Pet Rescue (W.T.Webster)

[Guest rondo]

Have just watched the Pet Rescue programme on T.V.and this time we cannot moan!

Part of the programme was about a goose with

line around its neck!We are in general our own worst enemies.WILL WE NEVER LEARN TO TIDY UP afterwards.I belong to a small club,and one rule we have is to tidy up!

If not there are penalties (Club Points Deducted)and Disqualification on the day..

There has been talk of fines.This applies to all waters we fish Club or others.

 

rondo

 

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[Guest Elton]

Hey Rondo,

 

Perhaps they should do one about foxes hit by cars, so that we all stop driving.

 

And swans flying into pylons - what's wrong with underground cables?

 

And what about those millions of fish sucked into the cooling systems of power stations every day - man used to live without electric, after all?

 

What I'm trying to get across is that these programmes pick up on one tiny percentage of the harm done by anglers, or other sectors of the public, and then blow them way out of proportion. Did they mention the amount of work carried out by/at the expense of anglers each year?

 

And anyway, what would patronising, two-faced hypocrites do for a living if their shows were axed due to us all being 'model citizens'?

 

BTW, I'm not making excuses for people who leave line - it's stupid, dangerous and, above all, unnecessary

 

All the best,

 

Elton

 

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Anglers' Net

Keeping It Virtual...

[Guest Bruno Broughton]

Far be it for me to cast aspersions...

 

But... it has been known for TV producers to get someone to entangle a bird with line "just to get a better shot". A few years back an RSPCA Inspector fell for this trap and - to camera - said "And this is what anglers leave", pulling from the water a cat's-cradle of line, floats, feeders, spoons, plugs and miles of line.

 

Litter louts are angling scum who should be drummed out of the sport; manipulative angling personalities who have hidden agendas are totally different, so the word 'angling' does not apply, then.

 

Give up driving, guys and gals, 'cos we kill 35 MILLION birds a year by doing so. Come to think of it logically, some of those birds must have been victims to TV personalities, their producers and antis en route to a ruck.

 

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Bruno

[Guest Danny H]

Two points, Rondo I hear what you are saying, I lure fish, and a good part of the day is spent pulling in old lines.

But life is never totally simple, Most of these lines appear to be innocent

break offs due to snagged lines.

I have the luxury of using strong braid in order to lure fish, but How can we advocate

everybody to use strong lines, what about stick float fishing , poles etc, etc.

Some of the line is undoubtably litter, some is not.

To help eradicate the problem we will have to start using biodegradable line, but how practical is that?

 

Point two is:

The other day my 9 yr old Daughter caught a pike (15lbs), we reeled it in, laid it out on soft mat, unhooked it with care, then I climbed down the bank(shoes and socks off ) and held the pike up until it swam away strongly, ALL OF THIS WAS WATCHED BY A FATHER AND HIS KIDS, the guy then held out his hand to help me up.

The point I'm making is these people (who were non anglers) saw the care we gave the fish, and now it will take a hell of a lot of bad press to convince these people that we are all evil fish killers, no matter what peta try and say.

If all of us in a little way show the public we care by our actions no matter how small, they are sensible enough to with stand some of the hype. So even the smallest thing like being pleasent at the bankside, can speak volumes overall.

 

sermon over-sorry got carried away.

[Guest Newt]

Originally posted by Bruno Broughton:

But... it has been known for TV producers to get someone to entangle a bird with line "just to get a better shot". A few years back an RSPCA Inspector fell for this trap and - to camera - said "And this is what anglers leave", pulling from the water a cat's-cradle of line, floats, feeders, spoons, plugs and miles of line.

 

Bruno - given the cost of lures over there, I'd have real trouble believing that anyone would leave them in the water if it were possible to get them back. Of course, non-anglers likely have no idea of the cost of the things and would probably believe what they saw.

[Guest RobStubbs]

Litter is always a problem and in reality probably always will be. That doesn't make it any more acceptable and clubs should take a much firmer stance on anglers littering.

 

As an example clubs always have some form of no littering rule, often including the threat of a ban. And yet every club I have belonged to has had the odd instance of litter and never has anyone been banned because of it or even punished in any way.

 

What I'm getting at is that if clubs really took a hard stance littering would cease very rapidly.

 

Rob.

[Guest DerwentBob]

Of course not all litter comes from anglers, I was fishing on a very public water in the middle of a country park and a group of middle-aged couples stood behind my peg and watched me as I pulled a 3lb roach in on light tackle. After unhooking and releasing they went on their way leaving a beer can and a plastic bottle behind. The bailiff assumed it was my litter and took my name and card number only to apologise later when he saw them throwing cans into the lake from one of the public benches a short walk from my peg.

 

All we can do is to deal with hooks and line that we find and do everything possible to avoid breaking-off, even if it means not using some swims.

[Guest big al]

quick point,we at our club held a 24 hour carp match last weekend,(won with 74lb i think 6 fish),afterwards the guys walked round and yes you guessed,no litter!!,that's right no litter they had all packed it up and taking it with them ,excellent.there is hope .cheers big al

[Guest Keith]

Originally posted by rondo:

 

Part of the programme was about a goose with line around its neck!

 

Rondo,

 

as someone who has NEVER left line or other litter around when I'm fishing (yep, I've got a halo too!), I bet I'm not the only one who has been broken by a goose (a swan in my case) flying or swimming into my gear - and God knows, tufties seemingly determined to get hooked up by diving at angler's baits.

 

What I'm saying is that while that program is wall-to-wall biased "journalism" (hah!), it is entirely likely that the situation mentioned came about through no fault of an angler.

 

Youre right that a lot of "anglers" are stupid enough to dump gear and litter (we ban 'em for life from our club if they're caught), but it is entirely possible that Pet Rescue is telling only half the story.

 

 

 

 

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Yours,

 

Keith

Blyth,

Northumberland

 

mailto:keith@go-fishing.co.ukkeith@go-fishing.co.uk

http://www.wacac.co.uk