If the Close Season was Lifted....Who Would Fish Rivers During Those Months

maverick 7 · Mar 15, 2013

I just thought it would be interesting to ask the members of this forum ....

..."Would you fish rivers during the months of March, April, May and June If the Close Season was abolished?"

As I am sure you have already guessed, I don't support the Close Season, I think it is a farcical, contradictive and hypocritical rule that we all have to unnecessarily abide by.

Maverick

tiinker · Mar 15, 2013

Definately not I have not fished them during the close season for 59 years let the system as a whole have a rest it has served anglers well in the long run no need to be greedy.

mg:

maverick 7 · Mar 15, 2013

OK....thanks for that tiinker. It is quite honourable of you to stick to your opinion and I admire that....not saying you're right mind, but I admire it.

Maverick

keora · Mar 15, 2013

Suppose that the EA did extensive scientific work which proved that the close season for coarse fish in rivers was unnecessary. If the close season was then abolished I would fish for coarse fish in rivers all year round.

I believe the EA has said it doesn't have the the money to carry out the research, and that it still considers that a close season is essential for coarse fish.

I'm not sure why some anglers are so against the close season on rivers when you can still fish stillwaters for coarse fish, and go trout fishing.

Peter Jacobs · Mar 15, 2013

The short answer is no, I would not, which will come as no surprise to the regular contributors here on FM.

I have never fished in the coarse close season for anything other than Trout on the fly, other than a couple of one day memorial matches, and to be honest even on those days it just felt all wrong.

Like someone else so rightly said, give the rivers and the bankside a good rest as they have served us very well for 9 months.

For those who simply have to fish all the year around, well you have commercial stillwaters, or better still buy a fly rod, reel, line and a few flies and learn a whole new aspect to your fishing.

tiinker · Mar 15, 2013

keora said:
Suppose that the EA did extensive scientific work which proved that the close season for coarse fish in river was unnecessary. If the close season was then abolished I would fish for coarse fish in rivers all year round.

I don't think the EA has the money to carry out the research. I believe they did do some research before deciding to abolish the close season for coarse fish on stillwaters.

I'm not sure why some anglers are so anti the close season on rivers when you can still fish stillwaters for coarse fish, and go trout fishing.

My answer to that is it has done no harm to the enviroment as a whole and I have seen a marked visual difference in the stillwaters that I have known since boyhood since they have been able to be fished 12 months of the year.Iwould not want to see this happen on the rivers that I fish.

Fred Bonney · Mar 15, 2013

It'll never happen.

maverick 7 · Mar 15, 2013

keora said:
Suppose that the EA did extensive scientific work which proved that the close season for coarse fish in river was unnecessary. If the close season was then abolished I would fish for coarse fish in rivers all year round.

I don't think the EA has the money to carry out the research. I believe they did do some research before deciding to abolish the close season for coarse fish on stillwaters.

I'm not sure why some anglers are so anti the close season on rivers when you can still fish stillwaters for coarse fish, and go trout fishing.

Thanks for that keora.....I think the point I am trying to establish is that I notice a lot of anglers have very strong opinions on keeping the Close Season and vice versa. I just wondered if those strong opinions would stay in place should the Close Season be lifted.

When the Close Season covered all waters...the very same strong opinions existed between anglers.....but it appears that the opinions on why we should keep the Close Season seemed to go out of the window as soon as the go ahead was given...all their moralistic views about spawning and plantlife and wildlife didn't seem to matter anymore....Off they toddled to every stillwater in the land seemingly without a care in the world about what they were so against just a few months earlier.

I know that people will hide behind the fact that the EA did some tests and discovered it was no longer necessary and all that so it was OK to go fishing stillwaters.

Take Yorkshire....not so long ago, the season in Yorkshire started on the 1st of June......now it doesn't. Why was it OK to fish the rivers on the 1st June then and not now?...surely the same issues existed then as they do now. Just goes to show that the EA can get it wrong...and they often do with this issue.

Then there is canals and lakes....don't fish spawn in canals or lakes then?

I reckon that during the Close Season....fish are more disturbed by bank walkers, dog swimming, stone throwing, canoeing, poaching, barbeques, swimming and many more bankside activities....than anglers could ever cause in a season of fishing.

Like I said the whole issue has more holes in it than a seive.

Maverick

---------- Post added at 01:29 ---------- Previous post was at 01:20 ----------

Peter Jacobs said:
The short answer is no, I would not, which will come as no surprise to the regular contributors here on FM.

I have never fished in the coarse close season for anything other than Trout on the fly, other than a couple of one day memorial matches, and to be honest even on those days it just felt all wrong.

Like someone else so rightly said, give the rivers and the bankside a good rest as they have served us very well for 9 months.

For those who simply have to fish all the year around, well you have commercial stillwaters, or better still buy a fly rod, reel, line and a few flies and learn a whole new aspect to your fishing.

Thanks Peter.....but it's not true that the rivers serve us well for 9 months is it?

You can deduct 3 months of year from it for a start....due to heavy flooding that we get every single year which makes fishing virtually impossible. That means we get 6 months for our money and not 12 months like everyone else....unless we fish the commercials of course...which I loathe to have to do.

...although I must admit, the fly fishing sounds tempting.

BTW Peter.....you have made a mistake on your avatar bar.......God's County isn't Wiltshire....EVERYBODY knows it's Yorkshire!!

Maverick

mark brailsford 2 · Mar 15, 2013

It's not just the fish the close season protects its the waterways whole ecology!
There are hundreds of birds species that nest, ether on or in the bank itself and also around the perimeters, a lot of these birds too are ground nesters. There are wild flowers, some of them rare, that flower in spring and early summer and should be given protection till they have flowered.
Going back to the Fish, would you like to be dragged out of your bed with a big hook in the middle of an intimate moment? No, I thought not

By the way, before anyone asks no I don't fish canals or still waters in the close season ether, it's my choice not to do so

maverick 7 · Mar 15, 2013

mark brailsford 2 said:
It's not just the fish the close season protects its the waterways whole ecology!
There are hundreds of birds species that nest, ether on or in the bank itself and also around the perimeters, a lot of these birds too are ground nesters. There are wild flowers, some of them rare, that flower in spring and early summer and should be given protection till they have flowered.
Going back to the Fish, would you like to be dragged out of your bed with a big hook in the middle of an intimate moment? No, I thought not

....but doesn't all that apply to canals and lakes as well Mark?

Doesn't birds nest alongside of a lake and doesn't wild flowers blossom there too....or are they solely unique to rivers?

The trouble is with your second statement regarding being dragged out of bed during an intimate moment.....well, that is more likely to happen during the month of JULY rather than March, April, May and June...as many fish spawn during that month.

The number of times I have seen barbel and chub spawning in the Yorkshire rivers in July is proof in itself.

Maverick

Peter Jacobs · Mar 15, 2013

maverick 7 said:
Thanks Peter.....but it's not true that the rivers serve us well for 9 months is it? You can deduct 3 months of year from it for a start....due to heavy flooding that we get every single year which makes fishing virtually impossible. That means we get 6 months for our money and not 12 months like everyone else....

I beg to differ; when you buy your license it is procured on the understanding that it permits 9 months of coarse fishing and not 12.

The environmental changes that may, or may not occur from year to year cannot be taking into consideration. The ordinary license also covers you to fish for non migratory Trout, therefore your license is valid for 12 months of the year, not 9 and certainly not 6.

The chalk strams here in God's County have flooded relatively little compared to some of the spate rivers further north, so remember your licence is not restrictive on location either . . . . . .

guest61 · Mar 15, 2013

I would fish rivers for coarse fish if the closed season was lifted, however for a number of reasons I'd limit what I did.

1 - I quite like a break from river coarse fishing. Although I quite like planning and working on my own designs of gear (some of which work) I will do some fishing on canals and stillwaters usually in May.

2 - I'll enjoy a little fly fishing and while doing this weighing up a few new swims come June 16th (Is this legal?)

3 - There are Work Parties to do.

4 - The garden needs attention.

Keith M · Mar 15, 2013

mark brailsford 2 said:
Going back to the Fish, would you like to be dragged out of your bed with a big hook in the middle of an intimate moment? No, I thought not

I'm not saying that I would fish rivers in the closed season either; the juries still out as far as I am concerned; but down south we don't tend to eat chips and fried Mars bars in bed when we are being intimate with the missus

we leave that to our northern friends LOL...

(maybe a few jellied eels and a pint afterwards though LOL...)

maceo · Mar 15, 2013

Yes, I definitely would. The spring/early summer months are some of the most pleasant of the year and I really miss being able to get out onto the bank.

I'd consider the ecological case with regard to fish as 'unproven'. Whilst I understand the case regarding flowers and birds, it's not as though most rivers are heavily fished during the season nowadays. I see about 3 other anglers a year down on my stretch of the Thames and the amount of environmental disruption must be minimal indeed.

If the close season is to be endorsed on those grounds, then surely there also needs to be a similar close season for the bank-destroying, mud-churning. rubbish jettisoning barges and splashy canoe kids. They surely have far more impact.

thx1138 · Mar 15, 2013

personally, probably not.

I spend the close season doing work parties (ironically on stillwaters), as this is traditionally when we did this work.

Also, I have fished one river in particular for the past 6 seasons, and have yet to catch a barbel. They are elusive and hard to catch. Yet, I have spent days in the past few close seasons watching them gather and spawn. I have even donned my waders and walked out amongst them, they were practically un-spookable. It was magical, and admittedly very frustrating.

However, If I were allowed to go and catch them when they were spawning, I think I would feel as if I were cheating somehow. It would certainly take the gloss off.
Moreover, if there were no close season, I expect that other anglers would quickly work out where the fish spawn, and these places would become very busy with anglers targetting the spawning fish. In the long term, I just cant see that would be a good thing. They would become much more pressured, and even more elusive. I am having a hard enough time catching one as it is thank you very much!

I am happy to leave them alone. Hopefully when I come back in June, they might have forgotten about my baits and awful rig presentation.

mg:

tigger · Mar 15, 2013

I would fish all year round. The rivers don't need a rest at this time of year as for the last few months they've had very little pressure due to weather conditions etc etc. Even if the anglers have been there the fish are only usually caught in small numbers anyhow as they just arn't feeding. During the closed season birds etc will make nests in the pegs or next to them only to be frightened off their eggs/chicks as anglers suddenly pile back in droves on opening day. If the pegs where visited as usual by anglers the creatures would nest in a safer place.
The closed season puts a surge of pressure on still waters. I could understand the closed season if fish where being taken for the table but catch and release will do very little harm.
I think the closed game fishing season should be kept (or make it compulsary to release all fish during the breeding seasons) as taking breeding fish is where the harm is done and in reality the reason for the closed season. Remember how many trout you catch during their closed season when targetting other species ! As people don't eat coarse (unless they're immigrants) fish the closed season is dinosour.

tiinker · Mar 15, 2013

maverick 7 said:
Thanks for that keora.....I think the point I am trying to establish is that I notice a lot of anglers have very strong opinions on keeping the Close Season and vice versa. I just wondered if those strong opinions would stay in place should the Close Season be lifted.

When the Close Season covered all waters...the very same strong opinions existed between anglers.....but it appears that the opinions on why we should keep the Close Season seemed to go out of the window as soon as the go ahead was given...all their moralistic views about spawning and plantlife and wildlife didn't seem to matter anymore....Off they toddled to every stillwater in the land seemingly without a care in the world about what they were so against just a few months earlier.

I know that people will hide behind the fact that the EA did some tests and discovered it was no longer necessary and all that so it was OK to go fishing stillwaters.

Take Yorkshire....not so long ago, the season in Yorkshire started on the 1st of June......now it doesn't. Why was it OK to fish the rivers on the 1st June then and not now?...surely the same issues existed then as they do now. Just goes to show that the EA can get it wrong...and they often do with this issue.

Then there is canals and lakes....don't fish spawn in canals or lakes then?

I reckon that during the Close Season....fish are more disturbed by bank walkers, dog swimming, stone throwing, canoeing, poaching, barbeques, swimming and many more bankside activities....than anglers could ever cause in a season of fishing.

Like I said the whole issue has more holes in it than a seive.

Maverick

---------- Post added at 01:29 ---------- Previous post was at 01:20 ----------

Thanks Peter.....but it's not true that the rivers serve us well for 9 months is it?

You can deduct 3 months of year from it for a start....due to heavy flooding that we get every single year which makes fishing virtually impossible. That means we get 6 months for our money and not 12 months like everyone else....unless we fish the commercials of course...which I loathe to have to do.

...although I must admit, the fly fishing sounds tempting.

BTW Peter.....you have made a mistake on your avatar bar.......God's County isn't Wiltshire....EVERYBODY knows it's Yorkshire!!

Maverick

That only applies to butterfly anglers some of the smaller rivers fish better when they are in flood if you know your game . The weather did not effect the anglers who fished in the past in worst winters than we have these days get out there and fish as long as you have bait in the water you are at lest in with a chance and on the odd occaision a nice surprise Sitting at home will catch you nothing except the sharp edge of the wifes tongue to get on with that job you have been dodging

Fred Bonney · Mar 15, 2013

I like fishing in flood!

chav professor · Mar 15, 2013

I knew the rules of the game when i started fishing... Does it serve wildlife and fish? Dunno..... Perhaps its optimistic pessimism.... I love river fishing. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. I always leave the end of the season gagging for more. will probably spend an inordinate amount of time in the close season fish spotting and photographing the river wild life - including watching the fish spawn.

A fishing season has many bitter sweet elements - but thats river fishing. Perhaps having conditions outside your control is what makes it such an absorbing pastime.

barisaxman · Mar 15, 2013

I'm all for the closed season on rivers, it keeps the barbel bashers off so some of us can actually get to fish salmon pools for salmon!

If the Close Season was Lifted....Who Would Fish Rivers During Those Months

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