ANOTHER game shooting season has ended and, in the Republic, that also includes the humble pigeon as it has been added to the game list – as usual while we weren’t watching!

It has become difficult to control this bird which is a major and costly pest and a number of friends are concerned that the good work they have been doing for local farmers by decoying pigeon or roost shooting will no longer be legal as the most suitable times of the year for this often occur outside the game season.

Perhaps there is someone out there with real and practical experience of this dilemma who might share their knowledge with Midlander and the rest of the law-abiding shooting fraternity?

We seem to be bombarded with more and more regulations from those in power who suffer from being either servants or masters of the nanny state. A friend recently pointed out to me that if we were all sportsmen in the first place there would be no need for any rules other than those we all follow anyway.

There have always been poachers and those, like Black Tom, who only see a very grey line between doing the right thing and breaking the rules. But Government regulations seem to be less and less practical as they are drafted by those who have little or no knowledge or, worse still, are actually against fieldsports.

Fight for hunting with hounds continues

Another meeting organised by the Hunting Association of Ireland (HAI) took place in Ballinasloe with more than 1,000 people showing their displeasure at the antics of Green Minister John Gormley in dealing with the Ward Union Stag Hounds and his utter contempt for the traditional freedoms of the Irish people and their fieldsports.

Sadly we recently had a General Election so we have to wait several years to really show how many people follow fieldsports.

But there are other ways to get the point across.

The Irish people didn’t elect a Green Party Government. They only got into power as the very small tail of a coalition dog. But now the tail seems to be wagging the dog and more mainstream party TDs will undoubtedly feel the draught unless the excesses of the Greens are brought to heel and quickly.

You can get a copy of the HAI Calendar, which is already selling well, at www.hai.ie and you may want to send one to your local TD, especially if he is a member of any of the governing coalition parties!

Raft of new angling regulations

I have just downloaded 13 pages of new regulations from the Central Fisheries Board at www.cfb.ie and apart from the good news that the salmon licence hasn’t increased this year there is also a lot to be careful about.

It is important that all anglers, including the Black Toms of this world, obey the law as there have been some improvements in the last couple of years for the salmon and sea trout angler with the banning of drift nets.

The larger fish unmarked by nets are testimony to how this will make salmon fish better for the rod and line angler and we have a duty to keep our part of the bargain.

There have been changes in the rivers that are open, including those which were closed last year being re-opened, but a few have been closed. There are also changes in bag limits and these vary at different times during the season so be warned!

Coarse angling

There have been some important changes to coarse fishing rules including a daily bag limit of four fish which all must be under 25cm in length and no coarse fish may be sold.

There are some exemptions for fish bait suppliers, which are granted by the local Fisheries Board. This refers to coarse fish other than pike where the bag limit is one fish per day and the fish must not exceed 50cm in length.

It is not illegal to be in possession of a pike more than 50cm long or 0.7 Kg in weight but it is illegal to use any method to catch freshwater fish other than rod and line. No more than two rods may be used at a time. The use of live fish baits is also prohibited.

Unfortunately there have been instances of individuals taking coarse fish in quantities by several illegal methods and even selling them on. This is theft. It is not some idealistic individual poaching to put food on the table and it spoils the sport for the decent angler who obeys the rules.

Sea angling

The minimum size for a takeable bass is now 40cm and the bag limit remains at two fish in any 24 hour period. There is a ban on any angling for bass during the spawning period of May 15 to June 15 and the consequences of breaking these regulations include heavy fines and ossification of tackle.