Above the law (rules)

[scoobs11]

i regularly fish matches .

 

do i break the law - no

 

i use one rod at a time ,how many of the pleasure fishermen out there use 3 rods with only one licence ?

 

as for keepnets if your not happy fishing somewhere that allows them, stay away it'll be your loss.

 

carp are kept in special keepnets that dont snag the fins.

 

how many folk slag keepnets and yet use tunnels/sacks ?

 

i know for a fact if my local pond did'nt run matches the day tickets would be a lot more expensive.

 

most of the big associations out there were started to run matches.

 

at the end of the day we are all anglers

 

live and let live is a very good motto

 

personally i dont pike fish but you dont hear me slagging off those that do.

 

scoob

 

[ 07 July 2002, 12:40 PM: Message edited by: scoobs11 ]

[Peter Waller]

scoobs11:

i regularly fish matches .

 

personally i dont pike fish but you dont hear me slagging off those that do.

 

scoob

Scoobs, I've abbreviated your quote, 'cause as you know, I fish for pike, mostly.

 

Scoobs, I go along with what you say in principal. And yes, my dig at match fishermen might be uncalled for , which maybe it was, but I have an underlying problem. Let me explain . . . . . . . .

 

Most caring pike specialists are aware of the impact of angling on pike. Pike thrive on neglect. We have to find a happy medium otherwise our sport is ruined. We are also aware of the problems of unsuitable tactics & techniques, caring pikers strive to do something about the problems. Granted we still have a long way to go, but we are on the right track via the PAC.

 

Carp & barbel anglers likewise go to sometimes extraordinary lengths to care for their prey. Caring people who specialise in single species do take fish conservation very seriously.

 

Match anglers, seen from where I'm sitting, appear to have a very different attitudes to fish handling. It isn't just mainstream match anglers that I'm refering to either. I've been to pike matches and fairly cringed at what I've seen.

 

Whilst I find it extreme I do admire the carper who dabs antisceptic cream on to a carp's wounds. I don't suppose yer average matchman would ever stop to look after a damaged fish, would they?

 

Scoobs, don't take any of this as personal, it's not intended.

 

I'm sure that the matchfishing fraternity must be aware of its impact on a fishery, yet it does not appear to be doing anything about it. Other groups try to educate re fish conservation / handling, but does the Match fraternity?

[scoobs11]

i'm not taking it personally rest assured coz i know my conscience is clear.

 

i recently caught a 20lb4oz carp on the pole in a match.

 

i was using gear that was up to it as much as can be expected anyway considering i was after tench/bream,

i spent a couple of mins making sure it was swimming upright in the net .

then after the weigh in made sure it swam away ok.

 

how much respect do pikers show eels they catch accidentaly or carpies show bream ?

 

not having a go at either or pointing the finger just trying to get accross the point that there are good and bad in all sports or disiplines of.

 

many fisheries simply would'nt exist without matchmen.most of the commercial fisheries youngsters start off fishing nowadays were dug to exploit match fishing.

 

so if nothing else good comes of the so called carp puddles they are keeping angling alive in many areas.

 

when i started fishing i used to pushbike 9 miles with a rod and a reel a couple of scrounged old floats and some shot and a packet of hooks.

bait was whatever i could dig out of the garden.

and at the end of the day i was happy if i caught a perch and a couple of tiny trout.

 

kids today wont do that + arent safe out alone doing that.

 

nowadays my pole alone costs more than the van i drive.

 

but i still have a couple of days a year on ullswater (no i dont still push bike there)

[Hereford_angler]

Thats an interesting point scoobs. About the licence i mean. I have 1 licence and fish 2 rods. I dont want to fish 3 rods because i know i will have to get another licence. I see many anglers fishing 3 rods. Sometimes i wonder if they even have 1 licence?

[coxie]

Excellent replies by davidP and Scoobs. Can't add much except to take issue with two of Peter Wallers comments.

 

Do you have any evidence that matches and matchmen effect fisheries in a negative way Peter? You mentioned the Trent. It was an absolutely superb venue some years back and was for several years despite the fact that there were almost daily matches held on it. Then it went off, in your opinion, because of match fishermen. Why, what did they do? The decline was sudden. After years of great fishing , suddenly the Trent became seemingly devoid of fish. Surely not overfishing! Take a venue like John Raison's Gold Valley Lakes in Aldershot. Heavily match-fished for years and just gets better and better.

 

The other point you made was how caring pike anglers are an asset to the sport. What about the uncaring ones and there are plenty? I think you'll find that there are just as many caring match fishermen and just as many tossers in both branches of the sport.

 

Are we above the law? NO. And take it from me, there are far more witnesses to dodgy practices in a match than there are on the average pike venue.

[Peter Waller]

Coxie, as I said, seen from where I'm sitting. No I don't have any absolute evidence. But you yourself have highlighted the ups & downs of the Trent for example. Just a coincidence, I don't know. The fact remains that it was heavily match fished & then went into sudden decline.

 

My own view, for what its worth, is that catching fish, little bigger than fry, even before they have even had time to breed, is not in the best interests of conservation. Okay, so they go back to grow bigger. Walk along a match length the day after & there are always dead small fish in the margins, they are just the ones that we see.

 

The keepnet issue has been well discussed, got to say that I'm in two minds over that issue as I do use a net on occasions.

 

Handling on the bank, as with ALL varieties of angler, there are widely differing standards. But the point I was trying to make is that I never read or hear of match anglers discussing or recommending ways of improving fish handling.

 

I am not an anti-match angler, just an anti-crap angler!

[scoobs11]

there is no discussion on fish handling on the bank coz there isnt any.

 

i unhook the fish in the keepnet from there it goes straight in the net.

 

the days of tumbling fish down the net are long gone.

 

since its either the fishery owner/bailiff who conducts the weigh in the fish are respected or your banned.

 

theres no ifs buts its simple

[Dai Fish]

What I cant stomach is the holier than thou crap, there is no branch of our sport that is without the need to look carefuly at its self and what its doing wrong and learn from it.

 

If any branch of our sport is not to your taste don't do it, there is nothing to be gained by criticising those that do.

 

I am not a match angler or a specimen angler, I am just an angler that loves this sport but cant stomach the back bitting and bitching

[scoobs11]

cue round of applause for dai fish

 

could'nt have said it better my self dai fish

[phil dean]

Having seen your van I'm glad to hear that your pole is worth more than it.......you'd have had one of the cheepest whips going otherwise

 

Don't carp fish, pike fish or matchfish. I do catch carp, I do catch pike and I do have an occasional wager with the mate I go fishing with.

 

I don't see that there is much of an issue...yes there is when match anglers lifted the fish by their eyes...or where the carp angler covers the lake with his rods to the exclusion of others or where the pike anglergags the pike before taking the hook out...but all these things are extremes...most of us try to get along with others.........it's the only way forward.