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Matt Hayes reckons rivers are had it - your views

This is the same guy that said 'zander are improving the roach population on the Avon'. Rivers have been in decline for 20 years. Otters are a problem because of the low fish populations. That is the Environment agency's fault. Otters are here to stay, we must get rid of cormorants inland, then stop water treatment at sewage works removing all solid matter.
 
Andrew Burt said:
This is the same guy that said 'zander are improving the roach population on the Avon'. Rivers have been in decline for 20 years. Otters are a problem because of the low fish populations. That is the Environment agency's fault. Otters are here to stay, we must get rid of cormorants inland, then stop water treatment at sewage works removing all solid matter.
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Why?
 
Why oh why must we have a go at Matt at every turn he never has vested interest in anything he does!

The rivers have been in decline for over 20 years, chill you will have at least 10 years before you start fishing for Barbel in the Hayes Super Bowl.
 
The water treatment involves changing the pH with salts then removing all matter which happens to be the food and colour. Resulting water looks clear but for life is barely fit for purpose. Ask a fish keeper if they use water out of the tap, the answer is no.
 
To be fair I think Cormorants are the bigger problem, they have caused the bigger environmental disaster, the EA are too afraid to do anything because of the power that bird interest groups have, so don’t expect any help on that one!

In my opinion the EA have never been fit for purpose, they have NEVER had the guts to go against government or big business because they have no independence from either.

Let’s face it the general public do not care what happens beneath the surface of the water, so the EA don’t have to care!
Ok I know SOME individual members of the EA care well enough, but the management don’t have to and are thus far more interested in cheap marketing announcements.

Take for example the fact that Mogden Sewage Works releases over 12 million cubic meters of un-treated raw sewage into the tideway at Richmond on Thames 3-4 times a years and have done so for many years now, when the dead fish start to flow past Parliament the EA give out a statement that although some “minor†releases do happen The EA’s project to re-introduce Salmon into the Thames has been a remarkable success!

The only “remarkable†thing about the Salmon in the Thames is just how few go through the monitoring station at Shepperton!

This is just one small example, nothing is being done about the release of the un-treated sewage AND there is no intent to do anything about it either!

I am not sure who said it but :-

“The mark of civilisation is the distance it places between itself and its waste products!â€

The fact that they are comfortable with the fact that raw sewage can pass right beside the seat of political power in this country not only proves my point but also proves the inability of the EA to be effective in any way!

Also if they are not interested in London, what chance of them being interested in achieving anything in other large urban areas.

On the other subject!

Otters are cute and cuddly and are a very suitable tool for marketing the EA to the public, fish are not anywhere near as important and never will be – far too many pensions to protect
 
I'll second that Ian, excellent post from Keith, I suppose we have to make the best of what we have at the moment because the long term looks quite depressing, there is one secondary implication with it all in that the less fish there are, the less anglers will fish, the less rod licenses will be bought and the EA coffers will suffer further rendering them even more useless than they are now at addressing the predation problem.
I do not look forward to sitting on the banks of some commercial just to get a decent curve in my rod.

Nick
 
I used to respect Matt's opinion at one time and loved his old total fishing programs, they were funny and educational and not the one hour advertorial which the likes of thinking tackle are. It seems now though that as with anyone who turns a hobby into a business the pressure is on to produce a living.
He is a businessman though through and through, (I was once told he has a commercial law degree) and with two ex wives probably has allot of overheads to meet. With that sort of commitment you have to keep up a decent income stream so his forthcoming specimen lakes are another iron in his fire. With that in mind if he says the rivers are dead they probably are...not! But, if you say it enough people will believe it and not even bother to find out for themselves.
I'll carry on fishing the rivers, they're not as easy as they once were but that's part of the challenge.
 
What I find a bit depressing and a total fishing turn off, is adverts for lakes that tell you exactly how many carp are present in the lake and what size. Two 40lb fish, ten 30lbers blah, blah, blah. And not only that, you get even more detail. Common, mirror... and the icing on the cake, the named fish. "And ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Chubby Cheeks Charlie, our 60lb mirror. He loves to waft about in the upper layers on a sunny afternoon and feasts energetically on boilies, corn and pellet. His main dislikes are anything sharp and non-watery".

You need a bit of mystery. But each to their own I guess.
 
Howard Cooke said:
What I find a bit depressing and a total fishing turn off, is adverts for lakes that tell you exactly how many carp are present in the lake and what size. Two 40lb fish, ten 30lbers blah, blah, blah. And not only that, you get even more detail. Common, mirror... and the icing on the cake, the named fish. "And ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Chubby Cheeks Charlie, our 60lb mirror. He loves to waft about in the upper layers on a sunny afternoon and feasts energetically on boilies, corn and pellet. His main dislikes are anything sharp and non-watery".

You need a bit of mystery. But each to their own I guess.
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Howard,

Totally agree with you and part of the reason I dropped off the carp circuit many moons ago. I know the big carp day ticket type venues have to make money and the more people catch the more people will come and fish but on these lakes people turn up, ask the bailiff where to fish, he will even tell you where the bars etc are,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, :rolleyes:
Each to their own as you say, but quick fix fishing is not my scene.
 
I've got a semi-retired relative who only pleasure-fishes commercials. He can't understand why I fish rivers when I could guarantee to catch where he goes. Maybe I'm missing the point. :confused:
 
Gavin Hoe-Richardson said:
I've got a semi-retired relative who only pleasure-fishes commercials. He can't understand why I fish rivers when I could guarantee to catch where he goes. Maybe I'm missing the point. :confused:
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maybe it's because you want to fish and not just whip em out with your fingers...:rolleyes:
 
As Keith said , The general public dont care about what goe's on below the surface of the water .
With all the wild life documentry programes shown on tv . Has any one ever seen a film about fish in our rivers on the tv ?
Loads of films about Otters , Water voles and other furry or feathered creatures that live by and above the water and yet none about fish that live below the surface :(
 
Joe Fletcher said:
As Keith said , The general public dont care about what goe's on below the surface of the water .
With all the wild life documentry programes shown on tv . Has any one ever seen a film about fish in our rivers on the tv ?
Loads of films about Otters , Water voles and other furry or feathered creatures that live by and above the water and yet none about fish that live below the surface :(
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Shhhhhh, that's the only reason we get away with it, I love the fact that restaurants still serve fish on the bone and with the head on, it means that people are still in touch with what they are eating and see fish as a food source. As soon as the general public starts thinking of fish as cute comedy characters (finding Nemo for instance) our hobby will be finished.
 
Nick /Howard

That is it in a nut shell, being told EXACTLY how many and how big the fish are in a lake puts me right off, it is the not knowing, the mystery that makes the pursuit more interesting, I am sure that I often fish in areas that have fewer fish than I would like, however for me it is the pursuit rather than the capture that makes the day enjoyable.
I can understand why some will want to fish in a lake teaming with stocked fish, but it simply does not interest me, especially if I know I the size and quantity that are hidden in the depths, when I fish a river I hope there are several 20lb plus Barbel or a couple of 9lb Chub in my chosen swim, the fact that I did not catch them is due to my lack of skill, but I will return again and again because one day I might get lucky and no one can prove to me that my swim did not in fact have the huge fish I imagined.
The glass is always half full.
On a lake where I know absolutely the limits of the fish within, the glass is half empty before I set my box down!
 
Why I turned to the rivers in 2007 Keith, even my local lake a mile away started to get named fish, I had fished it for years and never named one ! back in the 80/90's no one new what was in the lake, hence it's mystery,,,,,,,,,,,, then a few whackers were caught, I had a 32 common, and hey ho the carp circus turns up, fillled it in with boilies and before I knew it was ''Big scale'' ''Dan's fish'' ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, no one believed I caught the common on a single grain of corn in the margins. The place is now bivvy city, sad,sad times.
Give me the freedom of the river,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, not a bivvy in sight !
 
i have no faith, in ANGLING TRUST nor E R A, they know what the problems are, and there taking years to sort in out, well us anglers what somthing done now, ????
trouble is , not one of them has the balls, to take the bull by the horn and sort it out,
by the way keith, nice piece,
 
Too full of yes men worrying about their pensions Eddie. .....
 
I agree there is a lot to be said for the wildness, the unknown quantities, the sheer 'I wonder what I will catch next' feeling about fishing some rivers, it is great...if sometimes not quite accurate, and at least on many rivers, a little exaggerated. How many threads/posts have we had on here over the years where the authors state categorically that on this or that river, the size and numbers of big barbel or roach in particular are well known, the areas that these known fish call home are well documented, and often go on to identify individual fish....and yes, at least with barbel, name them? In fact it occurred on a thread on here just a few days ago....and why not? And how many popular stretches on many rivers are just as much 'bivvy city' as any lake? And again, why not?

I think Keith and some others are being reasonable when they say fishing for named fish, in a lake with known quantities of fish...is not for them....that is fair enough, it is not knocking anyone else, just stating that it is not for them. However, the attitude I can't go along with (and to be fair, there hasn't been TOO much of it on this thread...yet) are the 'sneerers', the 'superior, nose in the air, holier than thou' types who are absolutely convinced that what they do, their idea of what 'true fishing' is all about is SO much better than any other branches of our hobby...carp fishermen being the usual victims of course.

If some guys like to fish from bivvies, or fish for named fish, or whip splendid creations of fur and feather about in a put and take pond, or fish commercial ponds, or sit at sea hauling masses of fish from the top of a wreck they have coordinates for on their Decca navigator...whatever...for gods sake let them! Stop sneering at and feeling so superior to anyone else who fishes in a different way to you. Different does NOT mean better or worse...it just means what is says...different! Every angler out there is ABSOLUTELY ENTITLED to fish in any style, for any legal species of fish, and in any lawful way they choose...without having to put up with being verbally battered by the self aggrandising, so called purists in this hobby.

If you want to batter someone, go batter the enemies of our hobby, and leave other anglers alone...chances are they are at least as good a man as you, and quite possibly better anglers. Until we accept and respect each other, how on earth are we going to get the general public to respect and accept us as caring, genuine people who offer much...and have a voice and opinions worth listening to....rather than cruel, worthless, sad excentrics to be ignored and marginalised?

I was about to type 'sorry for the rant'...but actually, I am not sorry. I actually believe what I just said was worth saying. Make of it what you will.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Agreed Dave-each to their own. All we can reasonably ask is that as anglers, we share some behavioural DNA: respect for each other, the environment and the fish etc. I guess with any broad church though, you get leg pulling and banter and so on and again, provided its lighthearted good clean and respectfully delivered fun, then all should be well.

Posting a photo of oneself in skimpy camouflaged undergarments as Rhys did recently is possibly crossing the line though. Unless.......
 
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