Cod size limit, woeful.

[topbanana]

Until the sizes change what we meant to do pay money's for bait gear ect ect to put fish back that are legal size as it stands for a good % to float away ?

No the size limits are the size limits, but the size limit as it is now is ridiculous. Like I said it matters not to me being the 'best' for a few quid.

[hughgee]

Read this thread then looked at the match results from last night and er, the lad who killed 11 cod for less than 11lb - what, really?
I'd personally be ashamed of myself showing up at a weigh in with a bag of sub 1lb cod.
I mean, is a sub 1lb cod even going to meet the length limit?
Some people have no shame I suppose.

[robbo1530]

Read this thread then looked at the match results from last night and er, the lad who killed 11 cod for less than 11lb - what, really?
I'd personally be ashamed of myself showing up at a weigh in with a bag of sub 1lb cod.
I mean, is a sub 1lb cod even going to meet the length limit?
Some people have no shame I suppose.

Agreed mate - one of the fish I got last Sunday was 1 and a quarter lb's dead on but only 34 cm so under size and returned. I'm surprised that codling under a lb can be size.

[Pighunter]

I put 95% of my fish back when pleasure fishing but I do fish matches and tend not to weigh in just sized fish but mainy as a 35 coddling can shrink to undersized so I don't take the risk, but match fisherman and pleasure anglers contribute a tiny amount compared to the waste of the comercial fisherman.

[bunka]

if you fished an open for say £500 and had a skip full of codlings at 35cm you would put them back????????????????? i think not.

[topbanana]

if you fished an open for say £500 and had a skip full of codlings at 35cm you would put them back????????????????? i think not.

That's the point, peoples greed has a lot to answer for, hence depleted stocks. Yes anglers put no where near the amount of pressure on stocks or come anywhere near that of the commercial fleet BUT what happens when there's no fish left ? The same people saying they'll keep what they want, which is fair enough, will be the same people whining that there's nothing left. This wasn't intended to be a dig at match anglers, however, going by their attitudes, well.

[Kartonkel]

I completely agree with you that size limits are woeful. Where I disagree, is that you go on to criticise anglers for obeying the rules.

It's like saying that a driver doing 29 miles an hour in a 30 mph zone is driving carelessly, or an angler who keeps 5 trout on a 6 trout ticket is somehow irresponsible.

There are enough people in this world quick to judge others who do wrong without adding to to it by criticizing those who follow the rules/laws.

Very poor argument by your standards, Mark!

It is perfectly legal to take 500 mackerels out of the water and put them straight into the dustbin.

Would you do it or allow somebody doing it just because it is legal??????

Legal or not legal....

how does it make any sense to put a fish back, which is lethally hooked???

how does it make sense to take legal sized fish and then not use it???

[ChrisH]

Just tossing a bait in the water here to see if it attracts any attention;

What if the size limit was at the other end of the scale. I mean; it's not the small fish that breed, it's the bigger ones. So would it be better to have a size limit much larger and anything over that limit had to be put back to be able to breed?
I know it would be difficult putting back that doubler or fish of a lifetime, but if it was the law!!!!!

[Pighunter]

Just tossing a bait in the water here to see if it attracts any attention;

What if the size limit was at the other end of the scale. I mean; it's not the small fish that breed, it's the bigger ones. So would it be better to have a size limit much larger and anything over that limit had to be put back to be able to breed?
I know it would be difficult putting back that doubler or fish of a lifetime, but if it was the law!!!!!

I agree with that 100% all the female cod full of roe should be returned,

[RossW]

The impact of rod and line on stocks is negligible. I disagree that a 14in cod has no meat on it. I generally return any fish that will survive, except size cod which I love to eat, but if the fish are being eaten by anglers it's far better than eating commercially caught stocks and is certainly better for the World than eating beef, lamb, pork etc.

[Kartonkel]

Just tossing a bait in the water here to see if it attracts any attention;

What if the size limit was at the other end of the scale. I mean; it's not the small fish that breed, it's the bigger ones. So would it be better to have a size limit much larger and anything over that limit had to be put back to be able to breed?
I know it would be difficult putting back that doubler or fish of a lifetime, but if it was the law!!!!!

Not an unusual suggestion

in America they have a size limit for White Sturgeon — No fish less than 40 inches fork length or greater than 60 inches fork length may be taken or possessed

[Kartonkel]

The impact of rod and line on stocks is negligible. I disagree that a 14in cod has no meat on it. I generally return any fish that will survive, except size cod which I love to eat, but if the fish are being eaten by anglers it's far better than eating commercially caught stocks and is certainly better for the World than eating beef, lamb, pork etc.

The Atlantic cod is classified as vulnerable (just alike Porbeagle) and should be treated by everybody with utmost consideration.

Its also the message that we send around by being disrespectful or wasteful with living creatures.

However...if an angler takes small (but legal) cod home and eats them panfried with his family....perfect use!

[kayos]

Very poor argument by your standards, Mark!

It is perfectly legal to take 500 mackerels out of the water and put them straight into the dustbin.

Would you do it or allow somebody doing it just because it is legal??????

Legal or not legal....

how does it make any sense to put a fish back, which is lethally hooked???

how does it make sense to take legal sized fish and then not use it???

Haha, it's early in the day and I'm not warmed up yet Norbert. However I am equally unimpressed by your response. I did not mention binning fish, all I said was, I don't think we should criticise somone who has broken no rules. Would I keep that size fish? No, but I'm not a shore angler really and certainly not a match angler, so what I'd do is irrelevant. Would I take 500 mackerel? No, I watched an Indian family take over 100 Mackerel the summer before last off Blairmore Pier. I did say they were taking illegally sized fish, but they ignored me. As to numbers they took, legal and therefore none of my business, whether I liked it or not.

Let's not slate people, (or worse, try to stop them as you seem to suggest) who behave perfectly within the law, anarchy will ensue!

The whole issue has a miniscule affect compared to commercial fishermen, quotas and "by catches." Lets increase protection of fish stocks without having a go at anglers who have done nothing wrong.

Off to work now.

[Kartonkel]

Haha, it's early in the day and I'm not warmed up yet Norbert. However I am equally unimpressed by your response. I did not mention binning fish, all I said was, I don't think we should criticise somone who has broken no rules. Would I keep that size fish? No, but I'm not a shore angler really and certainly not a match angler, so what I'd do is irrelevant. Would I take 500 mackerel? No, I watched an Indian family take over 100 Mackerel the summer before last off Blairmore Pier. I did say they were taking illegally sized fish, but they ignored me. As to numbers they took, legal and therefore none of my business, whether I liked it or not.

Let's not slate people who behave perfectly within the law and certaily not start suggesting they are binning them.

The whole issue anyway has a miniscule affect compared to commercial fishermen, quotas and "by catches." Lets increase protection of fish stocks without having a go at anglers who have done nothing wrong.

Its perfectly legal to burp, fart and vomit next to Lynn on board JFK 2 and then take the W..ly out and have a wee

[IANG]

fish stocks

Just been looking at club results and the fish being weighed in must be just size. Now I'm not against match fishing but the two fillets off a just size fish are utterly pointless IMO. For me having your name at the top of the pile and 10 or 20 in your pocket in these club matches means nothing. I think a major shake up in size limits is needed. I reiterate this is not a 'hate match fishing thread' as the size limits are the size limits, I just think weighing in small fish, as that's what they are in my eyes is uncalled for.

If you want to make an impact on fish stocks in our seas then you need to be concentrating your efforts on the EU until the mesh size of nets is significantly increased and the subsequent unnecessary slaughter of millions and millions of undersized juvenile fish then Im afraid that what you propose wouldn't help at all.Our angling clubs and their members need supporting not knocking,once you start causing a split in anglers then it wont be long before we begin to lose the use of piers and promenades to anglers.Lets face it Tynemouth,South shilds,Sunderland,and Seaham piers are probably still open because of angling clubs input.Having said all that I do agree with your thinking in a perfect world,but it isn't going to happen.youd probably have a better chance of success stoppig our foreign friends taking anything that swims legal size or not.Im old enough to remember when the shore fishing was great and clubs had thousands of members and fish stocks weren't affected.The decline coming quickly when commercial fishing became big business,and until that changes you are beating your head off a brick wall.