So Frustrating.

flightliner · Jun 21, 2015

I,ve waited like everyone else the full twelve weeks of the close season.Never an easy thing but molified somewhat by having the odd stillwater to fish.
Then, at last a water I,ve been itching to fish opens and guess what?, the fish are spawning

.
A friend contacted me last night who was fishing a southern water and told me that at 4am yesterday tench got down to do their bit for species survival and guys pulled off out of respect.
Now I,m all for "giving things a rest" but things as they stand are ludicrously out of kilter with the natural world and maybe the powers that be should give consideration to maybe altering the closed season as it already stands.
I know the subject as been beaten to death on here over the years but its not right to carry on as things stand

bennygesserit · Jun 21, 2015

flightliner said:
I,ve waited like everyone else the full twelve weeks of the close season.Never an easy thing but molified somewhat by having the odd stillwater to fish.
Then, at last a water I,ve been itching to fish opens and guess what?, the fish are spawning.
A friend contacted me last night who was fishing a southern water and told me that at 4am yesterday tench got down to do their bit for species survival and guys pulled off out of respect.
Now I,m all for "giving things a rest" but things as they stand are ludicrously out of kilter with the natural world and maybe the powers that be should give consideration to maybe altering the closed season as it already stands.
I know the subject as been beaten to death on here over the years but its not right to carry on as things stand

the fact that you didn't fish though implies you don't think its right to fish while they are spawning.

Therefore its a matter of adjusting the CS to fit the regional and temporal variations in when fish actually spawn.

Peter Jacobs · Jun 21, 2015

I thoroughly understand your frustration Mick, but can you imagine the chaos if different regions had different Close Season dates?

I still maintain that the current system still provides the best protection for most of our fish, in most average years, in most average climatic conditions and in most regions.

As most of the old hands here know I rarely bother with the rivers until late August in any event . . . . . . .

flightliner · Jun 21, 2015

I go along with much of what you say Peter but looking thro my dairies over the last Thirty years or so it would seem that on average the first week of the season is pretty much a spawning dominated period,
even predators like perch on one water I fished were spawning only a fortnight ago yet theyre supposed to do it from march/ april time.
Just my opinion but up here, maybe nation wide it would be better to move the c/season from aprils end till end of june.???

Peter Jacobs · Jun 21, 2015

As you know Mike I have always been, and will always continue to be, a staunch supporter of the Close Season.

I am not totally immovable on the dates however, and like you, my experience is that we could do a lot worse than moving the date(s) each way by a good few weeks. On my rivers locally I think end of first week in April and for 90 days following would be a good compromise.

What I am very wary of nonetheless is the possibility that those who would wish to see a total removal of the Close Season would then leap on a date shift and use it to further their ulterior motives . . . . . . .

sam vimes · Jun 21, 2015

I've long been unimpressed by the closed season dates for the given justification of spawning. That is increased massively by the fact that it's not that long ago that regional variations meant that Yorkshire started on June the first. Throw in the bye-law that allows worm fishing for trout and you've got a closed season that barely covers the majority of fish spawning, especially the further north you get, and that anglers are legally on the banks regardless.

However, I don't necessarily believe that total scrapping of the closed season is the answer. Whilst many anglers will self moderate, leaving spawning areas, and spawning fish, well alone for the duration, far too many will never follow suit. Sadly, many anglers are not the genuine countrymen many would like them to be.

no-one in particular · Jun 21, 2015

I often follow the garden and everything's a bit behind on that score; maybe 3 or 4 weeks. May was pretty cool, the night temperatures were dropping like mad, even down to near freezing in some areas. I usually find fish follow a similar pattern as the fruit and are probably behind somewhat in their spawning.
As to changing the dates to suit, well; was it just three years ago we had the hottest spring records, April and May were scorching and all the fish were spawning early. However, that was a bit exceptional, personally I favor a shorter close season applied to rivers and lakes if for nothing else than to give it all a rest for a spell, me included. I don't think it would do a lot of harm, and probably a bit of good, spawning or no spawning.

terry m · Jun 21, 2015

With the variable weather we get, this is just not predictable, well not accurately predictable at least. I too support the closed season and echo the earlier posts that not all anglers behave in the most responsible way.

What we have may not be perfect but it may be the best compromise.

nicepix · Jun 21, 2015

It was the same on the Dearne. Every year the chub could be seen swarming over the gravel shallows during the first week of the season.

binka · Jun 21, 2015

Quoted from Dave Harrell's recent newsletter and an opinion I've got a bit of time for...

"In my opinion, the timing of the closed season is all wrong. We should be allowed to fish until the end of April, have a break in May and June and start again on July 1st."

I fished many perch sessions throughout the close season and experienced the very isolated shedding of milt throughout March & April compared with several occasions during May despite their reputation as early spawners.

My experiences on the river over the last week again support the moving of the close season dates and I'm no campaigner for the abolition of the close season on rivers but if altering the dates results in a slightly shorter but more effective close season then I think that's a win/win for fishing and the fish.

Maybe a clause that shuts down the pike fishing from the end of Feb too?

The obvious problem is the varying Spring temperatures from one year to another although I think the above would still be far more effective and beneficial to fish stocks.

Peter Jacobs · Jun 22, 2015

binka said:
Quoted from Dave Harrell's recent newsletter and an opinion I've got a bit of time for...

I'm afraid that I have little or no time for a professional angler's opinion on the length of the Close Season, or the fact that the Angling Trust seem to grant them with more importance than those of the average angler . . . . . .

Far too often they are wholly biased due to their income being derived from angling matches, angling writings and angling-related sales.

binka · Jun 22, 2015

Peter Jacobs said:
I'm afraid that I have little or no time for a professional angler's opinion on the length of the Close Season, or the fact that the Angling Trust seem to grant them with more importance than those of the average angler . . . . . .

Far too often they are wholly biased due to their income being derived from angling matches, angling writings and angling-related sales.

I see your point Peter but I try and remove their status and look at what it is they are actually saying, in this case it just happens to coincide with my own observations and feelings on the subject.

I am otherwise quite wary too if I think the angler might have ulterior motives.

So Frustrating.

flightliner

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bennygesserit

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