Good publicity?

[Ken Davison South Wales]

The story does not stack up that well for me, just a little to pat, vet nurse, nurses dog all seems a little ify to me and as I read it, it was a hook on each end of a short length of line reading as if they were both secured, possible wishbone rig. I certainly would not like to think any animal was caught up on a hook but if records were checked I bet barbwire injures more pets and wild animals every year. PETA agent me thinks.

[Steve Coppolo]

I can't really see a baited rig being discarded. Was the angler present at the time the dog ate it?

 

By the way Norm, it definately wasn't a boat rig because the crabs would have stripped the hooks bare before it washed ashore. Probably a match fishermans rig hanging up on his tripod. I had no idea dogs liked maddies.

[glennk]

I once hooked my own dog in the gum with a baited hook that had fallen out of my bag onto the drive when I got home. I was absolutely distrought and sat with him most of the night until I could get him to the vets. The bill was just short of £50 and that was on a Sunday morning.

 

Although Ive always been careful I vowed from that day to be even more so and all traces go into my bucket with a sealed lid. I dont think anglers leave hooks on beaches on purpose and I know 99.9% make a very conscious effort to leave the beach as we found it.

 

These things happen and I dont think for one moment it was done on purpose.

[Leon Roskilly]

It's not an unusual story

 

 

http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/Dog...hook.3886737.jp

 

 

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/Dog-d...il/article.html

 

 

 

http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/content/camden/ha...3A02%3A16%3A537

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/6722103.stm

 

http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/Fish-ho...ffie.3581105.jp

[Elton]

Leon,

 

Got any links to dogs that haven't been hooked by anglers? There must be millions every day.

 

I clicked on your links:

 

- two were accidents that involved the owners of the dogs being careless with their own fishing tackle (one of those was within their own house).

 

- one was blamed on illegal poachers.

 

- one was on RSPB land, which even had the RSPB spokesperson saying, "I've never come across a fish hook on the footpath before. That's very unusual." And, let's be honest, the RSPB aren't known as fans of angling.

 

- and the first link you posted is, perhaps, the most bizarre. A wire rig on a beach, with a fish bait, treble hook on the bottom attached to a single hook.

 

I'd say that all of those are very unusual stories.

[Leon Roskilly]

I'd say that all of those are very unusual stories.

 

Hi Elton,

 

They were the ones I came up with in a just few seconds.

 

I knew that a quick google would produce some results because as part of my 'job' of monitoring media for fishing stories, I get a depressing number of stories about dogs and fish-hooks.

 

But not nearly so many as for swans, and other waterfowl

 

(I also get a lot of good ones along the lines of youngsters and disabled people's lives being turned for the better because they were taken angling (and they are the ones that I'm really after))

 

Yes, some of the horror stories are a bit suspicious, but a steady stream of such public relations disasters really isn't helpful.

 

Taking line and damaged tackle home with us, gathering litter, is something that I hope that most of us on here do.

 

Important too to ensure that line is changed regularly to avoid degraded line from breaking and causing problems.

 

On freshwater venues, if the angler can't reach tackle lost on the far bank, or up a tree, it should be reported to the bailiff, club or fishery owner (They would far rather be informed by an angler, so that they can deal with it, than by a member of a public calling the RSPCA down to the venue to deal with a tangled bird, and the resulting publicity).

 

On the beach, in the dark, it's so easy to lose track of a rig set aside, and tired and cold leave the beach leaving behind a dropped hook etc.

 

But it's vital to do a good last sweep of the area, with a torch, even if you are wet, tired and cold.

 

Last year I lost three rigs on the retrieve, to close-in snags (I stripped that brand of line from my reel when I got home, it was breaking well below it's stated bs, maybe just a bad batch).

 

I waited for the tide to retreat, and got all three rigs back (with bait still on the hook!), and another.

 

(OK I wanted my leads and rigs back, but I believe that at least a few of these dog swallowing hooks stories on the beach are probably as a result of lost tackle being exposed at low water).

 

Fishing tackle and wildlife and fishing tackle and pets are bad news, literally.

 

Golden rules are:

 

. Never discard tackle or litter - take it home (unwanted line should be cut into short sections before going in the bin)

 

. Never leave bait exposed on a hook unless its in the water fishing.

 

. Make sure that your line is up to the job intended.

 

. If you do lose tackle, it's your responsibility to retrieve it.

 

. If you can't, report it.

 

Thankfully, all (or at least most) of us on here don't need to be told that.

 

And when we introduce others to our passion, we teach them well.

 

But we have to keep repeating the message whenever possible so that it becomes ingrained in the whole angling community.

 

The consequences of not doing so will be disasterous for all of us.

Edited February 7, 2009 by Leon Roskilly

[Elton]

I totally agree, Leon. You get the odd idiot, or the odd genuine mistake, that can lead to bad press, but anglers in general don't act that way and shouldn't have to feel guilty about going fishing every time such articles appear in the press.

 

I relate it to my friend who takes his daughter to see Ipswich Town at home games. I don't see him as a drunken nazi thug, fuelled on alcohol, tooled up and itching for a fight. Unfortunately, when the press 'report' on football fandom, however, that's the kind of image they like to portray to us. "Bloke Takes Daughter To Football. Buys A Burger, Comes Home" doesn't make for a catchy headline

 

One of my favourite items of 'tackle' is a bucket. One of it's many uses is the gentle art of "bunging all my crap in it" when packing up. When I pack up at night, especially, I hate faffing around. I want to go. Therefore, all rigs are snipped off at the swivel, bunged in the bucket with my rubbish bag (which, according to Steve would be full of Coke bottles and empty wholesale pork pie wrappers ) and put in the big bucket for sorting later.

 

Which has just reminded me that that last one is still in the garage...unsorted. That's gonna smell good

 

One thing that does strike me about these "dogs on beach" stories is where are all the gulls? Most beaches, you've only got to turn round for a pee and the thieving sods are all over you.

[essexbuoy]

The angler in you should see the potential for live-baiting - I'll get my coat

[Leon Roskilly]

One of my favourite items of 'tackle' is a bucket. ................

 

I used to dump it all in my tackle box.......... then I discovered the bucket

 

 

Which has just reminded me that that last one is still in the garage...unsorted. That's gonna smell good

 

 

AAAArgghhhhhh!

 

You've just rminded me that there's a packet of squid in my er, ........tackle box

[Steve Coppolo]

I knew that a quick google would produce some results because as part of my 'job' of monitoring media for fishing stories, I get a depressing number of stories about dogs and fish-hooks.

 

I thought you'd 'retired'?

Edited February 7, 2009 by Steve Coppolo