Licences Checked

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Bob Gill

Guest
Hi,
I posted a poll concerning this on Barbel Fishing World and would like to ask users of this forum to get a wider view. I would like to ask 'How Often Was Your Licence Checked Last Season'. By checked I mean directly checked by Club Official or EA Bailiff. The poll on BFW gives the following options:

Once last Season
More than once last season
Not at all last season
Not for the last two or more seasons

I'd be interested in the results.

Cheers

Bob
 
M

Malcolm Bason

Guest
Once last season.

It was boiling hot in mid summer and he was walking round in a collar and tie - he must have been suffering!!
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

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Four times last season by EA Officer, three times the season before. Same guy, same river. We ended up on friendly terms but he still asks to see my licence even when he's seen it only a week previously. Which is fine, he's doing the job as it was meant to be done.
 
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john conway

Guest
Once last season.

However, I now know the the EA Baliff and I've seen him checking other guys a couple of times between Christmas and the Foot & Mouth closure. Our Baliff is also an angler. Don't try and fish the river Lune without a Licence.
 
D

Davy North

Guest
Three times in Thirty odd years!

And one of those times we'd called water
authority (in the days before the EA) out ourselves because of large amount of what looked like soap suds coming down the river. The first thing he did was check or licences.

I suppose the reason I don't get asked more is only due to the remote places I tend to fish. A baliff isn't likely to drive two miles down a farm track then walk a another few miles on the off chance someone might be there.
 
C

Carp Angler

Guest
Not for the last two or more seasons

I've been checked once in 28 years by the water authority.
I've had my club book checked once aswell.
This was last winter with Brummie, this is despite fishing at least 3 times a week and being a member of 5 clubs.
 
S

Stewart Bloor

Guest
None last season, but only once before, not by an EA official but a club baliff.
Mind, to bring it in perspective, I do fish often in darkness and unlike Graham I don't usually occuy the swim nearest the car park, but will move some distance away....
 
R

Rob Brownfield

Guest
In 26 years of fishing...once!! On the Lea...and I was made to but an extra one as one of my rods was laid in the margin, but a baited hook was in the water! All 2 inches of water that is!!
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

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Maybe you should start fishing nearer to the car park then Sedge. Car park swims get fed the most and you've always got more time and energy left for fishing being as you haven't wasted it on a long walk.

But on a more serious note (for a change just lately) some anglers have got a phobia against those swims nearest to the car park, thinking that they're not 'proper' anglers unless they've walked a long way to the nearest little fished swim. It's true, they'll fish anywhere except the car park swims, just on principle.

In fact, there are plenty of anglers who think you're not a 'proper' angler unless you're prepared to suffer a bit. You know, sit in the rain with no brolly, don't have a hot drink or anything to eat, walk as far as you can, and whatever you do, DON'T sit on a chair, only a piece of plastic will do if you're hard.

Me, I'm as soft as a brush. But not in the head.
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
Never, although we did see a bailiff last season for the first time.
 
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Paul Williams

Guest
Some of those close to the car park swims are terrific after dark....when the big barbs move in to mop up all the bait that has been thrown in at the end of the day.....i remember taking eight barbs over 7lb, including three doubles after three guys packed up!!....the fish will capitalise on a food source.
 
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Mike Harrison

Guest
I can only remember twice in over 50years of angling that I have had my licence checked,
maybe some area's are better served by EA Enforcement Officers than others!
 
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Peter Morton

Guest
Four times last season,three times the season before.Am i being persecuted or just stalked?

On a more serious note,our club secretary insists that new license's are shown on the first match after april 1st.Anyone not in posession of one is not allowed to fish any club match until one is produced.This is quite easy to enforce as we are quite a small club with only 40 members.
 
J

jeff burgess

Guest
Once last year.
On a free stretch of the Medway in Maidstone.

If buying a day ticket I always show the licence.

No counterfoil on the licence this year. Remember to make a note of the number.
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
Someone told me they only patrol "popular" venues up here so they can make the maximum number of checks with the small number of bailiffs they have but I don't know if there's any truth in that.
 
S

Stewart Bloor

Guest
Chris I'm sure there's an element of truth in that. After all, each baliff will cost the EA so much per hour in terms of costs. In any business, it's imperative to get maximum use of your resources, so to have a baliff patrolling water a that has average 2 anglers per km and water b that has 30 per km, it makes sense to concentrate on b. Of course, it could be raised that the EA is not a business in that sense of the word. But they still need to be cost effective. If I was dealing with a situation as described above, I'ld probably work out a percentage of where each baliff spent his time in terms of water a and b. I'm sure the EA do something like that.
 
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peter webber

Guest
I had mine checked 3 times last season white fishing large comps. Out side of the comps I've not seen one for years.
A lake I used to fish about 15 years ago every sunday there way an EA baliff every weekend.
 
A

Andrew Miller

Guest
The only time I ever had my licence checked was during Bank holiday weekends. The rest of the year they don't seem to bother.

Windy
 
D

DAVE COOPER

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Once last season and once the season before. Prior to that, not once from 1965 when I started.

But in the interests of angling I would never even consider that a reason for not buying one, but I guess that there will always be the scum core that will try and dodge it for greeds sake.
 
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