what do you do

[Clydebuilt]

Rods and keep nets will usually disappear quite quickly before you get to damage them.

 

I was approaching a bridge near the London Canal Museum recently when I accidentaly snagged an angler's line. I'm slightly short-sided and, though it's not a problem usually, I don't really have much hope of seeing a fishing line at 50ft or more, especially when my attention is on the approaching bridge. He immediately became very irate, shouting at me and waving his beer can and running along the bank. I put the engine in idle but he was yelling at me to stop, as if the line could be retrieved from the prop! I tried to explain that all I could do was put the boat in reverse, but that it probably wouldn't help, at which point he yelled that if I was nearer the bank he'd give me 'sumpin'. I tried to explain that I had done everything I reasonably could in the circumstances and that the line was his responsibility. I got torrent of abuse and told him to piss off. Later, coming back the same way, I stopped on the far side of the bridge until they saw me then I proceeded dead slow. They waved me on but contrived to leave a line in my way (it could only have been deliberate). The individual concerned ripped the line from the boat and then began launching the weighted line at me, trying to take out my windows.

 

Being both stupid, and optimistic, I rang the police to be told someone might be around in about an hour. I told them not to bother.

 

The seem to catch a lot of Red Stripe, Carlsberg and the like. I wonder if there's any claret or bitter in the canal - you never see them catch it.

[bag 'o' bones]

If anyone attempted to break my windows using a fishing line weight I think I would moor the boat up and have a 'little chat'!

[Nine of Hearts]

On the other hand...

 

When I took the boat out in February we were doing a Russian ice-breaker impression round the Soho Loop when we came up to an angler camped by the frozen canal. As we passed he thanked us for leaving him open water to fish in. (Did leave me thinking what on earth he was going to do if we hadn't turned up, but hey ho.) They're not all bad...

[sociable_hermit]

I always wave and say hello to fishermen. This pleases the friendly ones and annoys the grouchy ones, so it's a winning strategy all round.

 

We gave two lads a lift earlier this year - they were en route to a fishing competition with loads of gear. Nice blokes. They were really chuffed because I don't think they'd ever been on a narrowboat before. Plus we saved them quite a lot of lugging and when we dropped them off we stirred up all of the water by their competitors, lol!

 

Edited to say "loads of gear" refers purely to fishing tackle!

Edited September 16, 2008 by sociable_hermit

[carlt]

Edited to say "loads of gear" refers purely to fishing tackle!

Are you sure?

 

I'd need a little something, to break the monotony of a fishing match.

Edited September 16, 2008 by carlt

[ditchcrawler]

I always wave and say hello to fishermen. This pleases the friendly ones and annoys the grouchy ones, so it's a winning strategy all round.

We have met a surprisingly large number of very friendly fisher persons over the past few weeks, some of them even taking part in fishing matches.

But if fisher persons enjoy fishing so much, why do they pack up as soon as the match ends, even its the middle of the day and not continuing fishing for fun.

[Liam]

We had a problem a few weeks ago...

 

Our boat's on a linear mooring on the offside. A mate who also has a boat down there watched a group of 3 young men, old enough to know better, casting lures onto the top of the boat, trying to hook the plants we had on top of the boat. Luckily they are heavy and these muppets weren't able to drag them over the side. We now have a problem where the lures, which have 3 sets of big treble hooks, have smacked into the side of the boat, chipping the paint and now causing rust. Since then the plants have been removed.

 

I'm quite sure this was done on purpose. Who in their right mind would carry on casting over to the boats when they loose not one, but 5 lures, each costing about £10? This, coupled with the fact that the hooks still had the protective plastic over them as bought confirmed my suspicions.

[fuzzyduck]

My favorite was the fisherman who decided to fish over my inflatable tender. mind you he was smoking, dropping ash into my boat, I was kind of hoping he'd ignite the 5 gallons of petrol tank sitting there in the sweltering heat.

[carlt]

Luckily they are heavy and these muppets weren't able to drag them over the side.

Just as a point of order, mr speaker. Were the muppets throwing, or being thrown??

 

[Liam]

Muppets = On the end of the rod, doing the casting.

 

They were the hard plastic ones like these...

 

[saltysplash]

(spoken in the voice of an old rtd Brig.)

 

" In my day we'd machine gun the bloody lot of em"

[tidal]

*adds to list of things to do when joining canal community*

 

 

 

[mark99]

Fishing is cruel? - bank fishermen in freshwater tend to catch and release and re-stock. Also they care for/monitor water quality and proscecute polluters.

 

 

Gutting sea fish trawled from the sea is whilst still alive is cruel but you still eat them dont you? and still eat them whist they are being persecuted to extinction by netters whom rip up sea beds too? Next time you judge other peoples choices, look carefully at your own.

 

It's not a simple world - actually it can can be - for simpleton reactionaries.

 

Mark