Limpopoking
Sealiner
Dec '12... I blanked quite badly but I do have a few pics at home. Will scrounge round for some.
Hi guys. Got a trip in 6 months going to Bassas d
- Thread starter MJ Pollard
- Start date
MJ Pollard wrote:
Just as an aside, as I have had this argument over and over again with people who do not understand the legalities of this, and are being fed bull by the operators.
Nothing can be "sorted out" - if the operator tells you they have a licence or permit or some such they are lying. It is all luck of the draw whether the navy catches you or not.
You cannot get a permit to fish Bassas, you can only get one to scuba. You have to do this via Reunion. It is a marine reserve, and is treated the same way as a similar no-take MPA in South Africa would be.
I know, I've been through the process, and can put you in touch with the relevant authorities in Reunion if anybody would ever like to go there to scuba only (unlikely?). Other than fishing being prohibited in the terrotorial waters around Bassas, the usual treaties apply (CITES, CMS, IUCN red list and so on).
With all of that out the way: many people do go to fish Bassas without getting hassled. I would even go so far as to say the majority gets away with it. So in the end it boils down to two things:
1. Is the fishing at Bassas good enough for your personal risk/reward ratio?
2. Morally, are you happy to fish illegally in a foreign countries marine reserves?
I did plan a trip to Bassas before, which eventually got cancelled - and at the time I did not know any of the above, it was obviously not in the operator's best interests to share. Would I have booked anyway if I did know? I don't know, easy to preach, hard to live by it.
Don't want to come across as a downer, we are all adults here
Cheers,
Nico
Just as an aside, as I have had this argument over and over again with people who do not understand the legalities of this, and are being fed bull by the operators.
Nothing can be "sorted out" - if the operator tells you they have a licence or permit or some such they are lying. It is all luck of the draw whether the navy catches you or not.
You cannot get a permit to fish Bassas, you can only get one to scuba. You have to do this via Reunion. It is a marine reserve, and is treated the same way as a similar no-take MPA in South Africa would be.
I know, I've been through the process, and can put you in touch with the relevant authorities in Reunion if anybody would ever like to go there to scuba only (unlikely?). Other than fishing being prohibited in the terrotorial waters around Bassas, the usual treaties apply (CITES, CMS, IUCN red list and so on).
With all of that out the way: many people do go to fish Bassas without getting hassled. I would even go so far as to say the majority gets away with it. So in the end it boils down to two things:
1. Is the fishing at Bassas good enough for your personal risk/reward ratio?
2. Morally, are you happy to fish illegally in a foreign countries marine reserves?
I did plan a trip to Bassas before, which eventually got cancelled - and at the time I did not know any of the above, it was obviously not in the operator's best interests to share. Would I have booked anyway if I did know? I don't know, easy to preach, hard to live by it.
Don't want to come across as a downer, we are all adults here
Cheers,
Nico
tackle whore
Senior Member
Agree with Nicos don't go its too risky .A few years ago was lucky enough to get a permit to do research on Bassas for a month , had to have French scientists on board, had to sail to Europa first to get pics taken of boat and check all paperwork was correct , had to release all research information to Reunion and France was allowed to anchor inside the atoll and was checked up on every fourth day by a French naval plane , boat was checked before we left the atoll by a naval vessel for any live stock,shells etc . It took 6 years to get the permit I def wont push my luck now esp with all the international anti piracy vessels in the area you going to get bust .If you willing to loose charter money, stellas, jail time etc etc go ahead. Just a heads up there is only 3 permits issued for Bassas 1 for sharks and the others are bird research permits we are never allowed to be at the atoll at the same time either to minimise the people impact on the atoll.You are allowed to over night at Bassas ifg you are sailing past but the second day you there a plane or vessel will check up on you and either assist you or chase you .
I don't doubt you guys at all I've heard the same thing, how well monitored the place is I don't know the french seem more interested in nuking the atolls they "own" than anything else. Still a trip to St. Lazuras banks will offer similar fishing at about the same price or even less.
MJ Pollard
New member
Thanks guys for all the info.
I did get into contact with our charters and there is no problem for them to be at Bassas da India,everything on there side is sorted and there should be no problem.
Lets get back to the fishing side off Basas? LimpopoKing have you found some pics?
What lb braid where you guys using?
Cheers
I did get into contact with our charters and there is no problem for them to be at Bassas da India,everything on there side is sorted and there should be no problem.
Lets get back to the fishing side off Basas? LimpopoKing have you found some pics?
What lb braid where you guys using?
Cheers
Limpopoking
Sealiner
Sorry MJ, I thought my pics were on my home PC but I cant find them here. Will get them off my external backup drive.
I was fairly paranoid about the braid situation. I'd heard of blokes getting spooled 10 times in a day... running out of braid after 2 days etc. etc. etc... So I stocked up on bulk spools of 65lb Super 8 slick, 80lb Saltiga boat braid and 100lb JB. I also took a roll of Shogun 1,65mm leader material. I returned with pretty much all of it.
The Tuna (and obviously some monstrous sharks) are the least respectful of equipment. There were one or two spoolings on the trip but quite honestly, if you're wearing gloves and you start to see metal, it's just more sensible to palm your reel till you snap off, and that will most likely happen at your PR. If you go down to the end, it will always snap off at the reel and you will not only lose all your braid, you will also be contributing to the degradation of a pristine environment. I have a clip of one of the guys getting spooled... It was humbling. In the end, he turns to the camera and says "nou dit was n f###en vis".
I came close to being spooled when a bus Tuna took me down vertically. I managed to turn it in the last moments by palming the spool but it went so fast that it melted the drag knob on my 6500Z.
There were quite a few broken rods, including 2 kaibutsos, one JM450, my Smith AMJ and one or two others.
One mistake I made was not taking anti-inflammatory medication. The first Tuna I took on hurt my back despite being quite fit. I spent the 1st day recovering. My mates gave me pills that sorted it out but I had never imagined the power and the speed of those fish.
My other mistake was too few decent stickbaits. I had gone heavy on poppers but stickbaits certainly out-fished poppers. You lose quite a lot of lures so don't be afraid of taking lots. One of the best performers was "nemo", a really crap williamson stickbait that had extra weight added in the stern (it swam really badly) but in the nemo orange, white and black. It never ceased to amaze us all.
Cam mentioned GT Ice creams... I never go fishing without a decent arsenal of plugs and needle nose plastic, but we got very little on them with the exception of Tuna (they would have taken an old piece of hydraulic hose if we had tried).
We did very little jigging. Basically, the surface action was too much fun. Then also, the light tackle stuff was exhilarating. There is soooo much to catch there.
In all honesty though, the beauty of the atoll in many ways outweighed the fishing. It's almost surreal.
I was fairly paranoid about the braid situation. I'd heard of blokes getting spooled 10 times in a day... running out of braid after 2 days etc. etc. etc... So I stocked up on bulk spools of 65lb Super 8 slick, 80lb Saltiga boat braid and 100lb JB. I also took a roll of Shogun 1,65mm leader material. I returned with pretty much all of it.
The Tuna (and obviously some monstrous sharks) are the least respectful of equipment. There were one or two spoolings on the trip but quite honestly, if you're wearing gloves and you start to see metal, it's just more sensible to palm your reel till you snap off, and that will most likely happen at your PR. If you go down to the end, it will always snap off at the reel and you will not only lose all your braid, you will also be contributing to the degradation of a pristine environment. I have a clip of one of the guys getting spooled... It was humbling. In the end, he turns to the camera and says "nou dit was n f###en vis".
I came close to being spooled when a bus Tuna took me down vertically. I managed to turn it in the last moments by palming the spool but it went so fast that it melted the drag knob on my 6500Z.
There were quite a few broken rods, including 2 kaibutsos, one JM450, my Smith AMJ and one or two others.
One mistake I made was not taking anti-inflammatory medication. The first Tuna I took on hurt my back despite being quite fit. I spent the 1st day recovering. My mates gave me pills that sorted it out but I had never imagined the power and the speed of those fish.
My other mistake was too few decent stickbaits. I had gone heavy on poppers but stickbaits certainly out-fished poppers. You lose quite a lot of lures so don't be afraid of taking lots. One of the best performers was "nemo", a really crap williamson stickbait that had extra weight added in the stern (it swam really badly) but in the nemo orange, white and black. It never ceased to amaze us all.
Cam mentioned GT Ice creams... I never go fishing without a decent arsenal of plugs and needle nose plastic, but we got very little on them with the exception of Tuna (they would have taken an old piece of hydraulic hose if we had tried).
We did very little jigging. Basically, the surface action was too much fun. Then also, the light tackle stuff was exhilarating. There is soooo much to catch there.
In all honesty though, the beauty of the atoll in many ways outweighed the fishing. It's almost surreal.
Limpopoking
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Jo.rademeyer
New member
Hi MJ, I see we are both heading to a good fishing spot. I've also started a thread about what rigs will be suitable. I am going in April, so getting very keen.
With regards to lures, I am getting a wide variety, and rather less expensive ones. For trolling rig for on the way there and around the atoll, some big konas, feathers, and Rapalas. For spinning rig, poppers, lead jigs, and soft plastic Gulp. For fly rig, some crazy charlies.
What rigs are you taking with?
I am considering making
With regards to lures, I am getting a wide variety, and rather less expensive ones. For trolling rig for on the way there and around the atoll, some big konas, feathers, and Rapalas. For spinning rig, poppers, lead jigs, and soft plastic Gulp. For fly rig, some crazy charlies.
What rigs are you taking with?
I am considering making