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Age or discrimination

Paul Bullinger

Paul Bullinger

Senior Member & Supporter
Myself and 5 mates have just returned from our annual barbel fishing week on the Wye. This tradition has continued, unbroken, for 42 years. We are all in our early 70's except for one "youngster" at 66. This year, we all agreed, the swims were more difficult to access, or so it seemed to us. We are all moderately fit for our age, but this tendency of describing beats as "wild fishing" is, in our mind, an excuse for laziness. On the final day I fished a swim on a beat where 4 of us had been booked in. There were 6 "swims" available, 2 of which were downright dangerous. My selected swim had a sheer drop into about 12' of water and to land fish I had to kneel down and extend my net to its full length. I was surrounded by brush and undergrowth that could easily have been cut back by a considerate land owner, who after all is getting a share of the £100 it cost us for a day's fishing. Now, don't get me wrong, I HATE manicured swims, but there is a world of difference between over tidy swims and those that have had zero work spent on them.
I'm sure it doesn't apply in this context, but it seems rather discrimitory that if you are elderly or have mobility problems, then you are excluded from certain beats.
My plea to all riparian owners is this: please spend a little bit of your profits from renting out your river to improve swims and making them more accessible and safer for us older anglers.
I have not named the beats or the organisation(s) that sold us the tickets as I think the moderator may have stepped in, but any of you who fish the Wye know who I mean!
Finally, I won't give "scores on the doors" suffice to say we had an OK week. Chub outnumbering barbel by about 4-1! My biggest barbel was 10.5lbs so I was very happy, just a tinge of annoyance about unkempt, dangerous swims.
 
I take your point. Some people do enjoy the “wild” style though. If you were informed before you purchased the ticket that there were access issues, I don’t think the use of the word discrimination is appropriate, it’s a pretty firm word.
I sympathise with your point and I know I will get there too but it’s not a public access area for all. With the greatest of respect meant, if you are having mobility issues you may have to start thinking differently about your choices of where to fish.
It’s worth pointing out too that people have different versions of unkempt. For some a path that’s not mowed and 6 foot wide is unkempt and for others scrambling down a cliff is fine.
 
Stephen Crowhurst said:
I take your point. Some people do enjoy the “wild” style though. If you were informed before you purchased the ticket that there were access issues, I don’t think the use of the word discrimination is appropriate, it’s a pretty firm word.
I sympathise with your point and I know I will get there too but it’s not a public access area for all. With the greatest of respect meant, if you are having mobility issues you may have to start thinking differently about your choices of where to fish.
It’s worth pointing out too that people have different versions of unkempt. For some a path that’s not mowed and 6 foot wide is unkempt and for others scrambling down a cliff is fine.
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Valid observations. I think my point is that for £25 per day, I would like a choice of swims in one mile of river. So, easier access and safety for older anglers and hacking through undergrowth and slippery steep swims for the more adventurous.
 
I seem to remember a similar thread last year saying exactly the same thing about a section of the Wye. Maybe you should mention the company you booked with and the water so others can avoid making the same mistake. I bet the riparian owner is getting peanuts from the £100 you paid the company.
 
If a supplier doesn't satisfy your needs, don't buy from them, just complain.

Especially when your purchase and their profit may lead to other more accessible waters ending up the same.
 
Graham Elliott said:
If a supplier doesn't satisfy your needs, don't buy from them, just complain.

Especially when your purchase and their profit may lead to other more accessible waters ending up the same.
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I'm not sure what the relationship is between the owner of fishing rights and their agent. 4 day tickets @ £25 each = £100. Assume just 3 days per week tickets sold, that's £300 or £1,200 per month. Irrespective of the split between owner and agent I still think there's enough cash to pay someone to cut back undergrowth with a brush cutter? 🤔
 
I sympathise with this. I had three days on the Wye last year and encountered the same problem, made worse by the river being low. First day was OK the second difficult to find access over a long stretch and also poor instructions to find one of the access points. On the third day I walked the whole stretch and the only two swims accessible at the low water level were already occupied.
I got back in the car and drove to the Trent, had a successful day then drove the hour back home.
The Wye Valley is a wonderful place to be for the scenery but like the owners of other tourist attractions the owners could do with investing to making the fishing more accessible. A reduction in visiting anglers, of course, means other associated businesses (pub, restaurants, hotels etc) lose revenue in these hard times.
I have three days booked next week so will see how that goes. I now have membership of Hereford DAA and next year will look at fishing their waters instead.
 
John Newman said:
I sympathise with this. I had three days on the Wye last year and encountered the same problem, made worse by the river being low. First day was OK the second difficult to find access over a long stretch and also poor instructions to find one of the access points. On the third day I walked the whole stretch and the only two swims accessible at the low water level were already occupied.
I got back in the car and drove to the Trent, had a successful day then drove the hour back home.
The Wye Valley is a wonderful place to be for the scenery but like the owners of other tourist attractions the owners could do with investing to making the fishing more accessible. A reduction in visiting anglers, of course, means other associated businesses (pub, restaurants, hotels etc) lose revenue in these hard times.
I have three days booked next week so will see how that goes. I now have membership of Hereford DAA and next year will look at fishing their waters instead.
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Thanks John, I thought it was just me! I am very active (for my age!) and are not adverse to walking long distances to get to a river, but once there, like you, I am annoyed to find that there is nowhere to fish!!!!
 
Angling Dreams by any chance?
We had a similar situation a few years ago with them, one stretch we fished was OK, the other two you struggled to find a peg at all. I did complain in an email, but had nothing back, strange as they were happy to reply before we paid.
I agree it should be better maintained considering the cost.
Wouldn't use them again tbh
 
Ahh, but you are missing something.
The Wye is a sssi, which means it is an offence to trim back branches and vegetation along it's length.
Please feel free to dispose of huge quantities of untreated sewage and Agricultural run off in it , however.
 
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