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Blues For The Last Day...

Cant see any reason as to not keep a watchful eye on our local stretches!!! Doh now ive gone off topic...
 
Absolutely, John, I spend more time on rivers off-season than most people, looking, looking, and don't certain types 'alf get upset if they're up to no good, on the river and elsewhere...
 
Might I point out Mike that the only two posts on this thread which could in any way be construed as 'Going off on one', 'ranting' or 'making half baked political points' are this last one of yours, and the usual deeply offensive one from Mr. Boote.

Jim is making a valid point, and urging a friend to be vigilant if they are to avoid the 'Blues' for next season....which is not TOO far removed from the aim of the thread, in my opinion. There are many serious, respected anglers out there who can testify as to exactly what the effects of the illegal activity Jim refers to can be on some vulnerable, unprotected fisheries if care is not taken. I am sure they would be only too pleased to relate their personal experiences to anyone if they thought it would help....but most have now discovered it takes people prepared to listen to make that a useful exercise.

Perhaps it would be better if the self appointed 'Post police' were to back off and allow free speech....allow others to make valid points, providing it is done in an inoffensive, honest manner. Raising the temperature by criticising honest folk who only have the interests of their fishery and fishing in general at heart is not, in my opinion, the most helpful of actions....whichever way you care to look at it.

Cheers, Dave.

Hello David . I can't for the life of me see what political point half baked or otherwise you think I was making in my post , but if there is one there do enlighten me . All I am trying to say is why oh why to people hijack threads and then start of on a completely different subject . I have no problem with any of the views expressed by you , Jim ,or most others on here , but start a thread on that subject instead of tagging it on to something else . As for your 'post police ' jibe , and me constraining free speech , well I am sorry but I cannot see where I have ever tried to stop someone saying anything , give me an example ? Yes this is a fishing website , and there are many political and moral issues pertaining to our sport and these should be aired , it's just a matter of time and place , and dare I say manner of presentation .As I have said before , I always thought anglers were by nature gentle types , some of the stuff on here is like bare knuckle fighting .
 
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Walked a bit of river today, seeing a few hungover-looking, "Have they gone?", coots and moorhens. No EEs seen fishing out of season, though. Will someone please see a whole gang of them soon (preferably barbecuing barbel, and teaching some Somalis how to do it) and post a thread about it here, as I need to feel put-upon and very very angry. As John Cleese said in that old movie, Clockwise: "It's not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand.".
 
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Walked a bit of river today, seeing a few hungover-looking, "Have they gone?", coots and moorhens. No EEs seen fishing out of season, though. Will someone please see a whole gang of them soon (preferably barbecuing barbel, and teaching some Somalis how to do it) and post a thread about it here, as I need to feel put-upon and very very angry. As John Cleese said in that old movie, Clockwise: "It's not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand.".

And may I suggest you extend your walks then....and if you were to bump in to some (whatever country of origin) poachers, just what would be your response, would you encourage them to carry on?
 
Now some of us look to be becoming a little sad and desperate. Almost makes me want to wind up such types by saying that I would personally pay for an airlift of one hundred, completely filled 747s from Mogadishu and Pakistan for all their mates, then give them work at the Paul Boote Poaching and Otter Training Academy...
 
hello John - i spent the last day of the season on the Colne and it was a grueller for some reason (looked rather good to me).

anyway, had settled for a blank. Was fast running out of time and there was nothing doing. Then tried the old 'one last cast' trick. 5 mins later, 7lb 10oz barbel.

I must say out loud 'I'll make this my last cast' more often. It seemed to do the trick.

I'll be walking the colne a fair bit in between trying for some carp on The Mets.

David
 
Hi Mike, thought I might explain my points a little better....my first offerings may have been a little confusing :D

Hello David . I can't for the life of me see what political point half baked or otherwise you think I was making in my post , but if there is one there do enlighten me .

The comments in my post were , as I said, aimed at the combined posts of yourself and Mr. Boote. I thought it fairly obvious that the political element was referring to the unpleasantness in Mr. Bootes post, not yours.

All I am trying to say is why oh why to people hijack threads and then start of on a completely different subject . I have no problem with any of the views expressed by you , Jim ,or most others on here , but start a thread on that subject instead of tagging it on to something else .

You make a reasonable point about hijacking threads Mike, but did Jim really do that? He may have widened the scope a little, but that happens in any normal, adult conversation/debate doesn't it? One thing leads to another in any discussion on any subject, surely....or do you have a little man with a gong waiting excitedly to catch you out for daring to deviate by a gnats whisker from the sworn path, when discussing issues down your local?

As for your 'post police ' jibe , and me constraining free speech , well I am sorry but I cannot see where I have ever tried to stop someone saying anything , give me an example ?

Do you need any better example, other than your own post Mike? You jumped all over Jim for daring to say something which deviated from your own views. That surely is 'Trying to stop someone saying something'....isn't it? Or does ranting at someone the way you did, purely because they offered some reasonable advice to a friend, come under some other category to your way of thinking?

Yes this is a fishing website , and there are many political and moral issues pertaining to our sport and these should be aired , it's just a matter of time and place , and dare I say manner of presentation .As I have said before , I always thought anglers were by nature gentle types , some of the stuff on here is like bare knuckle fighting.

Can't say I entirely disagree with most of that last bit Mike. However, I must point out that much of the anger on this forum is the result of a growing number of people feeling totally frustrated and increasingly peed off by the barrage of bizarre comments and criticisms levelled by one particular member at any other member who dares to express concern at one or other of the absolute rash of added and/or renewed threats that have recently beset our poor beleaguered fish populations (as if the poor old fish don't have enough to put up with already :rolleyes:) I don't have to list the things I am referring to....you can hardly have missed the goings on of the last couple of years! I could say more....but no, at this juncture I would rather not.

Whatever....enough already, as our cousins across the water would say :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
As "Davina" (Home Counties demi-posh patronizing the sofa-sinking, snack-eating plebeian) so nearly says on some hair-brained hair-colour ad, "Love the mauve".
 
John, looks like you had a pretty tough season on your bit! I had a blank last day, the swim I've had a lot from recently on the Colne was occupied and didn't have a touch anywhere else.

As to the whole poaching issue, it happens and we all know it, and I have first hand experience of clearing set lines from one of our club stretches to know that it is a problem needs to be addressed. I also know though that poaching by people from the Eastern European community is a convenient vehicle for those to indulge in their own xenophobic prejudices, I hear it on the bank and read it on forums every week and does not do our pastime any favours whatsoever.

There is an issue here no doubt, most probably a relatively short term cultural problem that is I think far less damaging and far reaching than things like cormorant predation and poor environmental management but an issue all the same. The best way to counter the poaching and taking of fish by migrant anglers is by education and engaging with them, rather than vilification and marginalisation. The Angling Trust 'Building Bridges' scheme looks like the way to go to me... Building Bridges with Migrant Anglers - The Angling Trust

Now I'm of to find some Bream, Tench and Carp, and by walking the close season banks keeping my eyes peeled.
 
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Strange isn't it that over here they eat what they catch and yet the rivers and lakes are so full of big fish that English anglers pay good money to come over and fish them?

In Cyprus any roach, carp or channel cats I caught were cadged by the locals and resident Eastern European workers. The other day I was fishing the small farm pond at the back of our house just to see whether there was anything in except pond pigs (there wasn't) and Patrick, the farm labourer and second poorest man in Charente after me, came past with a small flock of sheep, noticed I was unhooking a carp of around 1.5 kilo and took it away for repas.
 
As "Davina" (Home Counties demi-posh patronizing the sofa-sinking, snack-eating plebeian) so nearly says on some hair-brained hair-colour ad, "Love the mauve".

Yes, it's known in the trade by the name of: Hugo


Very popular in the Home Counties by for those with greying perms.
 
Build bridges!! Bah!! Send them back from where they came from!! My new group EEAG (Eastern European Action Group) will get things sorted. Its getting a website and some famous anglers to say stuff, your days are numbered EE's!
 
Quite, Rhys. Best to leave the new Action Group to its off-season purple patches, petty spite and red-mist outrage. Me? Well, with coarse fish, at least to my way of thinking, out of season for the next three months, I'm now directing my hopes, thoughts and efforts towards other stuff, so will not be BFW-ing until normal fishy service has been resumed. Mind-freeing and liberating.
 
This started off as a decent thread , which I posted to early on and then we had the fair warning about the poachers , be they anglers refusing to obey the close season to EE's carrying on their fish thieving antics and now as usual the namby pamby leave them alone head in the sand attitude , fact they will carry on and doing nothing is not an option if we want to continue to have fish to try for and that includes the otters and cormorants that will be on stretches where anglers normally deterred them
 
John, looks like you had a pretty tough season on your bit! I had a blank last day, the swim I've had a lot from recently on the Colne was occupied and didn't have a touch anywhere else.

As to the whole poaching issue, it happens and we all know it, and I have first hand experience of clearing set lines from one of our club stretches to know that it is a problem needs to be addressed. I also know though that poaching by people from the Eastern European community is a convenient vehicle for those to indulge in their own xenophobic prejudices, I hear it on the bank and read it on forums every week and does not do our pastime any favours whatsoever.

There is an issue here no doubt, most probably a relatively short term cultural problem that is I think far less damaging and far reaching than things like cormorant predation and poor environmental management but an issue all the same. The best way to counter the poaching and taking of fish by migrant anglers is by education and engaging with them, rather than vilification and marginalisation. The Angling Trust 'Building Bridges' scheme looks like the way to go to me... Building Bridges with Migrant Anglers - The Angling Trust

Now I'm of to find some Bream, Tench and Carp, and by walking the close season banks keeping my eyes peeled.
well said chris but it takes 2 sides to build it.
 
Hi Mike, thought I might explain my points a little better....my first offerings may have been a little confusing :D

Hello David . I can't for the life of me see what political point half baked or otherwise you think I was making in my post , but if there is one there do enlighten me .

The comments in my post were , as I said, aimed at the combined posts of yourself and Mr. Boote. I thought it fairly obvious that the political element was referring to the unpleasantness in Mr. Bootes post, not yours.

All I am trying to say is why oh why to people hijack threads and then start of on a completely different subject . I have no problem with any of the views expressed by you , Jim ,or most others on here , but start a thread on that subject instead of tagging it on to something else .

You make a reasonable point about hijacking threads Mike, but did Jim really do that? He may have widened the scope a little, but that happens in any normal, adult conversation/debate doesn't it? One thing leads to another in any discussion on any subject, surely....or do you have a little man with a gong waiting excitedly to catch you out for daring to deviate by a gnats whisker from the sworn path, when discussing issues down your local?

As for your 'post police ' jibe , and me constraining free speech , well I am sorry but I cannot see where I have ever tried to stop someone saying anything , give me an example ?

Do you need any better example, other than your own post Mike? You jumped all over Jim for daring to say something which deviated from your own views. That surely is 'Trying to stop someone saying something'....isn't it? Or does ranting at someone the way you did, purely because they offered some reasonable advice to a friend, come under some other category to your way of thinking?

Yes this is a fishing website , and there are many political and moral issues pertaining to our sport and these should be aired , it's just a matter of time and place , and dare I say manner of presentation .As I have said before , I always thought anglers were by nature gentle types , some of the stuff on here is like bare knuckle fighting.

Can't say I entirely disagree with most of that last bit Mike. However, I must point out that much of the anger on this forum is the result of a growing number of people feeling totally frustrated and increasingly peed off by the barrage of bizarre comments and criticisms levelled by one particular member at any other member who dares to express concern at one or other of the absolute rash of added and/or renewed threats that have recently beset our poor beleaguered fish populations (as if the poor old fish don't have enough to put up with already :rolleyes:) I don't have to list the things I am referring to....you can hardly have missed the goings on of the last couple of years! I could say more....but no, at this juncture I would rather not.

Whatever....enough already, as our cousins across the water would say :D

Cheers, Dave.

Hells Bells David , I am struggling to read your reply in that lurid shade !I take all your points . I just get fed up with the thread hijacking and general nastiness that seems to plague BFW at times . I don't want to fall out with anybody , [if you can actually fall out with someone you have never met ]I just like to see folks rub along nicely with each other , agree to differ and debate in good spirit , not much to ask is it ? Some of my posts are simply born out of frustration .

Best wishes to one and all , roll on the glorious 16th
 
Mike Hodgkiss said:
Hells Bells David , I am struggling to read your reply in that lurid shade !I take all your points . I just get fed up with the thread hijacking and general nastiness that seems to plague BFW at times . I don't want to fall out with anybody , [if you can actually fall out with someone you have never met ]I just like to see folks rub along nicely with each other , agree to differ and debate in good spirit , not much to ask is it ? Some of my posts are simply born out of frustration .

Best wishes to one and all , roll on the glorious 16th

Great colour wasn't it Mike :D....I try them all in turn just for the hell of it :p

Some of your post's are born out of frustration you say? All I can say is, I sympathise......join the club mate :p

Best regards,

Dave.
 
Just thought to add on topic, I had a nice last two sessions.
The Sunday was on the Dove and amongst the crayfish, trout and 5lb Chub I managed to catch my Dove Double.
Then last day on a deserted bit of the tidal Trent managed two doubles - one a Bream the other a pretty common carp. The Barbel ran to 9lbs.

Nice way to finish the season - aint got the blues!
 
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