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.