The Towpath Angler
Our monthly look at the angling scene
I HAD a bit of reaction to my comments last month advocating that the main agencies who have a direct interest/impact on fisheries and angling should work much more closely together and not, as sometimes seems the case, be in competition with each other.
I detect that the ‘grass roots’ view generally supports this. It is a great pity, therefore, that the respective ‘powers that be’ do not appear to be as keen on the idea.
These days, thankfully, there are far fewer incidents involving boaters and anglers. That said boat moorings still cause major issues for some angling clubs and something needs to be done urgently to help restore the clubs’ rights to fish for which they pay often significant annual fees.
Sadly going in the opposite direction are problems with canoeists and paddle boarders whose numbers have grown exponentially since Covid. It is not just about numbers but increasingly about the possible impacts on the waterway habitat.
Evidence to establish whether these activities disturb breeding areas and refuges which are so vital to our fish is not yet gathered in any meaningful way. It is worth remembering that a healthy fish population is unquestionably a very good indicator of the wholesomeness of our waters. While it is absolutely not a case of saying these waterbased activities should be banned they are, to all intents and purposes, unregulated, which cannot be right.
Some would say that the best way to tackle issues such as this which, in many ways, may be seen as another form of anti-social behaviour, is education. The trouble is, education only works where those involved want to be educated. I have commented over the years that there are those in all sectors of the user community who choose to remain oblivious of others and effectively refuse to recognise, and respect, the rights of others.
Of course dialogue is essential but, I guess, none of the parties see it as their job to kick-start this so, perhaps, the trust should take the lead. Indeed I reported some incidents along the Trent and, I am delighted to say, the trust responded very well both at national and regional level. So going forward, I am much more optimistic that things will happen.
Match front
On the competition front I was sad to see that a couple of the Canal Pairs qualifiers had been cancelled due to poor support. Clearly anglers would have had their reasons. Whatever these were it may suggest a review of the competition is due. All such events need a periodic refresh.
Obviously canal fishing is not everyone’s cup of tea so any tweak is unlikely to attract anglers from the other coarse disciplines, but I suspect it would not take much to re-incentivise the stay-away canal anglers. This competition is good for our canals in all sorts of ways and, importantly, presents an excellent progression pathway for many of those youngsters who pass through the brilliant Let’s Fish initiative.
The jet stream has caused strong winds recently despite the high pressure and this, coupled with that mini heatwave where temperatures hit 30+ degrees has really mixed things up. The situation was made worse because the hot spell lifted water temperatures to the magic 17/18 degrees which is the trigger for many species to begin spawning. Not surprisingly, feeding is not always top of their priority list at this time.
Some waters have held up better than others. Indeed only last Saturday I was speaking with an old friend who is still a top match angler. He told me he had recently fished a club match on the New Junction in South Yorkshire and caught over 6kg of mainly roach. A lovely net of fish. I have not heard much else other than from another friend who regularly fishes the Grand Union in the Milton Keynes area and had won a small open event with 9kg of mainly bream.
I am still very busy so not had many opportunities to fish myself. I have managed two club matches and failed miserably in both. The pegs I drew were not the best, but that is no excuse. To be fair last weekend I fished into a strong facing wind for an hour and ended up triggering an old injury in my left shoulder which forced me to fish the bulk of the match down the margins. There was no response until the last 30 minutes by which time it was far too late to catch the leaders. Anyway I have a week to recover before I fish again.
It is probably fair to say that making use of these long evenings will again give the best chance of some decent sport, wherever you fish.
Tight lines!