Should the River season be extended one month?

[brendan the dictionary man999]

I have had some cracking chub this winter . Both in numbers and size but didnt see many people fishing ? If people are put off by the cold its to them
So if we had an early start to summer very hot and no rain would the same people be asking for the rivers to stay closed or is it not about the fishis welfare ?

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

Last word as before, you close all water's or open all water's all year round.

Cakey & Peter,

I have no doubt that some still water's have no bank side vegetation, but how are the fish regarding all year fishing.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Ray,

I can only speak for the one stillwater that I regularly fish, but not in the closed season, and have done for about 9 years.

The club decided to keep it open about 3 years ago, and the effect on the banks was pretty horrid. This is a small-ish venue with easy access, so it is popular.

We used to have virtually guaranteed fishing for; Crucians (real ones) Roach, Rudd, Tench and some few small Carp.

In the past 2 season I have not seen a Crucian, or heard of any being caught and the other species have been 'hammered' and are now very difficult to catch.

This year at the AGM it was (thankfully) decided to follow the river closed season. Time alone will tell if this will restore the fishing to its' former glory.

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

Peter,

Thanks for that, it is strange that the Crucian have gone on the missing list, Cakey and I were talking yesterday about a lake near use. The Tench have gone on the missing list there.

I know the fishing may become harder on stillwater's, but are the fish in good nick was more the point I was getting at, sorry I may have mislead you,. Something I would never do/forum/smilies/eye_rolling_smiley.gif.

 

[GrahamM]

Crucians are notorious for doing a disappearing act every so many years (usually in 7 year cycles). Perch are almost as bad. Tench are not as bad but they too seem to take a season or twos vacation occasionally.

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

I wonder if it has something to do with spawning???

 

[Greg Whitehead]

Bloody AT! Lazy hacks dredging up tired old stories! Unprofessional joke!

The new marine Bill will give the EA the power to change the length and timing of closed seasons. In the future it will be able, if it wants to, tointroduce closed seasons by river catchment or by individual species...

Under SAFFA the Agency couldonly have a 93 daystatutory closed season or none at all. Now they can do virtually anything they feel they might need to, providing they get public support. It's going to be difficultto refuseto allow trial fishing on stretches of river over a number of years to scientifically prove whether angling pressure adversely affects stocks and other bankside fluora and fauna.

And seeing as there's absolutely no science behind the present river closed season then I suspect that its continuation will be fairly short-lived. As far as I can see Fred will be eatinghis words long before he pops his clogs.

And Peter, we'd be only too happy for you to come into the office on a week's work experience to show us hacks how it should really be done... I for one would like to see what 'an angling publication in the true sense of the word' is exactly. Waterlog and Classic Angling might be a good read, but they don't sell too many copies do they?

As for the closed season debatebeing a predictable, wheel out, did you know the above? Did you realise the EA will now struggle to avoid calls by the likes of Birmingham AA for controlled trials?

SSSSShhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! No need to answer that one....

 

[Fred Bonney]

Nah!

 

[Greg Whitehead]

Ever seen an ostritch get shot in the ass while its got itshead's buried in the sand Fred?/forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

Actually, I haven't ever seen that happen, but I reckon it would befairly comical....

 

[Fred Bonney]

I just don't believe that anybody will move the EA, Greg.

If they don't have to do anything, they won't.Especially if it costs them money.

 

[Greg Whitehead]

Who says they have to pay squat? Set up a trial on a river near Sparsholt and I reckon the college would do a lot of the research for free as part of a unique study opportunity for its students...

Lateral thinking removes the EA from most equations. What anglers have to realise is that we don't really need the EA fisheries department.We certainly don't need to ask them if it's okay every time we want to take a goddamn dump! If enough of us took the opportunity to join the right angling organisation then it wouldn't take very long at all for us to be calling the shots! Have some faith!

As for persuading them to allow trials, it's a shoe-in!

 

[The bad one]

So come on Greg tell us in detail why we don't need a EA fisheries dept. If you are suggesting it could be left up to the clubs you're talking out of your ar8e!

I'm old enough to remember a time when we had no controls on what happened to waters and the balls up most clubs made of that. The Cheshire meres have been destroyed by that f up. Gone are the nativefish that thrived there from the ice age.

 

[Fred Bonney]

Supposition and hope, is allyou have to go on then Greg.

I'm usually very positive Greg,BUT when dealing with "enough of us" that's whereany negativity I have, comes to the fore!

 

[preston96]

Gregs right you know ( i'll find summat to blame on you later Greg!!)....we don't need the EA fisheries dept.......IF westrive forthat self governing body we all agree on principle ( don't we?) is needed for angling.

Surely we can make major desisions like this in house?.................one of the best posts on this thread is "Cormarants love the close season"

I love my river fishing, i feel we should leave our sport in as healthy a position as possible for the next generation to enjoy......closing rivers leaves them wide open to both natural and unnatural abuse.

Turning our back on rivers for three months is now counter productive to preserving waters.

Open up rivers, make angling a force to be reckoned with and preseverve our heritage at the same time.

I used to back the closed season, after lots of soul searching i had to admit the reasons were all person and nothing at all to do with conservation/protection.

 

[lynda lythgoe]

in response to Muffin 25/2

`Byelaws should be introduced to abolish the close season for coarse fish on canals and rivers except where its retention is necessary to avert serious risk of damage to fish stocks.

The Government supported our view that such a proposal should be based on sound science. While sound scientific evidence was available to support the case for removing the close season on canals, it was not available in respect of rivers. Because all river coarse fisheries have a close season, it is virtually impossible to gather the required evidence - a scientific comparison similar to that done for canals would be needed. Our view is that in the absence of scientific evidence, we must take a precautionary approach towards rivers, retaining the current close season. '

Yes indeed the Salmon & Freshwater fishery Review group made this observation but it was incumbent on the EA to carry out the necessary research which to date they have stillnot done.

.....In my opinion and no one will convince meotherwise a roach in a river is no different to a roach in a canal and all this close season rubbish is justplaying onsentimentality to keep coarseanglers off the rivers......

 

[The bad one]

Paul cormorants would love the close season if they were still around, but they arn't, with the exception of a few inland breeding colonies. They depart in early March back to the coastal cliffs to have nooky and raise their spawn. They return from the end of July onwards, building in numbers to their apex in Nov & Dec.

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

Don't need an EA fisheries department, are you having a laugh, next some will be saying we don't need water to fish in. That self governing body,if itget's 100.000 member,that will be less than 10%of anglers, and will not have the funding of the EA.

Can you see the AT cleaning up our rivers etc,etc, .

And how can you carry out a test on some rivers and not other's, what happens on the Trent, doe's not mean the same will happen on the Thames, you have to fish all the river's all year to get any kind of idea what may, or may not happen.

 

[preston96]

<blockquote class=quoteheader>The bad one wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>

Paul cormorants would love the close season if they were still around, but they arn't, with the exception of a few inland breeding colonies. They depart in early March back to the coastal cliffs to have nooky and raise their spawn. They return from the end of July onwards, building in numbers to their apex in Nov & Dec. </blockquote>
It's the inland breeding colonies that are damaging surely? yougsters to feed etc?...........but even so, i think the point that waters left alone for 3 months are more at risk from all sorts of problems, natural and man made.

 

[Graham Whatmore]

I hope Greg is right in his predictions, If this outdated piece of legislation that demands a three month shutdown on rivers is so set in stone it can't be altered how come they altered it to exclude stillwaters, why can't they have trial rivers or areas where it doesn't apply? BUT were they to go ahead with a trial it would surely make sense to have an area rather than a river because that river would come under pressure from visiting anglers and that is precisely the situation to avoid. Maybe open it up to all rivers including and south of the Trent would be a good area to trial, sounds reasonable to me!! /forum/smilies/big_smile_smiley.gif

If the legislation stated that fishing was allowed 12 months of the year would there be a yearly hoohaw to demand a closed season? I don't think so, and those that are 100% against dropping it would have been brought up to think 12 months fishing is perfectly natural and would likely be just as passionate about altering it.

I think the majority of anglersunderstand that there is no valid, scientific reason to have a closed season and ifthis rule was anulled they would still be free to practice their abstinence if this is what they desire.

 

[Peter Waller]

I take it, Greg, that you work for AT.

Re the Marine Bill, it is not yet an Act, although much of it can be taken as read. It is likeley that there might be some exemptions for inland waters, especially those in National Parks.