Cybassman

Beautiful fish. Job well done. Congrats. I guess with water temp of 22 degrees Celsius and still at pre-spawn is a bit strange. Last few cold fronts are to be blamed I think. Maybe next full moon...

So do I, Island bassin. So do I !!! Good to be back. Hope we meet soon. Tight lines.

By the way, since you insisted, here's a photo of me and a 4lb beauty earlier this year. You took this picture, remember?

Google Earth is magic. Don't you think? Anybody having a doubt about the area of the dam can check it out himself. I would recommend that the WDD officials check Google Earth and not give immaginary figures. Now, the photo below shows the wall and the dam. The wall could actually be the widest point of the dam. I would like to have your appology on this forum please, and not when we meet !!!! It has been a pleasure talking to you my friend. Now I think CASE IS CLOSED. Don't you agree?

This is the approximate area of the dam today. Around 80 acres!!!

This is the actual area of the dam when full. Once in approx 20 years!!! Around 320 acres.

This is what you say is the area of the dam. This is about 997 acres. I wish we had a dam that big but we do not.

This is the 750 meters length compared to the actual wall length.

My friend, I'm afraid case is still open!! Don't forget that we measure area and not circumference. So, if I measure a rectangle then I actually come up with a bigger area than the real one and NOT smaller. Even though I took into account the curves, they are insignificant as you will see below. I also took into account the two river arms. By the way the dam wall is around 550 meters and not 750. I can only post one picture per post so check the rest 5 posts below as well. Actual wall length.

When was the last time you got a decent bass from Evretou or Kalavasos or Lefkara or any dam other than the 4 mentioned above? It seems that you need a maths lesson. Kourris dam is around 320 acres when full. Now it is only around 80 acres. 997 acres is more than 4 square kilometers. The whole length of Kourris is around 2.8 km and the width around 0.4 km. That makes 1.1 square km. Does this sound like 997 acres? No way. You should have known by now that before I say something I do ALL the relevant checks!! Maybe you should start doing the same my friend. I repeat: Kouris dam today covers an area of around 80 acres. Your official sources are wrong and so are you, Cybasser. Thank you for your time. You can appologise next time we meet.!!!!

Hello my friend Cybasser, I know that this is not the right place to discuss the possible privatization. I just need to say one more thing. You are the vice-president of the only freshwater fishing association in Cyprus. You also support the dam privatization. The two are contradicting. You have to make a serious decision here. According to the constitution of the association, article 4, paragraph 6, you should be working for the conservation and promotion of the right of FREE angling in all freshwater facilities of the island for ALL anglers. By the way, we do not run the risk of loosing SOME of our best fishing reservoirs but ALL of them. After all, we only have FOUR (4) real bass reservoirs. Have you done any serious fishing anywhere else lately? One last thing. Kourris, our biggest reservoir has an area of around 320 acres (when completely full which happened only once since it was built 19 years ago) and not 997 acres as you mention above. Today the area covered by water is only around 80 acres !!!

Hi my friend Cybasser. Nice pikeperch you have there. Regarding privatisation, there is an even better chance that bass fishing will NOT be allowed at all. Don't forget that real bass fishermen in Cyprus are very few. 10-15? Or maybe 20 people... Who cares about us? Looking at the matter from a different point of view, lets assume that bass fishing (and fishing in general) and boats are allowed. This will mean hundreds of boats in each of the 4 dams we have for bass fishing (Asprogremmos, Kourris, Yermasogia, Dhypotamos) and a dramatic increase of anglers (don't forget that the last 2-3 years there was a huge market on fishing boats for sea fishing). The result will be pollution as our dams are small and almost empty every year, illegal fishing with nets and dynamite (the only reason I think that dynamite is not used in our dams is because there is no way to collect the dead fish). If you think I'm exaggerating, let me remind you about the nets in Asprogremmos dam, and the dynamite used often in our sea. They even used gas cylinders last year in Zygi area. If the above will not happen because the dams will be closely monitored and guarded, then what will surely happen, is that you will pay a good amount of money to rent a boat, or invest a lot of money to buy your own boat and pay a fee to use it, only to find out that your private honey hole is not private and is not a honey hole any more. You said it yourself that you walk for 30 minutes in wild country to reach that spot. Using a boat will be a piece of cake going there - unfortunately not only for you but for everybody!! Think about it. Don't get me wrong. I would love to fish using a boat. But lets be down-to-earth. We live in Cyprus. People have managed to destroy sea fishing in only a short period of time. The laws are there but who follows them? See you at work!!!

Cybasser quoted: "I do believe that the people at the Water Development Department will not be crazy enough to allow water discharge at the rates observed over the last two years, if they do it is quite possible to have tragic results. " Just for everybodys information, Yermasogia is very close to destruction, with only 0.482 mcm of muddy water left, and the water department continues to remove water, with the connivance of the fisheries department. Fishing is still allowed and hundreds of bass of all sizes are caught regularly. I had reports of many bass being caught in the range of 1-2 kilos in the last 2 months. Please note that the fish are infected with some kind of desease. Now, who would trust the water or fisheries departments?

I am glad Cybasser agrees with me that dams should close for fishing when the water level drops below 20%. And they should close NOT only for the law-abiding citizens (for example Xyliatos people are fishing there illegally every day). Among other suggestions about one year ago, I was suggesting to the fisheries dept to close the dams for fishing during spawning period, when the water level drops below about 20% and coordinate with the water department not to allow water levels below about 15% ( http://agrino.org/fishing/htmldocs/suggestions.html ). I must say that the bag limit of 10 bass will not work. Not for another 10 years or so. We are talking about the mentality of a whole nation. For most of the people, releasing fish is out of the question. If they see you releasing fish, they think you are weird or something. Don't get me wrong. I believe that catch and release is a very good way of protecting bass, but we have to be realistic. By the time people are convinced to practice catch and release it might be too late. So, other immediate measures have to be taken in the meantime. And time is running out. Especially if we have no rain this year. So, lets keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. Regards

Hello again island bassin, Please keep in mind that I only express my opinion and that I do not even for a moment pretend to be an expert on the subject. Low level will certainly affect the spawning since bass are now closer together and spawning areas will not only be limited, but also crowded. But that alone would not be such a serious problem. Don't forget however, that with such low level of water, most areas of the dams are exposed to fishermen that are most likely to spook fish or even catch a lot of them during spawning. Now that will really be a problem. As far as Yermasogia is concerned, I think that it is not connected with Kourris in the sense that water can be moved from Kourris to Germasogia. If I am not mistaken, water from Kourris is only brought to the river between Yermasogia and the sea. Anyway, an inflow of 1-2 mcm would certainly be enough for Yermasogia to make it thru the summer, but don't forget that the water department will be removing water all summer as usual, so we will be back to square one. Regards and tight lines!

Hi, island bassin, We have been in a similar or even worse situation both back in 1992 and 1998-2002 with very low water levels in our dams. Bass fishing was negatively affected of course. But in both cases it recovered fairly quickly (around 2 years after considerable amount of water was again stored) in most dams (with the exception maybe of Kalavasos). The low water level of this year will also affect bass fishing. The difference this time is the much increased fishing pressure. 6-8 years ago, the people fishing for bass (true bass fishermen) were limited (maybe around 10-15 anglers or even less). So, if there are no tournaments killing hundreds of fish, no illegal fishing, no diseases, etc and provided we have some good rain soon, I think that the dams will recover, but in a slower rate. If we do not have any rain, I believe that it will be another year before we enter into serious trouble, with the exception of Yermasogia dam, which cannot survive another summer. Regards, and hope we meet one day too.

Hi there Roadwarrior, Cybasser and I, are very good friends and colleagues. The differences you talk about are not really differences. It is a way 2 good friends and "mad about fishing" try to make things better. I really enjoy talking to Cybasser because he knows his subject and we share the same BASS MADNESS. Regards and thank you!

Hi there Cybasser, I also enjoy this conversation. You said it yourself. When the water in Evretou got stained, some good bass were caught. This was not the case with Kalavasos. Maybe some fish were caught, but not to the extent that I would consider the situation as being normal. Anyway, you are right in saying that we could both be correct or wrong, but knowing that the fisheries dept will not do anything to find out more details, I still believe that our best bet would be Bluegill or even Tilapia. Then, everything else being normal, bass will have a continual supply of different size forage, as these fish reproduce throughout the warm months. If there is something else wrong there, the introduction of forage fish will not have any negative effect anyway. With the exception of last year, trout fishing was good in our mountain dams. I don't think the fisheries dept would ever keep the fish in Kalopanagiotis facility until reaching 1 or 2 lb. Don't forget that in June the temperature is very high and trout will be in serious trouble. Have a look at the photo below. It was taken on Feb 2005. I think the sizes of trout are very good (check the knife in the photo). I believe serious trout fishermen will be very happy with these sizes and the occasional 2-3lb ones. As far as trout being used as forage for bass, we will have to wait and see what happens to Palaichori dam. You know that this is a traditional trout dam and bass was introduced there 3-4 ago, if I am not mistaken. Regards and tight lines! (See u at work)

"The only lowland reservoir that has had some live vegetation (but I don't know the species) was Kalavasos which I mentioned in my reply to CyBassMan. The reason for lack of vegetation is that the water is too stained most of the year to allow sufficient light for plant growth. There is vegetation though in some smaller, clear, mountain reservoirs." Couldn't the lack of vegetation be due to the fact that there are big water level changes every year in our dams? I mean areas with 1-2 meters of water now, will be really deep water in a few months (depending on the rainfall) and vice-versa. So any vegetation will either be in deep water with not enough light or completely out of the water in a few months. :'(

I fully agree that Kalavasos holds a few huge bass. Bass usually feed by sight, and clear water in Kalavasos certainly helps them to grow big. I lost my biggest fish there and I will never forget the feeling when I had it hooked and I saw that huge head emerging out of the water. I also agree there is some good offshore structure. But this is mostly true when the dam is full or almost full. Now the water level is below 19%. This structure is out of the water, the dam looks like a pond, the water is stained and still there is no sign of bass. Surely this is not normal. As for the presence of Tilapia, I believe they did not survive. I think they never had a chance to grow. Last time I saw one, was almost 1.5 years ago. The small bass appear there every year and then disappear mysteriously. They never live to grow. Something must be wrong. Cybasser, you say that we should keep in mind that there are people fishing for Roach and introducing other species might not be to their benefit. What do you think trout fishermen will say if half the amount of trout produced, is used as forage for bass? (They do it at Lefkara dam feeding the pikeperch, but not many people realize it). You know very well that the fisheries department will not grow the trout before releasing them and you also know why. Releasing 1lb trout is just out of the question. It is either 20000 small trout or nothing. I don't think we have a choice. As far as the shape of the bass is concerned, they are not made using forming blocks, so there are exceptions. You can find for example this shape in Evretou but in Kourris it is the rule. And I am NOT talking about fully grown bass. In kourris most adult bass (~2lb) are short and fat but not in other dams. A fully grown male bass will seldom exceed 40cm in length; a fully grown female will usually reach about 55cm in length, but both will still gain weight. Guess what happens to their shape. That is why fully grown bass appear short and fat. I am not talking about fully grown fish but adult fish. Regards to you all !!!

Hi Tugabasser, Thank you for the info. What do you mean by saying that your native species just don't fit? Anyway, I have to clarify a few things as I am being attacked by my friend Cybasser (and I am not surprised at all), but never mind. Well, first of all, CyBassMan has been long campaigning in Cyprus for the introduction of sunfish (crappie, bluegill, and now pumpkinseed) as the ideal forage for bass. I am not campaigning for anything. The fisheries dept. told us at the beginning of 2005 that they are looking into the possibility of introducing new species for forage fish and better angling opportunities. I am not an expert on the subject, and I never claimed to be. I studied the subject a lot thru the internet, and I just repeated the opinion of most experts on the subject ie that a suitable fish would be the bluegill. I also gave the opinion of scientists on the pros and cons of introducing the crappie. I NEVER suggested the pumpkinseed. I just asked you about it since you have this species in your lakes and it has a similar behaviour as the bluegill. I wonder how my friend cybasser came to this conclusion. My opinion on the subject is that, bass would grow bigger, faster and in more quantities with the right forage fish along with better management from the fisheries department. In one particular dam there seems to be a serious problem (maybe of forage fish shortage the fisheries dept agrees on that). Thousands of small bass appear in the lake in the summer time and then they disappear. The fishing opportunities in this dam which is one of the biggest on the island are very poor. For this particular dam I strongly suggested the introduction of bluegill or tilapia along with water testing for plankton etc I even suggested the introduction of tilapia in some of our dams as this species is already present in Cyprus. The fisheries department does not like the idea as the fish do not survive in low water temperatures. As far as the balance is concerned, we all were surprised with the big sizes of bass present in Asprogremmos dam the last few years. Then we found out that the dam is full of tilapia (Sizes up to one kilo). Nobody noticed any effect on the balance. In fact the only thing that changed is the numbers and sizes of the bass in the dam. Another example of the introduction of tilapia is Yermasogia dam. We all noticed that the size of bass we caught the last couple of years changed compared to previous years with more and more bass weighing more than a kilo. I personally caught hundreds of them. Then two months ago we found out that there are many tilapias in the dam. Again there was no effect on the balance. Unfortunately due to bad management from the government officials the dam is now almost empty and close to destruction. I would say that introducing a new species whether that is bluegill or tilapia in other dams would be a good idea. But even if the numbers of Roach are reduced and bass and tilapias (or bluegill) thrive, is that an unwanted result? Also, I would like to remind my friend cybasser that at the beginning of 2005 he prepared and submitted a scientific report, to the fisheries dept suggesting the introduction of both the Gizzard and Threadfin shad as a positive step for our freshwater fishing with the threadfin shad as ideal for our dams for the larger growth of bass. By the way, grown bass are short and fat in one particular dam only (Kourris). I don't know why. In other dams I have caught and seen bass 50cm long weighing only 1.3kilos or less. One last thing. Our dams do not face intense bass fishing pressure (not yet anyway) and that might very well explain the fact that we still catch quite a good number of bass. The bass anglers (and I mean those that know what they are doing) are not more than 50-60 people, maybe even less. Of course there are an increasing number of anglers that catch small bass while fishing for roach or other species. Tilapia or bluegill would provide good fishing opportunities for them as well. I think that the fisheries department will never agree to use rainbows as forage fish due to the high cost involved in breeding them. Thanks and tight lines!

"The main forage fish, at least in the south is the pumpkinseed..." Do you have any problems with overpopulation of the pumpkinseed, or does the bass manage to control their numbers? Do you think bass grow bigger and in better quantities in lakes with pumpkinseeds than other lakes? The reason I'm asking is that we need a good forage fish like the bluegill (or maybe pumpkinseed - I don't know) for the largemouth bass and the fisheries department finds it difficult to import from the USA due to European laws (at least that is their excuse). If a good forage fish that could be used for bass and also for fishing was available in Europe then things would be easier (or the fisheries dept would not have an excuse any more). Thanks and tight lines!

I wish you catch the 4.8kg bass soon. By the way, what sort of forage fish do you have in Portugal? Do you have by any chance the American Bluegill?

Hi there, I come from Cyprus and I have to tell you that, yes, Cyprus has some good bass fishing but due to the limited rainfall, the bad water management from the state and the negligence from the fisheries department, the future of bass fishing is not so good. Bass has been introduced here in 1971 and has established very well. Dams were built to store water since we have very long drought periods that can last for 4-5 years with limited rainfall. Some fish species were introduced including the largemouth bass. More than 35 years later, the government officials still insist that dams are for storing water and nothing else. Unless this mentality changes the future of freshwater fishing and especially bass fishing looks grey. It's a pity really because we have many dams (more than 20) that could offer great bass fishing along with carp, zander, roach, trout, etc... By the way, for 2007 onwards there is a bag limit of 10 bass and minimum size of 25cm.