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Changes to Rod License

Always someone ready to tell others they are fishing in the wrong way, wrong rod, wrong............... best of all is being told "you wont catch a lot here" keep things quiet and they continue to think it ;) how anyone should fish is just an opinion and that doesn't make them right.
 
John Care said:
There are plenty of youngsters on the commie circuit Stephen, I still fish them with my club, and there's no shortage. Some of them are bloody good too.

Sadly, it's rare to see a young angler, ie/ less than 16yrs on the river, which really is a shame. Being able to catch 100lb in a few hours on a commie is to blame.
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IMO the state of our rivers might have something to do with that as it has for the dwindling numbers of older anglers no longer fishing them who would have historically taken youngsters with them.

The gain in popularity of commercials has imo been running parallel to the decline in the state of our rivers plus the fact that most young anglers haven't a clue how to fish a river, who is there to show them? rivers that used to hold huge matches now have deserted banks that rarely see an angler.

Commercials will always appeal to a certain section of our young anglers who want everything "now" but I wonder if our rivers were what they used to be how many would be lured onto them and away from commercials.
 
one of the best things for me is .....a rolling rod licence that lasts for 365 days from the day you buy it this is something that has brassed me off
I have had some health problems and only just been able to go fishing again so bought a licence in October
 
Hi Graham,
Re the decline in juniors fishing rivers,the most popular course fish is now carp and next but miles behind is the barbel.....bearing in mind almost all rivers have dwindling stocks it's no surprise really.....shame but understandable when they can get a few runs from largish fish
 
Stephen Whyte said:
Was thinking this myself, maybe Neil fishes differently :confused:

Stephen
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Fish welfare always has come first with me, a bit of an obsession in fact, of course we call all down rods and let the fish get on with it, but since we do actually stick a hook in them, and land them, the least they deserve is a safe return, why would you think that I would do otherwise?
 
Neil Smart said:
Fish welfare always has come first with me, a bit of an obsession in fact, of course we call all down rods and let the fish get on with it, but since we do actually stick a hook in them, and land them, the least they deserve is a safe return, why would you think that I would do otherwise?
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We call all down rods?
 
Neil Smart said:
Fish welfare always has come first with me, a bit of an obsession in fact, of course we call all down rods and let the fish get on with it, but since we do actually stick a hook in them, and land them, the least they deserve is a safe return, why would you think that I would do otherwise?
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Neil, get smart and read the thread and the posts carefully, before jumping in:)

Stephen
 
Richard Longmuir said:
Hi Graham,
Re the decline in juniors fishing rivers,the most popular course fish is now carp and next but miles behind is the barbel.....bearing in mind almost all rivers have dwindling stocks it's no surprise really.....shame but understandable when they can get a few runs from largish fish
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When I was a kid we looked forward to weekly trips with a club to rivers, we learned from the older anglers how to fish them, it doesn't happen now as clubs don't run trips to rivers because of the state they are in, instead its commercials they go to and so kids don't learn the joys a river can bring its a terrible shame that a large proportion of younger anglers will never learn how to fish a river.
 
Most things are faster now and kids are more used to that! What if the rivers declined and there were no commercials? There might be far less young anglers! Kids can fish a puddle and get a few bites, it's not what you'd call ideal but at least they're fishing! As they get older and progress they will seek out the areas of the sport that interest them. Most probably specimen carp fishing or match fishing but if they'd been to a river a few times and caught nowt, would they still be bothered about going?
Things have changed a lot, I never see any kids playing down the river let alone fishing. We were never out of the river when we were younger, fishing or not
 
Graham Young said:
When I was a kid we looked forward to weekly trips with a club to rivers, we learned from the older anglers how to fish them, it doesn't happen now as clubs don't run trips to rivers because of the state they are in, instead its commercials they go to and so kids don't learn the joys a river can bring its a terrible shame that a large proportion of younger anglers will never learn how to fish a river.
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What is it that concerns you about the state of our rivers?
 
All true Graham,
Very sad but the rivers local to me i.e. Thames,Loddon and Kennet are in a pretty sorrow state.The exception is the return of roach on the Thames although around my way they seem to max out at 1lb or so but I'm hearing of larger fish around Oxford.

The match results are really poor along the Kennet,so much so there is serious complaints when RDAA peg out the river rather than the Thames.

It's the barbel that seemed to have suffered an excelerated decline over the last 5years or so,less so chub although not so far this season for me anyway!
 
To off-set the doom and gloom over the last couple of pages, the state of the rivers and non-stillwaters (i.e. the Somerset drains, Kennet and Avon canal etc) around my parts seems to be one of overall improvement - water quality in almost all of these are better than they have been for a long long time (admittedly probably only down to several major and high profile national news making chemical and pollutant leaks over the years), small clubs with a few locally controlled waters and/or river stretches seem to be managing them very well with regular and sensible restockings, and the otter and mink populations appear to have balanced with nature (barbel, roach and eels all making a comeback in the Bristol Avon, with young and intermediate generation classes showing, and a very healthy silverfish population in general, and the pike and perch populations in the drains seem to be as healthy as they were 20 years ago).

I would agree that the massive rise in popularity of commercials and expensive carp puddles at the expense of other waters like rivers, canals and drains may affect the future of our rivers, at least in terms of us being able to fish them, and the huge drop in the number of junior anglers may affect the future of the sport in general. However, being optimistic, I don't think the future is that bleak, at least not yet. UK record fish are still coming out, specimen fish are still coming out, we still see people catch large bags of smaller fish in under-fished rivers, and this year alone I've caught numerous barbel between half a pound and 7lb 6oz from (and seen and lost more up to double figures!) in the Bristol Avon, a river that most barbel anglers, including members of this very forum, have written off as dead. Yet all of these fish were in perfect condition and in places where you would expect them.

Sooooo, y'know - let's not right off the old girls yet, eh?
 
Steve Lewis said:
To off-set the doom and gloom over the last couple of pages, the state of the rivers and non-stillwaters (i.e. the Somerset drains, Kennet and Avon canal etc) around my parts seems to be one of overall improvement - water quality in almost all of these are better than they have been for a long long time (admittedly probably only down to several major and high profile national news making chemical and pollutant leaks over the years), small clubs with a few locally controlled waters and/or river stretches seem to be managing them very well with regular and sensible restockings, and the otter and mink populations appear to have balanced with nature (barbel, roach and eels all making a comeback in the Bristol Avon, with young and intermediate generation classes showing, and a very healthy silverfish population in general, and the pike and perch populations in the drains seem to be as healthy as they were 20 years ago).

I would agree that the massive rise in popularity of commercials and expensive carp puddles at the expense of other waters like rivers, canals and drains may affect the future of our rivers, at least in terms of us being able to fish them, and the huge drop in the number of junior anglers may affect the future of the sport in general. However, being optimistic, I don't think the future is that bleak, at least not yet. UK record fish are still coming out, specimen fish are still coming out, we still see people catch large bags of smaller fish in under-fished rivers, and this year alone I've caught numerous barbel between half a pound and 7lb 6oz from (and seen and lost more up to double figures!) in the Bristol Avon, a river that most barbel anglers, including members of this very forum, have written off as dead. Yet all of these fish were in perfect condition and in places where you would expect them.

Sooooo, y'know - let's not right off the old girls yet, eh?
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That's a great post Steve. I like to think the same about some of the rivers I fish, it's not all gloom and doom.

:)
 
I agree that the river situation is one of cycles. That is...the fish. However, the average age of members in fishing clubs which do not have access to still waters is rising. These clubs are not enticing for young anglers for a variety of reasons which you all have an idea about. Taking this to its conclusion: clubs will eventually have to drop stretches or hike up their prices to maintain their access. This is a double-edged sword and not good for the sport. Eventually, clubs will have to compete against very exclusive syndicates which will not be beneficial to the majority of river anglers. We are a breed apart and a diminishing one at that and if we want to maintain membership levels we will have to be more proactive.
 
Richard Longmuir said:
All true Graham,
Very sad but the rivers local to me i.e. Thames,Loddon and Kennet are in a pretty sorrow state.The exception is the return of roach on the Thames although around my way they seem to max out at 1lb or so but I'm hearing of larger fish around Oxford.

The match results are really poor along the Kennet,so much so there is serious complaints when RDAA peg out the river rather than the Thames.

It's the barbel that seemed to have suffered an excelerated decline over the last 5years or so,less so chub although not so far this season for me anyway!
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You see that's the rub isn't it? The Roach revival, seems to make a mockery of all the doom and gloom that is spouted about the state of our rivers, the Roach are the first to suffer when a River is in poor health, and yet they are thriving, not only the Thames but the Severn too is bursting with quality Roach, I couldn't get through the shoals of them on the Lower in search of Barbel this summer.

I don't think you can add that the barbel's decline is a factor as to the poor state of our rivers, if that is the case, there were probably too many of them anyway (gulp) and that has benefited the Chub population.

Of course we face challenges as Anglers, and there are many, but as Steve says it's not as bad as some would have us believe, and the fact that he is catching Barbel from the 'written off' BA is proof that all is not lost.
 
Roach revivals are making a mockery of all sorts of theory's! They are coming out well over the 2lb magic marker on certain rivers in the North West - what cormorant problem?! :p With regards to the OP - a yearly licence makes more sense than the current seasonal one, scraping the junior licence is a very good idea and allowing up to 3 rods makes practical sense too since many Carp anglers fish 3 rods allowed by their fishery rules - seems daft they have to buy a 2nd licence for a 3rd rod. All very good proposals - so probably won't happen! :rolleyes:
 
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