FISHERY OWNERS GREED

[JOHN_M]

Have any other MD's come across this situation ?

There is a local fishery that we, ( Hucknall Anglers ), match fish on a regular basis, historically we have always fished 6 hour matches.
The fishery owner has now stipulated that matches are to be no longer that 5 hours in the summer, even though there is a 2 keepnet rule, one for carp and one for silver fish.
Also, here's the best bit, we have to end the match at 2 o'clock and clear the water by 3 o'clock so that the pleasure anglers can fish.
Anyone have any opinions on this ?

 

[stevelockett]

Said fishery owner is perfectly entitled to do whatever he/she deems neccessary for the wellbeing of their fish. I can see the sense in not allowing fish to be kept in a net for more than five hours, especially in the summer.
During a photoshoot last summer, I had a lot of problems with skimmers and roach that were kept in a net for only three hours. I do match fish, personally, but on pleasure sessions, never use a keepnet. I think we must be very careful about their use.

Moving on to "the best bit", I think you will have paid pretty close to a day ticket fee to fish the match, so calmly explain this to the fishery owner. Possibly, you also need to mention the fact that you provide year-round pegging fees (assuming you fish matches there during the winter), and without your custom, they may not have an income during the colder months. If they are adamant about you being off the water so they can re-sell your pegs, vote with your feet. It's that simple.

 

[DryNetNick]

Seems a little unfair. Do you pay to hire the whole lake, or just a peg fee per person? If you pay per person and it's a full day rate, then you have every right to stay all day.

 

[Windy7]

Is there no reason why you can't draw at 7 and fish 8 till 2? This would mean you still get in a 6 hour match!

And I wouldn't necessarily put it down to greed. Pleasure anglers also want to fish, though no-one wants them on the pool when there's a match on. It sounds like the fishery owner is more concerned in trying to keep everyone relatively happy rather than look after his own pocket.

Incidentally, I'm a match angler.

 

[Windy7]

Is there no reason why you can't draw at 7 and fish 8 till 2? This would mean you still get in a 6 hour match!

And I wouldn't necessarily put it down to greed. Pleasure anglers also want to fish, though no-one wants them on the pool when there's a match on. It sounds like the fishery owner is more concerned in trying to keep everyone relatively happy rather than look after his own pocket.

Incidentally, I'm a match angler.

 

[Windy7]

Is there no reason why you can't draw at 7 and fish 8 till 2? This would mean you still get in a 6 hour match!

And I wouldn't necessarily put it down to greed. Pleasure anglers also want to fish, though no-one wants them on the pool when there's a match on. It sounds like the fishery owner is more concerned in trying to keep everyone relatively happy rather than look after his own pocket.

Incidentally, I'm a match angler.

 

[Windy7]

Apologies for my repeats..........must've been a problem!!!!!

 

[JOHN_M]

Where-ever I book a match, where-ever possible, I always book the whole venue/lake.

When talking to the owner he actually said " if you don't like it don't come, book somewhere else "

We used to draw at 7 and fish 8 till 2, but now he's cut it down to 5 hours.

 

[gazmalman]

Simple greed, like when you get pushed out of resturants, tell him you want reasonable match hours say 11-4 and reserve the right to pleasure fish after the match or you will not be coming back. He will kick himself in the foot because we all know who keeps commercails afloat during the winter.

 

[monkey20]

but JOHN M remember it is his lake his rules. if you dont like them go elswhere! if you arnt happy with the times just fish a different pond and as for cutting it down to 5 hours it sounds reasonable as in the middle of the summer ytou dont want carp etc squashed in a keepnet with next to no oxygen for 6 hours flat. hes just trying to care for his stock like you would.

 

[JOHN_M]

In the lst 20 odd years of match fishing I have never seen a carp die through being in a keepnet.
In a 6 hour match most of the fish will only be in a keepnet for 3 or 4 hours at the most.

150 match fee and say 20 pleasure anglers at 5 each = 250 per day,

Multiply by 5 days a week multiply by 52 weeks a year multiply by 4 lakes = 260,000 per year, not bad eh!

 

[nickg]

simple solution - avoid fisheries.

i havent fished one in a couple of years now and i feel better for it.

 

[lavo-1]

This post sounds like a load of whining match men to me. The fishery owner is in my opinion trying to keep all his customers happy whilst also using the time on the lake to full effect.

Whats up lads, is too early for you. Will the hangover not be cleared by then.[]

Gets up my nose that match men have this attitude that they should be better treated than pleasure anglers.

Their pound and shilling is no different to mine.

 

[groundhog]

Originally posted by JOHN_M

In the lst 20 odd years of match fishing I have never seen a carp die through being in a keepnet.
In a 6 hour match most of the fish will only be in a keepnet for 3 or 4 hours at the most.

150 match fee and say 20 pleasure anglers at 5 each = 250 per day,

Multiply by 5 days a week multiply by 52 weeks a year multiply by 4 lakes = 260,000 per year, not bad eh!

John_M, "In the lst 20 odd years of match fishing I have never seen a carp die through being in a keepnet."
I find your statement a little hard to believe my friend[], especially as it has only been the last couple of years that keepnets and their design, have improved with fish welfare in mind[]
Also there is A Large major flaw in your financial calculation on the fishery owners profits, as you have not made any deductions for TAX, or Insurance, or his stocking costs,water treatment,aeroation, and feed over the winter period, surley you cannot be so naive as to think that the only feed that goes in is only what anglers, be they match or pleasure put in[?]
And a lot of Commercial/ farm fisheries are now restricting the use of keepnets in matches to 5 hours, as this is more than long enough to keep fish retained in cramped stressful conditions.

 

[gibby]

Nice post lavo-1.

Seriously, a commercial fishery is a business like any other and the owner is there to make a profit. To keep the profits coming in he has to attract, and keep business. As with your local pub or corner shop, if you don't like the goods, the prices or the service don't go there. Nor is it written in tablets of stone that matches have to be fished on commercials. I would like to see the guys hauling in 200 pounds of pastie carp on an overstocked commercial try to do as well on the average river or canal.

 

[JOHN_M]

Point being that unless you catch a fish at the off theyare not in the net for the whole duration of the match.

I still maintain that in the last 20 odd years of match fishing I have NEVER seen a carp die through being in a keepnet.

 

[nickg]

yea but i could come over there, whack you round the head with a shovel - sure you'd live on but would would your quality of life be the same afterwards?

i guess the moral is - you might not have seen any dead floating in the keepnet, but can you say hand on heart that they arent suffering during the time they are in there?

i would prefer to see all matches do a staggered weigh in whereby the nets get emptied every 2 hours or so, and then totals calculated at the end of the process.

 

[steak]

I think nickg has a point there.

Dont they weigh the Fisho final every hour ?

No point providing bullets for the "antis".

Steak.

 

[Ady]

How many lakes are there at the fishery john?

How many days a week are their matches?

I know that without matches most fisheries would not be open today to provide sport for alot of pleasure anglers, but at the same time, there may be aq chance he has had complaints from pleasure anglers recently saying they want more time to fish, he may have pressure on him from other angles to cut down on match hours.

However you know more than me, maybe he has just decided after thinking to himself, just a thought though.

 

[gazmalman]

Lavo, we matchmen generally only fish for 5 hours, not all day, and we matchmen generally fish all year round. Why shouldnt we be able to fish a match within the hours we would like to, we do after all pay for the peg in just the same way as pleasure anglers. It does my head in when pleasure anglers have a winge about not being able to get on some venues in the summer yet where are they in the winter? We matchmen are the bread and butter of most commercails in the country, fact.

In all honesty I just dont get why pleasure anglers go to commercails anyway, when I go angling for pleasure I go on the river or the odd 'natural' stillwater, surley the idea is to get away from it all?