Barrie Rickards' Angling

Blew it in Australia but back to the Closed Season
I'm just back from Australia where, in angling terms, I blew it completely. More about that in due course perhaps. For the moment I have been trying to catch up on what has been happening in the weeks I have been away. One happening was the Chatsworth fare, where my old friend Colin Goodge stood in for me on the pike demonstration front. I know he did well (complete with large foam pike for demonstration purposes!) so that's probably me out of a job in the future.

Something else came out of the Chatsworth event - a debate about the Closed Season because someone said that the demonstrators would be fishing for chub, and that during the Closed Season of course. Actually, the chances of anyone catching a chub would not be high - the Derwent at Chatsworth is a trout water, and that's what they caught.

However, the whole issue of the Closed Season raised its head again and it was then announced that the EA were looking at the issue yet again! Not so very long ago they took a limited sampling of opinion which showed, according to them, a majority of 60% in favour of retaining the break. Of course, long before the break was abandoned on stillwaters at least 60% were opposed to scrapping it, so such figures are really meaningless. As soon as it was scrapped most the of the 60% opposing the change went fishing! I pointed out a long time ago that to the EA the Closed Season on rivers is a nuisance, an anomaly, with no scientific evidence to support it, and as soon as they decently could they would scrap it. Perhaps we are moving to that now, otherwise what is the purpose of yet another investigation?

Canoeists!
In the news again I see, with the MP Alun Michael asking the Government (of all things) led by the Environment Agency, to fund increased access for canoeists. Well, they don't fund increased access for anglers, do they? Terry Mansbridge, one of our most experienced and skilled negotiators, points out that anglers pay £17 million to preserve the environment through rod licences, and increased access by canoeists is hardly likely to improve the environment. Car parking and changing facilities are supposed to be included in the plan - well, what about car parks and changing facilities for anglers?

Almost in the same breath we learn that anglers fishing the Leeds-Liverpool canal are having to pay £5000 for access when pedestrians and cyclists have free access. This is just the kind of issue that the angling body supposed to be representing us can fight hard for. It is wrong. Everybody knows it is wrong, but because its only anglers it doesn't matter.

Des and Martin and Record Fish
I was greatly amused by an article by Des Taylor in his splendid Angling Times column, where he pulled back from outright confrontation with a Close Season rule breaker because “ ….he was built like a Hereford bull…” coming from the sylph-like Des that's surely a bit rich.

Both Des and Martin Bowler have reportedly had things to say recently about record fish. Des is quite keen on people claiming their records: Martin is quite rightly disgruntled because the British Record Fish Committee took so long dealing with his claim for the Crucian Carp record (nearly a year).

I have some sympathy with both positions having been in both positions myself.

In the late 1950's and early 1960's there was considerable doubt about the merits of some of the fish on the list, so several of us tried to encourage record breakers to put in their claims, hoping that, eventually, the list would be full of fish that one had confidence in. I think that position was eventually achieved. I personally encouraged Bob Watcham to put in his claim for a record zander. Without pressure from me I don't think he'd have done so, for Bob was a very modest man. When I broke the zander record myself I had to wait an age for the claim to be rejected on a technicality. The second time I broke the record the record fish committee claimed my spring balance was inaccurate to an ounce or two - then they had to eat humble pie because the weights and measure inspectors proved that their balances were wrong and mine was spot-on! Again, I had to wait some time for ratification. So claiming a record is a pain, and I doubt if I'd bother again, even though I agree with Des' position and hope all other record breakers will claim! It's called hypocrisy! Note the assumption that I'll actually break a British record again.

When Peter Tombleson was secretary of the BRFC I wrote to him with several suggestions for putting the records on a better footing, reminding him, as Des Taylor has often said, that we are recording history here, recording fish, not heaping praise upon an angler. Tombleson ignored my suggestions. I often wonder, had he acted, whether we'd be in quite the state now that we are.

The Green Party and the Chattering Classes
The green Party has recently been quoted as saying they would work to stop angling if elected. Well, that solves one of our election problems doesn't it? Not that they'd get my vote under any circumstances, having met quite a lot of them over the years. Usually people say that their hearts are in the right place, but that's just another way of saying they are downright immature. It's worthwhile quoting their official policy on angling in full (policy AR412!) “…opposed to angling as a bloodsport… ban livebaiting which is inherently cruel…ban the use of all lead shot/weights… promote the voluntary cessation of angling through public education programmes.”

(The FISHINGmagic Forum covered this some time ago with many of us writing to the Green Party ( The Anti-Angling Green Party Forum Thread) to express our disgust with their policy and to ask some searching questions - Ed).

The green Party is the party of the chattering classes (along with the liberals) and angling will never get any change out of any of them. At least the labour Party supports angling through a few of its MPs, though I doubt very much whether many Labour MPs would support angling if push came to shove. Currently they are too occupied with fox hunters, of course. (incidentally, I've had a couple of letters asking me what I mean by the chattering classes. If the editor is happy I'll pen half a page on that in the future (Please do Barrie - Ed). The Conservative Party has recently stated that they'll not put ANY restrictions on angling whatsoever (my capitals).

All this reminds me of a cartoon I saw in Australia a couple of weeks ago. At a party the host is offering to a guest two bowls and saying “would you like a peanut or a pistachio?” The guest replied, “That sounds rather like an election choice”.

I have just re-read the Liberals' statement on angling. It stinks of politicos speak. Avoid them like the plague. Of course, to many people there are more important things in the world than angling, aren't there? I mean, really? Well…er…let's face it, the jobs that many people have to do from 9-5 are pretty dire, and angling (and family) are just a little bit more important.