Angling... 100 years from now?

[binka]

Where do you see it?

Will it even exist, or even worse will it have become digitalised?

Or...

Will the purists win through and there will be little change from now?

Who knows, maybe it will become a more popular escape in an ever more stressful world, in a manner that even Isaac Walton couldn't have foreseen.

What d'ya reckon?

 

[S-Kippy]

Whatever its like I'll still be stuck on the M25.

Seriously.....if ( and I think its a big if) its still around it will be stillwater based with single species pools....and not many of them either because it will have diminished to a minority pastime with very few people doing it.

Or confined to a virtual reality experience where you wont need any tackle.

 

[103841]

I have a very pessimistic vision of the future, certainly for river fishing, we don't have to go back 100 years to see those images of hundreds of anglers boarding specially chartered trains to take them to matches, nothing remotely near that now. Quite where commercial carp fishing will go I'm not sure but if it survives another few decades we will be looking at 100lb fishmg:

There has been one small ray of sunlight, street fishing with young lads dressing gangsta style catching predators from urban areas using some very finely tuned kit, lure fishing is definitely gaining popularity.

I guess the EA will have an idea of what the future holds in terms of how many juniors are taking a licence, all I know is for every kid I see fishing there are a score of adults.

 

[S-Kippy]

all I know is for every kid I see fishing there are a score of adults.

I totally agree...thats why I dont think angling has a long term future. Very few youngsters are taking it up.

 

[steve2]

Angling for sport will banned or died a death through lack of interest in this country long before then along with all other sports that involve the catching or killing of animals. So if you want to fish you have to go elsewhere.

Of course in 100 years the human race might have wiped itself out.

 

[xenon]

fishing is already totally non PC (in some quarters, at any rate) and I dont see it being allowed as a legal activity in 100 years time --assuming anywhere is still fishable by then.

 

[robtherake]

You're kidding, right? Must be an April Fool's, since the human race will probably have killed off the Earth by then.

 

[flightliner]

I,m not certain it will exist with the numbers enjoying it today, I,ve said for two decades now that àngling is dying on its feet.
A big match today is tiny by comparison to those I used to fish in the sixties , a 1000 plus was a big event with the fenland opens attracting between 300 /400 competitors depending on the venue.
As a lad it was a crowded park pond, happy lads shoulder to shoulder vying for sticklebacks, newts, frogs and the odd toad, all gone now sadly tho I dont doubt they are all on a tablet or mobile somewhere .
There will be pockets of angling, maybe on a southern exclusive chalkstream, a Scottish river
with a small run of salmon carrying a load of plastic particles in their guts not to forget the few carp waters with the lookers and chasers enquiring if it had "donatunna" yet?
All a bit doomy and gloomy I admit so in the meantime I both hope and intend to carry on as usual trying to enjoy it as it is--- lots of variety, waters, fish, methods and results before it all ends.

 

[thecrow]

You're kidding, right? Must be an April Fool's, since the human race will probably have killed off the Earth by then.

As a species we offer nothing to the earth and take whatever we want (not need) its a view I have held for over 50 years.

Angling in 100 years? difficult to predict as things change so quickly now compared to 100 years ago, rivers might just might be cleaner as even the human race might come to its senses and realise the damage they are doing to the environment.

Maybe though the only fishing taking place will be on games machines in kids bedrooms?

 

[maggot_dangler]

If it still Exists

I think it will be completely remote controlled sat in your home or office with a remote getting bored STUPID .

Cant beat being out there in the elements .
Of course that all depends on IF there are any fish left to c atch for us judging by the number of EE's stealing fish there may well be non left sooner than that .


PG ...

 

[bullet]

Im sure it'll carry on as usual.

Fishing is basically hunting, and it's probably in all of us, some folk just never discover it.

It's a source, one of the fundamental things life is all about, buried in our subconcious just waiting to be discovered.

While most will never understand it, there will always be the enlightened few.

 

[mikench]

Sadly none of us will be here to see it in whatever form it takes! I reckon we will still be doing it! If medical science makes it possible I might just be able to cast a pin like Tigger by then!:wh

 

[dorsetsteve]

Apologies if this doesn’t conform to the forum etiquette it’s my first real post;

I often wonder this question. With the media coverage about how many people are going vegan and footage of people hugging turkeys before Christmas, you’d be forgiven for thinking the worlds gone that way. The reality is though that these people represent a minority view, according to a recent study a mere 2% are vegetarian. Not only do the majority of the population eat meat and fish they also care little about what swims. Can the average person on the street identify a Cod or a Tuna? Out of sight out of mind... your own geography in this nation plays a part in that perception as well, our inner cities (particularly London) have become rather full of loud and self righteous people of a very “left wing” disposition. This is not reflective of the nation on mass.

Whilst commercial fishing exists it offers a buffer to the angler, not only is rod and line viewed as better for the environment, people will pay a premium. The commercial fishing industry needs reform and paints us as catch and release Angler’s quite well.

Not only will major reforms to public opinion need to occur but major political reforms too. I don’t think any political party is against catch and realese Angling at present. Fortunately as a community we’ve tied ourselves quite neatly to the conservation block and long may that improve and continue. That aligned with the money “we” raise should keep the hounds at bay.

In my opinion the main thing that really slows things down is a lack of engagement, few young people are introduced like many of us were. Angling is a diverse thing and there really is something for everyone, well most. Getting them hooked is the first part but then helping them progress is the next. You’d get disheartened if you caught nothing too.

 

[mikench]

Youth is wasted on the young!

 

[antiquea]

I think it will exist in some form, or another. I think it will become a little more exclusive - due to the fact less people are taking up angling.
Can't see any form of actual hunting being allowed in 100 years. though Maybe in North America, but not here.

 

[nottskev]

The rate of change is so great, I can’t imagine what things will be like in 100 years.

It may be that we will always have atavistic (throwback) impulses towards things like hunting, but quite a lot of these impulses, like settling a dispute with a punch in the mouth are, if not extinguished, outlawed.

I’m inclined to think angling will be much more tightly controlled, if not banned. The general trend amongst western publics is towards accepting the scientific evidence that fish do suffer pain, and the moral argument that all wildlife, fish included, deserves protection from unnecessary suffering. (Hypocrisy on that score, given the broader environmental degradation caused by the way we live, is a separate matter.)I can only see these ideas becoming becoming the background norm , and replacing the convenient myth that “fish don’t feel pain”.

Catch and release, which you might think represents the enlightened face of fishing, in which fish are treated with care and returned to reproduce, is already banned in some European countries: catching fish for fun is not deemed sufficient justification, and the stance is, if we’re smart enough to put them back, we should be smart enough not to try and catch them!

I’ve been a lifelong angler; I can’t imagine not fishing, I don’t feel uncomfortable with defending fishing and I’ll continue to do that – there are good arguments in favour of angling. One would be that, whatever stress an angler might inflict on an individual fish, anglers in general are the only group who actively promote the continuing wellbeing of fish in general in many waters. But my guess is that we’ll be swimming against the tide.

 

[thecrow]

Can the average person on the street identify a Cod or a Tuna

Only if ones in batter and the other in a tin

 

[terry m]

I am nowhere near as pessimistic as some on here.

If you think that the changes from Walton's time 350 years ago, things have changed, sure. But the fundamentals are still the same.

Just hope that either of the guys with the nonsensical haircuts don't press that big red button!

 

[mikench]

Just hope that either of the guys with the nonsensical haircuts don't press that big red button!

If they do we will need all the fish we can get and not catch and release!

 

[antiquea]

Maybe commercial fisheries won't be around. The way some matchmen, as well as occasional anglers, treat fish is appalling! I believe no commercials would result in far less idiots fishing.