Should we have a ban on Summer Pike fishing?

[Rich_]

Along with my son I gave it a really hard go the winter before last, tried shore, boat, fished shallow, fished deep, fished in between, tried every dead bait we are allowed (sea fish only),

 

I obviously fish the same waters as you do, and it annoys me every year this same old debate is trotted out, and I wonder how the views of the few who keep bringing it up would alter if they had to spend a Winter behind sea fish dead bait rods on one of the big lakes (or worse still.. Mockerkin ). Not been on here for a long time but You seem have made all the necessary points in your other posts by the look of it. It's not only bait restrictions. What some people don't seem to understand is that where we live the big lakes and hill tarns are really the only fishing we have coarse fishing wise, If I want to catch a chub or barbel it's a 200 mile minimum round trip to Yorkshire and that's getting too expensive fuel wise. On some lakes there might be 10 miles plus of bank and you are restricted to fishing two or three stretches of a hundred yards or so due to private ownership or nature reserves, some lakes don't allow you to launch a boat and at least one local pike water is closed to angling from October to June for some archaic bye-law or something. other huge waters restrict you to rowing only which can make them dangerous in anything but calm weather.

 

We do OK with lures and trolled baits at this time of year when we get the boat out but December was a write off for boat fishing due to severe gales and torrential rain. You can do OK on the bank with dead bait but lately on a couple of my local venues they just don't seem to be wanting deadbaits so to stand any good chance you need to be out in the boat. Apart from this i've not had any problems returning the fish I've been catching for the last 30 years or seen evidence that they swallow bait here any more in summer (when I tend to mostly lure fish any way) than they do in winter.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Rich_

[Emma two]

I obviously fish the same waters as you do, and it annoys me every year this same old debate is trotted out, and I wonder how the views of the few who keep bringing it up would alter if they had to spend a Winter behind sea fish dead bait rods on one of the big lakes (or worse still.. Mockerkin ). Not been on here for a long time but You seem have made all the necessary points in your other posts by the look of it. It's not only bait restrictions. What some people don't seem to understand is that where we live the big lakes and hill tarns are really the only fishing we have coarse fishing wise, If I want to catch a chub or barbel it's a 200 mile minimum round trip to Yorkshire and that's getting too expensive fuel wise. On some lakes there might be 10 miles plus of bank and you are restricted to fishing two or three stretches of a hundred yards or so due to private ownership or nature reserves, some lakes don't allow you to launch a boat and at least one local pike water is closed to angling from October to June for some archaic bye-law or something. other huge waters restrict you to rowing only which can make them dangerous in anything but calm weather.

 

We do OK with lures and trolled baits at this time of year when we get the boat out but December was a write off for boat fishing due to severe gales and torrential rain. You can do OK on the bank with dead bait but lately on a couple of my local venues they just don't seem to be wanting deadbaits so to stand any good chance you need to be out in the boat. Apart from this i've not had any problems returning the fish I've been catching for the last 30 years or seen evidence that they swallow bait here any more in summer (when I tend to mostly lure fish any way) than they do in winter.

 

Rich, Your post is very welcome. I'm glad that you and Danny have turned up in here.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Emma two

[Rich_]

Anglers wanting to impose more restrictions on angling, is something I don't understand . A national live bait ban would not affect my fishing one jot but I'd defend anyone else's right to do it elsewhere. You could also construct an argument as to why fishing for them from Christmas to March was wrong too if you wanted, but then where would we be?

 

The notion of a "pike season" in Winter seems to be something more associated with central & southern England from years gone by, and I doubt it had anything to do with pike welfare. Before pike angling started to become more fashionable at the end of the 70s or something, pike were considered vermin by most and many big ones were chin gaffed, killed and stuffed by those that did fish for them.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Rich_

[Dick Dastardly]

I feel its just as irresponsible for Northern anglers to defend summer piking across the board (or really I should say "across the nation" as it is for Southern anglers to say its wrong across the board! Common sense guys its all about individual waters geographical location and therefore local weather trends and indeed fishing pressure.

[Brian Carragher]

I feel its just as irresponsible for Northern anglers to defend summer piking across the board (or really I should say "across the nation" as it is for Southern anglers to say its wrong across the board! Common sense guys its all about individual waters geographical location and therefore local weather trends and indeed fishing pressure.

 

Budgie 10/10 mate thats the most sensible post on here so far

 

I've kept out of this so far as I tend to with all of these similar ban summer piking topics because I feel they're loaded anyway, I summer pike always have and always will but I fish in just about the most oxygenated water in england, the Tees. It has the higheat waterfall in england along with a series of others and comes from glacial type lakes high up on the Pennines but I do draw the line at fishing for any species including barbel in times of extreme drought

 

Polls like this one only serve to cause division amongst anglers when there is no need for it and only serve to feed the anti's with half truths and misinformation which then gets used against us but in a much more professional and organised way than we as anglers are able to counter

 

The danger to angling comes from anglers and from within angling from daft polls like this and from daft comments that call for bans of this and that and more especially of bans that don't affect the original posters, get a grip boys and girls and stop feeding trolls and P^ ta and associated anti's that might just bite you on the arse when you're least expecting it

[Rich_]

Polls like this one only serve to cause division amongst anglers when there is no need for it and only serve to feed the anti's with half truths and misinformation which then gets used against us but in a much more professional and organised way than we as anglers are able to counter

 

The danger to angling comes from anglers and from within angling from daft polls like this and from daft comments that call for bans of this and that and more especially of bans that don't affect the original posters, get a grip boys and girls and stop feeding trolls and P^ ta and associated anti's that might just bite you on the arse when you're least expecting it

 

You're dead right Brian, starting discussions like this in public is divisive and it's shooting yourself in the foot, presumably to gain some kind of perceived moral high ground, and it's like a stuck record.

[Dales]

You're dead right Brian, starting discussions like this in public is divisive and it's shooting yourself in the foot, presumably to gain some kind of perceived moral high ground, and it's like a stuck record.

 

Out of interest what are forums like this for?

 

My thoughts are to debate various topics including some that may be a little thorny. If anything your post could be construed as shooting angling in the foot as you obviously feel that angling has topics that should be hidden away from public view.

[Anderoo]

I feel its just as irresponsible for Northern anglers to defend summer piking across the board (or really I should say "across the nation" as it is for Southern anglers to say its wrong across the board! Common sense guys its all about individual waters geographical location and therefore local weather trends and indeed fishing pressure.

 

Exactly, well said.

[Rich_]

Out of interest what are forums like this for?

 

Ideally , for discussing angling and all its methods, including thorny ones like livebaiting, or peoples angling experiences. Not as a platform to vote for further restrictions upon your own sport, that's the bit I don't understand.

 

There is nothing to hide away, and I have no moral issues with our angling the way it is in the UK.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Rich_

[gozzer]

Ideally , for discussing angling and all its methods or peoples angling experiences. Not as a platform to vote for further restrictions upon your own sport, that's the bit I don't understand.

 

There is nothing to hide away, and I have no moral issues with our angling the way it is in the UK.

 

Speaking as an 'onlooker', any thread that starts with the mention of banning something, annoys me. We have too many restrictions enforced on us already, without asking for more. As to the poll, those who say "it's up to the individual" to make the choice, have IMO, got it right' as long as the decision is based on the water and the conditions at the time, and not on hearsay and tradition. Budgie mentioned common sense, and that just about sums it up for me.

 

John.