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Birmingham Anglers Association

Viewing 1 to 15 (15 Total) Is a closed season needed?
glawsteruk Total Posts: 85 Joined: July 12, 2015	It looks like we may experience yet another winter season when few fishermen will feel like venturing onto severely flooded rivers and lethal bank sides. I am starting to wonder if it is really necessary to continue with the three month break, which in effect means that rivers can't be fished for a 5-6 month period. I have always been happy to accept the closed season arguments, but with it looking like the effects of global warming will lead to regular floods, is it time for a change? Just wondered what members thought? Tags: Posted on December 9, 2015 at 10:10 PM

gudgeonbasher Total Posts: 16 Joined: June 29, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? Totally agree. The last few years have been a wash out on the rivers during the winter. We all buy our licences hoping for 9 months of river action, whether or not you have a good days fishing, yet end up with only 6 or 7. Then just as the rivers have settled back down and are in prime condition the "closed season" hits us. The closed season was supposed to allow for fish to spawn and recover, yet research has shown that some species of fish are still spawning into July. Removing the closed season on lakes, pools and canals has not made any difference to fish welfare as spawning fish don't seem to want to eat anyway. The only reason I can see for keeping it is to protect the wild life on the rivers. Keeping anglers off the rivers so that wildlife can have some peace and quiet to nest and hatch. If anglers were to approach a peg that they could see had nesting wild life in they would leave it be and find another peg (I would anyway). The best way to discover what the effect of removing the closed season would have would be to remove it for a couple of years so that evidence could be gathered from all over the country, not just certain areas. Obviously SSSI's would be exempt from this experiment due to their status Posted on December 10, 2015 at 8:21 AM
onelastcast Total Posts: 821 Joined: July 4, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? I really love swollen rivers, something different and a chance to catch some quality specimens. But to say you are not getting good value because you are not getting your monies worth is, if I may say, selfish. When I last looked Angling is not Golf, or a Membership of a Gym, we take on nature, whatever it throws at us, and the reason some might argue is to protect nature, with a close season. But to say you don't get value for money from a BAA ticket is well just staggering, it has to be one of life's bargains. But love the Winter, a great time to fish if you get it right, you should try it. Posted on December 11, 2015 at 8:59 AM
glawsteruk Total Posts: 85 Joined: July 12, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? I don't question the fact that the BAA membership offers excellent value for money - which it clearly does. I just find it frustrating that weather and river conditions such as those on the Wye and Severn in recent weeks prevent most anglers from venturing out. I do fish in Winter, but it's not my idea of fun when a raging torrent is running and banks are lethal. With the numbers of anglers about at this time of year doesn't nature get a break anyway? Posted on December 11, 2015 at 4:27 PM
gudgeonbasher Total Posts: 16 Joined: June 29, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? BAA membership IS great value for money. But when you enjoy fishing natural waters over puddles it is annoying that just as the rivers are returning to SAFE fishable levels after the winter floods the close season strikes and they get shut off to us. Dont get me wrong, I have been fishing when its been pouring with rain and when the snow has been 2ft deep and the the rings on my rod have frozen and caught lovely chub and roach and enjoy that but trying to fish a bit of slack water whilst the main river is a raging torrent and the banks are a slippery muddy mess is not appealing to me personally but if people want to do it then who am I to say they cant. I just feel it is about time this outdated closed season was abolished as it serves little purpose to angling in this day and age Posted on December 12, 2015 at 10:37 AM
gb123 Total Posts: 196 Joined: June 14, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? I don't think we need a close season. I like to fish the rivers and don't think there are enough anglers on the bank to make any difference., I'm the only one there very often, and it does fall when we have some of the best weather and longest days. If anywhere needs a break I would think it's the pools and lakes where the same fish are being caught time and time again, and even more in the close season, give them a break. I don't think the close season has anything to do with fish welfare. Posted on December 13, 2015 at 4:08 PM
glawsteruk Total Posts: 85 Joined: July 12, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? I think your point about commercial fisheries is a really good one - if any type of water needs a break it is certainly these. How many times do we fish alone on a stretch of river bank? Quite often in my experience in the Winter months - compare this with the continually fished carp puddles and just look at the poor condition of many fish. Is there concrete evidence that the current closed season enhances fish welfare? Posted on December 13, 2015 at 4:35 PM
pitchisshifter Total Posts: 159 Joined: June 21, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? Owners will never close there Pig puddles if there is year round money going in there wallets. Posted on December 16, 2015 at 7:45 PM
onelastcast Total Posts: 821 Joined: July 4, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? Nature as far as the rivers are concerned need a break from Angling pressure in the Spring, when the spawning on the gravels are a feature. Also the other factors such as bankside vegetation need to re-establish itself, this provides cover and food for all species. Other groups and Angling bodies such as the Angling Trust, Barbel Society, and of course the EA are striving to stop the decline in fish numbers and loss of habitat, however to get everyone attuned and singing from the same hymn sheet is a huge problem. If anyone on here needs a wake up call look at the once mighty Teme, now just a shadow of it's former self, the Barbel have all but gone, and the salmonoids struggling to get up to the headwaters. Considering the BAA has control over large stretches of the Teme, I find it a little disappointing that the Club and it's members do little to contribute, and yet have a huge vested interest in the welfare of this river. There is a body called the Severn Rivers Trust who have detailed a report on weirs on the Teme, that are considered a negative as far as fish passage, whether you think weirs do or don't, or just improve the fishing, we at least should be aware of the consequences of this report, no good moaning when Powick weir has been levelled. Sorry about the speech, but there are more urgent things us anglers should be looking at, rather than close seasons, the BAA is a huge body, and has influence, but some members need to be aware of the pressures that effect our sport, and I do think we need as a club to get more involved. Posted on December 17, 2015 at 9:17 AM
onelastcast Total Posts: 821 Joined: July 4, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? Here's the report.... Attachments: Restoring_the_River_Teme_SSSI_-_Summary_Report_Final.pdf Posted on December 17, 2015 at 9:22 AM
glawsteruk Total Posts: 85 Joined: July 12, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? All of us can make speeches... Perhaps it is because for the last month I have felt unable to safely venture out to fish rivers hovering around the 3 metre mark that I feel the closed season is an issue worth discussing while I'm twiddling my thumbs away from my favourite hobby. The Teme report has lots of content based around river management - it is mainly concerned how the course of the river should be managed and appropriate habitats created. Heavy flooding and predation in recent years are surely also major factors in its decline. Also the presence of invasive species such as Himalayan Balsam are major worries. I believe that if the current trend of weather continues, fewer and fewer tackle shops will exist in the vicinity of the Wye and Severn as anglers stay at home - surely that is something to be concerned about too? Posted on December 17, 2015 at 4:31 PM
onelastcast Total Posts: 821 Joined: July 4, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? It certainly is your choice not to fish when the rivers are up, but there has never been a milder December and the opportunity to catch well is better now than it has been all summer. Of course there is an extra danger element, but the rewards are there, especially for Barbel and Chub. I am no expert flood Angler, and it is really a test on somewhere like the Lower Severn, but if you can read' the river, and you will find the fish, I have spoken with Anglers who have had multiple catches of Barbel when the river was bank high. I content myself with the odd one or two, but it is exciting. Also the lack of boats and many anglers is a bonus. I appreciate trotting a float may not be possible, and instead a 4 ounces of lead might be needed, but needs must. The strain the tackle shops are experiencing are probably due to more anglers go 'on line' now, but of course we all need them for fresh bait at times. However a lot of shops are there own worst enemies, and the shopping experience is mostly poor, retailing is an art, if these shops don't offer a good service then they will not survive. Personally I would much rather browse a shop then a web page. I agree in some ways that the Close Season is not fit for purpose in it's current guise, it was originally brought in to keep us 'oiks' off the game anglers Beats. As you say most species don't spawn in the closed period anyway, however smaller rivers need a break, especially the gravel redds, but tell that to the Kyakers too!! I see no reason to keep the ban on the Lower Severn and other such types, to keep on fishing would not be a problem I would think. Of course we can all fish Canals and Pools , odd that. Anyway good to talk, and if you feel the need to escape the Christmas madness what better then to go fishing?? I will be.... Posted on December 17, 2015 at 6:41 PM
glawsteruk Total Posts: 85 Joined: July 12, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? Maybe a trial shortened/abolished closed season should be trialled on some sections - lower Severn for example? I am hoping to get out soon - where would you recommend for fishing in flood? Posted on December 18, 2015 at 6:13 PM
KenL Total Posts: 280 Joined: December 27, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? No, absolutely not. I fish the rivers legally right through the coarse fishing closed season and the level of illegal fishing has to be seen to be believed, Many of the people fishing are removing fish for the pot, destroying the sport of those that pay to fish the river and unbalancing the ecosystem in the process. Anglers and bailiffs on the bank are the only way to prevent this. Inevitably, there are those that will talk about allowing the fish and the birds to breed in peace but fish that are actively spawning don't have any interest in feeding and as the commercials demonstrate so well, birds will find somewhere to breed even on the busiest of fisheries. Posted on December 27, 2015 at 8:25 PM
Lee Total Posts: 86 Joined: June 8, 2015	Re: Is a closed season needed? Just go on the Avon instead. Been some great sport over the last month if you're prepared to watch the levels and fish appropriately. Even if you change the season, there's nothing to stop a spring flood. Indeed the great floods of 2007 were in the summer. Posted on January 6, 2016 at 11:00 PM

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