licence fees

[Marcel Flateau 2]

have you all heard the latest.
I am not very happy as i have been on disability on the lowest rate for a long time and was glad to find out i could still afford to go fishing as i was entitled to a concesional licence.
So for the last few years i have been able to continue to fish on a low income and be legal.
This year however, i was shocked when i went to get my licence i was refused it at the old rate and told unless i was on the high rate of disability i had to pay full price. As i have already said i'm on a low income and its hard enough having to pay for day tickets at between ?5-?10 but this new law will mean more people will fish illegaly causing more unnecesary work for the N.R.A and waste our fees can we not do anything about this please help

 

[malc]

Whilst I sympathise mate, could you not by Angling Club books for about ?30 for a year? Then you would not have to pay ?5 to ?10 in day tickets each time you go!

 

[chef]

how many day tickets do you buy a year?
how much do you spend on baits?
yet ?23 on licence will be a hardship miss two trips licence paid for

 

[Cakey]

you would still have to pay ?11.50p if you was on the higher level so its only one day ticket extra

 

[madpiker]

i`m a reg disabled angler,this year,when i bought my rod licence, i had to show my blue disabled parking badge,this is the criteria to qualify for the concession.anyone who is disabled,whether they drive or not,can get a blue badge,if you don`t drive,you apply for a badge to be used by the person who drives you about .for the first year that i was unable to work due to the disease that i suffer from,the benefits that i was getting did not qualify me for a concession licence and i bought one at full price.as malc and chef say,stop giving the commercials so much money and buy a club ticket,all clubs should have disabled facilities(platforms etc)by now and are much much cheaper than buying day tickets.

 

[Frank "Chubber" Curtis]

I never buy day tickets but have bought season tickets on waters I fish regularly. A ?60 annual ticket with one of our local associations gives me access to 7 different fisheries including a 3/4 mile stretch of the Wensum.
Marcel, if you can afford to pay ?5-?10 for each fishing trip plus bait, transport etc. then I can't see how an extra ?11.50 for your annual rod licence is a problem.

 

[Darren Wainwright]

I think it is an absolute farce that you have to buy a licence to fish on commercial waters in the first place!

Commercial fisheries don't benefit from the money (as far as i am aware), they charge day tickets etc for their income. yet we have to give the government even more money so we can enjoy a "HOBBY".

I feel the same about stretches of river that charge you to fish them. You pay for the privilage of a day ticket, which goes towards the upkeep of the area. And supprise supprise - a Licence to enjoy your "HOBBY"

Canals are free to fish, so fair enough, you would think that the licence fee is going towards cleaning them up - WRONG. When was the last time you saw a canal being dredged and cleaned out. how many of us have been snagged on an old bike or shopping trolly?

It's like car tax - the cost keeps going up, yet what is being done with the money is going down. I for one am fed up of throwing money away.

Oh, and how many of you have EVER seen an agency bailif and been asked for your licence? i havn't for one and pretty much everyone i fish with has never seen one either. So the extra ?11.50 -is it for more bailifs that are never seen?

So, Marcel, i am with you, it is not on! And those that think "It's only an extra ?11.50 per year" Ask yourself, "should we pay even more money to enjoy our hobby"? - i don't think so.

Thats my rant


oooo oooo i just thought of something that the money from licences pays for - that poxy magazine that gets sent out telling us of the one area they did clean up that year....

 

[Malc Bason]

So Darren, if a Commercial Fishery has a problem, who do they call?

The Environment Agency, thats who!

Who funds the Environment Agency? We do by purchasing our licenses!

 

[Darren Wainwright]

and what do commercial fisheries do with all that money they collect in day tickets? spend it on beer and then get hand-outs from the EA?

As with all government agencies, they offer very little - or no help - to those that have an income of their own. They offer very little to commercial fisheries.

My point is how many people should we have to pay to participate in a hobby.

And that whole "2 rod limit" what a pile of piffle. there is just no need for it.

 

[Malc Bason]

Okay - whatever mate!

 

[Mark Hodson]

I don't know how anyone can moan about the cost of fishing, you make it as expensive as you want it to be, the licence fee is incredibly cheap when you put it into perspective with the cost of modern day living.( five packets of fags, less than ticket for a premiership football match, two CD's etc) And as already has been said, if your worried about the cost of day tickets get a club book, ?26 for a BAA card is a bargain. A BAA card (or similar) and your licence fee will cost you less than ?1 a week. Less than a one way bus fare in the West Mids.

Take a step back, look at the wider picture, we get a lot for our ?24.

 

[Darren Wainwright]

The point i am making is why should we pay for THIS hobby more than once! we pay at the water, why pay for an agency aswell? It's just overkill.

You can compare the price with as many other things as you like, fact is we still have to pay twice for the "pleasure" of fishing.

Ask yourself what you REALLY get for the licence fee that your day ticket doesn't cover - what you pay for that benefits you. Though please dont say "it benefits Everybody - not just me" because if we all ask the question then this kinda gets covered on it's own..
Ie, if everybody asks themselves what "they" personally benefit and nobody can give an answer, then it must be that no one benefits at all from the extra fees. if you get my drift

 

[Malc Bason]

So, I take it you don't buy a licence then?

Would you rather it goes back to the old days? When we had to buy one from each water authority to fish waters within their juristiction?

One Licence of ?24 is pretty good value for money I think.

Put yourself in the position of Club or for that matter, Commercial Fishery: Your club is ticking over ok, or your fishery is running at a small profit, and you have problems. What do you do? You contact the EA, isn't that worth paying a licence fee? Or is it a case of only thinking of yourself and not taking in the wider perspective?

** Have you ever looked on the EA website?

 

[Les Clark]

Do you drive Darren ,if so you have to pay road tax ,which in theory is to go towards the upkeep of our roads ,then you have to buy fuel ,which again you are taxed on .
If you buy a license to fish ,the money in theory goes to the E.A. to improve our waterways ,if you don`t buy a license to fish and then get caught ,you could be fined up to ?2500 and then you would be whingeing ,but only with yourself to blame .

 

[Darren Wainwright]

I do drive, yes. I pay road tax which goes to the upkeep of the roads. i buy fuel, which i am taxed on and this tax is used throughout the countries finances.

Nobody is ansewring my question. Just because it is there and the government says it has to be paid doesnt make it right! We do have the right to argue against it.

Also, on top of the questions nobody has adressed yet, can anybody tell me of another hobby where you require a licence? because i cannot think of a single one. Other than some motor sports, but then that licence is only given when you can proove you are safe to take part and have passed a test - nobody ever checks my tackle, or ability to cast.....

 

[Les Clark]

So if there was a test on your ability to fish and you passed ,then you would be happy to pay the licence ,is that what you are saying ?

 

[Steve Spiller]

What is your point Darren?
Are you simply against paying for an E.A licence?
If so, who would you report pollution, fish deaths, poachers or any other angling issues to?

 

[Darren Wainwright]

Wow, i am so amazed at how many people not just miss the point - but live on a different planet from it!

Malc, Yes i do buy a licence, not because i want to but Have to! And no i dont think going back to the "good old days" is a good idea. I think we should move forward and charge those that make money from the waterways. Not charge the pleasure anglers that have already paid to fish for that day. Have i seen the site, yes. Have you? I can't seem to find a section that says "what your licence pays for" - perhaps someone could post a link?

Les, you missed the point i was making about the licence. I was asking if there is another hobby that requires a licence. I mentioned the only one i can think of and gave the reason as to why they have the licence. Besides, most of these only require 1 licence, not a yearly charge for it. To come back with the comments you made was, well i feel, pointless, and you are trying to twist my words away from my valid points.

Steve, Yes i am against the EA licence. And who would you report to, Well why not the body - or in many cases a private company that OWNS the lake - that you pay the day ticket to for that stetch of water or that commercial lake.

How can you ask me what my point is? Read my first post in this thread, pretty much makes it clear.
I have asked many questions yet no one person can seem to answer them. Answer me with your own minds, not what you think you read in one of the EA newsletters.

 

[Mark Hodson]

Head, proverbiable wall, BANG ! ouch

Why do we bother

Darren, if you want someone to protect the angling enviroment we so love,stop pollution, carry out fish and aquatice life surveys, promote angling, rescue stranded fish, prosecute poachers and other law breakers, then you will have to buy a licence to help fund the Enviroment Agency.

You want someone to dig a hole in the ground, cut out/construct pegs, stock it full of fish so you can catch one a chuck all day then your going to have to buy a day ticket/club membership.

Its how it works, its the only way it will work. You can't have one without the other.

Other hobbies, shooting for one if you want to own a shotgun or any other restricted firearm.

 

[captain carrott]

Other hobbies, but rather strangely not golf which most definitely has a very big impact on the environment.