CyBasser

Regarding size, it could depend on the fish you are targetting, but also on the prfile of the stick baits I am using... From Yamamoto Senkos I use mostly the 6" version, occasionally moving to the 7" for a really large profile, and very occasionally reverting to 5" for finesse presentations. I can't remember the last time I used 4" ones (although they do have their own niche). From the Tiki brand my favorites are the 5" bamboo sticks. Although one inch shorter, their extra bulk gives them a large profile and they do have a distinctive different action in the water than the senko. I would have also liked to experiment more with ***, but since I do not live in the US, it is a bit harder for me to get hold of them. I do though use Brent's 5" stick and I am quite happy with it, especially regarding its durability! I have also used the Yum Dinger succesfully. The options are endless. My suggestion is to experiment with two or three brands, in different sizes / profiles until you find the ones which work best for your local conditions...

Thanks Max! I will check the magazines archives (if they have any on the internet)....

Hi Max, OK, my friend Lavrax has made a strong point. Yes, Cyprus could have been Europe's own El Salto. What bothers us most is that what you have seen in the photos posted by Lavrax, is the result of our own government MISMANAGEMENT. Things could (and should!!!) had been waaaayyyy different. Yes, we are passing through a drought cycle but this was expected - these cycles occur regularly interchangeably with above normal rainfall ever since 1898 (that's the first year that rainfall data were kept). So, the low rainfall period was a given. That about 50% of the available water was allowed to run freely to the sea though was our government's act, not nature's! At times I have been accused by my friends over here on the island that I am favoring privatization (with its associated higher costs for the anglers and other consequental restrictions), but our government (not only the current one, practically ALL) have clearly shown us that they are TOTALLY INCAPABLE of managing our freshwater fisheries. I am pretty sure that none of the above would have happenned had these waters being managed by a profit - seeking private unit. I am a believer that angling should be available to all, but our government tries hard to prove all of us here in Cyprus wrong! You are right that in one photo you see lots of dead tilapia. That's a distinct point about mismanagement. The government has introduced Tilapia to the island, but in several cases they put them in small reservoirs getting spring runoff from snow melt (ie very cold water!). The result is that every March we see many older tilapia which do not survive the cold water period! We (myself, cybassman, the CFAA, and others) have suggested many times the introduction of more favorable fish species for the role of a mid-level fish in the ecological pyramid of our systems. I am a biologist and have prepared a large study for the Fisheries Department with pros and cons for many species including (among others) various sunfish, gizzard and threadfin shad, other cyprinids (we already have carp, roach, silver bream, crucian carp, bleak, goldfish) etc. It just sits for several years tucked away in a drawer..... We have outlined them plans for better management, including control of illegal fishing, water management, shoreline erosion avoidance, and leanup of the garbage. It's just like talking to the walls! OK, let's be honest, not all is yet lost on the island. There are a few reservoirs in great shape, most of them relatively small and not connected to the major systems. But we have lost a few of our best fisheries - completely through mis-management. We are now trying hard to restore what is left and for the first time we are trying to get the attention of European fishing organizations. Hopefully things will change for the better. In the meantime, we still... Pray for rain, because if this coming winter is again low in rainfall then we'll certainly lose some of the best bass lakes imaginable! :-/ :-/ :'( :'(

Thanks for the heads - up fourbizz! I was considerimg them as well...

Hi again Max, Well, I take your word regarding "Predator" as for the most part I only could understand in general what the article was about (for some reason regarding bass they seemed to strongly support jig-and-pig fishing in the issues I have!). Thanks for keeping me updated on the issue regarding the record bass, I try to collect as much info as possible regarding the issue of large bass both for US but also (and mainly!) for Europe.... Now, you mention there are more articles in French magazines regarding Cyprus? I would be very interested to hear about those. The one I told you about certainly doesn't show dead bass or zander. But I didn't expect that there were more relevant articles in the French magazines. I would appreciate any further info you can give me (feel free to contact me via pm). I know there is at least one magazine for fishing travel published in France (in the issue I have they promote bass fishing in Maroque, issued around august 2006)...

Bonjour MaxDal! Good to know that such big bass exist in France... Although I don't speak French, I do have some copies ofboth "Le Pecheur" and "Predator", the latter seems to be a really exciting magazine. So I hope that there will be a nice article about this record bass. Please let us know when the magazine is out! Although it is not available for sale here in Cyprus, I might make arrangements to get it from France for my archives. By the way, in an older issue of "Le Pecheur" (Juin 2005), there is an article entitled "La Chypre: une ile faite" which describes bass (and sandre) fishing here in Cyprus. This article about bass (an American fish) in Cyprus was written in a French magazine by Konstantin Kuzmin, a good friend from Russia! Bass fishing is truly an international sport! 8-) 8-) 8-)

Do you know where exactly this spot is and are any bass caught? Or is this a private lake? I have three references. The first was "Hamlyn's Field Guide to the freshwater fish of Britain and Europe", from around 1985. That's where I first wrote that Largemouth bass were introduced to the UK. I believe it mentions when and where. Unfortunately, I borrowed that book many years ago to the guy with "that" photo, and now neither me nor any serious Cypriot angler speaks to him, so I can't get it back.... The second was in an issue of "Coarse Angler" from around 1988 or so. Unfortunately I do no longer have that magazine, and for this one I have no clue what happenned to it The third reference I still have it. It's Barrie Rickards' book "Angling: Fundamental Principles" Boydell Press 1986. Bass are listed as an established species on page 228, then on page 235 he mentions that "[bass] are very localised". I wish I could give you more info. Most details I remember were in the Coarse Angler issue. There is a slight chance that magazine might well be in my holiday apartment in Larnaca. If i find it I'll let you know....

I don't have any Sebile Minnows, only a couple of Sebile Magic Swimmers. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1205777273 Thanks for the link Daniel, I am about to begin testing the Sebile Magic Swimmers and give back my feedback - everybody from the Cypriot Posse is testing one or two different Sebile models offered to us by the importer.... The Acast seems to have proven its worth already! Great job Lavrax (why did you change the nickname????)

There were a couple of introductions of largemouth bass in southeast England, and as far as I know they still survive at one spot there. I have no information on any attempt to introduce either largemouth or smallmouth in Scotland. You would be better off to set out for pike or loch brownies....

WOW!!!! :o :o :o This is the stuff dreams are made of!!!!! FishChris, thanks for sharing it with us :) :) :)

Way to go buddy 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) I just hope these beauties make it through the summer.... Anyway, regarding illegal fishing, you know what happenned last night, with the police going for the illegals on the eastern shore. In addition, earlier this morning, Police sent a patrol to Dhipotamos and Lefkara to stop illegal fishing there. I just hope these are not one-off events. The CFAA has decided to pusue this matter intently and hopefully will see some results...

And here is what it looks like now (picture taken from the parking lot on the dam wall....

Gosh.... Just imagine.... Now we can drive ON MOST OF THE BOTTOM of the reservoir!

Hello there! I am very glad about the comments you've made about my photo (the one published above by my friend Cybassman). Indeed, you mentioned something important, the obvious thing about the draught. Over here, over the last year or so, all the media have been talking about the "draught" that has caused our reservoirs to shrink, some to amazingly low levels as you saw. What they don't know is that the main reason the stored water has disappeared is because of bad management. The climate of Cyprus has been going through cyclic changes ever since data were recorded (1898). We usually have 2 or three years of heavy rainfall, follwed by three or four years of average or below average rainfall. The last "heavy rainfall period" was between 2202 and 2004 (with all those years being about 30-40% above normal in rainfall). At the end of spring of 2004, for the first time in history, our reservoirs were at 99% of available capacity. We expected a 3-4 year period of lower rainfall. Indeed, 2005 was at 100.5% of normal rainfall, 2006 was at 85% of normal rainfall, and 2007 was at 105% of normal. This year up to now is very disappointing, with about 60% of normal. Based on experience accumulated through previous years, and a reasonable planning, we should have had at least 40% of the stored water still available. Yet we only have about 10%!!!!!! There was an incredible amount of water released every year from the reservoirs, about double of what was the norm during the previous years. By 2006 the direction where our water storage was headed was obvious. A group of people (us included) were calling everyone's attention to the issue. But there was nobody listening. A mixture of financial interests (pressure for the construction of desalination plants and water needed to keep huge golf courses green in the extreme Cyprus summer heat), along with politics (the need of voters for the previous government meant no restriction in water usage until now, the elections were 10 days ago) meant that we WASTED about 300 MILLION cubic meters of water in the last three years (that is more than the total capacity!). Hence, the areas sourrounding the reservoirs appear nice and green (since there was no real draught), but the reservoirs themselves look brown, dry, and barren, mini deserts in the Cyprus countrysite.... This is the sad story of how Cyprus, which could readily be THE BASS HEAVEN, is slowly becoming a bass angler's hell > > > > >

Hmmm, it will be a great idea....way in the future!!!!! When people realize that C&R is the way to go. As things are now, to have a "hall of fame" could lead to the unnecessary deaths of many bass (and possibly other species) from people looking for fame (and keeping everything they catch). Unless, of course, there is a clause that ONLY bass that were properly documented and PROPERLY RELEASED ALIVE count towards the hall of fame. Keep it in mind as a possible suggestion to the CFAA after we take care of the more pressing matters (ie the criminal waste of the reservoir water)....