Fisherman's Tales

31st January 2010

Where to go

Firstly there's the issue of where to go. There are very few 'free' waters these days. There are, however, plenty of excellent angling clubs and privately owned river and stillwater fisheries which offer reasonably priced day ticket fishing. You do not necessarily have to go very far, in many of the big cities there are lakes, canals and rivers who's fishing rights are owned by small fishing clubs that do day tickets starting at around £3.00 per day at the one just down from our factory. These waters I would call natural as they are not like the commercials which are stocked heavily so catching fish in these waters requires little if no skill especially in the warmer months. The natural waters help you develop skills that will remain with you for the rest of your life.

Licence

By law you will need an Environment Agency rod licence wherever you decide to fish and these can be purchased at Post Offices, on the internet or by phone. However, if you don't want to commit yourself to a whole year then 1 day and 8 day versions are available. The yearly licence runs from April to the end of March. This licence is necessary to be able to use a rod and line, however it does not permit you to fish without the landowners permissions and in many cases without paying a fee to do so.

Safety

Safety is of course an issue if you intend to go on your own so it would be best to seek advice from your local tackle shop or angling club to find a water that is not too remote. Or better still get a friend to go with you but choose your companion wisely, the first few times you really need to be left to get on with things by yourself but have the option to ask for advice should you need some.

Information about the water

You will find that when a water bailiff collects money that he/she will offer advice on the best methods or the pegs that are producing fish. Generally if you ask someone for help they will help. This rule however does not apply during a fishing match when you will be expected to stand well back from the person fishing unless you are invited closer.

I would advise that taking a walk around the local lakes, canals or rivers when there is not a match taking place and watch the anglers fishing, you will learn a vast amount of information this way, which you can then put into practice yourself.

Tackle

There is an abundance of fishing tackle on the market today and it can be overwhelming, each piece of equipment needs a different approach to its use. If you are just starting I would go for a simple rod, rod line and a bank stick with a landing net. You don't need a keep net as many waters only allow keep nets during fishing matches. Your local fishing tackle shop will be of great help. When you walk into some tackle shops you may feel a little intimidated. This is not the case, one of the services a shop owner has to provide is that of knowledge of different waters, the show owner obviously cannot fish them all so they have to rely on people giving them information, so will often have one or two additional people milling around.

Tight Lines
Dave