Mark Wintle
Well-known member
Although Ron wants to ascribe such a label to the late Victorian/Edwardian and 1947-97 eras, I think that the last ten years ending 2008 were truly the golden age. Just before otter damage kicked in big time the chub, barbel, perch, carp, crucian and tench catches collectively surpass all that went before. It's time to take off the rose-tinted specs and look at what really happened.
Fish that would have been the fish of the decade in most of the previous eras were reported on a weekly basis. A recent example was that one of my local RDAA pits, a water where a few little skimmers and roach were par for the course 30 years ago, has just produced a new carp best at 47lbs 3oz, yet that is barely within 20lbs of the record!
It's easy to forget the problems of the past but pollution, netting, abstraction and dredging were catastrophic 1850-1980 compared to the last decade. The taking of fish for the table only stopped post WW2 and that in itself curtailed top weights but climate change, the maturation of many gravel pits and eutrophication have also collectively altered things.
Some forms of coarse fishing are truly in the past. Great dace fishing is rare even if there are the odd pocket of big ones. River roach fishing is hard to find.
Match fishing has been declining since 1950 - the term 'open to all England' pretty much a joke now that entries are typically 20 compared to 2000 60 years ago.
Fish that would have been the fish of the decade in most of the previous eras were reported on a weekly basis. A recent example was that one of my local RDAA pits, a water where a few little skimmers and roach were par for the course 30 years ago, has just produced a new carp best at 47lbs 3oz, yet that is barely within 20lbs of the record!
It's easy to forget the problems of the past but pollution, netting, abstraction and dredging were catastrophic 1850-1980 compared to the last decade. The taking of fish for the table only stopped post WW2 and that in itself curtailed top weights but climate change, the maturation of many gravel pits and eutrophication have also collectively altered things.
Some forms of coarse fishing are truly in the past. Great dace fishing is rare even if there are the odd pocket of big ones. River roach fishing is hard to find.
Match fishing has been declining since 1950 - the term 'open to all England' pretty much a joke now that entries are typically 20 compared to 2000 60 years ago.