Far Bank Lured on trout
With game fisheries struggling for pounds and lure anglers keen to fish for anything that swims these days, isn’t it time we relaxed the ‘fly only’ mindset? Dom Garnett suggests a happier coexistence...
IS IT me, or does fishing in the UK still have some silly rules and values around the way the paying public decide to fish? At times, the whole fly fishing versus other methods debate baffles me.
Go fishing in France, Finland and many other European countries and it’s pretty common to see fly and lure anglers shoulder to shoulder. Dare to even suggest the idea on an English trout water and the manager will look at you like you’ve just called his mum a slag.
Isn’t arbitrary division something we should have grown out of? I say this not as a wannabe spokesman for the great unwashed mass of ‘coarse’ anglers, but an all-rounder who loves fly fishing every bit as much as trotting or lure fishing.
Times are changing, however, with an increasing number of trout lakes offering sport for the light lure angler – and why the hell not? Granted, diminishing profits are as much of a catalyst as progress, but it’s about time.
Years ago, perhaps you might have argued that lure fishing was a crude and destructive method. Inevitably, a spinner was the poacher’s method of choice, while the refined angler would cast a fly. In today’s world, however, it just doesn’t hold true. Just look at the delicacy of modern lure fishing tackle and the skill and finesse of its keenest exponents and you’ll see it is anything but a game of cast, reel and repeat.
Nor is it easier to catch trout on a lure – quite often it’s harder.
As for the argument that lure fishing damages more fish, this is also an increasingly flawed logic. Trebles might be bad news for trout, but with tiny, single-hook lures and sensible rules, there is no reason to assume that lures and catch-and-release fishing are incompatible.
If anything, you find that the experienced coarse angler has better fish-handling skills than the fly brigade. I’m not finger pointing here, it’s a simple fact. Those who fish for roach, carp and barbel greet fish with a wet mat, rather than a blunt object. It’s the put and take trout angler that so often could use a lesson in catch-and-release practice.
But enough of the ethics. This crossing of codes is not only overdue, but bloody good fun. Sure, the fly would still be my first-choice method for trout.
But dig out that LRF rod and lures as little as a single gram and trout are fabulous fun. The same goes for the rivers in summer. As for those who still get toffee nosed about fly only rules, would you rather see your local fishery die than make it a broader church?