Is Sea Angling A Dying Sport?

[Ken Davison South Wales]

i dont know about dying but the hearse is pulled up outside sea angler offices

 

That's rubbish, take a look on a few other uk sea angling forums, look at all the specialist clubs for mullet, bass and sharks.

 

If RSA is dying why are BASS and other organisations battling so hard?

 

I know hundreds more anglers today than I did 40 years ago.

 

No offence is meant but so much negative vibes is not on, I used to blank far more often 40 years ago than I do today and yet there were more fish then. Why because I have learnt by my mistakes, put in the time and enjoyed every moment of it.

 

You don't go fishing to blank, but by the same token you don't go fishing to catch, you go fishing to enjoy the doing of it.

[stavey]

but by the same token you don't go fishing to catch, you go fishing to enjoy the doing of it.

 

 

no ken you do! dont always presume that everybody has the same opinion as you, i have a very negative outlook on my fishing at certain times of the year which is perfectly justified, but i try to turn it into a possitive in other ways like i said earlier i use it as a motivation feeder, to kick me up the arse like a lot of us sea anglers could do with especially at this very present and important time..............

[Ken Davison South Wales]

no ken you do! dont always presume that everybody has the same opinion as you, i have a very negative outlook on my fishing at certain times of the year which is perfectly justified, but i try to turn it into a possitive in other ways like i said earlier i use it as a motivation feeder, to kick me up the arse like a lot of us sea anglers could do with especially at this very present and important time..............

 

Angling is a sport and in every sport there are winners and losers, but the enjoyment is taking part, winning is the cream on the cake.

 

Thread is about whether angling is in decline and I will stick by my statement and say a "Positive no it is not".

[Pugs]

Probably is, ain't no fish in the sea anymore

[Ken Davison South Wales]

I caught some last Saturday so did everyone else, all twenty plus.

 

Some did better than others but we all enjoyed it.

 

Met some new faces and a lot of young ones, keen youngsters and one chap my age just starting out.

 

A lot of faces missing on this forum I wonder why????

 

Maybe it is because they like fishing and are fed up with so much negative talk.

 

Probably get struck off for that but it is a fact.

[stavey]

Angling is a sport and in every sport there are winners and losers, but the enjoyment is taking part, winning is the cream on the cake.

 

Thread is about whether angling is in decline and I will stick by my statement and say a "Positive no it is not".

 

Dont make sence at all though ken, so what your saying in a way is that lesser fish in the sea= more people taking up sea angling as a hobby then? im sure thats just what the commercials would love to hear it would make it so easy for their arguements that their is plenty of fish in the sea etc, not much use to leon and the boys i dont think................

[maidstonemike]

Ahhhhhhh! I am laughing so much, I can't type any more...........

[Ken Davison South Wales]

Dont make sence at all though ken, so what your saying in a way is that lesser fish in the sea= more people taking up sea angling as a hobby then?

 

Where did I say there were less fish in the sea????

 

That quote is your conclusion not mine, your just making up things as you go along to try and support your theory that angling is on the decline, when it clearly is not.

 

Take a look at Sea Fishing & Sea Angling Online Magazine, go to South Wales and look at the number of meets being arranged, then look at other areas and your trying to tell me angling is on the way out LOL

 

The anti brigade must be watching all this negative talk on here and wondering if they even have to bother nailing the lid down.

[Guest binatone]

I remember the winter 86-87 probably the best year i can remember for small codling between 1 -3lb it was thick with them you could go any night on whitby beach flat calm or a swell on and you would catch fish.

Whitby peir was shoulder to shoulder most nights and i would say 90% of those on the peir all caught cod out of all the years i have been cod fishing from the shore which is 36years my record for numbers of cod in one session was of the west peir at whitby was 41 cod in 5hours fishing that was in the 86-87 winter one every cast you were only in the water miniutes and the rod was bouncing,i actually think if you had been using 3 hook rig i now believe you would have got them 3at a time there was so many fish there at times i dont think i ever blanked that winter it was crazy fishing and weights in our local club that year saw three anglers with over 300lb of cod for the winter season that has never been repeated and i doubht it will ,when you look at the state we are in now and you know what done the most damage to bring the situation to its knees it makes your blood boil a little.

I can remember 86 as well big cod. You’re correct there was a good run of codlings that year; it was one of the best winters that trawlers had (inside) that year.

It was not just Whitby, we where getting good hauls of codling again anywhere from south of head end and as far down as Blyth.

Strange that because ten years previous (76) a much bigger fleet out of Whitby couldn’t take a codling out the sea. Similar weather, about the same amount of feed in the water but not the fish? Did the angling boats in 87 have good year fishing?

Just wondered big cod, because if you where catching it by the fish shop full and we where filling the fish quay up then who would the boat anglers blame if there was no fish in the summer of 87?

So from your thread are you answering John and Michele’s question with a yes or a no or with an I don’t know, or have you not finished conferring yet with FLWTM like he did with you before you finish your thread? Strange that how at the beginning of his thread there wasn’t an angler to be seen and then he suddenly remembered that there was twice the amount that there was twenty years ago. Bless him. Like you say big cod it’s only banter. John and Michele I certainly don’t think that recreational fishing will ever die; I only hope that it doesn’t as I would hate to loose my pass time hobby, but I think you should be asking that W ATKINSON bloke, he seams to of always been at the top of competitions lists for as long as I can remember. I wonder if he has to come on a forum and blame others for doing so well year after year. Or is it that he just gets on with it? Long live sea angling and all that take part in there hobby and long live the commercial fisherman and all that take part in making there living.

[JB]

The rumour that pleasure boats will be unable to use commercial diesel in the future will not help matters. How this will affect charter boats, only time will tell

 

why ??

 

les

 

Hi Les,

The price of commercial diesel has almost trebled in the last two years. It is already an extra expense put on RSA with private boats with diesel engines. To more than double the price again would be a further burden. (And in my opinion, an unnecessary one.)

 

The same goes for charter boats. In most cases, the increase in fuel prices will have been absorbed by the owner of the charter boat and will come directly out of his profit. If the price were to be doubled again, I feel it would be too much to absorb and would have to be passed on to the customer. We all lose, and the government wins again.

 

JB

 

 

 

Reading through the posts it seems that the one thing of most importance is Bass. Wurzel tells me they are working their way north. I hope he is right. We don’t generally fish much further south than the Wash, and haven’t caught one yet.

 

In my general area, the number of charter boat anglers have definitely declined. Years ago, many days in the summer would see 500 or more anglers arriving at Whitby to go off on charter boats. There were more anglers than seats on boats and many times I saw disappointed anglers having to return home because they could not get a place. Nowadays, if 100 anglers arrive in town, it is a big day. On many days, only a handful turn up.

 

It seems that to remain viable in charter angling you have to ensure you get a bigger slice of an ever-decreasing pie. It certainly isn’t the job it used to be. Please understand I am not complaining for myself, as I have found my own niche and am very happy in it – so don’t worry, the violins aren’t playing in the background. I am just observing that the numbers of anglers (and consequently, charter boats) have declined.

 

 

 

 

if i was you john i would not think to far ahead with your current business ideas on catching cod on distant marks mate i think by the end of this decade it will soon be like the cod fishing down here, non existant, unless us sea anglers do something about it that is, forget the commercials they wont do jack sh*t only exasperate the problem................

 

Hi Stavey,

I see where you are coming from. Fortunately for me, I don’t anticipate a reduction in my fishing as it is almost a marine reserve I fish in. Or at least it is with regard to commercial fishing activity. In the thousands of square miles, there are only a handful of commercial boats and me out there, now that the sandeel ships are stopped. However, the long term plan is to put Michele and myself on a similar latitude to your brother.

 

JB