I knew this would happen..

[Guest sslatter]

..as soon as I heard the first advert on radio.

 

"You must have a rod licence if you want to go fishing..etc etc."

 

Nowhere does it mention that it ONLY applies to freshwater.

 

..and now? Out on the estuary, the first bunch of little hooligan kids with shouts of:

 

"Bet you haven't got a licence mate, have you? Yeah? Where's ya licence mate?" etc etc..

 

..as they swagger past throwing stones at the swans.

 

Then.. a local "busybody" (who resents people angling on "their" piece of land- which of course is free to all) threatens to "get on to the council" and "report" me to the police for "fishing without a licence", all because I told her that a licence wasn't needed to fish for sea fish.

 

"I heard it on the radio. It said you need a licence "to fish anywhere"!" was one of the replies.

 

One of the worst sets of radio ads I've ever heard. Talk about public confusion.

[Steve Burke]

Sounds like you should complain to the Advertising Standards Authority, Graham.

[Leon Roskilly]

Graham X:

 

Nowhere does it mention that it ONLY applies to freshwater.

Not strictly true Graham.

 

It's not where you ar fishing that counts, it's what you are fishing for.

 

Out to the six mile limit, if fishing for coarse fish or salmon or sea trout you need an EA licence.

 

(The regulations for a licence also includes eels, but after considerable work by the NFSA, this was changed several years ago so that sea anglers no longer need a licence when fishing for eels).

 

see http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/cgi-bin/ubb/ul...ic;f=1;t=012462

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Peter Waller]

So I can go flounder or mullet fishing on my local river without a licence then Leon? That leaves a very wide door open for cheating the system then!

[Leon Roskilly]

Peter Waller:

So I can go flounder or mullet fishing on my local river without a licence then Leon? That leaves a very wide door open for cheating the system then!

"For enforcement, the Agency wll consider whether the angler is fishing at a location and with a method liable to catch these species."

 

I wouldn't bet on it Peter!

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Peter Waller]

Mullet on the fly is a delightful method of fishing. Who knows what nuisance fish I might catch!

[corydoras]

Leon Roskilly:

 

Out to the six mile limit

---

This is just daft. Can someone elucidate for me which coarse species one might encounter 6 miles out at sea?

[Tog]

yup daft,

Leon, Re: sea fish in rivers? is there a limit up a river to which you can fish for 'sea fish' (mullet / flounder / Bass etc)?

where would you measure it from?

my local club has a 'bait ban' till the 16th June from halfway up the harbour - is this legal?(no bread / maggot etc - not very mullet angler friendly)

At what point would 'magna carta' no longer apply and a fishing permit from the riperian owner be required?

[Leon Roskilly]

corydoras:

corydoras:

 

Out to the six mile limit

---

This is just daft. Can someone elucidate for me which coarse species one might encounter 6 miles out at sea?

Gotta draw the line somewhere!!

 

Last year Jim Gibbinson caught two 8oz roach fishing amongst the crabs and bladderwrack opposite Rochester Castle on the Medway (whilst fishing for mullet).

 

6 miles is an established legal limit for general fisheries management, and means that the EA regulation can cover both coarse fish and sea trout (makes for framing an easier sentence).

 

It also emphatically gives an answer to those who believe that fishing without the appropriate licence on the seaward side of a sluice, or in an estuary where the freshwater might push a long way out to 'sea', is OK.

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Leon Roskilly]

toggle:

yup daft,

Leon, Re: sea fish in rivers? is there a limit up a river to which you can fish for 'sea fish' (mullet / flounder / Bass etc)?

where would you measure it from?

my local club has a 'bait ban' till the 16th June from halfway up the harbour - is this legal?(no bread / maggot etc - not very mullet angler friendly)

At what point would 'magna carta' no longer apply and a fishing permit from the riperian owner be required?

In 'Grey Ghost' the National Mullet Club magazine:

 

"Members are reminded that it may be necessary to obtain a licence for some venues. Please check you have done this, as required. Please note that an Environment Agency Rod Licence is required (in additionto the aformentioned licence) for most rivers and some esturies incurred."

 

I think that the principle is that you may say that you are fishing for sea fish, but the EA bailiff will make his own mind up, considering the tackle and bait you are using.

 

(It's an ambition of mine to take a bass and a pike from the same swim, using the same method. Fortunately I do have an EA licence!)

 

The Magna Carta gives everyone the right to fish.

 

Interestingly it doesn't give us the right to fish without a licence!!

 

Any prosecution wouldn't be for illegal fishing, it would be for not possessing a fishing licence whilst fishing!

 

(By the way, you don't need a licence to drop a net over the side of a boat, anyone can set out nets. It's only illegal to sell fish caught from an unlicensed power boat see http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/sacn/ill_net.htm for an 'explanation' of that can of worms!)

 

Tight Lines - leon