Angling

It was only a couple of months ago I wrote that it was a matter of “when not if” the next case of KHV (koi herpesvirus) would be confirmed in our area, sadly I have been proved right and unfortunately my prediction has come true at a fishery that really is too close to home.

Police in Kirklees have joined forces up with other agencies and angling clubs in the district to tackle poaching and fish theft.

I spent the day as a spectator last week watching the final day of what proved to be a brilliant festival, run on what has to be the most stunning of venues.

With some river fisheries closed and our governing bodies advising extra fish care during the hot weather and low water levels, the recent rain and cooler temperatures came at just the right time to provide great pleasure catches and to save two of the country’s top river competitions.

Within minutes of its capture, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts were passing on congratulations to all those involved in the seizure of the Topcliffe seal; unfortunately not all ended well as the British Divers Marine Life Rescue released the following public statement:

Unprecedented measures have been put in place in a bid to safeguard fish stocks around the country.

As daytime temperatures hit a sizzling 30 degrees and local commercial carp and specimen lakes saw water temperatures rise to a bath like 25 degrees, officials and fishery managers of Leeds and District have urged anglers to use the bio security measures provided at all their stillwater fisheries.

Saturday’s glorious June 16 opening could well be the last of a long-standing but controversial angling tradition.

After a week of ‘below-par’ festival catches on Fermanagh’s River Erne system, another hard match was the last thing on most of the returning anglers’ minds as they made the long trip home from the ferry port at Stranrae.

The now famous Seal of the Swale looks to be enjoying its celebrity status as hundreds of extra visitors are pouring into one of angling’s most famous hot spots at North Yorkshire’s Topcliffe village just hoping to catch a glimpse.

Yorkshire Water’s Thruscross, Fewston and Swinsty Reservoirs in the Washburn Valley continue to produce top sport despite weather conditions changing daily.

Mustering volunteers or members to take part in work parties can be a soul-destroying job for organisers trying to put bodies on the banks, usually to do the dirtiest of jobs.

Following extreme March weather conditions, rivers were at an all-time high for the final days of the coarse fish river season.

It’s not long ago that 100lb match catches were just a dream for most, and to achieve the magical festival or final ton would usually involve a ferry crossing to the wild waters of Loch Erne or an even farther trek to Denmark’s Skanderborg or Guden system.

The eleven thousand signatures that followed the recent Otter petition to government looks to have been a complete waste of time and good ‘ink’.

A bitter war of words broke out last week, with the Angling Trust showing its disappointment at the Barbel Society’s decision to go it alone in producing a petition to Government after previously agreeing to work together on the subject of otter predation.

With six weeks to go before the end of another season, it seems, on the face of it a tad early to join in the controversial annual debate regarding changes to the coarse fish closed season regulations.

2018 is looking like it’s going to be the year for major changes in some of the most prestigious events in coarse fishing’s match calendar.

Anglers are often referred to as the eyes and ears of our waterways, and not many of us have never witnessed or reported fish kills due to farm run off or chemical spills.