‘THERE’S A LOT OF HYPOCRISY SURROUNDING FISH RETENTION’

AHIGH-profile angler posted a shot recently of a couple of landing nets and a battery of retainer slings, all lined up in the edge holding fish. You know the sort of thing – “Had a brilliant night”… “One in the slammer” and so on.

The purpose of retention is, of course, to get a decent photo of the capture. However, with our fast-moving media there’s also an opportunity to snap the line-up, generate extra social media traffic, promote products and (perhaps controversially) boost an ego.

Interestingly, rather than receiving a big hurrah from all quarters, the picture provoked a split decision. Some applauded the captures, others were riled that the fish had been retained for longer than necessary for the purpose of a picture, especially a ‘stack ’em up’ one.

Before the carp bashers start whining, it’s not just a carp angler thing. Everyone does it. A brace shot of big roach is an amazing pic, a landing mat of perch makes a lovely memory… we’ve all been there.

Back in the day there were loads of ‘Billingsgate shots’ of groundsheets and tarps heaving with Irish bream. Nowadays, fish care has come on leaps and bounds. Just like the dad jokes of the 70s that were okay at the time, they’re not really that okay now. But is it really a problem holding on to fish in highly-oxygenated cold water? And how quick are we to jump in and complain? There’s a lot of hypocrisy around. Some anglers are quick to condemn, especially across disciplines, but their practices aren’t much better. Let’s not get on to the subject of keepnets – there’s a whole new world of discussion there.

“How quick are we to jump in and complain?”