European Sea bass conservation measures for recreational anglers.
From the 1 February 2018, in all UK waters all bass landed by recreational anglers, must be returned to the sea alive.
Other protected fish.
All Shad regardless of size must be returned to the sea.
Unless you have a full rod licence, sea trout and salmon, regardless of size must be returned to the sea.
Annual rod licences for sea trout and salmon are easily obtained from the Post
Office or "on line." A full licence runs from April 1st to the 31st of March of the following year
Here are links to read everything you will ever need to know about Sea Trout, and Shad. There are also local byelaws against using a gaff to land sea trout or salmon.
local bylaws
Be aware that local bylaws differ between Fisheries Distrcts. For example the Southern Sea Fisheries have recently introduced restrictions for commercial taking of wrasse.
marine nature
As the essence of spinning is to entice a fish to take a lure, common sense told me I should understand the environment that Bass live in and how they feed on other fish. Only then would I stand a chance of hooking a Bass on a piece of soft plastic mounted on a hook.
Let me introduce you to two papers that gave me both the confidence to go bass spinning around Portland when nobody else did, and also motivated me to study the nature of the sea and seashore in great detail.
Although some of the data in these two delightfully written articles is obviously out of date, the content is nevertheles as relevant today as it was when I first read them over sixty years ago.
Whenever I am asked about general bass fishing I try and guide people to read Hooked on Bass, by Mike Ladle and Alan Voughan, first published in 1988 and now re-published with a full chapter of updates, or follow this link to Mike Ladle; Operation Sea Angler, which is also full of good information.