PAC FURY OVER NUDD'S CALL FOR PIKE CULL

[mark barrett]

Smudger, of course Pike anglers are entitled to voice their opinions...where have I stated to the contrary?

 

In a match situation I would be disqualified if I allowed another angler to fish my peg mate.

 

Chris , I would be delighted to meet you for a pint and discuss what I know, we both may learn something, I will PM you my mobile number when I return from work,regards Bob.

 

Mark, You are wrong mate, but if it makes you feel better think what you like, I listened to you on Keith's radio show last week and you came across as a sensible,reasonable sort of bloke and were no-where near so opinionated then.

 

 

Bob,

 

i am all of those things normally, and personally i hate the division that this type of incident causes, because at the end of the day we all want, or should want, the same things.

i cant stand the ban this, ban that culture that seems to have poisoned angling, and this country.

i have in the past defended keepnets, even though from personal experience i have huge reservations about their use, but they are quite legal, and they should stay so.

 

but what hacks me off even more bob, is that you came on here and defended bob. yes he may be a friend, yes he may not have written those words, yes he may have been a great ambassadeur for angling, but the fact that this was attributed to him in a column that bears his name and his picture, means that if he didnt mean it, he should have come out and said so directly. that to me is the saddest part of the whole episode.

 

just the fact that this story has run to 9 pages shows the depth of feeling thyat there is these days to this type of action. thats the greatest tragedy about the whole thing, along with the damage that this will have done to bobs image with an awful lot of anglers.

 

but hey, thats just my opinion.

[Brian Carragher]

before this goes pear shaped due to personal insults being traded , lets step back a little and remind ourselves how this discussion started

 

It all started because Bob Nudd in his personal column called for a pike cull on three rivers that he fish's

 

Now like it or not, Bob is the standard bearer for a lot of the UK's matchmen and he is held in high esteem by most of the country's anglers due to his winning of world titles and his high profile in angling magazines and publications so when he puts into words his own thoughts and they go to print , then ordinary anglers have the right to challenge him over those words and the likely outcome of those words

 

Apparently now Bob has redifined the english language to change the meaning of the word "cull" to mean relocation, ****s to that Bob (Nudd), you have been caught out and in doing so have only dug yourself a bigger hole that you are failing to climb out of.

 

Despite having had several opportunities to clarify the situation he has severley failed to do so and so far we have had PR men pouring oil onto the waters in a vain attempt to rectify the situation and in my view both bob and the PR people have failed miserably to convince me of anything other than the original intent and sentiment in Bobs original column. My belief is that as a responsible journalist Stan Piecha will have recorded the interview with Bob to write up the column from notes and tapes at a later date, its standard journalistic practice to do so, and as a result of that there has been no attempt to lay the blame at stan Piecha only an attempt at saying the jist of Bobs comments have been mis interpreted and somehow don't represent his true views

 

If thats the case then come out and say so, don't hide behind PR men, if he has made a mistake then be man enough to admit it and take criticism on the chin and he would be better thought of than he is now

 

What bob has done is create an atmosphere of mistrust between various branch's of our sport and has got matchmen and specialist anglers having a pop at one another for no good reason

 

Its not fair or accurate to label all match anglers as "pike killers" (although in my particular area there are a handful of match anglers who brag about this sort of thing, some of them even hold unofficial pike culling match's), nor is it fair or accurate to portray all pikers as mass movers of illegal live baits or part of a percieved problem with stolen deadbaits. Neither of those instances fit the majority of anglers who participate in the two disciplines so we do we perpetuate the myth that they do

 

My worry is not the match anglers in the UK my main worry in this sorry saga is that the vast amount of ordinary "joe public" once a month anglers who will think that its OK to cull pike and throw them up the bank because Bob Nudd says its OK to do so and thats what the implications of calling for a pike cull will be whether he intended it or not. Time for Bob to be the man we all took him for and talked to the press openly and honestly without the benefit of a PR man and set the record straight

 

As someone who fish's rivers for pike I can tell you the Tees had a real problem with pike culling and in some stretch's the problem was so acute the only thing you could catch was small jacks around the 2/3lb mark which snatched at everything and ruined many a days fishing due to the removal of their bigger and more pike predating same species. I dont want to go back to those dark days but thats where I feel we will go if the likes of Bobs statements go unchallenged

 

In this weeks Angling Times Bob had the opportunity to kill the story and he failed to do so, only rehashing the ambiguous statement that was put out on his website and absolutely failing to convince me even though I was hoping he would. His fellow columnists has rounded on him and severley criticized him for his stance and subsequent failure to kill the story and set the record straight. Even his fellow matchman, Keith Arthur gives him both barrels and condemms him for his reported column so how can he (Bob) hide and dodge his responsibilities to all branch's of the sport when he's in so much brown stuff.

 

Its time we stopped blaming each other for the impass this story has created and lat the blame squarely on the shoulders of the man who instigated it

[smudger]

Smudger, of course Pike anglers are entitled to voice their opinions...where have I stated to the contrary?

 

In a match situation I would be disqualified if I allowed another angler to fish my peg mate.

 

Chris , I would be delighted to meet you for a pint and discuss what I know, we both may learn something, I will PM you my mobile number when I return from work,regards Bob.

 

Mark, You are wrong mate, but if it makes you feel better think what you like, I listened to you on Keith's radio show last week and you came across as a sensible,reasonable sort of bloke and were no-where near so opinionated then.

 

i know you can not have another angler fish your swim in a match! my question, as you well know. was not about match fishing.nice try

so i will try again on the important question.. do you condemn what bob nudd has said.

[Dick Dastardly]

My only problems with what you’re saying Bob is why you keep refusing to believe what Bob Nudd has written? Both the original article and the "retraction"/"clarification" are there to be read? Also why do you appear to see our anger/disappointment with one man as a condemnation of a whole branch of our sport?

 

When Williams and Banks were caught pikers didn’t try to defend their actions? All though in fairness we did feel that the incident provoked a lot of anti pike fishing feeling which we certainly defended. Maybe you feel your self and "match fishing" in the same situation?

 

You shouldn’t see it as such a conflict I can assure you that several very well known pike anglers were very keen match anglers in their time. We are quite lucky that until very recently all pikers started off fishing for other fish (unlike many present day carp anglers) and as such have a greater affinity with the pleasure and match angler. Many still regard piking as a winter only season so fish for other species in the summer months. Unlike some specialists pike anglers are extremely interested in the well being of the stocks of other fish because without these stocks being healthy there won’t be any pike fishing!

 

You’re certainly not the only match angler/angler who fishes matches on here Bob. I do sometimes worry though that your self appointed position as "Defender of Match angling" doesn’t sometimes actually put people off match fishing/match anglers?

 

Match anglers are no different to any other i.e. good and some bad.

[Bob Bradford]

Do I condemn what Bob Nudd said?

 

What did he ACTUALLY say?

 

I have repeatedly stated he has been badly represented in the N.O.T.W. and I stand by that.

 

Budgie, I have repeatedly stated that to assume anglers (particularly match anglers) are suddenly going to start murdering pike because of one spurious little article in a Sunday rag is both insulting and stupid......but THAT is what many on here are suggesting.......that sort of prejudice needs addressing IMO and as I do not see anyone else doing it I picked up the gauntlet....however my words appear to be pointless and now some of you are rounding on me....amazing!

 

I don't care that some of you do not agree with my thoughts but do not start getting personal. regards Bob.

[Bob Bradford]

Message for Chris Bishop...I cannot reach you via PM or E-mail to supply you with my mobile number....your set-up will not allow it.

[gozzer]

Do I condemn what Bob Nudd said?

 

What did he ACTUALLY say?

 

I have repeatedly stated he has been badly represented in the N.O.T.W. and I stand by that.

 

Budgie, I have repeatedly stated that to assume anglers (particularly match anglers) are suddenly going to start murdering pike because of one spurious little article in a Sunday rag is both insulting and stupid......but THAT is what many on here are suggesting.......that sort of prejudice needs addressing IMO and as I do not see anyone else doing it I picked up the gauntlet....however my words appear to be pointless and now some of you are rounding on me....amazing!

 

I don't care that some of you do not agree with my thoughts but do not start getting personal. regards Bob.

 

Bob, I am trying to stay impartial in this thread. I stopped posting because I could see it turning into the usual free for all slanging match, but I'm back.

I have stood up for match men, and posted questions that I (wholly or partially) knew the answers to, because I know that they carry much more weight coming from Leon. You know my thoughts on AT, and the same goes for TNOTW. I doubted that Bob Nudd had said those exact words, because on my one meeting with him, I got the impression that he was more informed than that. I am puzzled however by him not issuing a statement (that I'm aware of) denying the alleged quote. If he did this then it would go a long way to defusing this situation.

 

John

 

(Edit)

Since posting the last bit I have seen the AT, (a peek at the local supermarket). I now see the problem was with the wording, he seems to have used the word 'cull' improperly. He thought that if pike were transferred it would solve the problem. ( I know this has already been said, but I wanted to hear the explanation) The pike anglers and other interests have jumped on this, and it has been used to stir up the usual stereo typical arguments. For crying out loud do we really need this? A man has used a word in the wrong context, a high profile man I agree, it shouldn't have happened, but it did. A few numpties will take it as gospel, they would have done it anyway. It has brought to the fore some scientific facts that have made more people aware of the need for a balance in predator/prey numbers. I think it has done more good in educating anglers than harm. Is it not time to accept that Bob Nudd made a mistake in saying what he did to the press, his intent and peoples perception of it have been shown to be different. It's about time that anglers stepped back and looked around them, there are far more pressing worries than one mans misguided words.

 

John

Edited October 26, 2006 by gozzer

[Bob Bradford]

Mr Matthew, just take a look at the very first page on this thread...and than tell me that Match anglers have not been singled out by some of the posters on here, I have read similar crap on some of the other forums also....Bob Nudd says this ...Bob Nudd says that....and all the matchmen blindly follow .....crap!

 

One last time ....Bob Nudd did not write the words that appeared in the News of the World...... he did have a telephone conversation with a reporter...who in turn published a small article in his paper....Bob Nudd has stated clearly he was mis-represented and did not in fact advocate a wholesale pike slaughter fest....he admits he perceives a "problem" and would like something done about it....THAT IS ALL HE IS GUILTY OF.

 

Some of you even called for him to come on here and "clear things up".....can you blame the man for not complying? Some of the things that have been said about one of the true Greats of angling are nothing short of appalling and all because it was in the News of the World...so it must be true!

 

For Gods sake try to gain a sense of perspective, he has done nothing illegal, nor to my knowledge has he killed innocent pike or incited others to do so....so why the witch hunt?

 

I spoke out against the "Holyhead incident" not because it involved two high profile pike anglers ...but because what they did was totally illegal...there is a HUGE difference between the two unfortunate incidents IMO.

 

The Bob Nudd "incident" has been blown up out of all proportions and self appointed spokeman or not, I feel compelled to point this out to some of you....let it go and concentrate on the real villains within our sport/pastime....please?

[Bob Bradford]

"I would certainly have nothing to do with Browning or Marcel Van den Eynde products till I they break their association with him or he puts out a proper retraction."

 

Really? thats a bit OTT....... tell me Mr Matthew what angling brand names do you purchase? anything Chinese by chance? there HUMAN rights are a major issue.....your having a laugh mate. I did say try to get things into perspective?.

 

"Presumably if his comments were misreported he will be taking legal action because this has serioulsy undermined his reputation and could easily lose him his sponsorship. "

 

It's never wise to presume....although it does seem to be a major trait of yours.

 

I am not going to continue this trivial little spat with you Mr Matthew, all this tit for tat stuff is very tiresome, I have illustrated how easy it is above...but it is so pointless so get off my back and do something worthwhile for a change.

Edited October 26, 2006 by Bob Bradford

[smudger]

Do I condemn what Bob Nudd said?

 

What did he ACTUALLY say?

 

I have repeatedly stated he has been badly represented in the N.O.T.W. and I stand by that.

 

Budgie, I have repeatedly stated that to assume anglers (particularly match anglers) are suddenly going to start murdering pike because of one spurious little article in a Sunday rag is both insulting and stupid......but THAT is what many on here are suggesting.......that sort of prejudice needs addressing IMO and as I do not see anyone else doing it I picked up the gauntlet....however my words appear to be pointless and now some of you are rounding on me....amazing!

 

I don't care that some of you do not agree with my thoughts but do not start getting personal. regards Bob.

 

BOB

in most case's if someone is mis-represented in print, they often print a retraction the next week the fact bob nudd has failed to do soin the NOTW is a bit puzzling would you not agree.

if such a angling "great" can not figure that would be the correct thing to do he deserve's all the flack he's getting.

as for what he actually said.... all it's taken is two word's... pike and cull and the rest is history!

what would your reaction be if some one from another branch of angling came out and said that keepnets

should be banned?

Edited October 26, 2006 by smudger