Soar Warning

[redfastlad]

For the last 2 week ends we have left our berth in Sawley and cruised into the river Soar, last week i passed a man and a woman fishing just through the A453 road bridge opposite the island house area, i moored little bit further on next to the piling sheets, As it started to turn dark i took my 2 dogs for the last round up walk and ventured down to the man and woman to see if they had caught anything, as i approched the woman was stuffing an hold all with white towels i asked her " done any good"? her reply in a broken English was "no gud" i looked at the bag which was full and the man had his back to me but he was hold a knife! i turned and walked away. Next morning i went back to the spot they had fished and found fish scales and blood!

This weekend we set off bound for a meet with friends at Zouch this time i spotted 5 men about 20yr olds fishing with spinners etc now i have fished for all my life and i can regonise a fisherman by his tackle and these foreigns definatley didnt qualify as fishermen? later we moored for the night below kegworth deep and spoke with the couple in front of us and apparently the men had asked for a lift on the boat to which the boater declined. We set off back down the Soar on Sunday afternoon and after queing at Kegworth deep for nearly 3 hours we headed home down river to find on the pilings a family of foreign people trying to fish very close to a n/boat who had moored this must have been very dissconserting for the boater and his crew! when i went around the corner their was 5 black men fishing with all sorts of rough tackle also a dead fish was floating next to one of them,i went through at a quick pace to try and give the fish a chance. When we got into Redhill/Redditch lock i rang the EA and reported what i had seen, they informed me that as it was Sunday evening no patrols would be on duty but they would put a report in so that the area could be patrolled by the ballifs.The problem is 2 fold in that 1 they will not have fishing licences and secondly they are fishing on moorings, the theft of the fish is diabolical and as a fisherman it sickens me to know this is what they are doing.The A453 being so close is the problem ,they can park on the road bridge and walk down onto the river quite easily, just how long before we boaters start getting theft or threats from them is only a matter of time in my oppinion.So be warned the Soar is getting dodgy and we need to be aware and on gaurd against these people.

[debbifiggy]

For the last 2 week ends we have left our berth in Sawley and cruised into the river Soar, last week i passed a man and a woman fishing just through the A453 road bridge opposite the island house area, i moored little bit further on next to the piling sheets, As it started to turn dark i took my 2 dogs for the last round up walk and ventured down to the man and woman to see if they had caught anything, as i approched the woman was stuffing an hold all with white towels i asked her " done any good"? her reply in a broken English was "no gud" i looked at the bag which was full and the man had his back to me but he was hold a knife! i turned and walked away. Next morning i went back to the spot they had fished and found fish scales and blood!

 

<Big snip>

 

The problem is 2 fold in that 1 they will not have fishing licences and secondly they are fishing on moorings, the theft of the fish is diabolical and as a fisherman it sickens me to know this is what they are doing.The A453 being so close is the problem ,they can park on the road bridge and walk down onto the river quite easily, just how long before we boaters start getting theft or threats from them is only a matter of time in my oppinion.So be warned the Soar is getting dodgy and we need to be aware and on gaurd against these people.

 

It is very worrying, fish thefts, particularly of carp are shocking now days, some areas are losing huge amounts of stock (River Lee, GU around Leighton Buzzard etc) and baliffs are being threatened as are waterways staff. Poaching of swans and geese is also a big problem. In some areas such as Leighton Buzzard the local fishing clubs are trying to educate mainly Eastern Europeans that over here we return our fish live to the canals and that the fish and wild fowl are not for eating.

 

Any incident or threat like this should be reported to the appropriate navigation authority if you see it happening. It is also a criminal offence (theft) so call the local police too and report it.

 

Debbi

[Richard T]

Sadly the fish on the Soar are also threatened by disease. I sail at Watermead country Park - next to the Hope & Anchor - and we and the Park Rangers have been pulling dead and diseased fish out since the last floods. We don't know what the problem is but the EA have taken water samples for analysis.

The pond weed is also getting bad on the river again.

[tillergirl]

There is also another reason for the depletion of fish stocks nationally.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6941262.stm

 

My neighbour tells me our koi carp are a particular delicacy where he comes from. Needless to say we told him we know exactly how many we have.............. apart from that hes a really nice guy

Edited August 13, 2007 by tillergirl

[StephenA]

Sadly the fish on the Soar are also threatened by disease. I sail at Watermead country Park - next to the Hope & Anchor - and we and the Park Rangers have been pulling dead and diseased fish out since the last floods. We don't know what the problem is but the EA have taken water samples for analysis.

The pond weed is also getting bad on the river again.

 

And its not a good idea to eat diseased fish. I would hope that hospitals have been made aware that there is a diseased fish problem and that Eastern Europeans who come to hospital with odd symptoms could have been eating said fish

[nickfryer]

For the last 2 week ends we have left our berth in Sawley and cruised into the river Soar, last week i passed a man and a woman fishing just through the A453 road bridge opposite the island house area, i moored little bit further on next to the piling sheets, As it started to turn dark i took my 2 dogs for the last round up walk and ventured down to the man and woman to see if they had caught anything, as i approched the woman was stuffing an hold all with white towels i asked her " done any good"? her reply in a broken English was "no gud" i looked at the bag which was full and the man had his back to me but he was hold a knife! i turned and walked away. Next morning i went back to the spot they had fished and found fish scales and blood! This weekend we set off bound for a meet with friends at Zouch this time i spotted 5 men about 20yr olds fishing with spinners etc now i have fished for all my life and i can regonise a fisherman by his tackle and these foreigns definatley didnt qualify as fishermen? later we moored for the night below kegworth deep and spoke with the couple in front of us and apparently the men had asked for a lift on the boat to which the boater declined. We set off back down the Soar on Sunday afternoon and after queing at Kegworth deep for nearly 3 hours we headed home down river to find on the pilings a family of foreign people trying to fish very close to a n/boat who had moored this must have been very dissconserting for the boater and his crew! when i went around the corner their was 5 black men fishing with all sorts of rough tackle also a dead fish was floating next to one of them,i went through at a quick pace to try and give the fish a chance. When we got into Redhill/Redditch lock i rang the EA and reported what i had seen, they informed me that as it was Sunday evening no patrols would be on duty but they would put a report in so that the area could be patrolled by the ballifs.The problem is 2 fold in that 1 they will not have fishing licences and secondly they are fishing on moorings, the theft of the fish is diabolical and as a fisherman it sickens me to know this is what they are doing.The A453 being so close is the problem ,they can park on the road bridge and walk down onto the river quite easily, just how long before we boaters start getting theft or threats from them is only a matter of time in my oppinion.So be warned the Soar is getting dodgy and we need to be aware and on gaurd against these people.

For the last 2 week ends we have left our berth in Sawley and cruised into the river Soar, last week i passed a man and a woman fishing just through the A453 road bridge opposite the island house area, i moored little bit further on next to the piling sheets, As it started to turn dark i took my 2 dogs for the last round up walk and ventured down to the man and woman to see if they had caught anything, as i approched the woman was stuffing an hold all with white towels i asked her " done any good"? her reply in a broken English was "no gud" i looked at the bag which was full and the man had his back to me but he was hold a knife! i turned and walked away. Next morning i went back to the spot they had fished and found fish scales and blood! This weekend we set off bound for a meet with friends at Zouch this time i spotted 5 men about 20yr olds fishing with spinners etc now i have fished for all my life and i can regonise a fisherman by his tackle and these foreigns definatley didnt qualify as fishermen? later we moored for the night below kegworth deep and spoke with the couple in front of us and apparently the men had asked for a lift on the boat to which the boater declined. We set off back down the Soar on Sunday afternoon and after queing at Kegworth deep for nearly 3 hours we headed home down river to find on the pilings a family of foreign people trying to fish very close to a n/boat who had moored this must have been very dissconserting for the boater and his crew! when i went around the corner their was 5 black men fishing with all sorts of rough tackle also a dead fish was floating next to one of them,i went through at a quick pace to try and give the fish a chance. When we got into Redhill/Redditch lock i rang the EA and reported what i had seen, they informed me that as it was Sunday evening no patrols would be on duty but they would put a report in so that the area could be patrolled by the ballifs.The problem is 2 fold in that 1 they will not have fishing licences and secondly they are fishing on moorings, the theft of the fish is diabolical and as a fisherman it sickens me to know this is what they are doing.The A453 being so close is the problem ,they can park on the road bridge and walk down onto the river quite easily, just how long before we boaters start getting theft or threats from them is only a matter of time in my oppinion.So be warned the Soar is getting dodgy and we need to be aware and on gaurd against these people.

We came down the Soar under the A453 at about 6.30pm on Sunday evening and we saw the same group fishing. We came to the same conclusion, they were not fishermen as you would expect, but fishing for food. All appeared to be foreign and not dressed for normal fishing.

[Theo]

For the last 2 week ends we have left our berth in Sawley and cruised into the river Soar, last week i passed a man and a woman fishing just through the A453 road bridge opposite the island house area, i moored little bit further on next to the piling sheets, As it started to turn dark i took my 2 dogs for the last round up walk and ventured down to the man and woman to see if they had caught anything, as i approched the woman was stuffing an hold all with white towels i asked her " done any good"? her reply in a broken English was "no gud" i looked at the bag which was full and the man had his back to me but he was hold a knife! i turned and walked away. Next morning i went back to the spot they had fished and found fish scales and blood! This weekend we set off bound for a meet with friends at Zouch this time i spotted 5 men about 20yr olds fishing with spinners etc now i have fished for all my life and i can regonise a fisherman by his tackle and these foreigns definatley didnt qualify as fishermen? later we moored for the night below kegworth deep and spoke with the couple in front of us and apparently the men had asked for a lift on the boat to which the boater declined. We set off back down the Soar on Sunday afternoon and after queing at Kegworth deep for nearly 3 hours we headed home down river to find on the pilings a family of foreign people trying to fish very close to a n/boat who had moored this must have been very dissconserting for the boater and his crew! when i went around the corner their was 5 black men fishing with all sorts of rough tackle also a dead fish was floating next to one of them,i went through at a quick pace to try and give the fish a chance. When we got into Redhill/Redditch lock i rang the EA and reported what i had seen, they informed me that as it was Sunday evening no patrols would be on duty but they would put a report in so that the area could be patrolled by the ballifs.The problem is 2 fold in that 1 they will not have fishing licences and secondly they are fishing on moorings, the theft of the fish is diabolical and as a fisherman it sickens me to know this is what they are doing.The A453 being so close is the problem ,they can park on the road bridge and walk down onto the river quite easily, just how long before we boaters start getting theft or threats from them is only a matter of time in my oppinion.So be warned the Soar is getting dodgy and we need to be aware and on gaurd against these people.

That was us what was arsked for the lift!.It was good to chat with you, Redfastlad!Nick

Sadly the fish on the Soar are also threatened by disease. I sail at Watermead country Park - next to the Hope & Anchor - and we and the Park Rangers have been pulling dead and diseased fish out since the last floods. We don't know what the problem is but the EA have taken water samples for analysis.The pond weed is also getting bad on the river again.

And the rubbish. I came through Junction lock this afternoon on my way back to Thurmaston with a couple of friends and the state of the river was disgusting!

[Orphiel]

Call me dim but I do not and have never fished so don't know . I understand obviously fishing without a license is a problem, but what is wrong with fishing for food?

 

Meg

[Breals]

Does anyone need to feel threatened, unless you happen to be a fish? It seems to me that fishing for food is perfectly natural, although obviously people need to understand that eating fish from polluted rivers is a health risk! My dad was a keen fly fisher, and used to patrol banks of the Derwent, ejecting poachers. I never quite understood it. How do you 'own' a river, and the fish within it?

[saltysplash]

Does anyone need to feel threatened, unless you happen to be a fish? It seems to me that fishing for food is perfectly natural, although obviously people need to understand that eating fish from polluted rivers is a health risk! My dad was a keen fly fisher, and used to patrol banks of the Derwent, ejecting poachers. I never quite understood it. How do you 'own' a river, and the fish within it?

 

Im too a bit puzzled by the suggestion that they are stealing fish, Unlicensed, poaching yes, but surely the license gives you the right then to fish. Im not a course fisher, so forgive me if it needs explaining, does the license state you 'MUST' replace your catch? I have heard of places such as private lakes where keep nets are banned? but is that the same for canals, owned by BW with fishing rights probably owned by a club at various ponts?

 

Remember the episode of 'The Good Life' when Tom goes fishing with Gerry and gets into a tussle when he trys to cart off his catch

[Barry]

There was an interesting discussion on this on Radio 2 a fortnight ago where people raised exactly the same question about fishing for food

 

Inland waterways are a finite resource as far as fish stocks go. They are not inexhaustable so if people take fish at a rate faster than the fish can breed the stocks will run out. I saw a programme on telly where a guy was invited to fish a Polish lake - he fished it for 3 days and never saw a fish. The owner of the lake put it down to local people eating the fish which is the culture in Eastern Europe. Indeed my brother is married to Russian from Kazahkstan and she activley encourages him to bring fish home when he goes fishing.

 

There is also the problem of the size of fish taken - it sounds as if these were taking the bigger fish which are generally the breeding females - take these on a regular basis and the fish stocks will soon crash - from the sound of it these people were not taking for personal use, you'd only want one two - I reckon they were taking them to sell so if they are making money they will be back taking more of the breeding stock.

 

The National Rod License for course fishing does allow people to take a maximum of two fish per day I think, so that is a statutory limit on the amount of fish taken. The license is issued by the Environment Agency part of whose duties is to monitor the state of the fish in our waterways

 

There is also the question of predator balance. Pike are good to eat and if you take the temptingly large females (the main predator of small pike is large pike - there are other predatory fish who will eat very small pike) you get an explosion in the numbers of small pike who, unchecked, then eat larger numbers of the smaller fish in the water. An explosion of small pike will decimate the prey fish population. If the breeding female prey fish have been taken it will take a very long time for the fish stocks to recover.

 

The waterways are a balanced ecosystem of course so if you lose the small fish who graze on algae, weed, small invertebrates (especially mosquito larvae) etc these will proliferate and cause problems for those who use the waterways

[saltysplash]

There was an interesting discussion on this on Radio 2 a fortnight ago where people raised exactly the same question about fishing for food

 

Inland waterways are a finite resource as far as fish stocks go. They are not inexhaustable so if people take fish at a rate faster than the fish can breed the stocks will run out. I saw a programme on telly where a guy was invited to fish a Polish lake - he fished it for 3 days and never saw a fish. The owner of the lake put it down to local people eating the fish which is the culture in Eastern Europe. Indeed my brother is married to Russian from Kazahkstan and she activley encourages him to bring fish home when he goes fishing.

 

There is also the problem of the size of fish taken - it sounds as if these were taking the bigger fish which are generally the breeding females - take these on a regular basis and the fish stocks will soon crash - from the sound of it these people were not taking for personal use, you'd only want one two - I reckon they were taking them to sell so if they are making money they will be back taking more of the breeding stock.

 

The National Rod License for course fishing does allow people to take a maximum of two fish per day I think, so that is a statutory limit on the amount of fish taken. The license is issued by the Environment Agency part of whose duties is to monitor the state of the fish in our waterways

 

There is also the question of predator balance. Pike are good to eat and if you take the temptingly large females (the main predator of small pike is large pike - there are other predatory fish who will eat very small pike) you get an explosion in the numbers of small pike who, unchecked, then eat larger numbers of the smaller fish in the water. An explosion of small pike will decimate the prey fish population. If the breeding female prey fish have been taken it will take a very long time for the fish stocks to recover.

 

The waterways are a balanced ecosystem of course so if you lose the small fish who graze on algae, weed, small invertebrates (especially mosquito larvae) etc these will proliferate and cause problems for those who use the waterways

 

Cheers baz

fully understand the logic now on the eco side and the balance needed, i presume this is why there has been concern over the influx of cormorants infiltrating the inland waters as well

so what about the local angling clubs? would it be an offence under EA byelaws to remove more than 2 fish or would you be stealing from the angling club, which i struggle to get me head round

[Barry]

The angling clubs are a different matter

 

Somebody, generally a land owner, owns the river bed and the rights to fish over it (riparian rights)

 

The environment agency care for the waterways (the water and life within and around it) and issue their own National Rod License

 

The angling clubs own or lease the fishing rights to a stretch of water so make a small charge to give you the right to fish - they use the money to administer the water they have the fishing rights to, maintaining access, hedges, condition of the bank etc.

 

So to fish you need a National Rod License wherever you are PLUS you buy a day or season ticket from the angling club unless the fishing is free

 

Its just occurred to me that if British Waterways already maintain the access, hedges, towpath etc on the canals, what do the canal based angling clubs spend their money on? The answer is, I think, that angling clubs also own or lease the fishing rights to many other waters including lakes and ponds so the money generated from the canals will go to maintain the stillwaters where maintenance is entirely the responsibility of the club and the number of anglers is relatively low.

 

If you buy a season ticket from a club you have the right to fish ALL of their waters at any time without paying a day ticket - if you buy a day ticket you can only fish the water you bought the day ticket for, on that particular day of course

[saltysplash]

The angling clubs are a different matter

 

Somebody, generally a land owner, owns the river bed and the rights to fish over it (riparian rights)

 

The environment agency care for the waterways (the water and life within and around it) and issue their own National Rod License

 

The angling clubs own or lease the fishing rights to a stretch of water so make a small charge to give you the right to fish - they use the money to administer the water they have the fishing rights to, maintaining access, hedges, condition of the bank etc.

 

So to fish you need a National Rod License wherever you are PLUS you buy a day or season ticket from the angling club unless the fishing is free

 

Its just occurred to me that if British Waterways already maintain the access, hedges, towpath etc on the canals, what do the canal based angling clubs spend their money on? The answer is, I think, that angling clubs also own or lease the fishing rights to many other waters including lakes and ponds so the money generated from the canals will go to maintain the stillwaters where maintenance is entirely the responsibility of the club and the number of anglers is relatively low.

 

If you buy a season ticket from a club you have the right to fish ALL of their waters at any time without paying a day ticket - if you buy a day ticket you can only fish the water you bought the day ticket for, on that particular day of course

 

Understood, many thanks

[Lesd]

Its worth mentioning that although the terms of the EA rod licence may in theory allow you to take two fish home, most clubs that rent sections of the waterways will have an additional club rule stating that no fish my be removed !

(its been the case on all the clubs I've ever belonged to)

Edited August 15, 2007 by Lesd

[saltysplash]

Its worth mentioning that although the terms of the EA rod licence may in theory allow you to take two fish home, most clubs that rent sections of the waterways will have an additional club rule stating that no fish my be removed !

(its been the case on all the clubs I've ever belonged to)

 

Ive always understood that it was never the done thing to take your catch home, I always assumed it was to keep the stocks in the water and that course fish didnt make good eating apart from the odd trout.

 

Guess we never consider that other nationalities do the opposite and munch away on a nice juicy carp, but then some places have dog on the menu also.

Think ill stick to the sea bass an mullet

[Christine]

so...this angling malarkey is a sort of game where you trick a fish to eat the bait. The fish gets a vicious hook in its lip, gets pulled by the mouth to the bank, you unhook it, take a photo if its big and then chuck it in again for the next guy to do the same.

 

Weird.

[Barry]

Umm thats one way of looking at it yeah

[Christine]

Umm thats one way of looking at it yeah

 

 

What's your way of looking at it then, Bazza lad?

[cugsey]

fishing is a great sport millions of people enjoy it

dont worry about the fish they cant feel pain

thats why they keep coming back

[tidal]

Really confused here, probably because most of my fishing over the last twenty years has been of the fluff chucking variety.

 

The National Rod License for course fishing does allow people to take a maximum of two fish per day

 

I have never noticed this restriction on the license and it certainly has never been applied to trout.....

Not only that but it doesn't appear on the national byelaws published by EA (http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subje...n=1〈=_e) and (still presuming I am not missing a guess on location) I thought The Soar was in the Noth section of the Anglian RegionalFishery and I cannot find their bylaws on that site

 

It's probably me of course

 

not that I would be interested in eating any fish from most of our inland waterways.........especially the eels to which I was somewhat partial in my far distant youth

[Dr Bradley]

fishing is a great sport millions of people enjoy it

dont worry about the fish they cant feel pain

thats why they keep coming back

 

It has never been proven that fish don't feel pain, equally it has never been proven that they do. So this is simply an excuse for anglers to have their fun at the expense of other creatures without feeling any guilt. It has been proven that a fairly large proportion of fish caught and thrown back die - but of course that is never seen by anglers. I'd rather see people catching fish for food than for fun.

 

I suppose this makes me a comrade

Edited August 15, 2007 by Dr Bradley

[Lesd]

It has been proven that a fairly large proportion of fish caught and thrown back die - but of course that is never seen by anglers.

 

Id like to see your source for this little gem ?

In my experience this is miles off the mark. The canals, lakes and rivers would be covered in dead fish constantly if you were correct. Personal experience; I spent many years fishing for large carp on a number gravel pits around the country. It was very very rare indeed to see any of these fish die at all from any cause, the same fish were repeatedly caught over a period of many many years (some several times a year, some only evry two or three years). Think what you like about the ethics of angling but I can assure your statement above in not correct on the waters I used to fish

Edited August 15, 2007 by Lesd

[Christine]

fishing is a great sport millions of people enjoy it

dont worry about the fish they cant feel pain

thats why they keep coming back

 

 

Do Fish Feel Pain Article link

 

I have no problem in taking fish to eat, with care not to overfish waters. Good luck to our European friends, enjoy.

[Barry]

What's your way of looking at it then, Bazza lad?

 

I fish because its not easy, its difficult and therefore challenging. Its about learning the water, finding where the fish are, presenting them the right bait, on the right tackle at the right time and in the right way. The reward for your skill, tenacity, patience, whatever is that you get to, if its a big fish, experience the thrill of the fight - and it is a fight which can be very thrilling. You also get to see closely very beautiful creatures that you wouldn't be able to appreciate otherwise. Its about appreciating these wonderful mysterious creatures and gently slipping them back and watching them swim away unharmed.

 

I know that angling is controversial and unpopular for some, indeed some people find it repulsive. Others find it a very emotive subject. But there are an awful lot of people who do not find it so. They find it exciting, rewarding and enjoyable.

 

Obviously there is the potential for conflict here which I, for one would rather stay away from if at all possible