club beaches,the future.

[Steve (Original Leadchukka)]

If there were going to be positive benefits to beach anglers, then bring it on. HOWEVER, if all that happens is a few more bailiffs stroll around nicking a few without licenses - where is the benefit in that? If what you want is a tidy beach - get a load of timewasting sponging freeloaders to get off their ars*s and do a job for which they are already getting paid good money anyway!!! It doesnt need a license to do that.

If the fisheries agencies restocked our beaches like they do the freshies lakes and rivers - then by all means charge me for the pleasure. That is not likely to happen either is it? Maybe no netting within 3 miles of the shore could be enforced by the agency? I can't see that one either.

So until there is a case for positive benefits for me as a beach angler - NO to licenses.

[dean macey]

you are good to do that mate and the EAare entirly self supportive with all monies taken put back into the sport.

[dean macey]

trouble is steve we have to make a start for the good of everyone.i agree with all your points and think they should be enforced but someone will have to pay for it.

[slippery]

deanm said:

3 of me mates work for the agency and they do a great job,i think we need to do something soon i isnt really the money we have no order in our soport at all.i am sure it would work and most coarse anglers i know have no problem paying as they see what they get for there money.i do know 2 people in our town who had there gear confiscated last year for breaking rules and abusing an officer.they also got a criminal record as well.better than nothing

I know something needs to be done, about 10years ago would of been nice! and now after all this time i cant see a rod and line fisheries officer making a much of a difference, If the commercials aint stopped or slowed very soon there isnt going to be much for your £25. Dealing with fish stocks problems should be a priority not a after thought when we have a license until then I am staying against it.

[Pete B]

stevebbh said:

Maybe no netting within 3 miles of the shore could be enforced by the agency? I can't see that one either.

So until there is a case for positive benefits for me as a beach angler - NO to licenses.

I'd happily hand over £50 a year to see that happen & it be properly enforced & monitored.

I would have absolutely no problem with paying into a license scheme if it was going to dramatically improve our sport. In the same breath, if a license scheme was enforced that turned out to just be another tax without any benefit to the rod & line angler I would make a point of avoiding it & carry on fishing as I always had.

[dean macey]

i agree the netting is an immeadiate priority and the navy should be brought in to sink any offenders.still they might fight back unlike the wars they are fighting abroad at the moment.

[topbanana]

i think the problem is their is no real organisation for the voice of sea anglers not one that does anything anyways and we bring in probabley ten times the revenue that these commercial guys do but their organized and that is what is letting their voice be heard over our own,they go on about its their living,income but the way their going they will put their selfs out of work,but also at our cost,so i think the question is how do we become one voice

[Pete B]

Join Bass, have a look here www.ukbass.com/ , this organisation address all the points made within this post & carry real weight

[dean macey]

thanks for that pete looks good.

[Pete B]

deanm said:

i agree the netting is an immeadiate priority

Inshore netting I have the biggest problem with. We shouldnt have to but I would be prepared to hand over hard earned cash to see a decent margin put around our shoreline. And not just purely to improve my fishing but for the whole regeneration of life in that perimeter.
The damage that must be done to the seabed itself & everything it supports in a single drag of a trawlers nets must be carnage.
Even the most ignorant of anglers wont make a dent on the devastation a net would.
IMHO even if the bad rod & line anglers were left to it & all concentration went on keeping the commercial nets well off shore it surely would make a massive difference given a few years? Then us as concerned anglers could deal with the less-concerned ones ourselves, that certainly would be a great deal more effective than a government promise to police our beaches

[darenw]

The netting issue is out of our hands because when the EU was formed our government gave away our territorial waters in return for agricultural benefits. The fishing industry came under agriculture then. Farmers have always had a strong voice and can now be paid for just having the land !!!!!!!!! If we stopped every legal netter today the french and belgians and span..............etc etc as well as the rod and line illegals would fill the gap. Theres nothing we can do about it because the spanish and french have most of the votes where fishing is concerned.
The EA do a good job but are understaffed.
BASS are trying hard to get bass protected but raising the size limit 40mm is not going to make a difference IMO. Thats less than 2 inches. We need to protect the adults which is impossible under the present EU setup. All we can do is put them back ourselves and hope for the best.
The "timewasting sponging freeloaders" suck up all the money needed to make this country a much better place, I have no time for people like that. Do a days work for a days money thats my motto. I reckon anyone on the dole should have to go on work gangs and pick up all the crap around for the minimum wage-that would soon make them find a proper job.
As for the government policing our beaches LOL they cant police our cities and towns. Its not all doom and gloom though, there are bass everywhere at the mo and as long as they are left to grow on in the nursery areas in 5 yrs time the prospects look
excellent.

[eccles]

I have to agree with others that there is no point in having a sea angling licence system in this country at present. Normally in paying for a licence one would expect some benefits. Thus when I pay a "fee" to a pro skipper I expect to be transported to a fish holding zone and to catch fish. (My previous skipper would refund half the fee if I caught nothing.) Only once in the last six years have I been approached by a local sea fishery officer to see if I had taken anything undersized or illegal. Does anyone seriously imagine that politicians will do anything with a licence fee other than just add it to treasury coffers. I would pay a fee if 1. Commercials were banned from within 2 miles of the shore. 2. Fishery officers regularly visited beaches/anglers to enforce some rules. 3. Kids under 16 were allowed to fish free. 4. I received regular advice on fish holding zones. 5. I could park free in beach car parks. 6. I could dig for bait wherever I wanted. Otherwise forget it!

[dean macey]

its a bit like the chicken and egg i think.nothing will happen overnight

[darenw]

Apart from the tax raised from our expenditure as anglers I can,t think of another benefit to society that us anglers make by actually fishing- can anyone think of any?

[Pete B]

I think all the proposals by B.A.S.S were concerning inshore waters & that was what I was referring to within the post.
I think BASS were pushing for a total netting ban within 1 mile off shore for any fish species aswell as a 6 mile ban for netting bass specifically.
In light of improving beach & bass angling prospects I would back that proposal whole heartadly.
The push is on for the 55cm minimum landing size & again I back it fully. The old 36cm limit was no good because a fish of that size / age hasnt yet spawned . The 55cm fish will have spawned atleast twice.
The big thing is to raise the fishes profile so that its worth to the returning angler is profitably more than that of the commercial lads.
Certainly agree with Darenw's comments of the off loading the cadgers so theres more funds available to support the causes important to those paying into a such a system!