now bob i'll bring you back into this reluctantly on your part...you have wrote a good piece on your blog about the 10 threats to angling, but not once have you given anglers a way forward of understanding them or addressing them locally...bob i think your a bit more than a sound bite celeb angler..point a few of us on the way forward.
I'm flattered that you think I might have the answer to all angling's ills but that's perhaps because you probably think we breathe a different kind of air to you.
For the record I worked full-time from leaving school for 42 years without a break. My fishing had to be done using holidays and weekends but that could only be in between the time spent writing, making DVDs and doing a bit of telly, etc.
The way forward for anglers and angling is through unity and in supporting the Trust. Only a fraction of one per cent of anglers are members. The rest take a free ride on their backs.
You expect folk who appear in the angling media because they're better than most at catching fish to represent you in political circles, to debates with paid professionals and media consultants, scientists and naturalists. That ain't never going to work.
We anglers need full-time media savvy spokesmen to work on our behalf, to influence politicians and the wider media. A bankside gypsy ain't going to fulfil that role, now is he?
Check the poll on here about otters. It is weighted in favour of leave them alone! Talk about sticking their heads in the sand. You've seen the otter population explosion in the past decade and the damage they do, now roll forward another ten years...
We cull deer (bambi), we cull rabbits (Watership Down, Thumper, Bugs Bunny), we cull badgers (Wind in the Willows). Farmers shoot pet dogs if they're not controlled. The idea that culling otters will be bad for our image and bring angling to its knees is preposterous.
At the current rate we won't have any fish to worry about in 20 years time other than those in commercial pools. You cannot protect a river unless you remove or diminish the threat.
River authorities have wrecked the environment with their drainage schemes afecting millions of fish, birds and animals. The public doesn't give a toss!
But unless anglers unite they are doomed. It is to angling's eternal shame that we don't have one million members of the Angling Trust. We never will have and as a result we will never be able to effectively defend ourselves or take suitable action. You want the answer? There it is in a nutshell.
Unite and fight or roll over and take up golf.
And just remember, 99% of folk in this country have never seen an otter and never will. It doesn't really matter to them whether they exist or not.
Bob Roberts
Bob Roberts - Fishing information for the complete angler
Footnote: The article refered to is called
Ten Key Issues That Threaten Angling
