Now let's ban fishing

Colin Brett

Colin Brett

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From the Letters page of the Cambridge News 4th September 2002.

Now let's ban fishing!!

from Teresa Thom

I had the considerable displeasure of witnessing an act of great cruelty on a visit to a popular fishing spot near your offices on Saturday.

A group of people were engaged in a fishing match.

I could not believe that this hideous and grotesquely cruel practise is still permitted under British law.

Now that we are banning hunting with dogsin this country I am sure that we must ban this evil practise as soon as possible.

Please tell your readers that if they ever see this evil practise they are to approach the fishermen and women and tell them to stop.

I shall be returning to your area at the end of the month and looking for people who will support a ban on fishing.

James Street,
London W1

Enough said??????????????????????

Colin
 
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Leon Turner

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No, not enough said, or done. Get on your feet and march! The September 22nd march through London is not just about fox hunting.
 
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Richard Walton

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Everybody has aright to their own opinion, no matter how stupid or inane it is. I suppose that it's not often that Ms. Thorn gets out that much, so I suppose that when they let her out she has to make a "big splash" to make herself feel that she is making a contirbution to the human race.

Now if she wants to rant and rave about something, can't we suggest to her that she looks into the state of education in this country and the general attitude of the younger population. Most kids these days can name all 151 pokemon and tell you what each one will evolve into and how. But ask them a simple question like name 10 counties in England and they are totally stuffed... either that or they'll come round and beat the cr*p out of your aging mother for daring to ask them in the first place.
 
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Dan Silverwood

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First off, I guess that Colin Brett is a fisherman, so why has he let Ms. Snotty Pants use his account.

Match fishing is a problem with sea fishing, we at leader-lines.com have beening trying to change the way the matches are ran, killing sizeable fish just to win a prize is bad but killing dozens and then dumping them is even worst. Lets change matches to keeping just your biggest three fish for the weigh-in and return unwanted fish back to the sea alive, then maybe the Snotty Pants of this world would going forth and multiply.

Regards Dan
www.leader-lines.com
 
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Richard Walton

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Up until recently I belonged to the Bedford Sea Angling Club. Last year we decided that we would change the way we scored matches. In a move towards conservation we changed the scoring to a points, not weight system.

It works like this, you have to catch a fish over the minimum size limit, then you get a point for each inch in length. Say you catch a 16" cod, you get 14 points for the cod being over the minimum length of 14" plus 2" for each inch over the limit.

Some members were a bit sceptical about the system but it weems to work well. This way you measure the fish in the boat, it is witnessed by the other members aboard and recorded. You don't have to bring them ashore, unless you wish to keep them of course.

Richard Walton
http://www.walton-sea-angling.co.uk
 
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Dave O'L

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I still find it unbelievable that matches are still run this way.
For all reasons it doesn't make sense. It makes me so angry to see so called leaders of the sport with a bucket of tiny dead fish, most of which are no good for eating.

Mind you are boat anglers who come in with more boxes than they are going to eat any different?

A leading Sea writer wrote an article a few years ago describing how he caught up to a 100lbs of pollack from a local place. In it he decried a lady who wouldn't lend him her pram to move the fish, & then claimed it was Ok to take all those fish as the hotel he was staying in were going to use them.
What a Prat!
Lost all respect for him after that.
 
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Richard Walton

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I totally agree. I only take fish for the table if they are firstly above the minimum size and secondly if I hadn't tried one before. If it is a new, and edible species, I haven't caught before then I'll take it, try it and leave it at that. The only fish I'll take on a regular basis would be a sizeable Cod and even then I won't take more than a meal's worth. Of course, I've got to catch a Cod first and we all know how difficult that is getting these days.
 
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Tim West

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In cornwall there aint that much to catch anyway this isn't down to match fishing it's down to greed from our so call european friends
 
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Kieran Hanrahan

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HI

I was involved in an interesting discussion on the anglers net forum regarding the whole specimen / record and match situation.

As a result I have removed from my hobby website www.sea-angling-ireland.org the record and specimen details for all fish where the Irish Specimen Fish Committee require the actual dead fish or parts thereof... and I would encourage others to follow suit. The ISFC do not answer letters!

A general concensus has emerged that a move to a points system is the most attractive option, with possibly different points scales depending on the species.

The difficulty in shore matches is that you have to either accept an honour system (unlikely in big prize competitions) or you need almost as many adjudicators as competitors. Attempts at using the skippers on boat competitions have come unstuck when the fishing is frenzied...

Any recommendations?
 
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Dave O'L

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It has to be biggest fish in that case Kieran?
At least it'd stop a lot of smaller fish being removed.
Would probably fit in with 'keeping 1 or 2 for the pot' - of course if it's a not good eating species something that theory wouldn't work either.

Maybe have clear minimums & if no fish caught above that size, money goes to a fishing charity or goes into the pot for the next years????????????
 
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Kieran Hanrahan

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Does not have to be the biggest fish only.

The idea is that all the fish (bar those you want to eat or those that are too badly damaged) get put back.

Catch, record & release

Most competitions allow you list all your catch, some exclude fish below a certain size or weight, mostly IFSA or NFSA minimum sizes, or local standards...

Has anyone fished a competition recently where they came across catch & release friendly rules?
 
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joe foxall

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its praticed quiet alot in the north east, either catch and release or measure catch and release
 
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