Canoe/kayak access

[Croix]

As the issue of canoeing access has raised some debate on various forums over the last few days what are your feelings on the subject, should canoeists in England & Wales have more access to rivers than they presently have (around 1% of navigable waterways) or will it be at too much of a cost to angling ?

 

As a fisherman and a kayaker (often at the same time) I have mixed feelings, there are some great bits of my local rivers that I'd love to fish from the yak if access were to be granted. On the otherhand convoys of noisy kayakers would really pee me off when I'm fishing.

 

As yak fishermen how do you feel about greater access for canoes/kayaks.

[darnsarf]

Ermm. Lets think how we would feel if we as fisherman were only allowed 1% access.

 

It is inevitable that kayaks are given more access and I think we should be looking at working with the BCU and other organisation to draw up both compulsary and voluntary codes of practice/licensing etc.

 

Baring in mind that when the public was asked if kayakers should have more access to rivers 75% said yes. Think we may have to plan on taking some losses on this one. We will need to be both realistic and reasonable with give and take on both sides.

[Zzippy]

Ermm. Lets think how we would feel if we as fisherman were only allowed 1% access.

 

It is inevitable that kayaks are given more access and I think we should be looking at working with the BCU and other organisation to draw up both compulsary and voluntary codes of practice/licensing etc.

 

Baring in mind that when the public was asked if kayakers should have more access to rivers 75% said yes. Think we may have to plan on taking some losses on this one. We will need to be both realistic and reasonable with give and take on both sides.

 

WAHOOOOOOOO.We can a have choice of some big weirs to play on then

[grumpybum]

than they presently have (around 1% of navigable waterway

 

What is your definition of navigable?

 

If its a canal then canoes have access provided a permit or membership of the BCU is purchased

If your refering to a river then some have what is termed a navigation. Once again canoes have access provided theres a public access to the river. This amounts to far more than the 1% you quoted.

[Simon Everett]

I think the 1% refers to access to rivers in total - many of these that are being requested access to will never see a canoe because they are including small rivers.

 

On the wider rivers, such as the Wye, Trent, Severn etc currently large tracts of these rivers are closed because of private ownership. The smaller rivers are of no interest, but they make up part of the percentage.

 

Fishermen would, yes, be giving up the sole access they currently have - but to nobody, because in theory you could paddle, but would you want to? On the larger rivers there is, I think, sufficient width to keep fishermen happy - although why is, regardless of where we fish, you set up on one side of the river and cast right across it to fish the far side?!

 

Those larger rivers have plenty of water that could provide usage for both factions. As more people have greater leisure time the increase in paddlers is inevitable - just see how many sea kayakers there are now - compared to 15 years ago....and then look back 30 years and we were very much in the minority, most people had not even heard the term kayak. It is a pastime that is growing in popularity, both inland and coastal - you only have to see how busy instructors are to realise how many people are going on canoe/kayak courses and getting onto the water themselves. More water is going to be required to cater for them all.

 

I can see a parallel to this - the ramblers on Kinder Scout in their mass trespass against private access to the wild hills. The result was that footpaths were created. I can also see the BCU positioning itself to be the beneficiary - they make money out of members.

[Nemo]

Yea this debate is raging on all the fishing sites,

 

Me - I don’t want to paddle on the chalk streams, Salmon rivers or the streams in the valleys - coastal and estuaries are good enough. However I can see the merits in both sides of the argument.........................

 

The radio 2 show last Friday seems to have kicked off the biggest response so far...............

 

Found this on The BBC FORUM - nearly wet my self laughing.

 

( http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio2/F2142824?thread=2893528 )

 

Great story tho...............................................

 

" posted by Jolly Old Saint Nick"

 

"Fishermen are people who go out to see and catch your tea. Anglers are the sad breed who stand and hopefully will die of pneumonia at the side of a river or round our way, the harbour entrance.

 

See, they are thick, miserable little cretins who don't give a stuff about anybody else. Whilst proceeding out on a fishing boat, obnoxious little cretin who, once I find, I will break his bloody neck, decided to cast his stupid little line, hook and great ruddy lead weight just as we proceeded out of harbour.

 

The lead weight smashed round the mast of our boat (no mean feet, decent sized boat) and the hook managed to find its way through my ear. Once the hook had ripped it's way into my ear, the lead weight came thumping round and smashed m in the jaw. I'm pretty sure it was dislocated though we didn't bother with A&E (stiff upper lip and all that).

 

A mad panic on deck ensued as the skipper knocked the boat full astern, and the rest of the guys on deck clamboured for a knife to cut the line before my ear departed my head.

 

Much shouting and swearing ensued and I'm lead to believe he was given a bit of a seeing too by a mate, a complaint was lodged with the harbourmaster the very next morning, and a new sign appeared very soon after, though that hasn't stopped these prats.

 

Even more incredible about these social outcasts is that they get incredibly annoyed when any boats land fish they are hoping to catch, they think they have a God given right to catch fish, but that boats don't, despite fishing vessels needing bloody expensive licences (we're £10,000 to £1million +) from DEFRA and all an angler needs is a 50p fishing rod.

 

Urgh. They truely are pathetic beings sent from another planet for us mortals to rip the p1ss out off."

 

Keep on smiling

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

"Much shouting and swearing ensued and I'm lead to believe he was given a bit of a seeing too by a mate"

 

Bloody Hell.... If I was going to get sodomised by me mates every time I miss cast I'd take up a less risky hobby!!!

[Croix]

What is your definition of navigable?

 

If its a canal then canoes have access provided a permit or membership of the BCU is purchased

If your refering to a river then some have what is termed a navigation. Once again canoes have access provided theres a public access to the river. This amounts to far more than the 1% you quoted.

 

You're correct, I phrased it wrongly, what I meant to write was that canoeists have access at present to around 1% of total waterways in England & Wales.

[Nemo]

Simon/Croix,

 

Some interesting parralels drawn here, when I got into mountain biking some years ago and popularity of the sport grew it was as if the peace and tranquility of the countryside would be spoilt forever (according to the ramblers/Horsey types e.tc).

 

Now we have dedicated cycle routes jump courses e.t.c and the focus seems to have moved away from M.B's and onto quad's/A.T.V's.

 

At the end of the day unless it has a motor, sports such as Mountain Biking and kayaking are fairly low impact envoiromentaly and water/country users need to rub along together for the benefit and better policing of all our leisuretime sports.

[Croix]

I agree Nemo, whilst I don't want to see every bit of water open to canoes/yaks I think the access as it stands is a joke. In the rest of the world anglers and canoeists seem to manage well enough (most of the time) with both pastimes having far greater access to the waterways than we have here.

[terry1956]

Its going to happen, if we like it all not, I use exeter shipping cannel durring the week and its great due to the fact that know one else is there, I have the whole top end around 4 miles just to me alone. On the weekend the cannel is almost full of other rowers etc and lots of anglers, I would not like it to be like that all the time, At the moment I fish from the kayak and get along with the few anglers that I meet, but what if there where 6,7, or even more people fishing from kayaks, How long would that good relationship last for.

There are lots of places to use a kayak or what ever, I see no need to alow ALL rivers etc to have paddle rights, thats just place silly. terry