Keepnets yes or no

[chub angler]

This is going to go round and round and we all are not going to agree on the subject so its pointless.

 

[Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)]

And you didn't realise that when you posted? /forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

Same thing comes up every year.

Same with the close season debate.

Try a thread on barbless hooks or something about still water barbel or better still - still water barbel in keepnets /forum/smilies/tongue_out_smiley.gif

 

[chub angler]

stillwater barbel in keepnets no thanks

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

<blockquote class=quoteheader>chub angler wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>Ray I think keeping the fish in your keep net like you said to recover is not to bad but what happens if a fish goes tits up in the net and you dont see itand the carp in a sack from the night before is shocking</blockquote>


Thats where fixing the net in the correct way comes in.

Many anglers just throw the keepnet in, some with a weight attached to the bottom, this just sinks the bottom of the net, out of sight. I dont.

I fix the net so I can see the lentgh of the net, so if a fish turns tits up, I see it. I don't go walking around whilst a fish is being retained.

I know a very well known angler who kept a Barbel in a sack all night, well that was his story, it was that or he was fishing out of hours. No one said a thing when it was in the press, just to make is worse, it was pegged out in a cattle drink.

 

[Dave Slater]

As with all things this is a matter of common sense. I do not think fish should be retained as a matter of routine but there are occasions when it is appropriate. I retain the occasional very large fish in a sack prior to photographing, sometimes to contact somebody to do the photos. This is a very rare occurrence, however, and is only done with very large fish and they always go back without ill effects. For slightly smaller fish if I am fishing alone I do a quick photo on a sack or weighsling with a rod and reel next to the fish to show the size. If somebody else is there I sometimes get them to take some photos for me.I do not photograph lesser fish, as I can't see the point, and these are releaed immediately and sometimes unhooked in the water if fishing a swim with a lot of fish in it.

I do not own a keepnet but I do not think they need to be too much of a problem if used sensibly and only when necessary. On the stretches I fish now I release my fish away from the swim to avoid spooking the others. A keepnet may serve the same purpose but I do not think they should be used as a matter of routine. I release my fish away from the swim as there are not vast shoals present. When I used to fish places with large shoals of fish some years ago I used to release them straight away in the swim I was fishing and still keep catching, so I am not sure if keepnets are necessary where there are a lot of fish. As an experiment I have released fish straight into the swim I am fishing on the less densely populated stretches and have not caught anything else.

 

[Graham Whatmore]

Chub, if you have never used a keepnet how do you know they harm fish? Have you gone round asking those that do to lift their keepnets for you to inspect. Have you indisputable evidence that using a keepnet harms fish? Or are you basing your belief that they shouldn't be used on heresay and opinion?

People of my age grew up using keepnets in all forms of fishing and those keepnets though much shorter than the ones used today never to my knowledge killed or harmed a fish. I have fished hundreds of matches where keepnets were used and have yet to see fish damaged by them, the exception being when barbel became the quarry on the Severn and then I did see dead barbel floating down the river but that was soon remedied when the match anglers realised it was caused through too many fish in one net.

I would venture to suggest that there are more barbel killed by so called caring anglers through putting them back before they have recovered than ever get killed by match anglers. Go watch any match on a carp fishery and count the dead ones that are weighed in but I don't think you will find even a few if any at all, and don't say they die later because that is a total fallacy. Yes some carp die in match fisheries but so do carp and bream in non match fisheries every year, sometimes as a result of being spawn bound, sometimes through the stress of the breeding season itself, others through disease. Mis-handling is the cause of most fish deaths on fisheries not keepnets.

 

[chub angler]

I think using keepnets are causing the fish stress they dont need . And I have to admit I have never seen a dead fish in a keepnet that has been killed by the net. But I have seen them with scales in which means they can cause scale damage. The stress argument you could say we stress fish by catching them full stop. But why cant we minimise the stress we do cause the fish by not using them anymore. You mentioned about dead barbel which means they can cause deaths in certain circumstances.Be honest how many times have you seen people with 40-50lb of chub and barbel in one net.Just because you have grown up using them it doesn't mean its right to use them. And kids will see keepnets being used by older anglers and being kids they learn by copying what they see older anglers doing.As Dave said you can solve the problem of spooking shoal matesby releasing them slightly up stream. Ive never seen anyone kill a barbel by releasing it to soon but most locals have grown up barbeling. And know how to handle them and a lot of them dont put barbel in a keepnet even when they are using one. most of my objection to keepnets is my own opinion and what I have read in magazines and seen on DVDs. how many fish can you put in one keepnet safely?. if youwant to use them its up to you. carp matches most use more than one net each angler and if keepnets areharmless why are they banned from so many still waters.

 

[chub angler]

I can understand retaining a record fish for witnessing and photoing. But that would be one fish in a net and have plenty of space. Why do you need to retain average sized fish just so you can see all the fish you have caught that session. Assome people find multiple fish pictures in bad taste. who likes to see 10or 11 fish laid out on a mat together nowadays. I'M not trying to offend anyone I'm trying to explain why I dont like keep nets for pleasure fishing.

 

[Graham Whatmore]

Never mind keepnets what about platforms?

Where do you stand on platforms?

 

[Peter Jacobs]

"Where do you stand on platforms? "

Well, providing that they are stable enough, then you can stand anywhere you like on them.

[ insert U-No-Wot - - - > H E R E ]

 

[chub angler]

I think Ive dug a deep enough hole for my self already thank you Graham I dont need any more help