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What would you do...?

Stewart Harris

Stewart Harris

Senior Member
Whilst out on the bank this evening I stumbled across 3 lads setting up in a swim on the river, only 2 appeared to be fishing, the non angler I recognised but couldn't quite place initially. As it is within the club rules for all members to act as bailiffs I asked if the anglers held tickets. The anglers didn't speak a lot but the non angling companion assured me that both were members and that their books had become water damaged and proceeded to show me a picture of them on 'HIS' phone.
After walking away feeling somewhat suspicious of the whole situation it dawned on me who I'd been talking to and what probably was going on.
The gentleman in question is an angling guide and owns a bait company, I'm guessing the two anglers were clients and that neither held memberships in their own names. I don't want to ruin the two lads night, it's probably not their fault and I could be barking up the wrong tree but at the same time the whole thing stinks a bit🧐😈.

PS: It wasn't Des Taylor😂😂
 
In my experience, "guides" are often inclined to interpret Club rules to fit their requirements.
I'd report it to the Club.
 
Report it, some guides will do anything for a few quid in the pocket. Obs not all. 😆
 
I would report the guide, as you said, it’s not the clients’ fault, but the guide should ensure his client has the right to fish the swim.
 
I'd be a bit gutted of I'd spent money on a guide, only to have to bullshit other anglers that I'm a member when I'm not....what sort of guide does that to his punters???

To answer the question, yes I'd report him.
 
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I would have told them to leave …no book no fishing….does the club allow non angling guests ?
I ask people to leave the syndicate stretch of the nene all the time usually EE,s who then proceed to tell me they have a rod license stanfding there with a spinning rod and a Tesco carrier bag ( other supermarkets are available) and no landing net
 
Terry Harman said:
I would have told them to leave …no book no fishing….does the club allow non angling guests ?
I ask people to leave the syndicate stretch of the nene all the time usually EE,s who then proceed to tell me they have a rod license stanfding there with a spinning rod and a Tesco carrier bag ( other supermarkets are available) and no landing net
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Admire your tenacity Terry.
I’m ashamed to say I have lost a lot of bottle when bailiffing. I have no issues standing my ground with anyone but if they refuse or get aggressive- what do you do?
If you’re a simple law abiding genuine angler the odds are stacked against you in every way
Chances are you might get a good hiding and gear knicked/ damaged or you manhandle them and you get arrrested, possibly suspended/ sacked from work, gun licence revoked, hate campaigns on social media etc..
I had it on opening day, some guy squared up to me and threatened this and that- I reminded him if he passed a fence he would be trespassing and having made threats to me I would defend myself if he came into my personal space and it would be recorded on trail cams
It worked but I’m too old for that s**t
Re the OP record it and report it.
 
Report it. I think punters need to know this kind of thing happens to. I never!! fish anywhere that I'm not 100% sure I'm entitled to .
I'm a bailiff to and some of the crap you get is just ridicules. I don't want to be sat somewhere fishing and a bailiff ask me for a ticket when I've not got one. I wouldn't enjoy my fishing anyway.. Stewart I'm not suggesting you do this but it would stop this guide taking money for a service that he had no right to if he was named & shamed. Or pass his name to the club who could get in touch with him to at least discuss the situation.
 
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Paul Richardson said:
Admire your tenacity Terry.
I’m ashamed to say I have lost a lot of bottle when bailiffing. I have no issues standing my ground with anyone but if they refuse or get aggressive- what do you do?
If you’re a simple law abiding genuine angler the odds are stacked against you in every way
Chances are you might get a good hiding and gear knicked/ damaged or you manhandle them and you get arrrested, possibly suspended/ sacked from work, gun licence revoked, hate campaigns on social media etc..
I had it on opening day, some guy squared up to me and threatened this and that- I reminded him if he passed a fence he would be trespassing and having made threats to me I would defend myself if he came into my personal space and it would be recorded on trail cams
It worked but I’m too old for that s**t
Re the OP record it and report it.
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I'm with you Paul.

All very well standing your ground, but the problem is these days, is that if the situation deteriorated, the chances of a fair scrap are remote. Unless you are Mike Tyson it is very hard to defend yourself against 3. It is just not worth the risk.
 
It's a sad state of affairs. Bad enough the general public bending the rules. Some of the guides are not setting a good example for the rest.
Report and the club should ban him.
 
It's something that does mildly irritate me. It seems that such stroke pulling isn't seen as doing anything wrong by quite a few. I wouldn't even feel comfortable guiding legitimate ticket holders without seeking permission of the club first. Taking non-members to non-day ticket water is definitely extracting the urine.

Much depends on who you are and who they are, but I'd be rather wary of doing much. Unless you are very confident that you aren't the one who'll come off worse for you turning over that particular rock, be wary.
 
Paul Richardson said:
Admire your tenacity Terry.
I’m ashamed to say I have lost a lot of bottle when bailiffing. I have no issues standing my ground with anyone but if they refuse or get aggressive- what do you do?
If you’re a simple law abiding genuine angler the odds are stacked against you in every way
Chances are you might get a good hiding and gear knicked/ damaged or you manhandle them and you get arrrested, possibly suspended/ sacked from work, gun licence revoked, hate campaigns on social media etc..
I had it on opening day, some guy squared up to me and threatened this and that- I reminded him if he passed a fence he would be trespassing and having made threats to me I would defend myself if he came into my personal space and it would be recorded on trail cams
It worked but I’m too old for that s**t
Re the OP record it and report it.
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I’m with you all the way paul I would ask them politely to leave if they refuse or get a bit mouthy then I would walk away and report them for being there without a ticket and for being aggressive
 
Cheers for the replies chaps. I'm not for one moment professing to be a saint but the whole idea of charging someone £150 to go poaching seems more than a little wrong to me. As far asking them to leave I guess I could have 'asked' but I'm not sure what the next step would have been if they'd politely declined my invite! I have spoken to a club official and without me even mentioning names they knew exactly who I was talking about, he has been caught without a ticket before, unfortunately the head bailiff was away this weekend so nobody official was able to attend.
Hopefully the two lads were embarrassed enough to not use his services again and the club will follow it up through the correct channels and investigate who the membership numbers were actually assigned to!
 
Stewart Harris said:
Cheers for the replies chaps. I'm not for one moment professing to be a saint but the whole idea of charging someone £150 to go poaching seems more than a little wrong to me. As far asking them to leave I guess I could have 'asked' but I'm not sure what the next step would have been if they'd politely declined my invite!
I have spoken to a club official and without me even mentioning names they knew exactly who I was talking about, he has been caught without a ticket before, unfortunately the head bailiff was away this weekend so nobody official was able to attend.
Hopefully the two lads were embarrassed enough to not use his services again and the club will follow it up through the correct channels and investigate who the membership numbers were actually assigned to
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If you know his name, I'd name and shame him.
Don't think he'd be in a hurry to do it again
 
Joe Winstanley said:
I'm with you Paul.

All very well standing your ground, but the problem is these days, is that if the situation deteriorated, the chances of a fair scrap are remote. Unless you are Mike Tyson it is very hard to defend yourself against 3. It is just not worth the risk.
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I chanced upon a programme the other evening with a wife talking about her late husband.
He had been a keen angler and got into an altercation with some lads on a canal who threatened him and wanted to take his gear
He said they’d have to kill him first and took a right kicking
This affected him deeply and he ended up going after the lads ‘ tooled up’ leaving a note behind to his family
He never came home and ended his own life.
Most probably had other issues but when the one sanctuary from this FUBAR world is desecrated it is really really sad
 
I have booked an overnight session with a River Trent guider next year to improve my Barbel fishing and the thought of having a valid ticket didn't occur to me. I would assume as it's an arranged trip that a ticket would be sorted. The venue hasn't been decided yet, but it's something I will now check. Being a member of three clubs with River Trent fishing rights, it would spoil the experience if I thought for one minute I was fishing without a proper ticket.
 
Andrew Richardson said:
If you know his name, I'd name and shame him.
Don't think he'd be in a hurry to do it again
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I know exactly who it was and it's a name that has been mentioned on these pages in the past. I'm hesitant to name and shame as despite the circumstances being decidedly 'fishy' it's difficult for me to actually prove anything. There are probably a few who post on here who are using his bait too!😬😮‍💨
 
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