commercial fisheries are they a good diet!

Andrew Shields · May 19, 2004

Kieth Arthur in a recent article in the A.T, touched on the enterprise viability on the impending opening of the country,s first artificial flowing water commercial fishery. He gave reference to the lack of anglers on the river bank, and questioned the falling fish stock rates as the possible cause.

This raised a question in my mind. Have we realy deserted our river systems because of the lack of fish or have we mearly become a nation of convenience anglers drawn to the ease and comfort of fast food fisheries for the quick fix of fish without effort.

Ron Troversial Clay · May 19, 2004

Andrew,

I fish rivers when I am coarse fishing for 90% of the time. Sure I get the odd blank but over the past 10 years of fishing English rivers I have caught stacks of fish, including roach to 2lbs 7oz, barbel to 11lbs 6oz, chub to 5lbs 12 oz, dace to 13 oz, bream to 8lbs and amongst that lot more good fish than I will ever remember.

I have also had bags of roach up to 52 lbs and even won a club match with 11 lbs of bream.

The simple problem is that many anglers in britain have lost the skills necessary to fish rivers.

It's as simple as that.

Nick Austin 2 · May 19, 2004

I like the rivers they way they are!, if people want to turn to commercials, let them!... encourage them even!...

Andrew Shields · May 19, 2004

Ron,

I'm also getting that impession( loss of the skill of river craft), but I also believe there are a lot of new and young anglers out there who have never experienced river angling and have few people around them who will encourage them to have a go.
Certainly the popular angling press don't encourage it with regular articles dominating on "bagging up on carp"
Also regular critisism of our river systems and certain top anglers bemoaning their fate dos'nt help

I like you find the rivers I fish in tip top condition and it is only a couple of years ago since a math was won on the River Ure with over a 100lb of fish.
Of course there are days when we blank
but being experienced anglers we accept this, for in essence we are taking on a wild animal in an environment which is alien to us.

However the fact can,t be ignored there are anglers out there who have desserted the rivers for commercial fisheries and so the question is; is it the ease and convenience or is the fishing realy better.

mel Crighton · May 19, 2004

Andrew,
If I may just add, i have been walking the banks of my local river from Tonbridge to Maidstone in Kent The River Medway , I have noticed a lot of places where the undergrowth is 6' high with weeds which I assume has not been fished for years upon making enquiries as to ownership I have be told that it is a club stretch but no one fishes it, I would love to clear a small patch just to fish there you can see the fish but cannot get to them, this is a waste as most of the club members now fish the new lakes for the big carp, thus the rivers are neglected but I am not allowed to fish there as it is club water ,,but I can join then clear an area to fish the river ,then find someone else is taking advantage of my hard work, no way.

john conway · May 19, 2004

You certainly don?t get the idea that anglers have deserted the rivers if you fish the Ribble, but there again that might be because of the barbel and publicity, some of which I must admit is my doing by posting on this sites Venue Thread. RADAC have a 5-7 years waiting list and Prince Albert a 2 years, this doesn?t strike me as anglers not wanting to fish this river. The river Lune is fished regularly but is a bit peggy by both course and game anglers. May be the picture is different in other parts of the country. Having a nice quiet river is all well and good, however it?s a balance, if club members don?t fish it then they will loose the fishing rights to syndicates or clubs with limited membership. This doesn?t over worry me, because I can afford to and I?m also willing to pay the type of fee that the likes of RADAC and Prince Albert charge. If it came to a choice of buying that rod or reel I fancied or joining a good club then the club would win every time, Location, Location, Location always!

john conway · May 19, 2004

Not quite sure Mel of your argument? I can?t see the logic of all the anglers preferring to fish the new lakes then suddenly popping down to the river every now and then to see if someone?s cleared a peg? There are certain rivers I fish that are infested by Himalayan Balsam and the clear banks that we fished at the end of the close season are at the beginning of the new season head high in these plants. Every new season I will clear a couple of swims and I know all my mates are doing the same; it?s never entered my head to begrudge someone else fishing the peg I?ve cleared and as yet I?ve not heard any of my mates complaining. If anything we tend to complain about the lads who have to excavate huge holes to get all their gear in, generally the Shakespeare Box brigades.

mel Crighton · May 19, 2004

John my arguement or rather comment is if clubs are abandoning stretches of the river as is the case here, then these areas should then become free fishing areas, for those that wish to fish there, but no the club still wants the revenue but not the responsibility of the river maintenance, if it was free then yes if someone has taken the peg i cleared so be it i would clear the next peg alongside that way we get another person on the river, my point is there are stretches of river that do not get fished because no one cares.

Bryan Baron 2 · May 20, 2004

mel what maintenance does a river need for creating pegs, none in my book the growth of bankside folliage is what makes the fish feel secure and why they are there. Also if you joined the club would this responsability not become yours anyway as a member to join a working parrty or would you expect somebody else to do the work for your benifit.

Bryan Baron 2 · May 20, 2004

Andrew with regards to commercials i think as with everything else we live in a now cuture. If the fishery can not provide this we jump in our cars and go where somewhere where it can. This can be governed by the size of fish or the size of the total catch. I gave up fly fishing many years ago because of this situation overcrowded waters where there is not enougth food to sustai the population of fish means they are always on the look out for food. I prefare to find the fish then fool them.

Peter Jacobs · May 20, 2004

I would have to agree with Ron on this point.

I regularly fish the Hampshire Avon on club stretches and it is plainly obvious that the majority of the anglers are typically in their 40's
Very rarely will you see even teenagers on the river. However, if you venture into one of the many tackle shops in the area the place is normally full of the younger generations who I assume all use the local lakes or the comercials around the area.

Given the massive boom in Carp fishing over the last 10 years or so, it is easy to understand that many of today's younger anglers have been raised on stillwaters using stillwater tactics and tackle, and have never acquired the necessary skills attack the rivers and streams.

Andrew Shields · May 20, 2004

So far I have seen that the general consensus is that our river systems are alive and well. However with the majority of anglers being 30 or above this leaves a woring thought for the future of river sport. The sheer fact at the lack of young anglers on our river banks, indicates that in future years the rivers systems will become neglected. For lets face it it is anglers not nature groups who keep a watch on the quality of our waters.

Anglers develop styles which they see work or from other anglers they admire, in other words we are influenced by what we read and see. If the popular press are indocturinating our young anglers with bagging tactics and commercial advertising is it little wonder that they troop off to the pond for insipit fishing, they know little better.

Many of our angling press is closed editorial and feature teams, and there is little likleyhood of good anglers being able to write decent articles for them on a variety of angling disiplines. Is it little wonder then that the future of river angling is looking bleak.

Dave Slater · May 20, 2004

Nick,
I agree with you. Commercial fisheries serve a purpose. As you say, encourage them to fish them. More room on the rivers for us then. Rivers are far better without too many anglers fishing them

)

Peter Jacobs · May 20, 2004

Andrew,

The problem with the angling press is that with respect to decent articles on river fishing is that with the perception of deserted river banks, then it is ocnsidered that there is little or no available readership for such articles.
A typical vicious circle and one I do not see being broken given the commercialisation of not only fisheries, but IMO also of the angling press.

One of the main reasons that I visit this site is that we seem to have a really good balance between river and stillwater fishing articles and observations.

Andrew Shields · May 20, 2004

Peter,

I'm in agreement with you about this site, there are good articles written on a variety of disiplines. I just hope that some of the editorial teams from the angling press get a look at it and educate, themselves in the art of journalism, and wake up to their responsibilities.

Andrew Shields · May 20, 2004

Bryan,

Another possibility of why commercial waters may be popular is that many anglers copy what they see in magazines and end up believing that to catch fish they must copy the match anglers. This leads to trollies full of equipment, which given the average river bank would require the services of the local farmer with his tractor and trailer to transport him to his peg.

Much easier to drive to a car park and trundel around a nice park track, set up on a expertly made platform, with the fishes mouths gaping for their daily quota of fish based pellets.

john conway · May 20, 2004

Because of the long session culture with carp fishing I can see the attraction for the younger angler, getting away from home with your mates, the crack with the lads, meeting new friends, camping out, big fish and the competition and rivalry etc. As a young lad I use to live for getting away with my mates every weekend, however, in my case it wasn’t fishing it was caving but the principles the same. May be some of these young anglers when they metamorphise into middle age or when family life puts a stop to the long sessions, some will crawl out of their Bivies one day to find themselves more attracted to the rivers?

Stuart Bullard 3 · May 20, 2004

I do not think lack of people on rivers has anything to do with water craft, as mentioned earlier, its just all the other points with respect to ease of access, safety etc etc.

And frankly, if someone picks up "basic watercraft" from lakes / commercials then these skills can be easily applied to rivers....you simply read up on the fish's habits and adapt technique.

I think the main point is the fish stocks and general condition of our rivers. While recent surveys have come out with very positive results, and that rivers such as the Trent have dramatically improved, I think you will find that in general many rivers are still a poor relation to how they were some 30 years ago.

As an example, the River Medway, where I first fished in the early 70's had long stretches of fast flowing water, gravel runs, undercut banks etc. What is there now? A slow, silted excuse of a river with a flood barrier (which stops fields flooding, not houses!!) and where it used to meander through fields there is a straight canal.

No thanks, I'll take a well run commercial any day. And I bet there are more examples.

john conway · May 20, 2004

It is quite possible that over the last twenty or thirty years we have experienced an environment roll reversal re our rivers that’s followed the decline of industry in the midlands and the north and the population explosion in the south?

Wolfman Woody · May 20, 2004

"This leads to trollies full of equipment, which given the average river bank would require the services of the local farmer with his tractor and trailer to transport him to his peg."

That service has been offered at one commercial where we fished a match!

commercial fisheries are they a good diet!

New member

Ron Troversial Clay

Guest

Nick Austin 2

Guest

New member

mel Crighton

Guest

john conway

Guest

john conway

Guest

mel Crighton

Guest

Well-known member

Well-known member

Moderator

New member

Dave Slater

Guest

Moderator

New member

New member

john conway

Guest

Stuart Bullard 3

Guest

john conway

Guest

Wolfman Woody

Guest