuck in the top pumping sea water in.

it was full of mackeral who didn\'t seem to show any signs of deterioration.

One thing though, it was a damn site harder catching em a second time in a 45 gallon drum than it was over the side of the boat. I nearly fell in the barrel twice

[DaveMason]

I had not give the catching of them out of the barrel much thought Mark Re-think required I think .

[Topecatcher]

The ones I\'ve seen in action Ell would probably just about manage to keep a jar of tadpoles alive. They are made of cheap brittle plastic so good my mate snapped off the air pipe trying to rig it up and when it was returned to the tackle shop the shop owner did the same to another one demonstrating how too rig it correctly,they might be ok for carrying a bucket of worms down to the beach but I can\'t see these lasting long out at sea. The floating one though works on the principle you describe agitating and vaporising the water surface.
Just had a call from a mate looking in on the site regarding trolling in 20-30meter and he suggested using a downrigger with the weight set about10ft above the sea bed rigged with a rapala on a long trace should work the plug in the bottom 3ft of water, could see some intresting catches.
How do you eat yours :P

[mark]

the landing net on the boat was too big to go in the barrel. I wish I ahd that trip on video. It was a hoot. It got to the point when everyone stopped fishing just to take the mick out of each other as they played bobbing for mackeral. You can\'t grab em thats for sure. Some one eventually found a kids bamboo dip net down below. it worked sort of. catching a 10\" mackeral with a 6\" net even though its only in a barrel is not that easy.



there is a solution...

apperntly, the skipper \"should\" have had on board what could only be described a as a giant chip basket. This goes in the barrel BEFORE the fish. Just lift the big basket out and grab a fish - simple!

depending on how big your barrel is going to be, it shouldn\'t be too diificult to construct. My solution would be to buy the chaepest possible coarse fishing keep net, ideally one nearly as wide as the barrel. Shorten it if necessary, and away you go!

[Ell]

Message received and understood Tope Mate. The other suggestions I came across were as you said a continuous flow type set up.

[Topecatcher]

Just seen this on the ices site should get the jucies flowing

2.4.1 North Sea - ICES Division IVa,b&c
Bass are caught intentionally by angling as far north in the UK near Cape Wrath and at Dunnet Bay in Scotland. These
fish must be regarded as being towards the periphery of the species\' normal range. Commercial rod and line fishing also
takes place near warm water discharges from power stations on the Scottish east coast, particularly at Torness, and in
north-east England at Blyth, Hartlepool and Teesmouth. Trawl-caught bass are occasionally landed into the Yorkshire
ports of Scarborough and Whitby, and are also taken as a by-catch in nets set for cod and sea trout and occasionally by
directed angling on the Yorkshire coast. Along the English coast in IVc, from Norfolk southwards, bass are often caught
as part of a mixed fishery in drift nets (34 boats in 1996), fixed nets (71 boats), trawls (24 boats), longlines (6 boats) and
rod and lines (22 boats). Bass may be specifically targeted in the local estuaries and around wrecks and offshore banks.
The Thames Estuary is an important charter boat angling area for bass, although this sector has declined steadily in
recent years (less than 10 boats in 1999). The bass fishing season in this area normally lasts from May until October or
November.

[DaveMason]

Got the boat , got the tackle , got the bait - where are we ganning ?

[LING_BASHER]

loo at all the above..the smoke from everyones brains..i can smell it from the end of the pier.

Right species that we could catch and that i ahve seen caught off the tyne based boats.....

WINTER........cod,whiting,colie,pollack,pouting,li ng,catfish,haddock,dab,bass,flounder,wrasses...hay stuff this you get the idea of it