Welcome to the U.K. Sea Fishing FAQ.

	Compiled by : Colin Albert colin@nospam-labrax.force9.co.uk (Delete"nospam-" to e-mail.) What's New? As featured in: February 1998. Last Updated : 9 February 1999

The First UK Sea Angling Page.

This is document is being continously modified and updated.
Any contributions are welcome, and will be acknowledged.
E-mail me directly otherwise post to uk.rec.fishing.sea or rec.outdoors.fishing.saltwater for any discussion on the FAQ.
I reserve the right to edit any items sent for inclusion in this FAQ.

Scope of this FAQ

This FAQ covers sea fishing within the territorial waters of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Any matters related to U.K. sea angling may be included as time and space permit.

I do not aim to cover questions such as"How / Where do I catch ...", "What bait do I use for ...", since there are already many books covering this and I do not intend this FAQ to become another!

Also definitely NO RECIPES this is an angling FAQ not cookery.

I hope to post the document regularly to rec.outdoors.fishing.saltwater. Updates will occur as time allows as this is being written purely during my spare time.

Tight Lines - Colin Albert.

1. Contents

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Page includes links to diagrams.

2. Copyright and Disclaimer
3. U.K Sea Angling And The Law
4. U.K. Sea Fish
5. Baits
6. Techniques
7. Tackle
8. Organisations & Clubs
9. U.K. Sea Angling Publications & Software
Links To Other Fishing Sites

2. Copyright and Disclaimer

• 2.1 Copyright
• 2.2 Disclaimer
• 2.3 What's New
• 2.4 Help Needed!!!
• 2.5 Contributors

3. U.K Sea Angling And The Law

• 3.1 Is a Rod Licence Required?
• 3.2 Is there a closed season?
• 3.3 Do Cod bans apply to anglers?
• 3.4 Do minimum sizes apply to anglers?
• 3.5 Is a licence required to dig bait?
• 3.6 Are there any restrictions on what fish you can catch?
• 3.7 Where are the bass nursery areas?
• 3.8 Charter Boat Regulations & Certificates of Compliance

4. U.K. Sea Fish

• 4.1 Species
  • 4.1.1 What is a mini species?
  • 4.1.2 Are there any poisonous fish British waters?
  • 4.1.3 Are there any books to help identify sea fish?
• 4.2 Record Lists & Specimen Weights
  • 4.2.1 British Records
    • 4.2.1.1 British Mini Species Records
  • 4.2.2 Welsh Records
    • 4.2.2.1 Welsh Mini Species Records
  • 4.2.3 Scottish Records
  • 4.2.4 Irish Records & Specimen Weights
  • 4.2.5 NFSA Specimen Weights
• 4.3 How do I claim a Record Fish?
  • 4.3.1 How To Claim a British Record
  • 4.3.2 How To Claim an Irish Record
  • 4.3.3 How To Claim a Scottish Record
  • 4.3.4 How To Claim a Welsh Record
• 4.4 Minimum Sizes
  • 4.4.1 NFSA Mininum Sizes
• 4.5 Unusual Catches & Sightings
• 4.6 Conservation
  • 4.6.1 Are There Any Tagging Schemes for UK Sea Fish?
  • 4.6.2 What Do Tags Look Like?
  • 4.6.3 What Should I Do If I Catch a Tagged Fish?

5. Baits

• 5.1 Is frozen bait any good?
• 5.2 How do you keep soft baits like mussell on the hook when casting?

6. Techniques

• 6.1 Beach Techniques
  • 6.1.1 What is a paternoster?
  • 6.1.2 What are bait clips? Why use them?
  • 6.1.3 What is Double Patting?
  • 6.1.4 What is a rotten-bottom?
• 6.2 Boat Techniques
  • 6.2.1 What is uptiding
  • 6.2.2 What is a flying collar?
  • 6.2.3 What is free-lining?
• 6.3 Casting
  • 6.3.1 Why use a shock leader?
  • 6.3.2 How do techniques like pendulumn casting get more power.
  • 6.3.3 How do you tune a multiplier for distance casting
  • 6.3.4 Why do you remove the top bar from a multiplier for distance casting?
  • 6.3.5 I have removed the top bar from my reel, but still cannot hold the spool securely whilst casting.
  • 6.3.6 UKSF Casting Records
• 6.4 General Techniques
  • 6.4.1 Is night fishing better than daytime?
  • 6.4.2 Do luminous attractors work?
  • 6.4.3 How long can a bait be left in the water?

7. Tackle

• 7.1 Shore Tackle
  • 7.1.1 What sort of rod do I need for shore fishing?
  • 7.1.2 What sort of reel do you use for shore fishing?
• 7.2 Boat Tackle
  • 7.2.1 What sort of rod do I need for boat fishing?
  • 7.2.2 What sort of reel do you use for boat fishing?
• 7.3 General Tackle
  • 7.3.1 How do the numbers for hook sizes work?
  • 7.3.2 There are many hook patterns available, which do you recommend?
  • 7.3.3 Flourescent lines are very popular, does line colour matter?
• 7.4 U.K. Tackle Manufacturers & Spare Parts Suppliers
• 7.5 U.K. Tackle Shops On-Line

8. Organisations & Clubs

• 8.1 Sea Angling Organisations
  • Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society
  • British Conger Club
  • Central Fisheries Board (Ireland)
  • European Federation of Sea Anglers
  • International Game Fish Association (IGFA)
  • Irish Federation of Sea Anglers
  • Irish Federation of Sea Anglers - Ulster Provincial Council
  • Irish Match Angling & Surf Angling Association
  • Irish Sea Angling Accomodation and Charters
  • National Association of Boat Angling Clubs
  • National Federation of Charter Skippers
  • National Federation of Sea Anglers
  • National Mullet Club
  • Northern Federation of Sea Angling Societies
  • North West Association of Sea Angling Clubs
  • Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers
  • Sea Angler's Match Federation
  • Shark Angling Club of Great Britain
  • South West Federation of Sea Anglers
  • Sportfishing Club of the British Isles
  • United Kingdom Surfcasting Federation
  • Welsh Federation of Sea Anglers
• 8.2 Commercial Fishing Organisations
  • 8.2.1 Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food
  • 8.2.2 Chief Fisheries Offices
• 8.3 Sea Angling Clubs

9. U.K. Sea Angling Publications & Software

• 9.1 Magazines & Papers
  • Angler's Mail
  • Angling Star
  • Angling Times
  • Boat Angler
  • Improve Your Sea Angling
  • Improve Your Sea Fishing
  • Sea Angler
  • Sea Angling News
  • Total Sea Fishing
  • Waterlog
• 9.2 Books
  • 9.2.1 Recommended Books
  • 9.2.2 Angling Book Dealers
• 9.3 Videos
  • 9.3.1 Hyperactive Films
  • 9.3.2 Beekay Publishers
  • 9.3.3 Channel 4 Video
  • 9.3.4 EMAP (Sea Angler Magazine)
  • 9.3.5 Veals
• 9.4 Television Programmes
  • 9.4.1 Teletext
  • 9.4.2 Satellite Channels
• 9.5 Software
  • 9.5.1 Where can I find fishing software?
  • 9.5.2 Is there any software that can calculate tide tables?

Links To Other Fishing Sites

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