Moley,
It's great to see this discussion going on and, importantly, that common ground (or is that common water) can be found between anglers and boaters. Incidentally I am angler who prefers to fish canals and rivers (not lakes) AND enjoys hiring canal boats for holidays. I also had a dog (and will get another), ride a bike and have a canoe! I'll put my tin hat on now!
Personally I feel that more anglers get disturbed than the fish by boats, but discussions such as these certainly help to smooth the co-existence of boaters and anglers. In fact, in winter on gin-clear canals I would welcome a few more boats as they put a little colour in the water and make it easier to catch.
As others have already said, the best line for boaters to take on narrow (20m or less) canals is down the centre at a very slow pace. This is because this is the deepest water (so will recover rom disturbance quicker) and is away from features that anglers fish to. If boaters were aware that anglers are often feeding (preparing) different parts of the swim (water in front of them) to catch from and that we usually fish to features (far-bank bushes and reeds, the bottom of the shelves/slopes and up the slops) as this is where the fish prefer to be, and generally not down the centre then they would realise why down the centre is best. However, on wider canals (Gloucester etc) which are say more than 30m wide then if the boaters generally stay 2/3rds to 3/4s across, out of reach of a poles (up to 16m in length) and not against the far bank you will avoid most if not all our catching areas.
The other thing I would that you disseminate to your fellow boaters is to keep a watch for anglers who are playing large fish, which primarily live towards the far side of canals. With todays modern poles you will often see yards of elastic stretching from the end of poles as a big fish is played. In this instance I would suggest you cut your engines to dead slow and if possible allow the angler to get the fish in safely. At times this may take some time, and anglers have taken to using two methods to allow a boat to continue to pass. The first is to place the pole tip under water about 1/3 of the way across and hope that the line will pass under the boat as it goes through. The second is to hold the pole over the boat and let it pass underneath. Neither should cause any disturbance to the boat, although the latter may seem odd and I have seen a few boaters comment about such a practice.
Unfortunately human nature will always mean that there will be those, on both towpath and boat, that will be ignorant, rude and disrespectful to other users. As you have already said about your forum,
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Moley
there's still one a***hole who goes much too far
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and angling, boating, cycling and dog-walking are no different in this regard. I get equally annoyed about the minority of loud-mouthed litter leaving anglers, dog-walkers who do not clear their dogs mess and budding tour-de-france cyclists as I do with some boaters. Likewise, I am sympathetic to the boaters issues of anglers fishing from mooring points or tackle and bait being unintentionally left on boats moored on the far bank.
One further thought has just come to mind. Is the boating fraternity informed of the dates when the large prestigous fishing matches occur on canals and rivers? If not, you should be informed as you may then be able to plan your journeys to avoid such dates/times. In the event that the NFA (National Federation of Anglers) and any representational body for boaters (do you have one or do you rely on BW?) do not do this, then here are the details from the NFA's website. This is not an exhaustive list as local clubs may also hold other big matches.
Cadets, Junior & Intermediate National Championships 7th July 2007
Grand Union Canal, Milton Keynes
3rd Division National Championships
14th July 2007
Great Ouse, Littleport
Ladies National Championships 28th July 2007
Calder and Hebble Canal
1st Division National Championships 11th August 2007
New Junction Canal
2nd Division National Championships 1st September 2007
River Trent
Individual National Championships 29th September 2007
Boston Drains
Anyway, that's enough of me. Time to get the kids ready for a walk along the canal. And a sneaky pint for dad at the Weighbridge, my favourite pub in the village despite it being a boaters pub. It does the best beer!
Stu
LeeTwin 
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