Scum

[Philip]

It is a sad state of affairs and always bad to hear about people having to go through this.

I often fish alone in some places were I stand quite a good chance of -without putting too fine a point on it- basically having my head kicked in ….river and canal embankments on city outskirts, that sort of thing, often into darkness, its not so clever really and I would not really advise it but I am quite a big bloke which helps and I have avoided trouble up to now by taking a few precautions…First I tuck myself away as much as possible so I am not standing out like a sore thumb. I always make sure I can’t be seen from a road to avoid drive by scumbags. I keep lights to a minimum and I certainly don’t light a fire or stove or anything like that. If its near the road I don’t park my car on top of me..I park it away from me so the car is not drawing anyone to me.

Finally I make sure I have memorized the name of the nearest road and a landmark, I keep my mobile to hand and if it looked like I was heading for trouble I would immediately phone the police and blurt out the location, I think/hope they would at the very least send their nearest car to do a drive by.

 

[wayne brooks]

10 years of martial arts and a 12" machete, shame they didn't pick on me! i'd make swingers out of there fingers so they could never pick up anyones tackle again.

adjustable soveriegn ring weights also available/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

 

[dean?o]

i agree, shame they didn`t pick on us when we was there. 3 against 2 would have turned the tables nicely and suprised the heck out them. it is a sign of the times at the moment that the so called new generation feel they can do and take what and when they want. bottom line is, we anglers need to stick together and look out for each other and if that means thrashing them to within an inch of their lives then so be it. they take the gamble so let them have some good old fashioned discipline dished out.

 

[wayne brooks]

that poor bloke should have shouted for help. most of us are really light sleepers when we're fishing at night so loads of people prob would have come running to his aid.

 

[dean?o]

i agree wayne, we would have heard him from were we was and would have helped.

 

[ron withey]

sorry to hear about this but this just goes to show even the peacefull setting of your lake scrum like this can strike .its no good locking them up they will get respect off all the other scrum lock up they need public embrassment tried to a wagon and drove round and people throw rotten fruit at them then their pictures placed on large bill boards

 

[wayne brooks]

consideringthe amount of money that linear make they should have baliffs there at night just walking round with a torch checking up on things. 1 baliff for every two lakes should be good enough.

 

[Cliff Hatton 2]

In fishing and in everyday life, bailiffs, PCOs, Neighbourhood Watch schemes, CCTV should all be unnecessary: if the penal system was anything like sensible the majority of crimes simply wouldn't occur. Because the police and the rest of the judicial system have been emasculated by government crime continues virtually unhindered - giving rise to H M Big Brother's contention that we all need 'protecting'...cue another few thousand cameras; people are ever so grateful. Those 50-plussers amongst us will recall how the media fed us a non-stop, never-ending horror-story about the Eastern Bloc surveillance-society - "God forbid we should ever live under such a system...thank God we're free here in the west"

Oh, yeah? The papers are strangely quiet nowadays...think about it.

 

[Kiwi Carper]

Very sad story but its not a recent thing....sounds like what happened every weekend on Sale Marina in Stretford.25 yers ago.....one guy had all his tackle taken and then they came back for his car keys...I used to fish it alone, well at least alone except for my ever so "friendly" german shepherd....funny how "night time visitors" were few and far between to my bivvy....

 

[Andy Pryce]

Maybe a high power air pistol would help?

Also, if you guys catch any scum nicking gear you should give them a good kicking - it's probably the only thing they understand and let's face it the law does little to deter them.

As for staying awake all night - maybe fine for one night, but not really possible for a 3 day session (unless you resort to amphetamine). Sleeping doesn't defeat the point of being there. I am awake during the day and lightly asleep during the night, waiting for a screaming run.

I used to go fishing with my son-in-law, but after he and my daughter split up he broke off contact. Sometimes my misses comes with me to cook the food etc and net the fish - mostly I have to fish alone these days so I will choose venues that lock the gates at night stopping any nearby vehiclular access and minimising the risk.

 

[trev (100M bronze)]

<blockquote class=quoteheader>wayne brooks wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>

that poor bloke should have shouted for help. most of us are really light sleepers when we're fishing at night so loads of people prob would have come running to his aid.</blockquote>
If all anglers carried whistles and agreed with each other to come a running if one was heard then we could all look out for each other. Anglers get targetted because they are most often alone and vulnerable. If there were a few other anglers with large banksticks on the scene within seconds that would even up the odds nicely.

 

[Andy Pryce]

The whistle idea seems a good one.

Another idea would be a panic button on the buzzer alarm's remote, which would transmit on a common frequency, setting off ALL buzzers within range.

 

[trev (100M bronze)]

Ok Andy thats a bit too expensive to be realistic. What about the guy that hasnt got an alarm ?

 

[trev (100M bronze)]

and anyway you would have a lake full of anglers concentrating on ther rods all at the same time instead of devoting a few minutes to save someones kit or life.

 

[Andy Pryce]

Obviously it would have to be a different sound to the bite indication. Yeah it would be a bit too expensive to be practical, but the way things are going who knows in the future maybe we will have such a system.

Either that, or we will all be fishing syndicate waters surrounded by 16 foot high walls topped with razor wire and intruder alarms.

 

[wayne brooks]

whistle idea is a great one, costs pennies not much to carry about and in time everyone will be in on the idea. every time you go fishing tell your neighbour and if he aint got one give him a spare one. maybe the lakes owners should supply them when they come round to get your money and then you keep it afterwards.

 

[trev (100M bronze)]

There is another thread titled motion sensors in the bait box bit which is discussing the same thing.

 

[Merv Harrison]

I should imagine blowing a whistle several times, whether expecting assistance or not, would have a scare-offeffect on anyone attempting to 'thieve' any tackle.

 

[james lynch 2]

Was fishing once and some fools tryed takeing my tackle,As i was alone but had my trusty old baiting needle,So one of them copped for it stright in the ars* ! Only got away with a £2 baiting needle !!! ITS WHAT I CALLED UNLUCK

 

[james lynch 2]

UNLUCKY LOL