Steve Double
Senior Member
I have a dilemma. On a quiet club stretch of the Loddon where more often than not I have had the place to myself, two carp angling "converts" have moved in.
They are thoroughly nice chaps - approachable, chatty, happy to offer up information, and have even used their own strimmer to improve access in a helpful and responsible way. They happily admit they got tired of over-crowding on the Yateley carp lakes and wanted some quiet on the Loddon.
So far so good. Welcome to the brotherhood, chaps.
BUT...these guys are still using out-and-out carp tactics including:
* Three rods on bite alarms
* Bivvies
* Feeding boilies by the gallon-sized bucket load (I counted four)
Now, for anyone not familiar with the Loddon, using three rods on this intimate little river is probably the equivalent of using 12 on the Trent.
On their baiting regime, another angler told me he started counting when one of the guys began putting in the boilies with his large Gardner baiting spoon. He got to 35 - that was before the pellets went in. The river would have probably risen several inches.
It seems they have had reasonable results, and claim to have caught several double figure barbel plus, fittingly, river carp.
So what do I do? OK, their style and approach is totally inappropriate for the river, but who am I to dictate how they fish just because it offends my sensibilities? Their use of three rods and bivvies are a breach of club rules, but if I shop them, where does that leave me? Because they seem decent guys, despite not fishing how I'd like them to, I'd feel an a*se for reporting them. It would also be very clear who'd dobbed them it. That's the coward in me talking now. The devil in me wants them kicked off so I can have the place to myself again, of course....
What would you do?
They are thoroughly nice chaps - approachable, chatty, happy to offer up information, and have even used their own strimmer to improve access in a helpful and responsible way. They happily admit they got tired of over-crowding on the Yateley carp lakes and wanted some quiet on the Loddon.
So far so good. Welcome to the brotherhood, chaps.
BUT...these guys are still using out-and-out carp tactics including:
* Three rods on bite alarms
* Bivvies
* Feeding boilies by the gallon-sized bucket load (I counted four)
Now, for anyone not familiar with the Loddon, using three rods on this intimate little river is probably the equivalent of using 12 on the Trent.
On their baiting regime, another angler told me he started counting when one of the guys began putting in the boilies with his large Gardner baiting spoon. He got to 35 - that was before the pellets went in. The river would have probably risen several inches.
It seems they have had reasonable results, and claim to have caught several double figure barbel plus, fittingly, river carp.
So what do I do? OK, their style and approach is totally inappropriate for the river, but who am I to dictate how they fish just because it offends my sensibilities? Their use of three rods and bivvies are a breach of club rules, but if I shop them, where does that leave me? Because they seem decent guys, despite not fishing how I'd like them to, I'd feel an a*se for reporting them. It would also be very clear who'd dobbed them it. That's the coward in me talking now. The devil in me wants them kicked off so I can have the place to myself again, of course....
What would you do?