thecrow
Well-known member
For a number of years I fished without a licence, I didn't and still don't like what the EA did with the money they got from anglers such as the lack of people out on the bank (that's why I knew there was little chance of being caught) while lots made comfy livings from the fishing tax raised.
Another reason was/is that different EA departments have different agenda's which don't necessarily fit in with each other and its rivers that suffer because of this. 2 glaring examples of this are.
At the moment the EA are busy paying contractors to fell lots of trees along river banks, not just a few but every tree along some river stretches, their reason for doing this? "it helps stop flooding" by speeding water up while at the same time the same EA is saying that by putting woody debris into water courses to make "leaky dams" that slow down and hold water back is the way to go, it all reminds me of the days of dredging and straightening of rivers which the EA told us then was the way to go.
The second example concerns Powick weir on the Theme, in conjunction with the Severn Rivers Trust (SRT) they intend to remove the weir completely under the guise of allowing shad to access the upper reaches of the river to spawn, good idea you might think and it would be if it wasn't for the fact that the EA have admitted this will drop the water level upstream by up to a metre with the resulting speeding up of higher water in winter and the associated bank erosion and wildlife habitat destruction. Shad have successfully spawned below the weir for a long long time and an angler that was a little cynical might think that the Shad is bring used as just an excuse to get their (EA and SRT) hands on a £20million windfall from the EU for improving the lot of the Shad which by the way is although protected is not endangered as is the European Eel that the EA still sell licences to trap.
I could go on with lots more reasons about why I don't want the EA getting their hands on my money but as I said for now while I occasionally fish as a guest of another angler I will out of respect for him pay it.
As I have answered your question may I ask you one please?
Which is worse an angler with a licence that thinks nothing of leaving litter on waters including things that endanger wildlife, the same sort of angler that I have seen put barbel back to soon with no rest only to turn belly up or one on a commercial that thinks nothing of damaging the mouth of a fish or an angler that does none of these but fishes without a licence? Which one is the "proper angler"?
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