Close season on rivers

[Guest David]

Why can we not get rid of these silly close seasons on rivers, the fish impose their own close season. We pay more again to the enviroment agency for our licence and its for a year that should be a full year and those who dont like a full open season stay away dont fish at that time of the year. It then becomes upto you you have paid your money so you should have a full 12 months.

[Guest Graham E]

David, I'm beginning to believe you are a paid up wind-up merchant!

 

Stick to your ponds and canals and let the real, wild fish have a rest.

[Guest Jonty]

Graham E (by the way, thanks for the Barbel Society membership application forms, Graham) said:-

 

David, I'm beginning to believe you are a paid up wind-up merchant!

Stick to your ponds and canals and let the real, wild fish have a rest.

 

Trouble is, Graham, they don't get a rest from the fluff-flingers, do they ?? - nor the salmon anglers with their worms, etc..??

 

Jonty

[Guest Graham E]

But Jonty, Game fishermen give their strictly game fisheries a long rest, allowing that many species are migratory.

 

On mixed waters Avon etc. The disturbance is limited and not many true Game boys would want to pickup chub and barbel when shoaling up to spawn.

 

Why do we (The angling profit makers at least)have to pursue our sport for 24hours a day 365 days a year. You get a very limited picture in the Angling Press, who's view is distorted by profit potential.

The common point made by them is...Show me the damage fishing all year round will cause.

Why take the risk for the greedy few?

[Guest oliver g]

it aint just about fish though is it,the close season gives everything a little time to heal,riverbank veggitation,those orrible muddy patches they call swims,it gives birds time to build there nests undisterbed,it also gives you time to think about your next project and save up to get some new gear + you cant beat that feeling at the start of a new season.

[Guest David]

Graham and jonty

Like you I have a right to view my opinion on subjects. Its called freedom of speech, I do not see why I can not fish rivers all year. All this about over fishing what rubbish when did you last see a river bank over flowing with anglers. I do know certain anglers who have this idea of the magical 16th June all hairy fairy rubbish but like myself they have a right to their views I may disagree but I at least respect that they have this right.

[Guest Adrian]

Abolishing the river closed season has serious implications.

1. The price of your club tickets would probably rise.

2. If the 'it wont cause any damage'argument is proved wrong, how long will it take to get the closed season back ?. The angling business interests will certainly lobby to keep their profits.

3. Do you trust Government scientists ?. You know, the ones who said cormorants are not a problem.

[Guest David]

Adrian, I see your points however other countries seem to manage without a close season. Are we not able to do it right.

Tackle shop in the past have really had a hard time in the close season, do you not feel it might go towards improving that side of things we have seen a lot of tackle shops go under. Some due to anglers taking it on thinking it would be a fun job and not understanding the bussines side of it?

[Guest waterman1013]

David the close season was introduced by Act of Parliament at the behest of anglers in Sheffield, after a very heated debate between angling groups in Sheffield and others based in London, who did not want a closed season.

 

The need was due to anglers from the newly industrialised cities and towns, going into the country and taking fish from the spawning grounds. In those days coarse fish formed an important supplement to many people's diet. Times have changed, but I wonder if anglers have. On many rivers there are distinct areas where fish shoal up prior to spawning and they would make ready targets for unscrupulous anglers, with rods, or even worse unscrupulous fish dealers with nets.

 

It has now become an anathema for people to eat their catch, but certainly when I was fishing the Thames around Oxford in the 60s, rumour had it that John Cadd regularly took his catch for the table. I don't know whether that was true or not but I lost count of the number of anglers who told me so on the bank. Personally I think they were jealous of the success he enjoyed with a succession of large fish from the river.

 

If MAFF do release the rivers from the closed season there will be price to pay. I'm not sure what it will be in terms of the environment, but I fear it will not be beneficial.

 

Mike

[Guest Steve Burke]

As already discussed in a previous thread in the Forum I'm against a blanket closed season on stillwaters. This is because I believe that it should be up to the individual fishery owner/manager to decide this issue, not central government. Some stillwaters need a closed season, other lightly fished ones don't.

 

However the issue of a river closed season is more complex because the vast majority of rivers are controlled by a large number of owners. Indeed often the opposite banks are owned by two different people. Additionally, unless stopped by weirs etc fish can freely move to a stretch of water controlled by someone else. Thus any decision by one owner could adversely affect the fishing further up or downstream.

 

What I do not accept is those who like the romance of an opening day imposing their views on the rest of us. With the current situation there are plenty of stillwaters and the whole of every river where they can enjoy their opening day.

 

For the sake of those who don't know me Id add that I'm very much a conservationist. Indeed I own and run 160 acres of nature reserve in Kent. This contains 4 gravel pits totalling over 80 acres of which only 2 are open to anglers. However it's anglers that pay the vast majority of the costs of the nature conservation work. Up to last year I had a closed season on both lakes. I then experimented with a winter closed season on one of the lakes. Because the waters are very lighly fished there was no adverse effect on being open through the spring. So this year I've abolished the closed season altogether on both lakes. However I accept that more heavily fished waters would benefit from a closed season, but this is no reason for a blanket ban.

 

The closed season was originally imposed to protect stocks and allow them to breed. This was at a time when many fish were taken for the table and, unlike today, few waters were overstocked and thus able to take such pressure.

 

On balance I'm happy with the present arrangement with only rivers having a closed season, and which I think is a reasonable compromise. However I suspect that the closed season will sdooner or later disappear altogether.

 

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Wingham Fisheries

www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm