Fined

[Clive Kenyon]

I think the real reason Mr. James was fishing when he did might have been publisher's deadlines. Given that magazines are seasonal and are compiled well in advance of their publishing date, any article, say for barbel (taken completely at random) in September, would have to be on the editor's desk by the middle of June.

As for the shad excuse British justice is such that should you decide to plead guilty you can explain your actions on any way you choose without question. And of course you can plead not guilty and claim whatever you like. By offering the shad excuse he has not admitted to knowingly fishing for coarse fish, merely fallen foul of a 'technicality' and can, in his own eyes anyway, retain a sense of decency. Had he simply pleaded guilty or been found guilty with no iffy excuse then his position would be even more seriously undermined.

 

[Craig Wood]

I think over the next few years the closed season on Rivers will serve no purpose at all..The Seasons are changing, with more and more extreme weather coming our way, if you think this year is a blip, then your in for a rude awakening..EVERYTHING is going to change even for fish and all other Wildlife..The arguament that Wildlife needs a break is complete twaddle, as in reality the River is in constant use by Game Fisherman, Canoeists and ILLEGAL FISHERMEN (POACHERS) etc..I honestly believe the main obstacle for not getting rid of this outdated close season, is GAME FISHERMEN, who dont want us ordinary Anglers ruining their peace and quite and taking up their prized swims..

 

[Tony Rocca]

"who dont want us ordinary Anglers"............ ORDINARY Anglers!!!!!!!!!! What are they then?..... you got some inferiority thing going on Craig?

Oh and "everything" has always been a changing.

 

[Robert Beal]

How many rivers actually have game fishing on them ? Not many if any round here , as for the weather changing not sure thats right , its only 2 years ago we were going to get very hot dry summers and extremely cold winters mmmmmmmmm thats not happening is it

 

[Richard Hamlyn]

So is yours.

Try reading it and I think you will find it is factual and not emotive

 

[Richard Hamlyn]

Scrutinise this then Richard............. it's illegal and no one is going to change that any time soon, therefore we will continue..


Nothing to talk about, not even in March.

Your post has no logic whatsoever. I do not need to scrutinise the fact that there is a legal close season in force because it is a fact. It will be subject to change one day but for now it is a given. Ray's post was not only emotive but it was also illogical. If he wants to elaborate on his post I'm sure he is capable of doing it himself.

 

[Howard Cooke]

Try reading it and I think you will find it is factual and not emotive

Luckily I do fall into the % that can read so I didn't need to try too hard. I actually didn't even have a practice read of other posts- I dived straight in, that's how confident I was. Your post isn't factual it's your opinion ("in my experience...."). Plus, if you look down the list of basic emotions and even rummage about in the more advanced ones, I think you might find that your response was an emotional one. Actually, it could be a blend.

 

[Tony Rocca]

Richard,
You said "give me one reason to continue......" I gave you the simplest one, and your right, you cant scrutinise it". Thats the point!

I could, and have, argue about the close for ever but these days I just cant be bothered, folks like you will think as they wish, and that fine and dandy as it changes nowt.

 

[Richard Parsons]

He's both a bloody fool and a poor role model. He's not the first, and won't be the last, person of influence who thinks he or she is above the law. Whilst I agree one fine for all, i.e. not means tested, I wouldn't be unhappy if they'd thrown the book at him.

As for accusing his detractors of taking the moral high ground - what tosh. I'm sure he inspired a few along the way but there's no room under law for sentimentality. As to whether some of us would do the same in similar circumstances? Not in my case.

 

[Mark Anderson]

Hi men,

I helped run the junior carp society conference , with an old mate Alan Atkins , and the guest speakers were Bob and Chris who had nearly finished the Passion for angling serris . I asked to by my son James a copy of the Redmire video for is birthday . They signed it , with a little verse from Chris saying " may all your wishes be fishes , and your wishes come true " . Does this episode devalue it ? , or increase it ? .

Hatter

 

[Robert Beal]

Well said Richard !!!!

 

[David Gauntlett]

And that's the thing behind most postings - Bob obviously has 'previous' with some people which is distorting their views on suitable punishment for the offence in question.

Perhaps that is because the people making those 'most postings' you are on about Andrew....are those old enough...or in the position to be aware of.....the 'previous' you say is distorting their views. It is not possible to be specific on open forums because (1) nothing has been taken to court, so no proof from THAT source is available, consequently (2) libel laws could be bought into action.

If you read previous posts', and do some research...all might become clear. Fact is, where money is at stake, some folk aint fussy

Cheers, Dave.

 

[Andrew Boyne]

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judgedâ€

Merry Christmas

 

[Ray Walton]

The above statement most definitely does not stand up to scrutiny. If this were a reality then it would apply to all fish that were captured during spawning not just Barbel. We have no close season in ponds and lakes and we also have no year classes lost because of "idiots", if we did then we would have no recruitment at all according to this flawed logic. It is my experience that when fish are spawning they are all but impossible to catch, and I am also sure nobody has told them they have to spawn between the 15th March and the 16th June, that rules out most of the Perch in my local ponds.

But just for arguments sake lets say we were allowed to fish all year and just for arguments sake lets say that a few Barbel did end up shedding eggs on an unhooking mat, do you seriously think that is going to make any significant diffrence? The whole strategy of animals that lay thousands of eggs and then play no further part in their offsprings upbringing is to allow for high levels of attrition.

Your argument is based on nothing more than an emotive response.

If you consider also that the EA kill most of the fish eggs laid, and fry if any eggs manage to survive, on rivers where they weedcut and clean gravels(dredge and scrape the riverbed) each year; in the close season, then through the summer and autumn, then you realise why river fish stocks are in decline. Yes, there are a few other reasons and different species spawn at different times throughout the year, even on lakes. So shall we join in and help the EA continue killing and further the decline! Probably best to extend the current close season through to July-August, if any change is due, and bring back the close season on lakes as well! Clubs and fishery owners should either close fisheries when fish are spawning or add restrictions (no weighing or photogaphing etc) to protect their stocks...to which some do! Sorry, but most who wish to abolish the close season on rivers have a personal interest in doing so, or are unknowledgeable idiots and/or don't give a fuu dkge either way, and some are with commercial business money/profit orientated personal interests, with no respect for the fish at all.

 

[Chris Guy]

It's about giving the birds that nest on and around the water a break too Ray.

 

[Howard Hutchins]

Hi men,

For fishing out of seaon , Bob James . £250 fine , £100 costs , and the tackle confiscated . Same for journalist Steve Martin who pleaded guilty by letter .

Any thoughts ?.


Hatter

Punishment was to severe,they should have only had there wrists slapped,as will spend years facing endless embarrassment.

If they had beat up a pensioner and robbed him,theyd have probably got off
with community service and no fine.

The laws in this country are a complete ass

 

[David Gauntlett]

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judgedâ€

Merry Christmas

I am sure Jimmy Saville used to quote that like a mantra non stop. Seems to have worked for him, certainly until it was too late to matter

Ok, OK, over the top, bears no relationship....and all that. But you see my point?

Merry Christmas to you too Andrew.

Cheers, Dave.

 

[Ray Walton]

It's about giving the birds that nest on and around the water a break too Ray.

Agreed..as with other breeding wildlife on the riverbank areas.

Even the canoeists etc will want to join in too!

 

[Andrew Boyne]

But you see my point?
QUOTE]

Sort of. If i re-word my original post to say " Bob obviously has 'previous' and that is distorting some peoples views on suitable punishment for the offence in question" would that be better?

If you endanger innocent lives by breaking the speed limit you get a £60 fine and 3 points on your licence.
For standing in a river holding the wrong type of fishing rod for the time of year Bob got a £250 fine and probably lost double that in tackle.

See my point yet? The bloke may be a bad un but the punishment should fit the offence in question not said offence plus all the other stuff alledged to have gone on in the past.

 

[David Gauntlett]

But you see my point?
QUOTE]

Sort of. If i re-word my original post to say " Bob obviously has 'previous' and that is distorting some peoples views on suitable punishment for the offence in question" would that be better?

If you endanger innocent lives by breaking the speed limit you get a £60 fine and 3 points on your licence.
For standing in a river holding the wrong type of fishing rod for the time of year Bob got a £250 fine and probably lost double that in tackle.

See my point yet? The bloke may be a bad un but the punishment should fit the offence in question not said offence plus all the other stuff alledged to have gone on in the past.

Andrew, I would most certainly agree that the punishment frequently does not fit the crime in English law. The law is indeed an ass in many ways. I would also agree that the paltry fine you mention for endangering lives by dangerous driving is wrong....very, very wrong. But surely the answer to that is to massively increase the dangerous driving fine....not lower the fine for what Mr. James did.

In my opinion the man was quite probably deliberately fishing out of season, again, most probably because it was financially beneficial for him to do so. He then denied his actions, coming up with a rather lame excuse to try to vindicate those actions. However, I admit I wasn't there, have no evidence to back those assumptions....other than the fact that the judge...based on a whole lot more evidence than we have....seemed to see it that way too

That apart, are you really sure that the fine the man got was in any way influenced by his 'alleged previous'....that the judge was even aware of those previous accusations, let alone prejudiced by them? I rather doubt it, as he probably has no idea who the man is...unless he is an angler himself. Not to mention the fact that the judge would be breaking the law himself, if he allowed those previous allegations to influence his actions in court. That those things may influence the thoughts of silly old fools like me really has no bearing on anything of any importance whatsoever, lol.

Fact is, I rather think that the fine he paid WAS in line with that paid by others in the same circumstances....so in that sense, why is it wrong? In what possible way is it wrong? It wasn't just a case of 'holding the wrong rod' was it Andrew....not really...although I wish I had thought of that rather splendid cliché....I love it

Cheers, Dave.