Birmingham Anglers Association

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

I must say, I've just watched the video and can find absolutely NOTHING wrong with it at all.
A lovely 10lb barbel is a thing of beauty, and sadly I have yet to catch one. But when the day comes I will be doing exactly the same. Place the fish on soft grass in front of a purpose built holder for my phone so I can take a much treasured photo. A ten second timer on my phone enables me to take all my fish photo's. The fish is back in the water within a minute of being landed., and that includes weighing if necessary. The fish care comes in the recovery time taken before letting it swim off again. "ONELASTCASTS" comment about catch, unhook and release would apply to smaller fish not worth a pic. If you think this is unacceptable then you don't understand just have hardy fish are. I keep Koi and know how to handle fish.

One final word from me.....congratulations on the capture of a fine fish.

Tight lines

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

onelastcast I don't know what your history is with Jeff Collins ? Its not me and I have never been banned from any where ? I have never been a member of BFW .... So please don't accuse me of stalking you

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

onelastcast I don't know what your history is with Jeff Collins ? Its not me and I have never been banned from any where ? I have never been a member of BFW .... So please don't accuse me of stalking you

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Sorry but what does BFW stand for?And if you are referring to the picture on the front page Johnny I can assure you that the Barbel caught came to no harm whatsoever as I released them after weighing.The net was of sufficient size and was pegged out properly.Like you said that’s your opinion and match fishermen will always have different opinions to speci anglers when it comes to keepnets.

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Cheers Brummy and JC, for adding some sense to all this, just shows how in the wrong hands what a perfectly innocent and happy occasion with your sons can be used by some to beat you over the head with. I did not intend that video or any other video of me fishing be put on you tube for this very reason, however it was.
Fish welfare Stu, should come as a priority pleasure or match, and Barbel just don't do well in keepnets, I would like that point me made to anyone who is a member of BAA, it really is a no brainer.

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Stu - BFW is "Barbel Fishing World", a website/forum that a lot of the barbel lads are on.

"Jeff Collins" was an individual that caused no end of grief for quite a few members, with trolling and general BS. He's been banned now thankfully.

JC

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

I have seen hundreds of not thousands of Barbel weighed in in the last 30 years and I can honestly say that not once have I ever seen a Barbel come to any harm from being kept in a keepnet,and there’s a lot of matchmen I know that can honestly tell you the same and they have been around twice as long as me!If the correct net is used in the correct way then to me there is no better place for a Barbel to recover than in a keepnet after being caught.The modern nets mean that fin damage is never an issue any more either.

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

And also if you never put a Barbel in a keepnet and you never fish matches with them in keepnets then where are you getting your proof from that it’s doing them so much damage?Do you just believe what other so called experts have written on it and just take that as the truth?Just wondered if you have honestly seen this damage first hand?

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Probably one of the safest places to keep an exhausted barbel, or any fish for that matter, would be in a well staked out keep net. And that is not just my opinion, but also that of Keith Arthur who mentioned it in a column of his in one of the angling mags last year.
You've only got to think about it logically, and not just jump on the PC wagon and say what you THINK is the right thing to do.
An exhausted fish will simply dive straight into the nearest weed, even after 10 minutes recovery in the landing net, because it hasn't go the energy to fight the fast flows of the river. Once in the weed, us, as anglers have no control of what happens next, and if it decides to go belly up its too late to help.
At least in a keep net you can keep a close eye on its condition and act accordingly.
The reason most river anglers don't take a net is because of distance travelled by walking to pegs, deciding to travel as light as possible.
So, if you see someone with a barbel in a net, don't slag him off, pat the guy on the back because he's probably taking more care of his catch that you are.

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Al least we have moving pictures on here, a real break through But posting any sort of media on any site is fraught , and this place is no exception, weight, mats, keepnets, location, it's all there, can't blame anyone for thinking twice before sharing, a happy moment only for someone waiting to have a go.

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Just to repeat my self what I said earlier . I am not Jeff Collins . What ever has gone on between you to in the past I would suggest you take it up with him . I have never been a member of BFW and I have never been banned from any group or website and I have never stalked any one .

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Totally agree Brummymoorey,like I said before if used properly then there’s no better place for a fish to rest up after being caught.I think match fisherman get this unfair reputation about poor fish care/welfare when going by my first had experience is a load of b#llocks.People obviously believe what they read and what others say about the use of keepnets,handling etc despite never witnessing it themselves!

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Such a lot of posts on this one, it's getting better than Brexit. Not taking sides with anyone but it does seem odd that a size 8 hook or whatever is stuck in a fishes mouth, it has the crap scared out of it for however long while it is brought to the bank, taken out of the water and then we start being all nice and caring, and put it on something soft.

It's like deliberately punching someone in the face and then saying sorry, let me put some ointment on it. But it does make us feel better about it. .

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Gb123 I’m actually laughing out loud,this is my exact comparison that I always say!Just didn’t want to sound like an anti angler.But can you imagine a none angler who knows nothing about fishing reading these threads?They would think we are crazy,sticking a hook in its mouth and dragging it out it’s home then moaning because you didn’t rest it on a nice soft mat while you get the hook out!
As you said it’s like punching someone in the face then giving them a cuddle after.Yes mats have their uses as do keepnets at certain times but I do think people go over the top when preaching to others what they should and shouldn’t do and criticising people for stuff that according to your OPINION is wrong.

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

I belong to two clubs one of which has a keepnet ban for all fish on it's river stretches - these fish are totally immaculate and it's rare to see any scale damage at all and fin damage is minimal. It also has a compulsory mat rule but that is mainly due to the hard ground and platforms so it is a good idea there plus it is really heavily fished much more so than the Severn. Good handling looks after the stock and protects the fishery from losses there's no denying that

Long wet grass is just as good as any mat though, gravel not so

Keepnets- Each to their own but my initial thought of seeing those pics were that there would be more damage occurring due to those photos than taking individual pics. Good on him though for getting a good catch on the float in winter, the 6lb chub would be worth a solo pic any day.

I'd be loathe to advise the use of nets for retention/recovery as they are deadly if poorly staked out,yanked up steep banks,used in low oxygen or moved from swim to swim - All those things happen with bad anglers so it does matter what we do with them after we catch them as they are the future egg layers. I don't miss the old days on my local river when you could tell when people were packing up by the 'belly ups' floating down the river.

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Hornet you say long wet grass is fine ? So what happens when the grass is dry ? How do you know what lies hidden in the grass ? Sharp stones , broken glass , Twigs etc etc .

I offer you guys this challenge ? Next time you have a bath or shower go and have a roll in the grass while you are still wet and see how it feels . Surely as anglers we have a duty of care to the fish we catch .

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Thing is Rivernovice the duty of fish care is down to the individual (unless dictated in club rules) and that fish care can be interpreted differently for each water and species. I've used mats many a time and after a dozen or so Barbel there can be bits of grit on the mat and worse, some fisheries insist on using their own mats provided due to disease etc The matt often doesn't dry out and if it does in midsummer it can really burn so yes soft wet grass is every bit as good as a mat. Dry grass? maybe not so that's where the common sense of the individual would hopefully kick in and he or she would find the softest spot possible whether that's using what nature provides or what they got in their kit.

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

River novice....I find comparison rather odd,as far as I can remember I didn’t have a size 12 hook drag me out the bath and up the garden the last time I had a bath.If you are backing the fact that fish don’t feel pain when hooked and caught then how can you go on to say it might be uncomfortable for it to lie on the grass?I understand the need for a mat in certain situations but it really is over the top sometimes

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Stew, you continue to push your ideas that somehow in the scheme of things your ideas about fish handling is right. How you can even attempt to support the use of keepnets to RETAIN Barbel is beyond me, and 99% of anyone who has an inkling of a Barbels requirement when it comes down to oxygen equirements. Of course you are a match angler, and as such you use a keep net, but that doesn't wash with me.
BAA bailiffs have many times told me of barbel belly up scenes after matches in the summer, perhaps if a Barbel is caught that fish could be weighed witnessed an returned asap. Barbel can appear to be healthy after returning, and yet the reality is very different.
It surely would be a step forward to impose a no keep net ban for Barbel, their numbers are reducing due to many factors, we as anglers should do as much as we can, but if the mindset is in denial, then we might as well all give up.

Re: Unhooking Mats & Handling of Fish

Makes me laugh when anglers throw a fit about putting fish on grass. You do realise what lies beneath the water,right? Reeds, roots, stones, sunken trees...all the sharp and dangerous things that fish love to hang around. You never seen a shoal of barbel gouge deep troughs in a gravel bed?..or a shoal of carp completely flatten a reed bed during spawning? A lot of fish damage is not caused by the use of keepnets but by the fish themselves doing what fish love to do.
And that's one reason why Koi keeps rarly keep potted plants in the pool because of the damage fish do to themselves
Some people need to give their head a wobble....lmao.