I attended the Extraordinary General Meeting of the BCAA on Thursday, December 10 and below is my report from the event.
ANGLERS will be able to enjoy the great fishing on the Basingstoke Canal in years to come after more than 40 people attended an extraordinary general meeting of the Basingstoke Canal Angling Association last Thursday night, to answer the call for new committee members to save the club from dissolution.
Since the Angling Times ran the story in November, the club had been run by trustees who oversaw several committee positions being filled at the EGM, by volunteers who had come forward following the coverage.
Taking the helm as the new secretary will be Chris Ross, an ex-policeman who members have decided has the right credentials to take the club forward. He'll be joined by new chairman, John Wood, and the club's former head bailiff, Jeff Bunch, who will bring his knowledge and experience to the post of vice chairman. A candidate has also been found to fill the head bailiff vacancy, who will be voted in at a future meeting.
Outgoing chairman, Peter Emery, said: “The publicity has helped us to form a very strong new committee, with a core of experience that bodes well for the future.”
Another boost for the club has come in the form of Danny Williams, South East Regional Officer for the Angling Development Board, who was voted in as a committee member.
“Associations like the BCAA are paramount to the future of angling in this country so I'm really impressed by the way people have rallied round to save the club. I'm fully committed to the association and I'm now hoping that together we can look at some development strategies to use in line with the affiliated clubs,” he said.
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Soar point
LEICESTERSHIRE County Council have just announced plans for a £3m rejuvenation project on the river Soar which will see canoeing facilities, boat races, ferries and the bizarre concept of floating markets on the waterway, all much to the annoyance of anglers who are currently enjoying a great run of form and match weights to over 60lbs.
I know the river well but surprisingly perhaps, not from an angling point-of-view. My brother has lived on a narrow boat on the river around Loughborough for the last four years and I've spent many a sun-soaked/rain-drenched afternoon chugging up and down its picturesque course. I've often taken some kit but haven't ever got any further than catching a few roach and perch on a short whip over the side. The fishing potential has been well documented in the past and even more so recently, I'm planning to go for a fishing rather than boating trip in the new year, to exploit its potential for barbel and chub before the season ends.
So I guess it's fair to say that I have a foot in both camps when it comes to the most recent news. I've always tried to buck the boater vs angler trend and firmly believe that both can pursue their chosen hobby or way of life harmoniously on the same waterway providing each shows a little consideration for the other. We're all there to use the same resource after all.
But in this instance, I think LCC may well have gone too far and have not given anglers due consideration. I have yet to see them or any facilities for them mentioned in any of the plans despite the fact that they must constitute one of the biggest current user groups of the river.
Canoeists already have the use of an Olympic standard centre not far away on the Trent in Nottingham into which the Soar eventually flows so does it really need two sets of facilities just for them at Glen Parva and Aylestone? The British Canoe Union are constantly pushing for more access to rivers at no cost and with the backing of politicians who regularly bandy early day motions around parliament on their behalf. They clearly don't care about steamrollering right over established stretches that have been paid for by anglers, clubs and associations for years.
It seems like an ambitious plan for what relatively speaking is a small river but if it does all come to fruition, I'm concerned that fishing could be badly affected or even lost on some parts of this great fishery. A lot of the proposed development is to take place in and around Leicester so more rural areas through which the river flows may be spared and hopefully remain unaffected.
Click here for the full story.
I know the river well but surprisingly perhaps, not from an angling point-of-view. My brother has lived on a narrow boat on the river around Loughborough for the last four years and I've spent many a sun-soaked/rain-drenched afternoon chugging up and down its picturesque course. I've often taken some kit but haven't ever got any further than catching a few roach and perch on a short whip over the side. The fishing potential has been well documented in the past and even more so recently, I'm planning to go for a fishing rather than boating trip in the new year, to exploit its potential for barbel and chub before the season ends.
So I guess it's fair to say that I have a foot in both camps when it comes to the most recent news. I've always tried to buck the boater vs angler trend and firmly believe that both can pursue their chosen hobby or way of life harmoniously on the same waterway providing each shows a little consideration for the other. We're all there to use the same resource after all.
But in this instance, I think LCC may well have gone too far and have not given anglers due consideration. I have yet to see them or any facilities for them mentioned in any of the plans despite the fact that they must constitute one of the biggest current user groups of the river.
Canoeists already have the use of an Olympic standard centre not far away on the Trent in Nottingham into which the Soar eventually flows so does it really need two sets of facilities just for them at Glen Parva and Aylestone? The British Canoe Union are constantly pushing for more access to rivers at no cost and with the backing of politicians who regularly bandy early day motions around parliament on their behalf. They clearly don't care about steamrollering right over established stretches that have been paid for by anglers, clubs and associations for years.
It seems like an ambitious plan for what relatively speaking is a small river but if it does all come to fruition, I'm concerned that fishing could be badly affected or even lost on some parts of this great fishery. A lot of the proposed development is to take place in and around Leicester so more rural areas through which the river flows may be spared and hopefully remain unaffected.
Click here for the full story.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Tackle shops - The good, the bad and the completely useless...
With a week in search of angling nirvana on the much hyped river Wye rapidly approaching, I popped out to get some bits and pieces in preparation for the trip. Now, this in itself poses a problem: where to go? Until about a year ago, it would have been straight to Academy Angling in Sandhurst, Berkshire, which was a brilliant little shop with a great range of stock, and a proprietor who was friendly (even if it was your first time in his shop) and was full of helpful local knowledge of the type that money just can't buy. The shop closed due to an unfeasible increase in rent and in its place now stands a curry house that does a good line in vindaloo, but struggles a bit with maggot and caster. Up the road is Yateley Angling Centre situated in the very heart of carp country and surrounded by the Cemex Yateley pits. As a result, unless you want 10 kilos of boilies or a spod rod, - “We don't have worms, got boilies though” - you might as well head back to the curry house where your search for any match or pleasure gear may well yield better results.
So two choices remain, the shop in the town where I live which has bee consistently rubbish and particularly cliquey for the last 15 years, or one slightly further afield that isn't bad but tends to turn into a fireworks emporium at this time of year to the point where you have to play 'spot the tackle' amongst the rockets and bangers. So with teeth gritted, I chose the former and will endeavour to explain my customer experience and possibly justify my comment above.
Fireworks and guns also play a large part in this shop's stocking agenda at the moment, but more floor space means the tackle still gets a look-in. On arrival, a sign on the door reading 'Under new management' raised a glimmer of hope somewhere deep inside me but I wasn't holding out for any drastic changes.
A browse around the shop showed that little had changed. New management, it seems, has lead to a bigger range of kit and it could even be argued that the shop is starting to veer away from a carp bias, but the prices were still too high for my not-quite-bulging wallet. Many of the floats were priced at two or even three pounds plus – surely a lot in anyone's book for a single peacock waggler – and a Seymo loop tier, essentially a small piece of plastic with no moving parts, was four quid! I collected a few bits but by no means all that I needed, placed them on the counter before wandering behind it – by invitation – to look at the hooks and line. And then the fun began...
I put a packet of size 14 hooks on the counter whereupon the chap behind the till told me it was getting a bit cold for hooks that big unless I was fishing for “proper fish”.
“I've got a week on the Wye”, I replied, “so definitely after something decent”.
He then proceeded to explain with a certain air of arrogance how he'd fished a match last week and caught a carp at around 8lbs on a pole fishing a single red maggot on a size 16. As it transpired, he was fishing a 'lake' where his pole was nearly touching the far bank and the fish really didn't have far to go in terms of making runs. I wouldn't be surprised if it virtually climbed into his net just for a few extra square inches. I didn't have the heart to burst his bubble and explain that I actively try to avoid this happening when I'm targeting roach, fishing the pole on a local still water.
His assumption that I was some sort of novice was ill founded but would have been understandable if useful advice was offered. It wasn't. The ignorant git simply proceeded to gibber patronising nonsense at me until I paid up and left. Not, however, before he'd said: “so what is this Wye, a lake is it”...
I want to see tackle shops succeed and remain on the high street as much as the next angler, maybe even more, and for them not to fall victim of stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap internet-based emporiums. They are, afterall, the face of angling on the high street and I want them to remain there and prosper. A kid who's new to the sport can't go to an internet store for his first bits of tackle and get the full run down on how to use them, but a decent shop can provide this sort of service and nurture our future anglers – a duty that should not be shirked for the sake of an elderly ego in need of a polish.
So two choices remain, the shop in the town where I live which has bee consistently rubbish and particularly cliquey for the last 15 years, or one slightly further afield that isn't bad but tends to turn into a fireworks emporium at this time of year to the point where you have to play 'spot the tackle' amongst the rockets and bangers. So with teeth gritted, I chose the former and will endeavour to explain my customer experience and possibly justify my comment above.
Fireworks and guns also play a large part in this shop's stocking agenda at the moment, but more floor space means the tackle still gets a look-in. On arrival, a sign on the door reading 'Under new management' raised a glimmer of hope somewhere deep inside me but I wasn't holding out for any drastic changes.
A browse around the shop showed that little had changed. New management, it seems, has lead to a bigger range of kit and it could even be argued that the shop is starting to veer away from a carp bias, but the prices were still too high for my not-quite-bulging wallet. Many of the floats were priced at two or even three pounds plus – surely a lot in anyone's book for a single peacock waggler – and a Seymo loop tier, essentially a small piece of plastic with no moving parts, was four quid! I collected a few bits but by no means all that I needed, placed them on the counter before wandering behind it – by invitation – to look at the hooks and line. And then the fun began...
I put a packet of size 14 hooks on the counter whereupon the chap behind the till told me it was getting a bit cold for hooks that big unless I was fishing for “proper fish”.
“I've got a week on the Wye”, I replied, “so definitely after something decent”.
He then proceeded to explain with a certain air of arrogance how he'd fished a match last week and caught a carp at around 8lbs on a pole fishing a single red maggot on a size 16. As it transpired, he was fishing a 'lake' where his pole was nearly touching the far bank and the fish really didn't have far to go in terms of making runs. I wouldn't be surprised if it virtually climbed into his net just for a few extra square inches. I didn't have the heart to burst his bubble and explain that I actively try to avoid this happening when I'm targeting roach, fishing the pole on a local still water.
His assumption that I was some sort of novice was ill founded but would have been understandable if useful advice was offered. It wasn't. The ignorant git simply proceeded to gibber patronising nonsense at me until I paid up and left. Not, however, before he'd said: “so what is this Wye, a lake is it”...
I want to see tackle shops succeed and remain on the high street as much as the next angler, maybe even more, and for them not to fall victim of stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap internet-based emporiums. They are, afterall, the face of angling on the high street and I want them to remain there and prosper. A kid who's new to the sport can't go to an internet store for his first bits of tackle and get the full run down on how to use them, but a decent shop can provide this sort of service and nurture our future anglers – a duty that should not be shirked for the sake of an elderly ego in need of a polish.
Fishing platforms on the River Wye - Letter to the Angling Times
Following an article in last week's Angling Times 'Angling is sold down the river' p6, November 3-9, I thought I'd write them a letter to them and offer my opinion on the subject. Keep checking this blog to see how I got on when I fished the mighty river last week. For now, here's the letter:
Dear Richard,
Having just returned from a week fishing on the Wye in Hereford, I am amazed to learn that plans for fishing platforms on the stretch have been turned down by the Environment Agency, much to the chagrin of the local angling community. Many of the pegs along both banks of the stretch are at best difficult to fish from and at worst, dangerous, especially at this time of year when the steep banks are muddy and slippery. The local authority, which owns the banks, should realise what an incredible fishery they have right on their doorstep and work with the EA and Hereford and District AA to install permanent platforms. It will benefit all parties long-term as more visiting and local anglers will be able to use the river more regularly, generating more local income and encouraging more people to fish there. Otherwise it's only a matter of time before an accident occurs that could so easily be fatal and will have major repercussions for angling on this prime stretch of roach-filed river.
Yours sincerely
Dear Richard,
Having just returned from a week fishing on the Wye in Hereford, I am amazed to learn that plans for fishing platforms on the stretch have been turned down by the Environment Agency, much to the chagrin of the local angling community. Many of the pegs along both banks of the stretch are at best difficult to fish from and at worst, dangerous, especially at this time of year when the steep banks are muddy and slippery. The local authority, which owns the banks, should realise what an incredible fishery they have right on their doorstep and work with the EA and Hereford and District AA to install permanent platforms. It will benefit all parties long-term as more visiting and local anglers will be able to use the river more regularly, generating more local income and encouraging more people to fish there. Otherwise it's only a matter of time before an accident occurs that could so easily be fatal and will have major repercussions for angling on this prime stretch of roach-filed river.
Yours sincerely
Friday, 16 October 2009
Trent fish deaths - the full extent
Just to compound the misery of what's already happened on the Trent, it's now being reported that a survey conducted by the Environment Agency along 700 metres of the waterway has found 'almost no evidence of living fish'.
Further downstream, however, stocks appear to be 'mostly unaffected' by the pollution. Scant comfort in the wake of the devastation but perhaps when water in the polluted stretch returns to more normal levels, fish will make their way back there. This coupled with a possible re-stocking programme may in time see the stretch get back to it's former self, as long as the Environment Agency ensures nothing like this can happen again.
Further downstream, however, stocks appear to be 'mostly unaffected' by the pollution. Scant comfort in the wake of the devastation but perhaps when water in the polluted stretch returns to more normal levels, fish will make their way back there. This coupled with a possible re-stocking programme may in time see the stretch get back to it's former self, as long as the Environment Agency ensures nothing like this can happen again.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
The Wharfe in the north - a southerner's first taste of a northern river
Coming soon - how I got on when I went head-to-head with one of north Yorkshire's finest rivers.
Review - Keenets Catch Carp Roving Rucksack
I've just bought this 58 litre bag for £11! Read the full review now I've given it a week's thorough field testing at the River Wye in Hereford.
Having used this bag quite extensively I have a fairly mixed opinion of it. Size-wise as the capacity suggests, it's massive, possibly even too big for the roving angler so you have to be careful not to over-fill it and make it too heavy or you won't want to move from your first swim!
The shoulder, hip and chest straps are well padded and the stitching is sound but even with maximum adjustment the bag sits too high on my back and the hip straps sit on top of, instead of around my hips. Despite this, a reasonable level of comfort can still be achieved and I walked with it fully-loaded for half an hour or so without much of a problem. The plastic clips are well made and are big enough to use even with cold fingers.
Due to the depth of the main compartment, the back of the bag has a tendency to sag which is annoying but could probably be solved by inserting some ply down the back and across the bottom of it. There are four spiky plastic mud feet on the underneath of the bag which is made of plastic and as such isn't difficult to clean, but don't go putting it down in deep mud as the moisture will creep in given time. The bag seemed to be shower-proof but it never got a full soaking as I carry a separate waterproof rucksack cover to protect it during heavier downpours. This seemed like a sensible precaution due to the nature of the thin plastic lining.
All-in-all it's not a bad rucksack but the overall quality is reflected in the low price. Some more thought at the design stage would have paid dividends in the form of a more comfortable fit and a more rigid structure, but the plethora of pockets – six in total – and the quality zips, clips and straps go some way towards making up for this. More suited to the static carper than the river rover.
5/10
Having used this bag quite extensively I have a fairly mixed opinion of it. Size-wise as the capacity suggests, it's massive, possibly even too big for the roving angler so you have to be careful not to over-fill it and make it too heavy or you won't want to move from your first swim!
The shoulder, hip and chest straps are well padded and the stitching is sound but even with maximum adjustment the bag sits too high on my back and the hip straps sit on top of, instead of around my hips. Despite this, a reasonable level of comfort can still be achieved and I walked with it fully-loaded for half an hour or so without much of a problem. The plastic clips are well made and are big enough to use even with cold fingers.
Due to the depth of the main compartment, the back of the bag has a tendency to sag which is annoying but could probably be solved by inserting some ply down the back and across the bottom of it. There are four spiky plastic mud feet on the underneath of the bag which is made of plastic and as such isn't difficult to clean, but don't go putting it down in deep mud as the moisture will creep in given time. The bag seemed to be shower-proof but it never got a full soaking as I carry a separate waterproof rucksack cover to protect it during heavier downpours. This seemed like a sensible precaution due to the nature of the thin plastic lining.
All-in-all it's not a bad rucksack but the overall quality is reflected in the low price. Some more thought at the design stage would have paid dividends in the form of a more comfortable fit and a more rigid structure, but the plethora of pockets – six in total – and the quality zips, clips and straps go some way towards making up for this. More suited to the static carper than the river rover.
5/10
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