Bob Bradford

I do not wish to muddy the waters further, but I seem to recall they were driving identical vehicles,with identical hidden tanks installed? maybe they were charged with different offences but I fail to see how.

Mark, How can Williams be any more guilty than Banks? surely the sentence will be the same ? £800 fine and £500 costs or to put it another way....what is Williams guilty of that Banks is not? please enlighten me.

Chris Bishop the PAC press officer pointed this to me via a phone call tonight; Pike anglers were urged to follow the PAC’s code of conduct tonight after two high-profile anglers pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle livebaits from the UK to Ireland. Holyhead magistrates heard Nigel Williams and Gary Banks were stopped in May as they boarded a ferry from Holyhead, North Wales, to Ireland. Customs officers found 100 carp, roach and goldfish, in the boot of Williams’s car, the court was told. Williams, 48, and Banks, 37, were travelling to Ireland for a fishing trip, taking the fish with them for use as bait. The men, both from Wolverhampton, were later charged with exporting live fish without a health certificate. Williams, who did not attend the hearing, entered a guilty plea via letter to the court. Banks, who attended in person, also admitted the offence. The case against Williams was adjourned until December 21 when he will be sentenced at the same court. Banks was fined £800 and ordered to pay £500 costs. In a statement after the hearing, the Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain said: "Our code of conduct calls on our members to respect byelaws and not to transfer fish illegally from water to water. "We urge all pike anglers to fish responsibly and not to jeopardise either the waters they fish or the image of pike fishing, at a time when we are coming under increasing scrutiny. "While there are those who would claim activities such as translocating livebaits are commonplace, there have only been a handful of prosecutions involving pike anglers since the translocation of baits without Environment Agency consent was banned." Earlier Stephen Smith, prosecuting on behalf of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told the court the transport of live fish without the correct documentation had been banned to prevent the spread of disease. He said the case, which cost more than £5000, had been brought to deter other anglers. “Mr Williams is something of a celebrity angler, he is very high profile in the angling world,” he added. “The defendants in this case knew what they were doing. They knew it was not appropriate to take live fish out of Wales to Ireland. "These are two high profile anglers and we must be seen to take these processes seriously otherwise it opens the floodgates for other people.'' In a letter handed to the court, Williams said he "deeply regretted'' his actions. John Meredith, defending Banks, said his client was a recreational fisherman who was "very sorry'' for what he had done. PAC chairman Colin Goodge said: "This is a sorry episode which reflects badly on pike fishing at a time when more than ever, we need to show that we are capable of pursuing our sport responsibly. "British pike anglers have enjoyed the hospitality of the people of Ireland for more than three decades and it does us untold harm when this hospitality is abused, particularly by two prominent anglers who should be setting an example to others. "In view of some of the threats our sport faces nearer home, we would urge all pike anglers - whether they are PAC members or not - to fish responsibly and in accordance with our code of conduct.''

A couple of points here; Firstly ,because I have made inquiry's , I can confirm that Mr Williams neither asked for or received payment from the Angling Times. Secondly, Well done the Angling Times on producing an article that will interest a great many of us, I for one am looking forward to next weeks edition. Budgie....stranger things have happened mate! remember O.J Simpso.....? er.... I appear to have mis -spelled his name.

Thats a fair point Dunk, his actions do not constitute a "mistake" well,at least that is not my interpretation of a genuine mistake, he planned everything he did .

The whole article has not been printed yet Brian and I have not read it either, I do not know if he has been paid for the interview by AT, I will try to find out, ...at least he has always held his hands up for his "crime" that does him some credit in my eyes.

This lifted from the new Angling Times site.....should make for some interesting reading. NIGE Williams – the most successful pike angler this country has ever produced – will plead guilty in court this week to the charge of attempting to smuggle live fish into Ireland. Angling Times associate editor, Steve Partner, met him to discuss why he did it and how it left him regretting ‘the biggest mistake of my life.’ For the full interview, read next week’s AT, out on November 21.

Waveney One wrote; "I can assure you that more money is spent by the EA on fisheries than is ever recovered from licence sales." Do you have the figures readily at hand please Richard?

Nils your English is infinitely better than some of the other posters on here

Keeping with the theme and away from catch/kill/release issues...I have to say your report on here is fascinating and looks to be excellent fun....thank you very much for sharing it with us Mark, alas this Saturday I have "other duties" around the home to perform and Sunday I am fishing a winter league match at Barford...but i never forget a face and I am sure we will meet in the future, in the meantime , if you have any more of the same I am sure it would be appreciated, you sure are a multi skilled Piker! regards Bob.

OK Mr Waller I will relent .......for now, I hope and pray you truly are on the side of anglers, all anglers, that wish to fish the Norfolk Broads as you say you are. A very interesting post Mark Crame and good luck to you, earlier in the summer I spoke to a couple of canoeist with a Sat Nav on board on the Yare one Saturday whilst fishing a match....could it be one of them was you?

"I would certainly have nothing to do with Browning or Marcel Van den Eynde products till I they break their association with him or he puts out a proper retraction." Really? thats a bit OTT....... tell me Mr Matthew what angling brand names do you purchase? anything Chinese by chance? there HUMAN rights are a major issue.....your having a laugh mate. I did say try to get things into perspective?. "Presumably if his comments were misreported he will be taking legal action because this has serioulsy undermined his reputation and could easily lose him his sponsorship. " It's never wise to presume....although it does seem to be a major trait of yours. I am not going to continue this trivial little spat with you Mr Matthew, all this tit for tat stuff is very tiresome, I have illustrated how easy it is above...but it is so pointless so get off my back and do something worthwhile for a change.

Well whilst you are tearing into them Mr Waller please remember some anglers like to fish with a long pole...not all anglers fish from or own boats and some anglers fish for species other than Pike. I have two questions for you Mr Waller that the forum may be interested in knowing the answer to; You say you represent anglers and their interests on the Norfolk Broads....why is it then that you did not alert your fellow anglers to the proposal to ban long poles on the Broads system ? Where is the petition to sign opposing this proposal?

Mr Matthew, just take a look at the very first page on this thread...and than tell me that Match anglers have not been singled out by some of the posters on here, I have read similar crap on some of the other forums also....Bob Nudd says this ...Bob Nudd says that....and all the matchmen blindly follow .....crap! One last time ....Bob Nudd did not write the words that appeared in the News of the World...... he did have a telephone conversation with a reporter...who in turn published a small article in his paper....Bob Nudd has stated clearly he was mis-represented and did not in fact advocate a wholesale pike slaughter fest....he admits he perceives a "problem" and would like something done about it....THAT IS ALL HE IS GUILTY OF. Some of you even called for him to come on here and "clear things up".....can you blame the man for not complying? Some of the things that have been said about one of the true Greats of angling are nothing short of appalling and all because it was in the News of the World...so it must be true! For Gods sake try to gain a sense of perspective, he has done nothing illegal, nor to my knowledge has he killed innocent pike or incited others to do so....so why the witch hunt? I spoke out against the "Holyhead incident" not because it involved two high profile pike anglers ...but because what they did was totally illegal...there is a HUGE difference between the two unfortunate incidents IMO. The Bob Nudd "incident" has been blown up out of all proportions and self appointed spokeman or not, I feel compelled to point this out to some of you....let it go and concentrate on the real villains within our sport/pastime....please?

HA!

Message for Chris Bishop...I cannot reach you via PM or E-mail to supply you with my mobile number....your set-up will not allow it.

Do I condemn what Bob Nudd said? What did he ACTUALLY say? I have repeatedly stated he has been badly represented in the N.O.T.W. and I stand by that. Budgie, I have repeatedly stated that to assume anglers (particularly match anglers) are suddenly going to start murdering pike because of one spurious little article in a Sunday rag is both insulting and stupid......but THAT is what many on here are suggesting.......that sort of prejudice needs addressing IMO and as I do not see anyone else doing it I picked up the gauntlet....however my words appear to be pointless and now some of you are rounding on me....amazing! I don't care that some of you do not agree with my thoughts but do not start getting personal. regards Bob.

By the way the objection to long poles on the Broads was raised as a navigation issue by a member of the BA navigation committee...aparantly the poles are a hazard and nuisance to boaters....the fact that there are very few areas on the entire Broads system (and that is a vast area!) where poles are used in any number seems to cut no ice with the weekend admirals.....ironically now that it looks like the boaters rights to sail where they wish (navigation yet again) is under threat they are turning to anglers for support....well not this one thank you very much, I will support them if they leave anglers to enjoy their perfectly legal sport in peace however.

No, not spite Steve just a deep mistrust...I feel like anglers have been knifed in the back and are now being asked to support the very people that perpetrated the deed, who knows what other plans these people have for the helpless angler? Anglers do have Representatives that are supposed to be consulted over issues like the banning of long poles or any angling issue regarding the BA .....but that has not been the case ....and THAT is what sets my alarm bells ringing....would you support any motion you are not 100% sure about? I will not change my mind on this issue so Mr Waller will have to do without my support...I am sure he will manage.

Contrary to popular belief on here I have no "hatchet " to bury regarding Mr Waller, I bear him no malice because he has not done anything to deserve it to me (not to my knowledge anyway) I do believe passionately however that Mr Waller is trying to hunt with the hounds and run with the fox, he calls it compromise, I cannot see how a boater can fight the corner of Anglers or vice versa, only my opinion of course and one which I am happy to share with others on a forum that is here as a platform for opinions.....unless I am incorrect with that as opinion well! In a nutshell I am not happy with Mr Waller and the other members of the BA Navigation committee forwarding a motion for long poles to be banned from the Broads, remember us anglers were not forewarned or asked about this, and the only reason any of you are aware of this (other than Mr Waller) is because I stumbled across it on another forum, I am very uneasy supporting anything to do with the boating fraternity because of this........that is all .

Smudger, of course Pike anglers are entitled to voice their opinions...where have I stated to the contrary? In a match situation I would be disqualified if I allowed another angler to fish my peg mate. Chris , I would be delighted to meet you for a pint and discuss what I know, we both may learn something, I will PM you my mobile number when I return from work,regards Bob. Mark, You are wrong mate, but if it makes you feel better think what you like, I listened to you on Keith's radio show last week and you came across as a sensible,reasonable sort of bloke and were no-where near so opinionated then.

No, I decline the offer on here Mark and I do not think you will get your pound of flesh from Bob Nudd either....looks like two dropped takes in one night mate .

You could do Mark although once again you would be wrong, once again it is your opinion and not fact. I am not anti pike or pike anglers but I have refused to supply live bait to pikers asking for them on more than one occasion, I also refuse to stay silent when fish are nicked ( I know how it was done, but do not know who did it) for dead-baits, I also openly condemn the Holyhead incident, the fact that he is the leading Pike angler in the Country is irrelevant....if it had been a match angler I would have condemned it...right is right and wrong is wrong. Bob Nudd has done nothing illegal regarding his alleged words in the N.O.T.W the two cases you have chosen to highlight most definitely were illegal, you need to get things into perspective Mark.

Do what you like Mr Waller, If I had not stumbled upon it on Speakers Corner and exposed it on here ...would you have even mentioned it? You will not acquire my vote with blackmail and I and my fellow anglers look forward to the day the BA try enforcing such ludicrous legislation if it is ever passed, I regularly read the comments on Speakers Corner and know how the weekend sailor boys view angling on the Broads...it turns my stomach.

On the contrary LJ I do not feel backed into a corner at all, I have every confidence that my fellow match men will not suddenly become raving Pike murderers because of a small article in a Sunday rag, as for apologies perhaps some of the posters on this thread could start the ball rolling and rescind their ridiculous claims to the contrary, this whole "debate" is now bordering on the farcical fueled by anglers with a hidden agenda against match anglers, as for the inexperienced angler picking up and acting on the alleged words of Bob Nudd....how can they even know who he is? This whole sorry episode has been blown up out of all proportion by experienced anglers that really should know better.