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Well done the Angling Trust. Another reason to join....

Nathan Walter said:
Lets not forget that without the AT's intervention that seal would still be there in three months time. No one else was interested, yet again. Just the same as anglers are not interested in their own future, particularly if they have to pay for it. Well luckily some of us are interested and we're paying for all those that choose not to bother.
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Agreed. So I have bothered. Dead easy too to join- took 5 mins online.
 
Well done to the AT for doing something. It would have been better if they had persued the relocation plan from the outset, rather than announcing to the world anglers want it shot. Before anyone bites i know that's not exactly what they said but that is what the non angling public herd. You only have to look at the comments on that article to see what most people think of us. We need to be very carefull of how we portray ourselves to the general public - they only care about what they can see - Keith the lovely seal, and Tarka the cute fluffy otter. They can't see the barbel, chub, roach etc that are being decimated so they don't care - simple as that. If a ban on recreational angling ever came to vote they outnumber us by 50:1 so we must be very, very carefull of our public image. Really wish they hadn't mentioned shooting Keith.
 
Rob Shuttleworth said:
Perhaps clubs could consider a 2 tier membership system
£x for AT members or £x +£20 for non AT members with the difference being donated to the AT?
Might persuade a few more people to make their minds up (although it should be a no-brainer anyway imo).
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For what it's worth I think this is a terrible idea, I like to choose where and how I spend my money not have some club committee do it for me.
 
AT Membership

The Trust can't do everything exactly how and when each individual wants it to, it represents thousands of anglers, and often has to deal with very sensitive issues. You have to trust that it does what it considers to be in the best long term interests of angling. Why wouldn't it, it's run by anglers and it's survival depends on the support of anglers. I'm in it for the long term, and won't be leaving because I don't agree with one or even several of their decisions, because without a unified body, we're long term stuffed.

Nick C
 
The problem is, as has already been said....
You can't please all the people all the time.

But that's not the point...

The Angling Trust are involved in things I'd rather they weren't, like Kayak fishing and organising matches like the National Championships, but again, that's not the point!!!!!

People just don't get it, that we (that's angling) would be so much stronger is everyone joined.
Regardless as to whether they have done something for you personally or not.

The Trust has something like 15,000 members, that's out of 1.5million rod licences sold....
Pathetic!

I'll keep on saying it.... everyone of you that isn't a member should hold your head in shame.
Regardless of what ever reason you have for not been a member, you are doing angling a disservice by refusing to join.


Steve
 
Well said Steve. I would also like to point out that the Angling Trust was only formed in the early part of 2009 and struggled for support from the outset, making it almost impotent in its early stages. Perhaps that's why they were unable to help in your case Daryl. I think we have seen them grow in stature since then and gain a much louder voice. They have started to make a difference and will continue to do so if supported. Why do you think people like the RSPB are so powerful? They have over one million members! The AT have 15,000.....pathetic.
 
I fully agree with Steve! Put your hand in your pockets and join you non members.....
 
Andrew Boyne said:
Well done to the AT for doing something. It would have been better if they had persued the relocation plan from the outset, rather than announcing to the world anglers want it shot. Before anyone bites i know that's not exactly what they said but that is what the non angling public herd. You only have to look at the comments on that article to see what most people think of us. We need to be very carefull of how we portray ourselves to the general public - they only care about what they can see - Keith the lovely seal, and Tarka the cute fluffy otter. They can't see the barbel, chub, roach etc that are being decimated so they don't care - simple as that. If a ban on recreational angling ever came to vote they outnumber us by 50:1 so we must be very, very carefull of our public image. Really wish they hadn't mentioned shooting Keith.
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Very wise words Andrew
 
You're right of course Steve and I'll join as soon as I've spare cash, which is a bit thin on the ground at the moment! But I don't think guilt tripping is the way forward to get people to join!
I've always been somewhat sceptical as to how far they push fishing, sort of fishing comes first at all costs sort of thing, if that makes any sense? I love my fishing but it's not the be all and end all by any stretch, and stuff like 'lets shoot the seal' doesn't sit well with me. But to be fair they've handled this well in the end, aside from the PR disaster regards shooting it, and they do cover all aspect of fishing, game, sea and coarse. I would like to see them get more involved, or rather work with as opposed to against, other conservation/wildlife organisations, they should be able to educate them about life under the water! But like you say it's better than nothing, so ok I'm persuaded.
 
Its not a guilt trip bud....
At the end of the day, my ramblings wont 'make' anyone join.... at the end of the day its all our own choice....

My personal feeling is, with 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000 members, the Angling Trust will just become stronger.
As it becomes stronger it will start to have a positive impact on our fishing.....

At the end of the day, without it we have nothing....

Glad you've decided to join....
Who's next.....

Plus, I only take out Angling Trust members on my boat,,,,, didnt I tell you that... lol

Steve
 
Ha ha! Is that the reason I've been snubbed up to now!? I even bought some of your contraband to try and curry favour!:D
 
Steve Williams said:
The problem is, as has already been said....
You can't please all the people all the time.

But that's not the point...

The Angling Trust are involved in things I'd rather they weren't, like Kayak fishing and organising matches like the National Championships, but again, that's not the point!!!!!

People just don't get it, that we (that's angling) would be so much stronger is everyone joined.
Regardless as to whether they have done something for you personally or not.

The Trust has something like 15,000 members, that's out of 1.5million rod licences sold....
Pathetic!

I'll keep on saying it.... everyone of you that isn't a member should hold your head in shame.
Regardless of what ever reason you have for not been a member, you are doing angling a disservice by refusing to join.


Steve
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Steve,

I know what you have written comes from the heart, but I’m afraid I cannot agree.

Firstly congratulations to Andrew Boyne as he makes some very good points in his post. The single biggest threat to angling is the general public’s opinion of us, and the reason it is so poor is due to the fact that they think it is cruel to stick hooks in fish for fun and that anglers are all rather silly people anyway sitting there for hours and hours in the rain and catching very little. In short Joe Public does not like us very much. Now we know that this is not the case but this public perception still exists. It’s true that a pastime with so many people taking part in it must statistically have its share of complete idiots among them but I choose to think they are not representative. The majority of people I fish with are knowledgeable and environmentally aware and are excellent ambassadors for a sustainable countryside.

What we need to look at is how there comes to be such a massive disconnect between the reality of angling and anglers and the public image of us. It is here that we continually shoot ourselves in the foot with our published thoughts on forum such as this that we need to shoot the seals. Shoot the cormorants and any other large bird that eats fish. Shoot the otters. Lock up East European Poachers. Cull anything that we think may be a problem; in short the instant response of many of us is to destroy anything that we perceive threatens our pastime irrespective of any reliable data.

The likes of Tony Rocca do not help by having a link on all his posts that takes you to his blog where he displays photos of him shooting birds out of the sky and making very disparaging remarks about other anglers who have anything to do with the Barbel Society. Now Tony has every right to do this, and many people think that by throwing our lot in with the hunting and shooting brigade it makes us stronger, but does it help our cause regarding our public image? Rightly or wrongly the public hate the snot nosed toff on a horse with his pack of hounds and the lines of country gents blasting grouse and pheasant, so what do we have to gain from being associated with them?

Back to Steve’s point that by not joining the Angling Trust we are somehow not pulling our weight for angling and should be ashamed of ourselves. The fact that the vast majority of anglers have not joined is possibly a demonstration of voting with their feet. That is to say as the Trust does not represent ALL of angling, coupled with the fact that we have seen other representative bodies fail miserably in the past, the majority of anglers have no faith in its ability. Of course there is a chicken and egg situation here, but to quote from Field of Dreams “if they build it we will comeâ€. Asking people to join a body because it’s all we’ve got will not be successful.
 
Adrian Williams said:
For what it's worth I think this is a terrible idea, I like to choose where and how I spend my money not have some club committee do it for me.
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But you would have 3 choices:
Join at the non AT rate
Join at the AT member rate
Not join.

How many choices do you need :rolleyes:

I guess some people will look for any excuse not to join :(
 
?

Talks cheap,its not been moved yet and why wasnt this approach stated soon as Keith appeared ! Angling trust will not be the end to our problems ,the only way anglers can be taken seriously is if we voted with our wallets and didnt pay for a rod licence,which wont happen as we cant agree on anything!
 
Richard Hamlyn said:
Of course there is a chicken and egg situation here, but to quote from Field of Dreams “if they build it we will comeâ€. Asking people to join a body because it’s all we’ve got will not be successful.
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Your argument no longer holds water. What about the proposed hydroelectric
power station on the Trent the AT successfully opposed? How else would there have been a resolution to the seal incident without the intervention of the AT?

I concur with Steve - i think it is little short of a disgrace for a thinking angler not to be a member of the AT.
 
Richard-you are a legend and an esteemed angler with very strong opinions. Rather than sit on the outside pointing and wagging your finger at all those buffoons in the AT, why don't you join and help sort stuff out. You could get a knighthood.
 
Howard Cooke said:
Richard-you are a legend and an esteemed angler with very strong opinions. Rather than sit on the outside pointing and wagging your finger at all those buffoons in the AT, why don't you join and help sort stuff out. You could get a knighthood.
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Howard,

Why not respond to the subject matter rather than the poster?
 
I feel so ammused when I find these people desperately trying to justify not being a member to themselves. It's truly pathetic. As Steve and others have said already, you should be ashamed...............................but I know you won't be.

Very sad indeed!

Regards,

Jeff
 
Richard Hamlyn said:
Howard,

Why not respond to the subject matter rather than the poster?
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I was merely suggesting that rather than moan and whine about anglers, and voice concerns about possible threats an so on to angling (which I think is way over the top by the way), why not join the AT and do something far more positive. Why not be a positive force rather than a negative influence? I think I am allowed to share this thought on the forum.
 
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