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EATING PIKE


Houghton

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I know it is illegal to take any fish from a water on a coarse fishing license but is there some license that you can buy that allows you to take coarse fish for the pot (no, I'm not Polish)? Forgive me if this sounds like a stupid question but I have heard Pike taste very good and have even seen recipes on the BBC websites which include Pike.

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I think it is more a matter of having permission from the fishery owner on a still water. Not sure about the rules on rivers or canals.

 

Pike can certainly be eaten but they are nothing special. Any recipe that makes a pike taste really outstanding will probably do the same for any fish with non-oily flesh.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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I know it is illegal to take any fish from a water on a coarse fishing license

 

Er I think you'll find it isn't technically illegal. Its however a bit of a nightmare with different rules in different areas. I think I'm right in saying the owner of the fishing rights owns the fish and thus if you take them without permission you are stealing. Steve Burke has posted about this before I'll try and find his post.

 

Rich

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Each area used to have different size limits and bag limits for the taking of fish Im not sure if they still exist now but a look at the EA's web site for your particular area will show you.

 

As Newt pointed out you must also have the permission of the owner of the water.

 

But as Newt also said Pike aint that special to eat! Ive tried several recipies and all depend on other strong flavours to make them worthwhile.Give it a go by all means but I think you will soon agree that Pike are just like a lot of foody fads........just that!

And thats my "non indicative opinion"!

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different rules in different areas.

Rich

 

Its daft as things come Rich! We all buy a National Licence for the same price from the same agency but still have different rules to abide by in different areas! I can see sense in having different rules to suit different situations on different venues.But its mad that I can use 4 rods in the Southern region but only two in the Anglian region etc etc! Just another example of the confusion caused by the EA's lazyness/failure to really make the national licence national! Same as the closed season fiasco.I dont condone rule breaking through ignorance but its easy to see why people dont understand or even know the rules they are meant to be sticking to.

 

In the old days of both the River Authorities and the NRA the most relevant rules were printed on your licence.No excuse then.These days you need to go on line to check/find out (even then the EA's own web site(s) often contradict each other.They waste all that money each year on the stupid magazines they send out....surely a piece of A4 paper with the rules on issued with each licence wouldnt break the bank and certainly help people be aware of the situation? Ah but that would be far to simple... :rolleyes:

And thats my "non indicative opinion"!

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As already said, it's not illegal to take fish for the pot, just frowned upon by some.

The EA regs for each area can be found here,

http://environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/...n=1&lang=_e

 

Just click on your area (North West), and away you go. The strange thing is that I can't find any size limits for pike.

Whoever controls the water you fish, will probably have rules over and above those of the EA, so always check first.

 

I quite like pike, baked or fried. But if you take one, make 6lb your upper limit, and beware of the bones.

 

John.

Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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This is what Steve posted elsewhere (I hope he doesn't mind me repeating it):

 

"In England and Wales it is illegal to take any fish from any stillwater not connected to a river without the express permission of the owner of the fishing rights. To do so is a criminal offence under the Theft Act. Indeed, even fishing such a stillwater without permission of the owner is considered theft as you'd be "stealing" his fishing rights.

 

River and canal fish are considered wild creatures and therefore don't belong to anyone. Thus they can't strictly speaking be stolen. Having said that you can still steal the owner's fishing rights and therefore be prosecuted under the Theft Act if you fish such waters without permission, whether you take any fish or not. However these laws don't apply to tidal rivers or the extremely few waters that are designated public fisheries.

 

Additionally, both the owner of the fishing rights and/or the Environment Agency may impose size or bag limits. As far as I'm aware there are no such national EA limits. However there are local limits, especially for game fish. In each case it is a criminal offence to break any of these regulations, and in the case of breaking the owner's rules it's again treated as theft.

 

One final point. Whether or not there's a sign saying the fishery is private is irrelevant. With the very rare exception all non-tidal waters in England and Wales are private.

 

For further details see the excellent book "Angler's Law in England and Wales" by R.I.Millichamp.""

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Guest tigger
I hate hugh fernly whittingsall or how ever you spell it. Someone show him a recipe for poached *@ck head. He might do us all a favour.

 

 

........and poach his own head! ;):D

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