Complete and Utter Punts

A good and bad session this afternoon on the beautiful sunny upper Thames.

Number of other people fishing today: 0
People seen fishing there so far this season: 0

Often, especially in the winter, you can have an all day session down there and barely see another person. Not even a dog walker, but today there were loads of people about.

Worst of all were the people from the pub a couple of fields up where they hire out electric powered punts and also pedalo type punts. These damn things were up and down all day and were a real pain in the neck.

One group of lads splashed through screaming and laughing and taking it in turns to jump into the water and swim. They then stopped about 50 yards upstream for about half an hour and carried on with the slackness. Four or five empty beer bottles came floating by in the current.

Another one came along with a group of girls in it and managed to crash into the bank right at my feet. Another one (a pedalo type) with a couple in came splashing through so I had to reel in yet again, they got 20 yards past my swim and then stopped peddling and drifted through the swim again backwards, so I had to reel in again urgently. ("sorry mate!!!")

Then some elderly woman came along with three dogs. She got 20 yards past my swim and then started throwing sticks in so the dogs all jumped in with tremendous noise and splashing. Half a mile of empty bank one way, half a mile of empty bank the other way and she chooses that spot to do it.

I did something I've never done before whilst fishing and shouted at her. "Have some bloody consideration will you?". She didn't answer but called the dogs quickly and thankfuly did one.

I caught pretty well, plenty of dace and four perch, including one about 1.5 lbs. 27 fish in all. However, my biggest reason for going fishing is to get a little bit of peace and quiet and I certainly didn't get that today.

I think I'll creep down to that pub in the dead of night with a hand drill and turn those punts into submarines.

Live and let live I say
If it's free fishing you have to expect this sort of thing

Such is the nature of fishing Rivers in or near town centres in the summer months.

On one of my River sections they have a by law prohibiting angling through to the end of August - keeping anglers away from pleasure craft during the summer months. I think that this is a pretty good idea.

However, the little boats progress upstream into the area that you're allowed to fish and then cross the river to return downstream after the 20min hire period, the trouble is that many of the people who hire boats have no idea of what they are doing. On a recent trip a woman with two small children in the boat was headed backwards into my rods. I moved my rods and a catastrophe was averted.

"Sorry" she said as I pushed her boat out of my swim in to a 10ft depth of flowing water, it was then that I realised that the Children both around 6-y-o were not wearing life jackets and she'd admitted that she couldn't control the boat. I then noted that none of these small boats have life jackets.mg:

The local rowing club(s) also practice here and get up to full speed at just about the point the boats are crossing the river - during this session they had to put the 'brakes on' three times avoid 'broadsiding' little aluminium vessels - one would think that this lot would know better - but having met a few socially perhaps they wouldn't.

These aren't bad people, they're day trippers mostly having fun in the summer. The rowing clubs should know better but they don't, I could avoid all of this and fish elsewhere and will do so until the weather gets properly cooler and the children go back to school.

Not a rant, more a comment.

Nope - not free. £4 a day ticket down there.

I agree that everyone's got a right to enjoy the river, but not to pollute it up by chucking beer bottles in, nor screaming and shouting and jumping in and swimming round where people are trying to fish.

The pub needs to take some responsibility and not let these punters take alcohol out with them.

It happens. It might be £4 a day but you caught quite a few fish so sounds ok to me. You can't fish that close to a pub on the Thames on a glorius summers day and expect it to be quite?
Sounds like they were all enjoying themselves:w

Can you hire one of the punts yourself and find a nice quiet spot?

I used to fish the Sussex Ouse upstream from Lewes. Paradise in the winter, no boats and few dog walkers. But in the summer after about 10:30 am it was mayhem, boats everywhere and rowers without a clue, they used to kill it stone dead. I used to get really wound up, then I realised that they were just having fun and enjoying themselves, their actions weren't directed at me, they were just doing what people do on a river. My answer was to turn up late afternoon during the summer and then fish through until about 10 am. I no longer fish this stretch, but I do fish rivers and the ones I have books for are boat free, aaaaaah, bliss.

Most of us go fishing, at least in part, to unwind. I suggest you find somewhere else to fish during the busy periods or join a club and get access to more secluded areas.

It'd be a great solution to hire one of the punts, but they're £22 per hour! Judging by the numbers that go up and down, the pub must be making pretty good money from them.

Of course they're just enjoying themselves and I'm not labouring under any misaprehensions that they're deliberately trying to mess up the fishing. It's just thoughtlessness really.

The same as with the littering and chucking beer bottles in. They haven't thought it out. You'd think it'd occur to them that if they like to jump in the river and swim on hot days, throwing glass bottles in might not be a brilliant idea unless they fancy a future trip to the A&E with shredded feet!

I think, like Ray says, the solution is to find somewhere a bit quieter on summer days. I guess that means somewhere a long way from car parking, so a bit more bank walking is called for.

I totally sympathise. Consideration for others is sadly lacking nowadays wherever you go and I do not accept that "enjoying yourself" means that you can do so irrespective of the impact on others. What irritates me too is that as soon as you get anywhere near water anglers very often get the blame for everything...litter,bad parking etc. And of course we are last on the list of people with a right to enjoy our chosen pastime....ask any paddler/swimmer/boater/canoesist/drunken idiot.

Love the drill idea. Go for it !

Good points Skippy.

Anglers are generally respectful river users compared to others.

If for instance an angler turned up wanting to fish a weir pool and found it full with kayakers getting their thrills in the white water the angler would naturally go else where.

If the kayakers turned up to find an angler in situ they would try and bully and intimidate the angler away.

Llots of people do not understand the notion of respect.

maceo said:

Number of other people fishing today: 0
People seen fishing there so far this season: 0

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But a river full of other people using the river, not all idiots surely.

If you think that they are going to defer for a lone angler then think again. I know that we find it annoying but you won't win sitting on the bank having a seethe.

I know anglers get a lot of unwarranted stick for litter, but to be honest there are a lot of messy anglers out there too. Due to not being available for work parties because of working nights and weekends I volunteered to go round our club lakes and collect litter on each trip. Most of the **** has been empty sweetcorn and luncheon meat cans, followed by plastic bottles and drink tins. This isn't left by picnic goers or boaters but some of the messy idiots we count amongst our number.

Hi Maceo

Any chance you could share the location? It's my neck of the woods and I have been planning to get out that way soon. I was guessing either around the rose revived at newbridge or the trout at tadpole bridge but I could be wrong...

It can be a bit of a pain. I have a few stretches that i've fished from time to time around abingdon and oxford that I now avoid like the plague if its summer and its sunny, simply because there's too many people about who just don't have any concept of respect for others. What's interesting is that the real enthusiasts for whatever pastime take them to the riverside - be that boating, jogging, cycling whatever - the ones who are out there all the time come rain and shine are usually the ones who treat you with some respect. Show me a canoeist on a high river in February and I'll guarantee they'll be polite, considerate and aware. Same with anglers actually!! Let's face it, the worst angling behaviour on the banks takes a sharp increase on a sunny summer's day, as the holiday telescopic blister packs are bust open and left to litter the banks.

I've joined a nice club this years with four lakes out that way (Newlands Angling).... and I have to say, it's been money very well spent, as even on a sunny weekend two weeks ago, me and my five year old son still managed to find a quiet swim to sit in and pass a few hours. I know it's not the same as fishing a river, but the peace and quiet is priceless!

Hi Jim, yep it's the former - the Rose Revived at Newbridge.


Very nice area usually and good fishing (roach, dace, chub, perch etc) and you can park in the Maybush carpark and walk through the gate directly onto the bank.

Although the sign says 'Plough Angling - Private Fishing' it's four quid for a day ticket from the farmer when he comes around.

Maybe see you down there!

Jim Crosskey 2 said:

Hi Maceo

Any chance you could share the location? It's my neck of the woods and I have been planning to get out that way soon. I was guessing either around the rose revived at newbridge or the trout at tadpole bridge but I could be wrong...

It can be a bit of a pain. I have a few stretches that i've fished from time to time around abingdon and oxford that I now avoid like the plague if its summer and its sunny, simply because there's too many people about who just don't have any concept of respect for others. What's interesting is that the real enthusiasts for whatever pastime take them to the riverside - be that boating, jogging, cycling whatever - the ones who are out there all the time come rain and shine are usually the ones who treat you with some respect. Show me a canoeist on a high river in February and I'll guarantee they'll be polite, considerate and aware. Same with anglers actually!! Let's face it, the worst angling behaviour on the banks takes a sharp increase on a sunny summer's day, as the holiday telescopic blister packs are bust open and left to litter the banks.

I've joined a nice club this years with four lakes out that way (Newlands Angling).... and I have to say, it's been money very well spent, as even on a sunny weekend two weeks ago, me and my five year old son still managed to find a quiet swim to sit in and pass a few hours. I know it's not the same as fishing a river, but the peace and quiet is priceless!

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Great post mate.

Ray Roberts said:

I know anglers get a lot of unwarranted stick for litter, but to be honest there are a lot of messy anglers out there too. Due to not being available for work parties because of working nights and weekends I volunteered to go round our club lakes and collect litter on each trip. Most of the **** has been empty sweetcorn and luncheon meat cans, followed by plastic bottles and drink tins. This isn't left by picnic goers or boaters but some of the messy idiots we count amongst our number.

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Sadly that's very true Ray but at least club waters are, in my experience,less likely to suffer from litter problems nowadays than the lower end day ticket/free waters which are the worst.Personally I dont consider many of the ***** with rods I see bankside as anglers in the true sense at all but the distinction is lost on your average member of the public.

At least litter can be picked up. I wish some people I meet bankside had on/off switches or at the very least volume controls. Due respect to my elder "brothers of the angle" but why do "old boys" need to bellow at each other when they are rarely more than 10 feet away ? They cannot all be mutton,surely ?

£22 an hour Maceo, strewth, buy the drill instead, cheaper and more satisfying !

Civilization- I often fish a free stretch out side a small town in the country on a Sunday afternoon. I am usually the only one fishing and a lot of people own boats in houses on the far bank and they will take their families out for a trip on the river. They will come by me and often give me a friendly wave. They will steer their boats to the far bank so as not to disturb my fishing. Many will also cut their engines back as well at the same time.

the local ressy i fish is also home to a sailing club. a few months back me and my mate were the only 2 fishing the 9acres of water and the official from the club took his motor boat into my swim and 30 feet from the bank dropped a marker bouy. then we had around 20 boats coming into my swim and turning round the bouy. at least 2 idiots crashed into the bank causing me to grab my pod and pull the rod tips away from the water. i asked them both to show a bit of consideration to people fishing and got ignored both times. then the official motored back into my swim so politly i asked him why he dropped the bouy infront of the only people fishing and got ignored yet again. "oih you ignorant f***ing c**t are deaf as well as f***ing blind" well then it was "i dont think language like that is called for we all pay to use the water and need to show some consideration to each other" WTF? i think most boaters hate fisherman and do as much as possible to ruin our fishing

agamemnon said:

the local ressy i fish is also home to a sailing club. a few months back me and my mate were the only 2 fishing the 9acres of water and the official from the club took his motor boat into my swim and 30 feet from the bank dropped a marker bouy. then we had around 20 boats coming into my swim and turning round the bouy. at least 2 idiots crashed into the bank causing me to grab my pod and pull the rod tips away from the water. i asked them both to show a bit of consideration to people fishing and got ignored both times. then the official motored back into my swim so politly i asked him why he dropped the bouy infront of the only people fishing and got ignored yet again. "oih you ignorant f***ing c**t are deaf as well as f***ing blind" well then it was "i dont think language like that is called for we all pay to use the water and need to show some consideration to each other" WTF? i think most boaters hate fisherman and do as much as possible to ruin our fishing

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Ogston res up the road from me has a sailing club which is full of your ''Volvo millionaire'' type (one of billy connolly's sayings!) and they really do have a loathing disrespect towards the game anglers that use the water, I have never understood why these people are like they are.
I have been bought up never to use bad language around women, kids or anyone else for that matter, but these sort of people only seem to pay attention when you do swear at them!

It does seem to have gone all downhill in recent years. When I was a kid, used to fish with Dad on the free Thames a lot, loads of fisherman on a Sunday and boats but, no litter and no disrespect or lack of consideration shown. But, then that generation had gone through a terrible war and were just out to enjoy themselves as much as possible and appreciated more than ever everyone else wanted the same and had a right to do so. Live and live let live. But, having gone through that sort of hardship and terror must have given them a better perspective on whats important and whats not. Be nice if some of that spirit and perspective came back but, realistically I doubt it will.

If you don't like punts then stay away from the upper River Cam, fishing is impossible after 9 am.
I've never met a bad narrow boater, all are pleasant and love to chat.
Those white rental cruisers can be quite bad as they are usually unskilled and arrogant.
I get on with the local canoeists, people have navigated the river for thousands of years so the fish are used to them.
Fishing a lob worm under a parked narrow boat will often result in big Chub/Perch.
Thank god we don't get jet skis here.