Damage to property and coarse fishing

Just because you may have a rod license and a permit to fish a particular water it does not mean you have carte blanche rights to behave any way you like. Quite a few waters have been lost to the coarse fishing fraternity simply because of damage to property and loutish behaviour. It's the old adage - the behaviour of a few causes grief and loss to the majority.

Several waters have banned night fishing because of the way that some people (I won't call them anglers) behave. Typical of this is the lighting of fires and discarding rubbish. The number of times I have seen empty bottles and chip papers scattered everywhere and the remains of a fire on an otherwise unscarred piece of grass, and if that isn't bad enough, they have even torn branches from trees as kindling - which shows their crass stupidity as green wood will not burn.

The anti-fishing movement is using damage as one of the reasons coarse fishing should stop, so why give them the ammunition to fire at us.

Discarded line and hooks kill - there is no other way to put this, they do. It doesn't take a lot of planning to take a carrier bag with you on a fishing trip so that any rubbish you may accumulate during the day can be carried home with you and disposed of safely. If anything it is the duty of each of us to tidy up after the litter louts. I know this sticks in most peoples throats - mine included, but think of it this way, you aren't just tidying up after some thoughtless idiot you are protecting the wildlife and helping to maintain a clean waterside so that generations of future fisherman can enjoy their sport too.

Stick to proper paths and access points. There is nothing more annoying to landowners than some halfwit taking a short-cut through a nice field of barley, or damaging fences so that livestock can escape. This is not only thoughtless but is actually criminal damage and carries the penalties the law prescribes - and quite rightly so !

Sweetcorn and Luncheon Meat comes in cans - an empty can left discarded is not only an eyesore but a danger to wildlife. Many Angling Clubs have even banned anglers bringing them to the waterside. Why not open the cans at home and put the bait into a bait-box for your fishing trip. That way you can throw the can into your bin where it belongs.

If your line gets tangled in a tree make every possible attempt to remove it. A baited hook is often irresistible to wild birds and loose line can get wrapped around their legs causing horrific damage or death. I do not advocate putting yourself in danger by climbing up into trees - if you cannot remove the line yourself then report it to a club official if you can, they often have the right equipment such as ladders etc for dealing with these situations. The common sense approach would say simply "BEWARE OF TREES", otherwords, don't be an accident just waiting to happen.

When you have finished fishing take your unwanted bait or groundbait home with you. Don't just fling it onto the bank thinking you are doing the local wildlife a favour, very often you aren't. Plus the fact that regular discarded bait attracts rats. Throwing it into the water can be as bad. Not only does this spoil the swim for some other angler but uneaten bait can rot and pollute the water.

The future of our sport lies not only in the hands of the government but in our own hands. If a minority of our brotherhood continue to behave in a loutish and cavalier manner then we will all suffer. Can you imagine life without fishing? - I can't.