Neanderthals still alive and well

Unfortunately, the Neanderthals referred to by Gary Knowles in his article 'A passion for pike' are still alive and well in parts of West Yorkshire. My local club (Otley Angling Club - of which I am not a member) insist upon the removal of all pike caught from their stretches of the river Wharfe. Members may face expulsion from the club if this ruling is ignored. If two rods are to be used on club waters, one of these must be fished for pike so that any caught can be killed. Those in charge of the club do not appear to realise that the eradication of pike from a stretch of river is not feasible (or desirable)and by removing large fish an explosion of small 'jack' pike is likely to occur. Like Gary, I also thought this kind of behaviour had been consigned to history as people had finally come to understand that pike have an important role in a balanced aquatic ecosystem. Surely it is time for the EA to intervene and prevent clubs from enforcing such practices.

Several issues here...

Is it infact legal for a fishery to impose a "cull" without permission from the EA?

Have the local PAC been informed of this.

What do the clubs up and downstream of this club do, as potentially, they could stop this barbaric act because technically, its there Pike being killed too, as the Pike will be nomadic and will swim in several different club waters.

I have this problem all the time where I am. Some people listen to reason, others become violent, others just bury there heads and say, "nowt to do with me". Its worth getting the local paper involved, with a story about "conservation of fish stocks" or such like.

Good luck, and if u need any support/scientific backing, please let me know.

James

The results of this policy are plain to see as the Wharfe in the Otley area teems with small jacks. If you need to contact the local PAC let me know and I'll put you in touch

Just had reports from a mate, he landed a 21.5 pound pike from a local loch...a Belgian shooter on the same water walked up to him while he was taking pictures, and thrust a bowie knife into the pikes skull before my mate Scott realised what was happening!

Did he have him arrested?

I'm afraid he'd now be in hospital !

dependant on how big he was !!!!!!!!

My mate Scott is the sort of bloke u dont mess with...but when someone has a bowie knife in one hand and a shot gun in the other..there is nowt u can do.

He made his feelings VERY clear, but there is a fish kill policy on this water. This hunter was there as a guest of the owner etc. As for arresting him...on what grounds? I wish it was that simple...

If there's a fish kill policy on the water then why the hell is he fishing it?

I had a simialr discussion with afishery owner who wanted the pike out of his "trout fishery"...he let me fish it if I killed anything I caught.
Without wanting to start a "Blithfield" type thread all I will say is that everything I caught fell of the hook before I could land it...nevr got anything over 8lbs.
Lots of naglers told me "shouting from the bank" how they had 17lbers and how they killed the F***er.
I watched youngsters killing Perch , just because they were not trout...watched anglers kill Pike "because they eat all the trout.
(This was a put and take fishery.)
The owner was happy that I had not caught anything big...in his office was a photo of a 37 lb fish which was he told me found dead...I suspect that it was killed on capture...just incase it ate a passing child or small dog.
I pointed out to him the number of small jacks basking in the sun and the abundance of small jacks feeding.
He could not understand the logic between the destruction of large fish and the numbers of jacks....I gave up ...brick walls don't have ears...
This water is wiithin the Foyle Fisheries Region in Northern ireland...appraches to F.F.C. got me nowhree...if its not a Salmoan they don't want to know.
Likewise Pike killed on my local waters I reported....whilst they undertook to keep a look out for such acts ...they could not do anything.
Poor attitudes and ingrained ignorance have a lot to answer for.
Angling in N.I. is being reviewed and not before time...present arrangements leave stocks vunerable and management is neglect through dire underfunding.
I always thought that you lads had a better crack of the whip...sadly I am disappointed that clubs are able to do what they like on their waters and that once again the Pike ids cast as the villan of the piece.
Ignorance and ingrained attitudes it seem know no boundaries....and still have a lot to answer for.

Rob,
Sorry to hear about your mate's pike,i told u before evry pike angler should carry a gaff,JUST IN CASE SOMETHING LIKE THAT SHOULD HAPPEN....LOL...

Rik...the reason we all fish the water even though there is a fish kill policy is because, with a little bit of thought, we have managed to turn around the feelings of the "non pikers" there who used to kill everything!! Without us fishing it there would be many more dead pike on this water.

This is why I was so annoyed when members of the PAC were "disciplined" for fishing Blithfield. If it werent for those guys who fished it and refused to kill fish, then it would not be the fish friendly place it is now.

Our plan is to try and show the owners that what they are doing is wrong. Out of the 60 season tickets sold, only maybe 10 anglers actually kill the fish now...and then only the little ones...thats a huge turn around from 15 years ago...thats why I will continue to fish the place.