This Sums Up Everything that is wrong with modern fishing

I went down to my club's main carp water this weekend, a 12 acre pit, and got a shock. A large proportion of the trees which surround this formerly pretty lake had been mercilessly hacked down to a fraction of their size. All the marginal habit, overhanging willows, sycamores etc were gone. The lake looked horrible and bald. Asking around, it seems that this act of vandalism was perpetrated by a couple of regulars without club authority! Worse, they have posted this on the club's forum today in justification of their actions:

"Over the past few years it has proved that leaving the trees to grow taller (by doing nothing to them) makes them more open to being blown over in the winter gales. Uprooting them leaves holes in the bank that are both dangerous and open to erosion.

If the trees were cut on a regular basis they would not look like they do now as they would not have to be cut back to such a severe state.

The people responsiable for cutting the trees took matters into there own hands to stop the trees from being blown over in the wintr gales that affect the lake. Although they would have rather being fishing they were of the opinion that if they did not do something no one else would bother and the erosion would get worse to the banks.

Everyone has there own opinions but we are sure they would rather see the trees as they are now than no trees at all with a great big puddle in the middle of it.

It has been proved that severe prunning of the trees down at knotford does not have a lasting effect on them as they soon resprout and thicken out to give bushes rather than large trees that are blown over with ease down there.

Whilst on the sbject of the committe taking a lead there are other areas that are in need of desperate attention namley the weed problem as this is a major problem in that the fish end up getting snagged up in it and dieing. Also it is slowly taking over the whole of the lake.

The next problem is the road in the field is in desperate need of repair the potholes are a danger to both cars and anglers.

The next is a lack of signs especially for warning dog walkers who use the land for them to deficate on and do nothing to remove this hazzard. Dog walkers do not take notice of anglers as all they say is "no signs"."

Whlst their last couple of points are valid, I am personally fuming that they have destroyed this lovely place.

umm, so much for democracy

Has anyone consulted a professional tree surgeon, or the EA, Blunderer? I'm not qualified to say for certain, but I would believe that such drastic lopping could kill the trees, at this time of year, I thought that normally trees were cut back around autumn time?

I think it depends on the tree specie and weither they are protected of course, pollarding is perfectly accetable and advised in some cases, but must of course be done propertly, one of the season reasons is because of nesting birds, trees are of course cut down for health and safetry reasons

Blunderer if you want to kick up a fuss check if there are any tree preservation orders on them - the local council should know.

I run work parties on a local club and the worse thing you can do is let people wander off with saws as they feel they have to be cutting stuff down so that they look busy.
Unfortunately trees do need to be pollarded - especially willows - every few years or so and do look horrible for a few months afterwards, but if done by a professional tree surgeon - not some bloke with a chainsaw who hasn't got a clue! - they grow back to look even better and will last far longer without falling over or cracking as a result.

I know how you feel a small, intimate lake i used to fish was eventually ruined by the club insisting on hacking everything above waist height every close season!

Thanks fotr clarifying that Nick.

In Windsor and Maidenhead, you have have to be careful about pollarding or cutting any trees back. The hotel I fish wanted to cut down some willows, not very attractive ones even, to stop from falling into the building in high winds. The Council wouldn't allow it and juts gave permission to take about 6 foot off the tops. The trees could still cuase structural damage to the building if they blew over.

Whereas, here in Wycombe and District there doesn't seem to be any rules. Next door to us have put in a planning application to build 5 houses on the land. One stumbling block was a 200 years old oak and you are not allowed to build under the branches of a tree. So they cut it down saying it had Honey Rot Fungus, which it did.However, you look up 'Oak Rot Fungus' (that's what it's called in the USA) on Google and one site tells you that every oak has this and providing there's substantial material around the outside (the fungus attacks the heart wood mostly) then the tree can stand and grow for another 200 years.

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PS I did report this at the time to Councillors who seemd to be completely disinterested. They're both Tories and I suppose there is no money in it for them. /forum/smilies/thinking_smiley.gif

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Your fishery will probably recover, albeit looking different. Give it 2 years! That's all, you cannot stop nature.

one of opur local councils cut down a large tree near us because it was reported to have Dutch Elm disease, the trouble was it was a machester Pop they pulled down, not protected, but also not an Elm, I sometimes wonder where they find these people?/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

The Civil Service

I beleive that any limb of a tree over 6 inches diameter needs planning permision to cut. How big were they!

can you take legal action agasint these twats, they have confessed publicly to cutting the trees down.

This Sums Up Everything that is wrong with modern fishing ?

I'm sure you were angry mate but are you sure you really mean that?

Petition at the AGM to have them removed. Legal or not they should have aquired permission first from the clubs comittee.

It’s likely there’s very little you can do other than throw them out of the Club.

Whilst their justifications for removal holds no water in arbourcultural terms, there is jack you can do to them, other than above, unless one of the following apply to the trees.

They’re in a RAMSAR site

A SSSI site

Local Nature Reserve

Form part of an SBI site

They have TPOs on them

In a Conservation area

In real terms if a tree(s) aren’t in one of the above, then they have no protection on them.

The landowner could look at taking an action against them for criminal damage either criminal and/or civil, but the latter would be costly. It’s unlikely the Crown Prosecution Service would take action under the criminal law on behalf of the landowner.

A tree hugger

<blockquote class=quoteheader>BarryC wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>I beleive that any limb of a tree over 6 inches diameter needs planning permision to cut. How big were they!</blockquote>
it depends on the tree specie, some trees are not protected, I contacted the local council once about a Manchester Poplar someone was cutting down and they told me Manchester Pops didnt have preservation orders on them

Putting to one side whether it was a valid thing to do, how on earth can the club justify their continued membership by doing this without consulting?

even in an LNR they may not be protected BO

these guys may have an exsuse being that there that they know nothing about what trees really need doing to them. british waterways have ruined parts of the river lea along broxbourne .were now left with no tree cover but plenty of new snags.some of my best chub swims completely stuffed! ,even if the fish are still about my confidence isn:t.

Blunderer; These guys in question. Did they in any way at any time discusat any meetings with the club that the trees where needing thining down or moved.

I don't think they did discuss anything with the club Jim. These bowsaw warriors need taking to task over what they have done.