Angling is dying.

[Apache]

lyn:

Hi everyone, hope you are all keeping well.

 

My local club has over 400 junior members and 10 of them spent last Saturday on the banks of the Loddon with myself, Trefor West and some other friends learning how to fish for barbel.

 

Trust me their are plenty of kids out there. Les Webber has formed a new group, Junior Course Angling (UK) as well as running Angling Projects and already has a hugh membership of clubs with large junior memberships.

 

I will agree on the point about not many women, I sadly have to admit I have never met another woman alone on the banks.    

 

lyn

Hello Lyn, Where abouts on the Loddon do you fish, and there are a few junior members on my part of the Loddon although the club rules have made it hard for us to fish alone as juniors.

[dogfish]

Hi all

I am in several clubs some of which allow kids to fish for free if accompanied by a member.Most have junior sections.

I agree with Budgie.It is too easy on some waters and give the wrong impression from the start.When I was a youngster I used to spend hours fishing for small roach on the Thames.We used to stalk them among the lily pads and drop a bait on them! One of my best memories is spending 12 hours catching three Small Tench and Three small crucians out of an Oxfordshire gravel pit.I didn't eat or rest .I was obsessed!!

Size of fish did not matter .We had FUN.

That seems to have been lost.

I now fish the Trent and Derbyshire Derwent and the fishing is better than it has ever been but it can be hard work.Clubs are suffering but local commercials are thriving! It has nothing to do with money as a lot of these anglers are using poles costing hundreds or even Thousands of pounds.I mam not exaggerating as a lot of you will know.

The attitude seems to be: why catch 20 lbs. of roach,chub etc on a river when I can double that on a stillwater for less effort.Also why walk when you can park behind your peg!

The angling rags do not help by pushing these fisheries.There is also the hypocrisy of running campaigns against increasing say licence fees whilst advertising poles etc.costing, maybe, thousands of pounds and talking about bait bills for a day which would have kept me going for a season when I was a youngster.Starting to ramble again! best stop there.

DF

[Cranfield]

Some good points being made, I think tim d,s post was especially interesting.

 

My opinion is, that it is now difficult for youngsters to learn their watercraft, Mr Crabtree style.

If parents don,t take them, other adults are reluctant to and they aren,t permitted to go on their own.

Most Clubs won,t allow them on their waters unaccompanied, under 16 years of age.

The World is now a different place, than when I was growing up.

 

Tackle shops are full of enough modern equipment, advice and instant baits, to enable any new angler to spend their money and go and catch big fish in large quantities, in the commercial fisheries.

You don,t have to learn the "hard way" anymore.

 

There is nothing wrong with youngsters following this route.

Hopefully, when they are a bit older, they will want to go to the rivers, or seek out underfished ponds, or try catching different species from the sea, or learn to use a trout rod.

Over the years, thats how a lot of anglers have developed their interests.

[Peter M]

I know plenty of people who say things like "I like watching john wilson or matt hayes or rex hunt on tv", when I ask if they go or would like to go fishing they say oh no i havn't the time, money, inclination etc. the trouble is too much TV, computer games etc. Also my girls bring far more homework home than I ever did at their age, I think we should all praise the efforts of the young anglers who make time to fish despite all the obsticles that are in the way.

[Bradford Angler]

I think around the commercial fisheries in Yorkshire Fishing is getting more popular, however angling seems to have taken a back seat to this new "instant" activity

[Dick Dastardly]

A great post by Tim d.Only 16 but you can certainly see what is going on around you.Why cant the older "wiser"(?) leaders of our sport see it.

[Newt]

quote:

---

From Newt: How many of you with families (either wife & kids or kids & grandkids) have made an effort to get them fishing?

 

From Mat: Well not yet - but my oldest is only 3 years old!

---

3 certainly isn't too young to start. By that age I'd already been fishing for a year. Simple gear (bamboo pole of about 7 feet with the line tied directly to the tip, live insects for bait, cork float) and was, at least according to the pictures I've seen, one happy small angler. It does bring back memories though. The boats we used were wood and all leaked a little so in addition to fishing, you got to use an old coffee can to bail as needed. I can remember distinctly when Dad finally decided I was old enough to help with the bailing. I probably wasn't too effective but I felt quite grown up.

 

[ 07. October 2003, 08:04 PM: Message edited by: Newt ]

[Ed Matysiak]

Load of young anglers my way. Only problem is they are young and 'un-learned'. Barbed hooks, no landing net, no concern for fish health.

[Woodzzz]

I use barbed hooks BECAUSE OF fish welfare.

 

These are carp I'm talking about.

 

There you go...that outlines a problem. Angling mythology.

 

Carp get caught in deep water...barbed hooks cause the most harm...you can only catch pike in winter...carp cant get caught in the winter...you need light tackle for roach...blah blah blah.

 

Kids are naive, and will believe what the old boys tell them. I'm sad to say, angling has moved on, we are now more consious of the fish and so on and rigs like old split shot-arseley bomb-split shot rigs are simply dangerous by todays terms and you can actually face a ban through using one.

 

There are lots of young kids on the bank, do any of you go and help them? Or do you wait to sit in your office chair and start moaning on a forum?

 

Parents cant be bothered these days to teach their kids how to fish.

 

It's up to us, the anglers, to do it for them.

[Dick Dastardly]

Its not just kids that are missing from the waters I fish just anglers in general.I remember going down to my local lakes, rivers, canals and ponds in both the 60's and 70's at the weekend and sitting nigh on shoulder to shoulder (well 20' apart!)"allright if I squeeze in next to you mate?" was the common thing heard all the way along the bank. For a long time now I have had the luxurey of fishing during the week but when I fish a new water I like to walk around it at the weekend(thinking it would be the busiest period) and talk too other anglers and have a good look.I am amazed at how few anglers there are on even the most popular waters.I can only speak about the south east.Mind you when I visit the midlands I also notice it.As a youngster I could hardly get on the BAA waters at a wekend due to matchs.Now they are deserted.I dont believe the BAA even publish what waters are match free now as they used to in the weeklys? Must say something eh?