CRUELTY TO CARP

The other day I received this email from an angling friend.

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Rob Hales, I saw him on Matt Hayes' programme yesterday on his new Mickey Mouse carp lake "The Avenue lake" in the Midlands...lovely looking water, but he was boasting how it's got 150 - yes, 150 - carp to upper 30s in 2.5 acres! A blind man with a landing net could catch'em! How do they move around - take turns swimming?

It's waters like that that give modern carping a bad name....too many fish, too big, and too easy!?.Where did it all go wrong?????

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Now I don?t like to comment that much on serious issues within angling, but after reading this email my blood started to boil fast, and the veins in my head started to appear?..I then sent out over 200 emails to anglers I know mainly in the carp scene, asking them what they think??Some have already expressed their anger already, and some of their replies would not be possible to print in this forum, nor the other forums I have sent this to, but many were very angry, and p***ed off is an understatement?.Some have already said they will boycott now any magazine or product with Matt Hayes name or face on it?..I think though, many have already started when I see on cable TV, a set of ten Matt Hayes DVD?s sell for ?10 on ?Price Drop TV?. The set with the forty pound carp on from the Monument.

Now I have personally, like many other anglers regarded the Monument as a joke water since seeing the free DVD they gave away on the front cover of the ?Angling Times?, some time ago, but shouldn?t Rob Hales get done under the ?Cruelty to Animals? law?This is clear surely in any anglers eyes an act of barbarity of the highest degree??.And where did these fish come from?

Why are Angling weeklies not condoning such stockings loudly. Surely this is front page news?.I feel if they, and the angling world are incapable of questioning such uncivilised practices towards our sport. I will have no other option than to report this incident to the RSPCA, and go and speak to some I know who are long time Animal Right protesters, one a Labour MP?and I?m very interested in what the Environment Agency have to say about this issue, the people you pay a licences fee to each year?This season gone I refused to fish in England, and refused to buy a fishing licence, because to many imported fish are being let into this country to easy.

The angling newspapers are failing us, by encouraging such waters?.and it may be time we will have to speak to the National newspaper journalists instead of the fishing weeklies.

I wonder if Matt Hayes would like to comment on why he likes to boast about such way overstocked carp waters?

Or as my good friend got it all wrong, and such a lake doesn?t really exist!

I don't know if that's right about Rob Hales' lake, but I know a few around here that have had similar treatment.

During the 1980s and 90s, the pikeys round here were doing a roaring trade in stolen carp. Bungee rigs were everywhere, and the carnage was awful - it wasn't unusual to find a couple of doubles dead each week on one local (free) water.

The problem is licence consents. The lake owner applies for the licence and then buys a few fish legit, the rest coming from all over the place. Of course, there's no way of knowing which fish came from where.

Personally, I think the EA should be drafting better controls right now (maybe after the horse has bolted) and overseeing every stocking properly. Either that of simply ban the transfer of mature fish.

Stocking fry/fingerlings has several advantages. Firstly, they can be indoor hatched so completely free of parasites. Secondly they can be monitored properly - maybe DNAd from the original spawn.

Of course, the fishmongers would moan that it will take 10 years for the fish tostart attracting anglers. Well, I know people who've waited 10 years to catch a fish; a bit of patience is what angling is all about.

I attached such a post under three headings, because I feel very strongly about such a subject?So I?ll answer the replies best I can.

Mark Williams 4 seems to know where I am coming from.

Mark Hodson said ?Do the maths, its all about greed, not angling.?

Malc Bason, I wasn't offended anyway!

Very true in someway?s Mark, but I always was one of those who believed if there was ten double figure carp per acre. That was a very well stocked carp water.

Big Swordsy thank you very much. I checked out your profile and I found it very interesting, but I wasn?t looking for a candle lit dinner if that was what you was after! Though least you didn?t try charging me ?500 like some dating agency?s do to just check out someone?s details.

Big Rik said much of what I believe in, and Christian tyroll sorry I was talking other websites. I think I confused you?..and Warren you naughty boy!

Thanks for your replies, maybe a bit cheeky to expect any being I rarely answer posts myself, but I have viewed much of what you?s have said over the year, from someone else?s computer?I find it hard to sit on a computer for long periods?Though do take in much what is said?.I get all acheee while seated in a chair?I?m trying to get into better shape of late?The other day I was trying to lift 60 kilos above my head, in stints of fifteen pushes, but it?s hard work while trying to read Bob Roberts tales of hooligans on the river bank?Maybe I should take up barbel fishing, because I?ve heard it involves lots of walking?.I?ve got to get fitter. I used to be able to do 500 press ups easy?I struggled to do over one hundred the other day?.then I did have two stone on my back?.I?ll try to respond to anything else by Thursday, if other like to add anything.

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The problem with posting the same thing to multiple sections of the forum is that various opinion is then spread throughout those forum sections and the whole thing loses what overall impact it may have had, had it been posted to just one section. It also annoys people.

The 'General' section (this one) is the one to post to when the poster wants maximum coverage and/or the topic is broader than a single species.

If anyone wants to read more replies to the topic raised on this thread they will now have to go and look for the other two threads and try to fit it all together.

A bit like reading a newspaper story where each part ends with 'now turn to page....'

Except that in this instance there are no page numbers.

I must admit I'm confused by this multiple posting. My initial impression was that it was an elaborate smear campaign by an anti angler.

I was't sure if this was a carp fishing issue, Coarse fishing, or general fishing issue...And if everyone reads all three.

Sorry for the confusion....So I take it you hate mazes Graham!