Fish welfare - or just OTT

[BobH]

No ban them I say. There bad for fish welfare and angling.

 

You may think thats extreme and it maybe is, but they are bad.

 

I've been fishing maybe 40 years, for the first 20 I didn't have one and like a lot of anglers probably didn't even know what one was. Now I have a few and I even take them and use them from time to time. Mostly when i go to places that insist on them, but sometimes for speed and to make it comfy for me. Not really because I think they are good for the fish.

 

Ok so I do a lot of fishing stood in the middle of a river and it would be a ball ache dragging them all back to the bank and out. I know most anglers don't fish like that and maybe thats why I land fish like I do, but I do believe it is much better for the fish to unhooked them in the net, not be handled and never taken out of the water. We do it because it is easier for us, not because it is better for the fish.

 

I never had a fish jump out of the landing net as they have much taller side than even a cradle. They are perfectly supported in the water. Will get far less burns from hot dry hands or suffer from high temperatures. Loss less slime from being handle and move from one thing to another and its fast. Way better all round on the fish.

 

If I ever get a 40lb carp in a shallow peg, I will just have to get my feet wet. Which I probably would have landing it anyway.

 

And I agree with Dave that we weigh and photo way to many of the fish we catch, but I blame unhooking mats for that as well. Or was it carp head/speci head trophy shooters it all seems to have snowballed around the same time.

 

Slip the hook and send them back.

 

Well let me think for a moment !!

 

[Matthew Simmons]

Come over to stockbridge the fat bailiff wont give you hassle ,there was talk of bailiffs doing the pike course every two years ,pretty pointless in stockbridges bailiffs as far as we know there are none

Some get carried away though i had a chuckle at one angler ,his unhooking mat filled his swim i have seen smaller double beds ,those 3 inch perch he was catching could live their entire lives in a puddle on it and not realise

Didnt ask but probably came over from lodge pond after finding out it was closed that day

Or BLBP!

[chesters1]

Going by last friday the lea was empty ,when i fished it if you didnt get there by dinnertime friday you got the crap swims.

3 fishing 2arriving not the lea of old!

Talking to the chairman yesterday the anglers on the bank on farnham waters are few and far between but membership up

 

The good thing about stockbridge is its hard to fish if your using heavy tackle ,the anglers who come without knowing this blank and are rarely seen again

Edited October 31, 2014 by chesters1

[Anderoo]

If I were in that situation Lutra, I'd do the same thing. But if I'm fishing from a platform with a decent gap between platform and water, or fishing a gravel pit with lots of very shallow water in front of me and hard banks, an unhooking mat is a pretty sensible choice, surely?

 

I'm all for unhooking fish in the water where possible (I weigh/take photos of very few of the fish I catch), but sometimes it isn't possible or sensible.

 

On the flip side, I do lots of fishing where I don't use a mat. All the reservoir zander are picked out by hand, unhooked quickly and sent back within seconds; I never take one when river fishing as there's always (on my rivers anyway) something soft to lay fish on if needed.

 

Another FAS story, I was a member when they brought in the compulsory mat rule years ago, and got told off by a bailiff at the river wey for not having one. I explained that all the chub I caught were just as well off in the net on grass as a mat, and that as I was roving it was a pain to drag one around all day. He said rules are rules, you don't have to USE it but you do have to have it with you when I see you. Pointless! So from then on I had to clip a small mat to my bag and carry it around so as not to break the rule, even though he knew full well it never got used

[chesters1]

If I were in that situation Lutra, I'd do the same thing. But if I'm fishing from a platform with a decent gap between platform and water, or fishing a gravel pit with lots of very shallow water in front of me and hard banks, an unhooking mat is a pretty sensible choice, surely?

 

I'm all for unhooking fish in the water where possible (I weigh/take photos of very few of the fish I catch), but sometimes it isn't possible or sensible.

 

On the flip side, I do lots of fishing where I don't use a mat. All the reservoir zander are picked out by hand, unhooked quickly and sent back within seconds; I never take one when river fishing as there's always (on my rivers anyway) something soft to lay fish on if needed.

 

Another FAS story, I was a member when they brought in the compulsory mat rule years ago, and got told off by a bailiff at the river wey for not having one. I explained that all the chub I caught were just as well off in the net on grass as a mat, and that as I was roving it was a pain to drag one around all day. He said rules are rules, you don't have to USE it but you do have to have it with you when I see you. Pointless! So from then on I had to clip a small mat to my bag and carry it around so as not to break the rule, even though he knew full well it never got used

As he said rules are rules and bailffs are there to enforce them ,if everyone followed the rules and every person on the bank was a rule following member there would be no need for bailiffs

Not just mats its annoying a great number of anglers share landing nets or more stupidly dont set them up ,even stockbridge has a number of fish bigger than what you can safely swing in to hand or hold at the bank to unhook in the water

As i said theres little to force you to use a mat only have one with you ,the AGM is there to challenge rules

Edited October 31, 2014 by chesters1

[Anderoo]

and if everyone acted in a sensible and responsible manner, there would be no need for rules.

 

Like most people I do stick to rules, or I just fish elsewhere if the rules are too prohibitive. These days I just accept that most places will have at least one rule I think is stupid, make my peace with it, and get on with my life

 

If there is a rule that I think is worth fighting to change, I will try my best to put a case forward. Sometimes this has worked and sometimes it hasn't. Anglian water revoking the 'always use wire' rule this year is a good example, that one was definitely worth it.

[BobH]

Androo,

 

You don't have to make an excuse for yourself mate if you want take picture or not of a fish ?

 

In my experience it's the anglers who don't catch a lot and read the comic's who complain about taking pictures !!

 

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, even if they are wrong

 

Bob

[Anderoo]

Don't worry, I do weigh and photograph the fish that mean something to me

[Phone]

All,

 

Is there a definition of "unhooking mat" standards? - Or, for that matter, what constitutes a "cradle"?

 

I was browsing some of your various syndicate rules. Ambiguity is the hallmark of many "rules". Is it common to have a 20 - 30 page booklet of rules?

 

I.E. ""Small fish are held vertically by the lip; large fish are held horizontally being careful not to bend the spine"" Wot the 'ell????

 

Phone

[BobH]

Phone,

 

It's usually 1 page of sensible rules on most syndicates, Day Ticket Carp waters on the other hand

 

Bob