Why do so few anglers fish our rivers?!

I just cant get my head around why so few anglers fish our rivers compared to other venues? For me, rivers hold my heart! Mainly because I love finding little pockets of "untouched" beauty and the variety on offer. I rarely know for sure what will be on the end of my hook.

Whats your favorite type of venue and why?

I fish rivers but not in the aria I live .I travel 30 or 40 miles to fish rivers.

I had a smiler conversation last week on the lake with some others

This was some of the answers
1. The EA do nothing to maintain the swims which are all over grown
2. Dog s**t all over the place
3. Cyclists fly up and down the banks
4. Safety
5. Accessibility
6. Parking

I'm a river fan too. I like the solitude, beauty and wildlife that you find on rivers and struggle to find on busy stillwaters. I'm also a big fan of mobile methods of fishing with the minimum of gear and this in particular suits river fishing.

chrissh said:

I fish rivers but not in the aria I live .I travel 30 or 40 miles to fish rivers.

I had a smiler conversation last week on the lake with some others

This was some of the answers
1. The EA do nothing to maintain the swims which are all over grown
2. Dog s**t all over the place
3. Cyclists fly up and down the banks
4. Safety
5. Accessibility
6. Parking

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All of the above !

Plus I’ve not fished a river since Charles married Diana ! I have had a big break in fishing .
Would love to but
A) don’t want to travel to far due to time limitations
B) most of the River Soar looks overgrown near me
C) finding a local day ticket water might be difficult.
D) free to fish in the Soar at local city park, but I’d probably be mugged for my kit and thrown in!

But saying that I might have a bash at a weir I came across recently this week



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There are so many reasons, most perfectly understandable, some less so.
I believe that the primary reason comes down to the average age of anglers steadily rising. That combines with accessibility issues. Lots of the older river men simply can't manage long walks with fishing gear. The few older river anglers I do still see tend to be on stretches where the access if easy.

When it comes to the younger anglers out there, I believe that the majority simply have no idea how to fish a river anything close to competently. You can be a pretty competent river angler and still get rather patchy results. Many people simply have no desire to fish venues that aren't fairly consistent. Especially if there are long walks involved. Rivers just aren't convenient enough for many and they don't offer particularly consistent fishing and regular decent bags of fish.

Similar can be seen on stillwaters that are difficult, don't have the greatest access, have relatively low stock levels or don't have especially big fish (for the area they are in). They tend to be largely ignored too.

The river is almost literally on my doorstep and i keep seeing decent fish that i'm not yet clever enough to catch.

My ideal fishing heaven has always been floatfishing the margin of a pond or small lake, no doubt stems back to my first memories of actual fishing which was fishing a small muddy pond that had crucians to nearly 2lb and rudd to nearly a pound, and very little else. *drifts off down memory lane*

Where were we? Oh yes, there's a nice pond 15 mins walk from here which is wild and free. Local angler whose knowledge i trust reckons there's some really darkly coloured tench in there, so that's definitely on the list.

As things go right now the river wins because i have some kind of sciatica going on and it turns out that the sort of clambering around you have to do when roving the river makes it go away whereas sitting still in any kind of chair that isn't a sofa gives me immense grief.

I believe you can add security of ones vehicle to the list.

The majority go to commercials these days, rivers have no appeal, no people to talk to, no carp or catfish, few fish of any description more often than not, no amenities, comfort, safety, just want to have a good time, meet other anglers and families, make friends and the chance of catching some decent fish. Its no good being all purist about it, they don't care about any of that, they enjoy what they enjoy...
I can drive along a free stretch of river on a sunny Sunday afternoon and not see one angler, yet many commercials will be packed out. Rivers just don't appeal anymore to the majority. I wouldn't be sure of this but I think the decline in river fishing corresponded with the rise of commercials.

Not another commercial debate, just answering the question as I see it.

To add to the above post,you can't bivvy up in many swims on the rivers,feeling like the big white Hunter chasing the larger species,I must say that going fishing an odd day with a smallish bag is ok,but carrying the matchbox,massive holdall and carryall is enormously heavy,so walking across several fields is not do-able,least not for me anyway,as I have aged, the repeated walking daily on my holiday does my knees in,uneven banks etc,it's not the actual walk(which I enjoy),but stones underfoot etc.

I think Sam's first paragraph is pertinent. I have miles of the Thames almost within walking distance (without tackle!) and I can honestly say I hardly ever see an angler on the banks I walk through the year. And the prime reason, I suggest, is access for older folk to reach the water. Those that are fished anything like regularly have small clearings made available by decent farmers where cars can park. Even these are unused during the week...
I have some lovely looking stretches (Marlow/Henley/Temple for example) but trying to park close is a nightmare and most is governed by council parking anyway.

The other factor is the boats. Long gone are the days of a few boats chugging by occasionally. Now it's huge vessels by the dozen, and if not them then passenger steamers of sorts. NOT to say you cannot find quieter stretches around weirs etc. but for this you need to travel. Having said that, I also have the beautiful River Loddon fairly close by - miles of it - and this too will not see an angler week in, week out.

All of this water offers some great fishing IF you make the effort, AND can find somewhere to park without walking miles (I don't have trolley), or pay car park charges, to fish the choice swims away from towns. In addition, we have the safety aspect; Open to the public because of public footpaths, it doesn't fill me with joy if I thought about early/late fishing. I'm too old for fisty cuffs!

No, give me a nice still water away from hassle and with good parking every time.............


I do wonder just how many anglers go fishing on a regular basis these days. From my observations, not too many!!

Tee-Cee said:

No, give me a nice still water away from hassle and with good parking every time.............


I do wonder just how many anglers go fishing on a regular basis these days. From my observations, not too many!!

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I visit Weybridge a few times a year, whole slew of angling round there, Thames, River Wey, Wey Canal and a bit of the Basingstoke Canal. Car parking right next to the Thames but it costs, the Wey canal bit was free but now taken over by a club, The Basingstoke Canal bit I am not sure about but both difficult to fish, narrow path, boats etc. However, lots of chimney pots around but never seen anyone fish any of it. I don't know where the nearest commercial is but I bet they have plenty fish it. It does baffle me a bit but it is as I said in my post, its just what the majority seem to want these days. I think the attractions just outdo rivers for most people.

Just thinking about the "MP joins angling trust to take your kids fishing". Where you going to take them, where are they going to get looked after, be safe, catch some fish, have an ice cream, maybe their own fishing spot, meet other kids, have the most fun-river or commercial!

Rivers for me, top reason being that most anglers don't fish them, peace and solitude for as long as I can manage them.
I accept the banks will need clearing, head high nettles cut back, can't get a seat into a swim and cows to swear at, but it is worth it. All my waters are 70 - 100 miles so fishing trips are rare and treasured and last thing I want is to find loads of other anglers when I arrive there.

I continued to fish rivers when because of mobility problems I had to resort to using my mobility scooter to get me to where I wanted to fish but as the river became less fished even that was out of the question because of overgrown paths.

Now I have to rely on others to be able to fish rivers, both for access and safety on the bank. Chris's first comment about an aging angling population and access is certainly the reason for me not being on the rivers although I have put my name on a waiting list for a good stretch that has good access for the less mobile angler.

I do know of stretches of the Trent that I could fish and I did join last season but wont be doing so this season since I had a PM from a member of FM about human $h!t all over the place, there are other club stretches with good access that I don't want to fish, I wont fish where I don't want to just to say I am fishing a river there would be no pleasure in that for me.

Another point worth raising is the lack of stocks in some rivers, lots of reasons that I don't want to get into some rivers have suffered more than others in a decline in stocks, its unfortunate and complex, anglers nowadays expect to catch every time they fish or they move to another water.

Some great post here offering the exact insight I was after, thank you. The only thing I wish to contest is people not feeling safe.. Have you guys really experienced harassment/intimidation on the bank? I have had one bad experience whereby I was fishing a VERY secluded venue and walked in on two poachers gill netting. The situation got heated and I dont think the language barrier helped but my trusty fishing knife helped me express myself

Maybe there's a different breed of anglers round these parts as the scrotes are all over the rivers like a bad rash. Even the geniune coffin dodgers will treck along miles of steep nettle covered bankings to get to the very effin swims I treck too!
I've started setting traps in the hope that the regular dodgers will fall foul of and injure themselves sufficiently so as to put an end to their trecking capabilities and so leaving the best swims vacant for me ..

O.C.F.Disorder said:

Some great post here offering the exact insight I was after, thank you. The only thing I wish to contest is people not feeling safe.. Have you guys really experienced harassment/intimidation on the bank? I have had one bad experience whereby I was fishing a VERY secluded venue and walked in on two poachers gill netting. The situation got heated and I dont think the language barrier helped but my trusty fishing knife helped me express myself

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I very often experience harrsment and intimidation on the bank, infact I try to intimidate as many as I can whilst out fishing to keep the banks clear (especially of those pescky coffin dodgers) for myself lol.

..............and he isnt joking! Tigger can be very intimidating!LOL

To add a comment as a member of the young(er) community of anglers, main reasons for me not fishing rivers as often as I would like to:

1) Club memberships - The whole mess of who owns which meter of which river gives me headache. I spent hours and hours trying to find out if you need membership to fish a river, what club is it, is there day ticket, how to get it etc only to arrive to river and find that all the information was missing or wrong. Last time I wanted to fish a river I found out that there are as many as 5 different clubs claiming some stretches and some of them overlap. If I do not get put off by hours of research, I realise that I would have to go for annual membership which is usually around £100 and involves sending cash in envelope to some bloke and hope for the best. I have tried couple of times to just go to a river and hope for the best (bailiff going around giving me day ticket) but was labeled as a poacher one too many times to bother with that. Unfortunately this results in me mainly going back to the same stretch of single river which is known for not having much fish in it.

2) Time & Location - Unfortunately I have extremely limited time to fish and nearest river is an hour drive from me. This river is not considered very exciting for fishing but it is river nevertheless. Rarely I can just disappear for a days session usually I can get about 4-6hours time, take out 2 hours driving and you are not left with much. This is bi-weekly privilege and all in all not close enough time to learn the river and yield any kind of good result. I am considering night sessions (when baby goes to sleep I am free!) but I am not sure if I can feel safe alone at night beside river.

3) Lack of skill & knowledge - Goes with lack of time available, I still consider myself as a novice angler and I lack the confidence to fish rivers on regular basis. When I do arrive to the river I seem to be lost as to where to start, what method to choose etc. Loaded from books and the internet I seem to be overwhelmed with information which most probably results with me trying to do too much or try too many things at once. I could definitely use some personal guidance for river fishing but I find it very difficult in the UK to find any.

That being said, I have not fished commercial for a while now and when I do get a chance I shoot down to the river and hope for the best. The bliss of surroundings and connection to the nature is priceless.

O.C.F.Disorder said:

I just cant get my head around why so few anglers fish our rivers compared to other venues? For me, rivers hold my heart! Mainly because I love finding little pockets of "untouched" beauty and the variety on offer. I rarely know for sure what will be on the end of my hook.

Whats your favorite type of venue and why?

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Because most people want easy fishing, and commercials are dead easy.

mikench said:

..............and he isnt joking! Tigger can be very intimidating!LOL

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Lol Mike, you know i'm jokin :wh .