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Out of Season fishers

Clive Shipman

Clive Shipman

Senior Member & Supporter
Have you spotted any?
2 x Teenagers On the BA today
 
Give em the old double whammy.

'' Have you got a licence mate ?'' - the response is usually 'no' !
'' So not only have you not got a rod licence but you're also fishing out of season, the EA bailiff I've just seen round the corner is gonna love you, good luck '' :D.
This has worked for me on a number of occassions. Keep it lighthearted don't be confrontational. In my experience they usually foxtrot oscar fairly sharpish.
I know this won't work for some locations off the beaten track but it's worth ago.
Alternatively, carry your local non-emergency police number or better still the EA incident number. Plenty of copper's fish and if you get one that does he'll normally turn up pronto, especially if his shift is quiet. And keep calling, these area's will only be checked by the EA if there are the calls logged reporting this is happening. My local EA enforcement officers know the hot spots to check in my area and after talking to them last week I know they've recently dealt with a number of out of season river anglers already this Spring.
May be I'm lucky in my area but I've had both police officers, and on a seperate occassion, EA bailiffs attend for poaching I've reported over the last couple of years.

Do something, but what ever you do don't do nothing !

Duncan.
 
By about mid May Im starting to think "if you cant beat them join them" I havent yet though!
 
I had the opposite problem last year. Whilst wandering along a bit of the Teme, armed with what was obviously a fly rod one lunch time, I was reminded by some passing "angler" that it was indeed the "close season on this river". I pointed to my tackle, but he really didn't get it! I would have enjoyed it had he reported me.....
 
Chaps , i have been musing over this subject for many years ! does anyone really care about it anymore ? given the amount of un-licenced anglers out there would we be prosecuted for fishing out of season especially if you have a current rod license? would we be prosecuted for catching course fish ' by accident ' whilst fishing for trout ?
There is in fact only one way to find out , and you know what that is !

Now , the other question is , can i fly fish on the lower wye for trout ? or do i need a salmon license ?
 
i think law abiding anglers do care like me, but closed season, one after one, nothing really gets done about it.
why should i raise my blood pressure now.
 
James,
I think you may get porosecuted if the EA caught you, slim chance of that maybe, but I hope you would anyway.
 
Tony , I would not be as daft as to try it , but it has crossed my mind many times ! I have a license and pay to go fishing on thr River usk when i get the urge to go ! Like many anglers though i havn't seen a EA bailiff for 30 years , now that is absolutely ridiculous !
However whilst fishing the the Northern irish match circuit for 5 years i was checked over 25 times .
 
James O'Hara said:
Chaps , i have been musing over this subject for many years ! does anyone really care about it anymore ? given the amount of un-licenced anglers out there would we be prosecuted for fishing out of season especially if you have a current rod license? would we be prosecuted for catching course fish ' by accident ' whilst fishing for trout ?
There is in fact only one way to find out , and you know what that is !

Now , the other question is , can i fly fish on the lower wye for trout ? or do i need a salmon license ?
Click to expand...
You can't get prosecuted for accidentally catching an out of season fish. Given the number of out of season trout caught when grayling fishing in March it would be a silly situation. It would be obvious to any EA bailiff what an anglers intent was from the tactics and tackle being used.
You can fish the lower Wye on the fly without a migratory fish license. But if you are using a double handed rod with a big flashy fly or fishing at night then you would require a migratory fish license as you would obviously be fishing for Salmon and Sea Trout rather than brownies, it ain't rocket science to work out what anglers are doing from the tackle they are using. The fact that you may get a bite from a Sea Trout in the day or a Salmon on a little fly is clearly an accident rather than a deliberate attempt to catch that species.
Where it gets harder is people claiming to be fishing for Eels using a moving worm, who are in fact trying for Barbel or Salmon.
In the end, if it is only the risk of prosecution that prevents you breaking the law and ethical values of angling, then risk it. However I would hope, that for the vast majority of anglers, the reason they go fishing is not just to catch every fish in the river or pond, but have some sense of sporting values and therefore don't deliberately seek out of season species or use inappropriate tactics. If things have got so bad that this is no longer the attitude of the vast majority of anglers then I would be surprised and also amazed, why do they bother? Fish isn't that cheap, but it is certainly cheaper than buying a load of gear, travelling to a river, buying bait and then spending a lot of time just on the off chance of catching. If you just want to catch a fish, there are ponds where you can pay a tenner and guarantee to catch and if you want one for the pot, Sainsburys fish counter is always there..
 
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I know what you say James, I have been checked abroad more often than over here.

Did get checked on the Wye 2 years ago though.
 
any road up ! i'm targetting the carp on the sharpness canal for the next 2 months so its time to forget the rivers for now !
 
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