| PROFESSOR BARRIE RICKARDS | |
Professor Barrie Rickards is President of the Lure Angling Society, and President of the National Association of Specialist Anglers as well as a very experienced and successful specialist angler with a considerable tally of big fish to his credit. He is author of several fishing books, including the classic work ‘Fishing For Big Pike’, co-authored with the late Ray Webb and only recently his first novel, ‘Fishers On The Green Roads’ was published. He has been an angling writer in newspapers and magazines for nigh on four decades. Barrie takes a keen interest in angling politics. Away from angling Barrie is a Professor in Palaeontology at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Emmanuel College and a curator of the Sedgwick Museum of Geology. |
Angling is far more acceptable in Oz
I’m just back from a few weeks working in Australia where, due to a cock-up on my part, I didn’t get any fishing done. Normally I manage to cast a line or two but I was expecting, because of the long-running drought in New South Wales, that there wouldn’t be any fishing. What I’d forgotten was that there is always water in the Snowy River region, and there’s always water in the sea. For a short time, I ended up in prime locations on both – without a rod and reel!
What always strikes me in Oz is that far more people fish than over here, and angling as a pastime is far more acceptable than it is here. True, they have their anti-angling people, but they are largely ignored or scorned. Almost very household has a rod and reel or two in the garage, so providing you are not in an isolated location, as I was, it should not be too difficult cadging a bit of gear. Prices are also lower than in the UK so buying a rod and reel would not be too difficult. Another thing you soon notice is that all tourist brochures list the available fishing. In the UK you are lucky to get past the golf.
Licences probably vary from state to state, but I have been looking at the ones for New South Wales – bigger than the UK incidentally. A licence equivalent to ours costs 10 Australian dollars (£ 4) for 28 days, or £ 10 for a season (covering two rods I think): you can save a few dollars by buying one for three years (more than a few if the cost goes up during your three year holding). There are bag limits on most waters for most species, and what is called a possession limit (usually twice the bag limit), I’m a little unsure what a possession limit is, but I think it is to cover those anglers on holiday or camping, where the base camp might have more than one bag limit in the fridge or freezer.
One of the interesting differences with the UK is that in Oz, if you are wading or in a boat, you do not need the landowner’s permission to fish (but you may need his/her permission for access, of course). There are some close seasons on some waters, primarily trout rivers with spawning facilities, and Murray Cod.
Some rare species have to be returned immediately if caught – Australian grayling, for example. Generally the rules and regulations seem sensible, giving a reasonable amount of freedom. It is actually illegal for a recreational anger to sell the catch. Now that’s worth thinking about isn’t it? East of the great Dividing Range you can have two attended rods and lines, but no set lines: west of the range you can have only one rod, but 4 set lines. Rods have to be within 10 yards and in sight. As far as I can tell eels don’t seem to come into any of these calculations. Licences must be carried, or you face an on-the-spot fine up to £ 80. I must say that I have never had any trouble finding a bit of fishing in the past, or getting permission to fish either, and obviously control by clubs isn’t the same at all. It’s all a little like Ireland than the UK.
Greens – a change of stance? I don’t think so
Even so its good to be back, even if it is to see all the debates going. Remember my reporting that the Green Party had come out against angling? Well, an Angling Times report suggested a change of stance…. but if you read it carefully it is simply a case of one person putting in an AGM motion to reverse the anti-angling stance. I can’t see it succeeding. Even if it did there would still be plenty of Greens opposed to angling. I don’t think my vote will be going anywhere the near the Green Party – nor in favour of Europe in any form, where the Green Party is seriously stronger than here.
Too many swans?
Also to welcome me home was an article on swans by one James Owen (Saturday Telegraph, June 19th). It seems that there are now too many swans and they are infesting some famous southern trout waters, causing mayhem. A cull is being called for. It seems they are eating all the weed (Ranunculus) that underpins the aquatic ecosystem. The writer says that swan numbers have “soared since anglers stopped using toxic lead weights in the mid 1980’s.”
Well they didn’t use much shot on the trout streams, did they; and swans were increasing steadily well before the lead shot ban was introduced. Maybe these game anglers should have supported the coarse angler’s case just a little more strongly than they did. As some of us keep saying unity is all, and unity means supporting other anglers even when their type of angling seems a little odd.
Although the article by James Owen makes some good points there is one issue I’ll never be able to agree with him on, and that is when he describes swans as “beautiful, graceful, regal, slender, charismatic….” For that, substitute, fat, bad tempered killers, messy on the waterside, ugly-mugged, and lacking the grace of almost all other wild creatures. Figures show that the mute swan population has grown by 250% since the 1960’s and that is a lot too many for our ecosystem.
Back to the Greens
Can I go back to the Greens? Just for a minute. The Green spokesman hoping to change the party mindset is quoted as saying, “We have done some further research and it is clear that angling is NOW geared towards fish conservation.” (my capitals). Well, really. If the gentleman concerned did a little bit more research he would find that anglers have been geared not only to fish conservation for hundreds of years, but to conservation of the whole aquatic environment and it surroundings. Such ignorance on the part of this man condemns him and his whole organisation. Paul Knight of the S. & T.A. has written an informed, serious and diplomatic letter to the Greens (far more diplomatic than I would write, I must say) and he has my full support in this. He is however, wasting his time. The whole make-up, history and contained ignorance of the Green Party means that it will stay anti-angling, whatever it decided to do with its policy portfolio.
Swim-saving
I see there has been some debate on the subject of swim-saving recently. That is, someone prebaits a swim for x days and then turns up late on his target morning and finds someone already in ‘his’ swim. In Ireland, it seems, they put down markers to reserve the swim. My answer is ‘tough cookie’. If you cant get up in the morning that’s your problem, and not that of the poor innocent who has the temerity to fish ‘your’ swim. Even if he recognised the marker for what it was, how is he supposed to know when the pre-baiter intends fishing? I have, in the past, found anglers fishing in swims I have prebaited, but what does it matter: their catch is always interesting and you can always go back on another day because if you can afford the time to pre-bait it, you can afford the time to fish it.
