Ishticar

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I am in the process of finding out which club had this match. Once I have all the facts I will make sure they never fish on our waters again, if proven to be pegged wrongly.

25 years + of research by scientists and the EA have not proven conclusively that fish do or do not feel pain. The "bonjela" you see being used is an antiseptic that is applied to a fish that has a lesion (sore to the uninitiated) on its flank. This is not a discussion I am going to persue further as you have your views, I have mine and never the t'wain shall meet. Let's agree to disagree.

Hello Mr Riley. You can rest assured that my club does not use the moorings as a peg to fish from, as only a couple of weeks ago we fished on Battyeford canal in Mirfield. We were pegged from the far side of the bridge, after South Pennine Boat Club marina up to the launch steps for the old scout hut. Every boat that passed was acknowledged by most anglers, including myself as we know most of the members of SPBC & given the courtesy of removing our rods whilst they passed, well before they reached us. We also have a rule that, under no circumstances should an angler cast his line at a moored boat or catapult bait towards them, we all use bait pots that deposit whatever bait we are using directly over the float. I will be issuing a directive to all the clubs who apply to have matches on our canal stretches, Mirfield canal & Battyeford cut, that they DO NOT peg any moorings near lock gates at a minimum of 35 meters away to accomodate boaters. We have part time bailiffs but they don't often feel the need to police these stretches if they are booked by outside clubs. That said, I will endeavor to attend at weekends to see if matches are pegged correctly, working commitments allowing. The only thing we can't police is the day ticket anglers who turn up sporadically and set up wherever. I hope this this goes some way to clearing up your views and concerns. To answer the other persons concerns about catching fish with hooks. There is no scientific proof that fish feel pain in their lips. The majority of fish, when caught have been hooked in the membrane behind the lip. If you can prove me wrong then I will give up the sport I have enjoyed all my adult life and take up boating & trust me, that would be a disaster as I am lousy at 3 point turns.

Nice to see I got my point across Mr Riley, The reason you didn't get a reply until now is that the letter didn't arrive until last Wednesday. I was going to write to you to explain that this stretch was pegged by another club and, after looking on Google to research codes of conduct, I came across your post so I decided to look. The vitriol in question came from the morons who decided to hijack the comments you made and make it personal. They need to grow up. End of discussion. Afterthought, If you (Mr Jim Riley) would like to contact me at the address you wrote to I would be more than happy to discuss issues with you on a one to one basis

Lend me a fiver and I will get the 1st round in

OMG Another PETA convert. Let us keep this to the topic originally raised.

Communication between all parties is preferable. If you acknowledge me I will reciprocate with a smile, a wave even an invite to the local pub. Abuse me and...........................

Let me introduce myself. I am the President of Old Bank Angling Club, have been for the last 2 years and have been a member of said club since 1974, holding many positions of office. In answer to Mr Riley and his "open" letter of complaint. Why did you not wait to get a written response to your letter instead of publishing for "ALL" to see? On the date in question we did not hold a match on these canals nor did we plan to. The club in question was Mirfield Angling Club. We have an agreement with them that, if the river is unfishable, for whatever reason, they may use the canals. You state, quote, "It seems that they were going to have the match on the river stretches but because the levels were high used the canal instead", you also state, quote, "On arriving at the Mirfield Flood lock the gates were shut". If the river was high and the flood gate shut didn't that tell you something? Should you have been travelling or moored in a safe haven until levels subsided? The canals and their towpaths are open to all users and as such should be used sensibly. I do not condone the actions of irresponsible anglers nor do I accept that it is always anglers that are in the wrong. Were there visible signs warning anglers not to fish in this particular landing area? If not, why not? There are plenty of signs to indicate that Old Bank Angling Club has the fishing rights on these stretches. If these said signs have been removed, vandalised or whatever, whose responsibility is it to get them replaced? As a responsible club we welcome comments that are constructive to better assist us in our endeavors to maintain peace and harmony with other users, BUT, I WILL NOT accept blanket abuse as has happened in this forum without first waiting for a reply. I frequently am in contact with boaters on our canals and the vast majority are good natured with plenty of amusing banter. Then there is the odd one who makes a beeline for the towpath in the hope of disrupting a match that is in progress, as a minimum. I have had 2 keepnets completely shredded and the fish in them killed over the last 5 years. I fish for sport, not to kill, catch and release. Was that the thought of the morons who killed my catch? I think not. As a boater you will pay a fee to use the canal, ie, licence, mooring fees and the like. Old Bank Angling Club also pays an annual fee to be able to fish these canals. If you had had the decency to wait for a written response then I would not have had to reply this way and have to respond to this vitriol.