2002/03 Rod Licence

[chesters1]

unfortunatly your mainly correct ,for example the university i`ve almost finished working for ,on the recondmendation of a so called "academic" decided i needed a £10,000 p.c.b mill (it uses a very fine "drill" to score out the copper tracks) all this was done and demonstrated to the academic without my knowledge (bearing in mind that i would be using it ,as i made all the p.c.b`s) funding was obtained (with £10,00 i could have bought a new p.c.b room)

the thing was delivered ,the buyer proudly (with some heads of departments) showed me it ,when i told him it was obselete ,told me that i didnt have a clue about p.c.b`s ,this was infront of quite a few people who knew nothing about circuit boards whatso ever who probably took his side (he was an academic after all).the mill could score a track down to 0.2 of a mm ,i was already producing tracks less than 0.1 mm .

who was right? he was ,i was only the person that "did"

needless to say the mill has never made anything ,even his star pupil destroyed board after board doing what what i could do for 35p a sqaure inch with a laser printer,light and ferric chloride.

the moral is speak to the person who "does" not the person who "says"

[Chris Playle]

I got my new rod licence at my local Post Office. Living in a rural community I though it better to support the small post office that sign up on-line.

 

Agreed, on-line is alot easier, in terms of not actually getting out of the house to buy it, but I'd rather support and keep the local post office since the next one is some 7 to 10 miles away.

 

I got my licence just a quick as I would have done on the website anyhow.

 

Six of one and half a dozen of the other.

 

Either way I have payed my dues and given my bit to the EA. All ends up in the same money pot at the end of the day.

 

Tight Lines All.

 

Chris

[Ian B]

Can I throw a low ball in here chaps. Can anyone give me a good reason WHY I should buy a licence? In 8 years I have NEVER been asked for it. I tend to fish in remote locations, not for any other reason than that suits me. I am a carer for my wife and have to struggle by on about £55 per week so spending £21 on a damn silly bit of paper that I have never been asked for from an organisation that does BU**er all for me personally seems a little strange. I am sure SOMEONE will give me a reason.

[phil dean]

1. Bought mine on line on Sunday, the point about local PO's is well made, but for those of us in the city, who'd forgotten to buy one until Sunday, it was great, and great too for the chap who started last july and thought licences ran year to year, after a moment of anoyance he went home, signed up, and was back on the bank within an hour....pretty good for a bank holiday.

 

2. As to the final comment....can someone give this person a link to the numerous previous threads on this issue.

 

I've been asked twice, once I didn't have it (had just moved house and lost it, though the EA sorted the problem out for me thankfully)but if I hadn't had one I would now have a criminal record(not much use for a solicitor)

 

PLUS The EA's funding to a large part comes from licences, they're not perfect, but compared to the old days of the main polluters 9the water authorities) being the main enforcers, the sysdtem is far better and I'm happy to do my bit,

 

Further

paying our bit means that we have a justifiable right to question how and what the EA do for us and our fisheries and, were it necessary, it is likely that because of this the courts would allow us to apply for judicial review of an EA decision where appropriate.

[Polly]

Our financial contribution(£21 + 25p)remains outstanding value, £21.25 divided by 365 = under 6 pence a day and even if you only fish one day a month it will only have cost you £1.77. Not bad for a day's entertainment thinks I, especially when I see people paying over £4 for 20 cigarettes, £2.50 for a pint of beer and how much would it cost to entertain ones self by sitting on this site all day instead of sitting on the bank fishing? Such a nominal sum of money should not be moaned at although I realise some are not as financially lucky as myself. Maybe the EA could have consessionary fees for those able to prove low income or create a scheme whereby said people could carry out voluntry work such as bankside litter clearing, swim clearing or even a few hours bailifing a week to pay for their license.

I think the term rod & line license is out dated and should be revamped to EA Angling Section Membership or some similar smart sounding title. You shouldn't need a license to use a rod and line, it's hardly a dangerous weapon now is it. I think if people felt they were joining some sort of club (hense membership)then they'd not begrudge parting with a few pennies!!!!. I for one would willingly pay "twice" what we do now to enjoy my sport and if need be would make cut backs elswhere.

[Ian B]

Polly,

I agree with the fact that the licence fee is equal to 6p a day which i agree is good VFM. I am not being petty or blowing my own trumpet when I say I neither smoke or drink and have not done so for over 10 years now. I still do not understand what the EA does for ME. You might be in a position to pay double for your licence as are a lot of people however I am not and £21 out of £55 is one hell of a chunk especially when the kids say "Oh no, not beans again" or "What do you mean no evening meal tonight, Oh you got a fishing licence, well bl**dy marvellous" Do you see my point? Trying to save 6p a day does not work because something like Gas, Electricity, kids shoes etc always comes up, I think concessionary licences should be extended to the unemployed, Carers etc. As for your idea about cleaning banks or swims or being a baliff for a licence BRILLIANT. I'll do it no trouble at all. I still pose my original question "Why should I buy one?"

[davidP]

Ian B:

Can I throw a low ball in here chaps. Can anyone give me a good reason WHY I should buy a licence? In 8 years I have NEVER been asked for it. I tend to fish in remote locations, not for any other reason than that suits me. I am a carer for my wife and have to struggle by on about £55 per week so spending £21 on a damn silly bit of paper that I have never been asked for from an organisation that does BU**er all for me personally seems a little strange. I am sure SOMEONE will give me a reason.

I haven't been asked to show my road tax licence or TV licence for a few years but that doesn't mean I shouldn't buy one.

 

You say that the EA does nothing for you personally. Have you asked them for anything? Have you reported a pollution or a problem that had half a dozen blokes and many thousands of pounds worth of equipment on the bank saving fish inside a couple of hours? Have you fished a water they've surveyed, advised, restocked or repaired? Have you fished a water where they've taken action to stop polluters and pollutants? The EA don?t go out of their way to publicise a lot of what they do. Publicity costs money and their remit is to look after the environment not talk about it.

They do more than most people realise and above all most of them are passionate about fish. They're on our side and have more knowledge than most can dream of, yet so many anglers just sit and complain about them without actually taking the time to find out.

 

Unfortunately the money they receive from anglers and in Government grants has been effectively reduced over the years making the service somewhat thinner on the ground. Cost-effectiveness plays a part in so many things these days, particularly with modern management by numbers where everything has to be quantified and justified. So where is a bailiff?s time better spent? Walking 5 miles of river to find 5 anglers or down the local complex where he can find and check 100 anglers in an hour? Personally I'd think the first option a waste of his time and money unless he had good reason to be there. And having said, that I'd rather see him out doing fisheries work instead of checking licences anyway. I?d be quite happy to never have my licence checked again if it meant that my money was being spent on fisheries work. I?ve got to be honest and say that I?ve never really understood why people complain about not being checked anyway (especially as people then grumble about the inconvenience when they are!). I?ve come to the conclusion that in many cases it?s because people are jealous that others may be fishing for free when they paid £21 for a licence.

 

Unfortunately human nature means that there will always be those who want to break the law and so a certain amount of licence checking needs to be done if only to 'scare' people into buying a licence. There?s a school of thought that if ?anglers? don?t think their sport is worth £21 a year to protect it then perhaps the sport is better off without them. I?m not sure I fully subscribe to this view but I can certainly hold some sympathy for it.

[Guest Ferret1959]

Got mine 1/2 price consession via DD.Delivered last Sat by post.

No problem

[Polly]

Ian B:

Polly,

I agree with the fact that the licence fee is equal to 6p a day which i agree is good VFM. I am not being petty or blowing my own trumpet when I say I neither smoke or drink and have not done so for over 10 years now. I still do not understand what the EA does for ME. You might be in a position to pay double for your licence as are a lot of people however I am not and £21 out of £55 is one hell of a chunk especially when the kids say "Oh no, not beans again" or "What do you mean no evening meal tonight, Oh you got a fishing licence, well bl**dy marvellous" Do you see my point? Trying to save 6p a day does not work because something like Gas, Electricity, kids shoes etc always comes up, I think concessionary licences should be extended to the unemployed, Carers etc. As for your idea about cleaning banks or swims or being a baliff for a licence BRILLIANT. I'll do it no trouble at all. I still pose my original question "Why should I buy one?"

The £21 covers you for 52 weeks so it's not such a big chunk of £55 x 52 = £2860 is it? 0.73% unless I'm very much mistaken. I too am a non-smoker and have been now for some 15 months, I do however enjoy a pint or two. My 2 children frequently have beans (Tesco blue stripe!) on toast (again Tesco blue stripe bread!). I empathise with you financial position but find it difficult to believe that you cant find 40p or so every week to pay for your license. Why not drop any loose change (copper coins)into a sealed bottle or jar every week, it soon adds up. Anyway as money is so tight how do you fund internet access to visit this site? Maybe a few less hours in front of the screen would allow you to pay for your license without the worry of not being able to eat. You could then fish with a clear concience in the knowledge that you were legal and not breaking the law everytime you take to the bank.

I think others replies have given a good indication of what it is that the EA do for their money.

[Dave Hill]

Ian,

 

This is clearly none of my business BUT...

 

How the hell can you survive at all on £55.00 per week with children as well??????

 

Surely you must be entitled to some kind of benefit or extra income (Income support perhaps?)???

 

£55.00 surely cannot be the sum total of your family's income... please don't answer that, its rhetorical and none of my business but as far as I am concerned if that is the case you deserve a lot more support from the state than you are apparently getting!!