| Archive for ANGLINGIRELAND A forum for anglers by anglers |
| sydb |
Amazing photos of Cormorantshttp://www.fishingtalkireland.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4714 |
||||||
| thebigandyt |
thats a class pic. had the pike one on me blog a wee while ago
http://andyfishing.blogspot.com/2008/04/cormorant-vs-pike.html but the gutted cormorants are amazing. Are these buggers still protected? |
||||||
| Watty's Rock |
Amazing syd. Jus shows u wat the buggers eat.
|
||||||
| fossil-fish |
Fish? |
||||||
| Watty's Rock |
Are you taking the Michael, Michael! 
|
||||||
| fossil-fish |
No, not at all. It is just that is a pretty horrible picture of birds with their stomachs cut open. It only tells us something that we already know, cormorants eat fish. There is no explanation as to where the photograph came from or how the birds came to be in that state. I would not like to think that they had been delibritely or illegally killed. The fact that they eat the same fish as we wish to catch is no fault of theirs and in fact it can be argued perhaps it is more our fault for createing stocked unnatural fisheries and destroying their original food source. The cormorant issue is a complicated one and one that needs addressed. We do need management and control of fish stocks and predators, but we should be careful of attributing some sort of evil intent to what are simply wild creatures exploiting an available food supply. Although as anglers we understand the threat to our aquatic environment, the argument of killing one wild creature to protect another is one that needs to be handled in a diplomatic and intelligent way. The need to control cormorants is something that needs to be explained carefully to a conservation minded and evironmentally aware general public. I think that in the past the reaction of some anglers to this issue has been a bit irrational and unhelpful. |
||||||
| thebigandyt |
supppose you're right ff. it would probably be the gannets next. i could watch them fish all day. | ||||||
| Watty's Rock |
Food for thought FF. 
|
||||||
| sydb |
CormorantsTo be honest I am always surprised at the size of the fish they eat in comparison to their own bodyweight. Do you not think thats pretty amazing FF??I also wouldnt want them to be killed needlessly but at the same time the pictures were up on another site and I thought it was worth putting the link here. |
||||||
| fossil-fish |
Re: Cormorants
Syd, Yes, you are right on both counts. I have seen them take two pound stockies, though they have bother taking off for a while. Sort of reminds you off the way large snakes can swallow such large prey whole. It was agood link and an important subject well worthy of discussion. Make no mistake this is an issue that needs continually dealt with and fisheries, both stocked and natural, need to be managed and protected. There was an interseting article a few weeks back in The Angling Times on this subject. AT has been very vocal in calling for comorant control and in the past allowed some quite ill advised comments, in one case ending up in court. The report showed that although in England a certain number of licences had been issued to allow the culling of cormorants for fishery protection, only a small percentage had actually been taken up. The AT article described this as 'angler's apathy', but I am not so sure exactly what that story tells us. |
||||||
| thebigandyt |
i'd caught a trout a while ago from woodburn with scars down it side. i thought a pike had got at it, but someone told me it was a cormorant. i was a bit sceptical then that a cormorant what have tried to eat something this size but judging from those pics he definatly was right | ||||||
| fossil-fish |
Andy, Yes seen a few like that and a few that were not so lucky. Seems to be an early morning thing. The ones I have seen have a slim mark where scales have been removed, not always equal on both sides, and sometimes appears as if it has been pulled from one end. Pike attacks seem to leave a rounded outline on both sides and you can normally see the puncture wounds from the protruding teeth. The other mark is the almost 'bullet hole' look of a heron stab. Seen that on some huge fish. |
||||||
| sydb |
CormorantAnd the fact that there are no pike in Woodburn is another clue
|
||||||
| Beatnik69 |
Re: Cormorant
Pikeys? 
|
||||||
| thebigandyt |
i caught a couple out of craigavon that had the bullit hole look about them. blamed the pike again! gotta stop blaming pike for everything. Just the other day there was a wee dead sparrow chick in back garden, I put that down to the pike too until i saw the smug look on my cat's face. | ||||||
| sydb |
CormorantsIm the same Andy - I blamed the pike for the puncture I had the other morning. Im going to start blaming the perch or the Rudd, they get away without any blame. I blame the perch for the diesel prices. |
||||||
| sydb |
CormorantsHad a look at your blog Andy, its very good. |
||||||
| Beatnik69 |
Credit crunch, Middle East crisis, inflating oil prices... bloody pike!
Andy, had a quick look at your blog too. Did you ever find Lough Mourne? It's actually up the Red Brae, a couple of miles further on from the New Line (though you can cut over to the Red Brae from the New Line by driving from the Woodburn Dams over Councillors Road onto the New Line then over Paisley Road) |
||||||
| thebigandyt |
cheers for stopping by the blog lads. I started it a while ago as a sort of online journal. it's good craic but very addictive. Some of the links to other fishing blogs are very good. Urban flyfisher, fly fishing chick and the underground are some of the best examples of fishing blogs out there. if you come across any other good ones let me know I've been neglecting the blog at mo as we've just had our first wee one and fishing has had to been put on the back burner i did find lough mourne a week later, but forgot to bring my waders so was only able to fish a small bit of it. It's another place i'd love it if they let me bring my canoe out on. |
||||||
| fossil-fish |
Andy,
Wait until late summer or autumn. The water level at Lough Mourne drops to leave an apron of gravel right round the lake which makes flyfishing much easier. I also think it fishes much better at this time year. Boats are not allowed on these resrvoirs, but as no one does anything about the poaching, limit breaking, fires, litter, fly tipping, drinking, motorcycling and other general anti-social behaviour, they will hardly bother you in your Kayak. 
|
||||||
| thebigandyt |
i've often thought about that. the problem with just heading out on the water is that whilst poaching, limit breaking, fires, litter, fly tipping, drinking, motorcycling and other general anti-social behaviour do go on(and are rampent) it's hard to identify the wrong do-er. It would quite easy to catch the berk who brings his canoe, just wait by his car until he gets cold. | ||||||
| Beatnik69 |
The Mourne definitely fishes better when it has dropped. Andy, I think you might get away with heading out in your canoe. If I remember correctly the sign at Lough Mourne actually says that boats are permitted. I thought this was strange and was wondering if they were going to let one of the houses up there hire boats out. I might take a run up tomorrow mornig and double check. |
||||||
| thebigandyt |
cheers. That would be cool. the dcal website says that boats are not allowed but if it says so on the sign that'll do for me. | ||||||
| thebigandyt |
sign says "Hire boats may be available". I snuck up this afternoon. I don't know how this should be read. | ||||||
| fossil-fish |
There was a plan about six years ago to build a jetty and provide boats for hire. Needless to say DCAL managed to attain their usual high standard of under achievment. I suppose putting the sign up was a first step. That's pretty good going for them.
|
||||||
| thebigandyt |
it would be a great place to allow boats. there is so much of the water is unaccessible. i can see why it fishes better when the level is down. | ||||||
| fossil-fish |
Spot on. Perhaps someday. |
||||||