Anglers and Canal Boaters

[alan_fincher]

You also omitted to recount the question I posed as you passed me while I was lockwheeling: "Are you Chalice?" I thought you said "No!" Which one of us is deaf? Or are we both?

John,

 

My extreme apologies! I thought I recognised the "Epiphany" name from somewhere.

 

Yes, we did indeed pass, but I can't honestly now remember where, exactly. (Strange, as so few boats were moving).

 

I think you must have been the chap that I said all the next locks were "leave empty" ones, so would be against you ? (Or possibly not! )

 

I'm famous for my deafness, (it runs in the family, and although I have hearing aids, I've not worn them for a while). Anyway our elderly BMC is not the quietest, so my answer to any shouted question is often something like "It's about half past two!".

 

You omitted your third incident - the fishermen at the lock landing - see

http://nbepiphany.co.uk/gallery2/main.php?..._serialNumber=1

Yes we had to work around those buggers, too. (One, not being nearest the lock, said he had actually told the one at the lock mouth he should not be there! )

 

As they were not openly calling us every name under the sun, I chose to target the two who were very abusive.

 

Cath did give them all a mention in the blog, though.

 

PS Was the Wyvern Shipping mooring stake still under the Berkhamsted bridge?

It was a trip hazard where we moored, so removed for the safety of those on board Also I didn't wish to leave anything heavy that an irate "angler" could lob through a window. Now I know it belongs to Wyvern, I will of course be returning it if they are open on our next trip past. (How do you know it was one of theirs ?)

 

Alan (and Cath)

[tinca steve]

With my name it should be obvious that I am an angler -- but also a wanna be narrow boater

 

Concerning the Aylesbury Arm it could also be anglers from another club called "Verulam" of which I am a member.

 

As for stinky maggots i.e. ammonia ( It is a cleaning agent that everybody uses in their kitchen etc.) any decent angler would clean theirs so that they are at there best.

 

Now for "PEOPLE". There are bad ones everywhere , anglers ,boaters , children and adults. One should always keep their temper as losing it does no good at all . Yes there are boaters who do things that wind up anglers , things that are totally unnecessary like purposely revving their engines as they go past. Not everyone is an angel. As per the boat on the Thames that every Sunday on our match would on purpose go up and down, up and down the match length but always stopped when the match finished. That boat was the cause for us to move the match to another section, and that riparian owner to lose a regular weekly income of several hundred pounds. All the losses was purely down to that boat owner.

But reading these posts has shown me that not all boaters know the preferred way that an angler would like to see a boat go past when it has to.

[rjs]

We have a fairly quiet engine, so its not difficult to surprise an angler - so rather than scare all the fish with the horn, we have bought a small hand bell which we ting-aling if we think an angler has not seen us - this works well untill you meet one who is totally deaf - this happened once and we asked why he had not moved and had to smile when he said he was deaf!

 

Anglers can help by making it obvious they have seen us - by a long glance - this will give use some confidence that the pole will rise at the last moment - otherwise we will be forced to ting-aling and pretend to be a bike!

 

Richard

[alan_fincher]

But reading these posts has shown me that not all boaters know the preferred way that an angler would like to see a boat go past when it has to.

Care to elaborate ?

 

"Nice and slow and straight down the middle, unless we indicate otherwise", is the advice given on this forum by anglers themselves.

 

Precisely what I was doing when subjected to a tirade of abuse on Sunday.

 

Is there something I should be doing different, then ?

 

Also, would you propose I can't stop for supplies, gently, in the one available mooring spot ? The person who got so upset there was fishing opposite it, not on the bit of bank I needed to tie to.

 

Alan

[Barry]

Alan the guy who got wound up when you moored did so because until you arrived he had an advantage over his competitors - he could bait under the back of one boat, the front of the next and could probably bait up right next to the pilings - all good fish holding spots - no doubt he had formed a match winning strategy based on that and had baited up accordingly - your arrival put paid to his plans hence your ruination of his whole day as he saw it.

 

He was sitting on the bank opposite your boat but he was actually fishing in the space where you took (quite rightly I might add)

 

You hadn't done anything wrong - he, however, did.

 

I suspect Tinca Steve was referring to the boaters who, unlike you, showed no appreciation of anglers' point of view in their responses in this thread

[tinca steve]

Most will slow down and before now (especially during a match) I've signalled to boats to move into the middle of the track rather than down the far-side where I'm actually, feeding, fishing and catching!! So by ploughing through the far side will "kill the swim" for a good 20mins or so.....its not the end of the world but during a match when there is money involved, I can understand why some people get annoyed.

 

Proper anglers don't and won't leave rubbish behind.

 

At the end of the day, what ever you pay to be on the canal its there for everybody's enjoyment, so lets keep it that way...

 

Thank You

Gareth

 

Thanks Bazza.

Edited November 4, 2008 by tinca steve

[tinca steve]

Bringing back the where you can and where you should not, I was looking at the Waterscape Site where you can find some intresting reading, like :- n

Don’t obstruct locks, bridges, designated moorings,

water points or turning points

 

Which is part of the waterways code ! !

 

http://www.waterscape.com/media/documents/...s_code_2005.pdf

 

Best not to fish in winding holes then .

[GSer]

Bringing back the where you can and where you should not, I was looking at the Waterscape Site where you can find some intresting reading, like :- n

Don’t obstruct locks, bridges, designated moorings,

water points or turning points

 

Which is part of the waterways code ! !

 

http://www.waterscape.com/media/documents/...s_code_2005.pdf

 

Best not to fish in winding holes then .

 

 

I would guess that means anglers can fish wherever they want as long as they don't obstruct anybody, that is as long as you move out the way when needed, fish wherever you want!

 

Paul

[Nickhlx]

I would guess that means anglers can fish wherever they want as long as they don't obstruct anybody, that is as long as you move out the way when needed, fish wherever you want!

 

Paul

 

 

Seems completely fair and reasonable

 

Nick

[RLWP]

Bringing back the where you can and where you should not, I was looking at the Waterscape Site where you can find some intresting reading, like :- n

Don't obstruct locks, bridges, designated moorings,

water points or turning points

 

Which is part of the waterways code ! !

 

http://www.waterscape.com/media/documents/...s_code_2005.pdf

 

Best not to fish in winding holes then .

 

I was surprised to find a fishing competition taking place on Hatton flight outside the workshops on Sunday.

 

Richard

[Pretty Funked Up]

why anyone wants to fish the canal is beyond me!

All my fishermen friends (all nice chaps) fish streams and lakes!

 

How many times has the plastic bag secured to your prop been tied on rediculously well with fishing line. The bag was prob theirs too, to carry the tennants super.

Those daft length poles either block the towpath or the canal. They way they just tip out the left over bait is much the same as dog fouling in my eyes.

 

"proper anglers dont and wont leave rubbish behind" - obviously 99% of anglers around here arent proper ones.

 

Funniest 'maggot drowner' moment was when i was taking my friend and his wife with their kids for a 'chug' and an elderly man started saying stuff (couldnt hear it as usual but you knew it wasnt friendly) but then my friends son piped up "theres granddad" and shouted over to him "hello grandad!". Sure enough the little boy was right, it was. They guy went quiet (shock i think), still, he wasnt even friendly to his own nephew.

[Janet S]

why anyone wants to fish the canal is beyond me!

 

Personally, I like to fish the canal for much the same reasons as I also ike boating on it....

 

I don't see why any one user group should feel that they have more right to use it than any other.

 

Like it or not, the canal network s a public amenity, and if it weren't for boaters, ramblers, anglers, dog walkers, cyclists, joggers etc, (in no particular order!) many of the canals that we are currently able to enjoy would have been filled in for housing estates or supermarkets. It's only the constant use by all members of the community that keeps them open and accessible to all.

 

Janet

[zenataomm]

......... but then my friends son piped up "theres granddad" and shouted over to him "hello grandad!". Sure enough the little boy was right, it was. They guy went quiet (shock i think), still, he wasnt even friendly to his own nephew.

 

 

Wow! you mean the child's grandfather was his uncle? Fantastic!

[carlt]

Wow! you mean the child's grandfather was his uncle? Fantastic!

Was this in Lincolnshire, by any chance?

[Pretty Funked Up]

ooooopS! would it be great nephew then? those 'relative' terms have always confused me.

[zenataomm]

ooooopS! would it be great nephew then? those 'relative' terms have always confused me.

 

Yay! .......... it gets better. In my family it'd be grand-dog, but in most others' I think you'll find grandson would suffice.

[gaggle]

Been down the docks to look at the progress of work on the liverpool link and am wondering if we can expect to be catching cod , whiting and other salt water fish along the links pounds.

The docks have provided good sized fish always , Last time the boats went on the mersey and we stayed in the dock we had lots of small whiting straight into the pan that we caught using small spinners that we had aboard.

The water that fills the link will as far as i know come down from the canal as boats lock down but each end of the link is connected to salt water of the mersey via river locks.

the cod run up the mersey at this time of the year so i will try a day fishing in the dock adjacent to the dam seperating the link.

[Yoda]

Been down the docks to look at the progress of work on the liverpool link and am wondering if we can expect to be catching cod , whiting and other salt water fish along the links pounds.

The docks have provided good sized fish always , Last time the boats went on the mersey and we stayed in the dock we had lots of small whiting straight into the pan that we caught using small spinners that we had aboard.

The water that fills the link will as far as i know come down from the canal as boats lock down but each end of the link is connected to salt water of the mersey via river locks.

the cod run up the mersey at this time of the year so i will try a day fishing in the dock adjacent to the dam seperating the link.

 

If you would care to invite me, I will bring the dynamite.

[garethevans1986]

Im so glad this thread is still going

 

why anyone wants to fish the canal is beyond me!

All my fishermen friends (all nice chaps) fish streams and lakes!

 

Because its damn good fishing!

 

They way they just tip out the left over bait is much the same as dog fouling in my eyes.

 

"proper anglers dont and wont leave rubbish behind" - obviously 99% of anglers around here arent proper ones.

 

What bread, maggots, casters, pinkies, squatts, sweetcorn and the like? All those natural baits that birds, fish and other animals like to eat? Unlike dog turd which wont be eaten and just get on everybodys shoes who step in it!

 

GE

[Sir Nibble]

What bread, maggots, casters, pinkies, squatts, sweetcorn and the like? All those natural baits that birds, fish and other animals like to eat? Unlike dog turd which wont be eaten and just get on everybodys shoes who step in it!

 

GE

Worst, (and surprisingly common) in my experience, is the half empty tin of sweetcorn with the lid bent slightly downward into the tin. A well thought out duck trap that should take hours of gentle incision before the poor beast expires. Hours of fun for all the family.

[jeb]

Worst, (and surprisingly common) in my experience, is the half empty tin of sweetcorn with the lid bent slightly downward into the tin. A well thought out duck trap that should take hours of gentle incision before the poor beast expires. Hours of fun for all the family.

 

Or even the empty luncheon meat tin that is a must for an inquisitive tongue.

 

 

Edited . spelling

Edited December 17, 2008 by jeb

[garethevans1986]

Sir Nibble and jeb - leaving empty tins in or around the canal would in my eyes be classed as littering.

 

But tipping "bread, maggots, casters, pinkies, squatts, sweetcorn..." into or around the canal and taking all containers home, plastic, metal or other in my eyes is fine.....seeing as fish aren't the only hungry creatures in the area.

 

GE

[Sir Nibble]

Sir Nibble and jeb - leaving empty tins in or around the canal would in my eyes be classed as littering.

 

But tipping "bread, maggots, casters, pinkies, squatts, sweetcorn..." into or around the canal and taking all containers home, plastic, metal or other in my eyes is fine.....seeing as fish aren't the only hungry creatures in the area.

 

GE

Exactly so.

The point was made that if proper anglers take their litter home then there are a lot of anglers who aren't "proper". You then listed a variety of baits left behind which are not an issue to anyone but a bonus feed for the wildlife. Quite correct.

Jeb and I have mentioned baits COMMONLY left on the bankside as death traps for the wildlife, and you have pointed out that this is littering. You are right, it is littering, by anglers.

I have been known to drown a worm or two in my time and the crap left behind by idle morons annoyed me then making me feel complicit in their oafish conduct. I quite understand that proper anglers such as yourself with a proper respect for the bankside enviroment and its occupants will feel similarly let down.

I would be astonished if any angler of any experience has not encountered entanglements of hooked monofil hanging in bushes, half empty jagged bait tins and picnic litter left behind by anglers with less intelligence than their bait.

That is not to tar all with the same brush, but rather to recognise that you probably hate such conduct more than boaters do.

[LEO]

That is not to tar all with the same brush, but rather to recognise that you probably hate such conduct more than boaters do.

 

Hi,

 

Interesting, but I am sure it was not anglers who left the large yellow topped battery with oddly positioned terminal posts, the used 13.5kg Gas cylinder and the large blue polypropylene drum and rubbish in the hedge on the Tring summit over recent months. We are all grateful for the unsafe, rusting scaffold landing stage which another boater erected as a mooring on the towpath of the Wendover Arm which still remains athough he has sold his boat.

 

Leo

s

[Sir Nibble]

Hi,

 

Interesting, but I am sure it was not anglers who left the large yellow topped battery with oddly positioned terminal posts, the used 13.5kg Gas cylinder and the large blue polypropylene drum and rubbish in the hedge on the Tring summit over recent months. We are all grateful for the unsafe, rusting scaffold landing stage which another boater erected as a mooring on the towpath of the Wendover Arm which still remains athough he has sold his boat.

 

Leo

s

Sorry Leo, I wasn't aware this was a competition. People who leave crap on the bankside are to be condemned whether the rubbish came from boat or tackle bag. I as a boater am more disgusted and embarrassed by boaters rubbish left around than by anglers leavings. It happens, the only point I wished to raise is that anglers rubbish is not confined to bait left behind because there is no harm in leaving it and no point in taking it. Some anglers, and some boaters act indefensibly. The presence of boaters rubbish does not cause anglers rubbish to disappear.