Guitarman

Hi

I'd just like to know wether or not your members think the Closed season
should be brought to an end on rivers just like it as on still waters?
This could be a very interesting discussion.

billy barbel

Definately not, rivers have a totally different eco system to stillwaters and need the "time off" to recover have we learned nothing from the plight of sea fisherman?????

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D N W

Having lived in germany close to the dutch border for severall years i fished matches in holland every week, they don't have a closed season on rivers and the fishing is a thousand times better than the uk with the close season shut down.

I know fish lakes in the main and when the fish are ready to spawn which can be at any time, they will not feed.

The rivers have a closed season through the winter were vast stretches remain unfished and just has the weather picks up and the water levels drop the closed season kicks in.

If anyone has any scientific reason why hollands rivers fish so well without a closed season and england is cr*p with one i am willing to listen.

Holland has vast amounts of cormorants and the germans etc always take fish for the pot going back years, perhaps its nothing to do with the close season but water abstraction etc.

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Steve Davies

Guitarman

Looks like I may have stirred up the hornets nest.

D N W

Not a hornets nest really people have different views, personally i don't fish rivers anymore has the match turnouts are small knock ups. I haven't heard a reason for a closed season other than nostalga, from my observations over a few years in holland the fishing or fish have never been affected by not having a closed season.

Wasn't the closed season brought in to keep the working class of the rivers while the gentry were fishing for trout.

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Steve Davies

ian hornby

on heavily fished waters i think the close season is very good for the wildlife. but in my view we now have aprils weather in febuary ect ect. so i think the close season should be january 20th to may 1st. its the 24th of feb and the birds are building there nests, unheard of 15 years ago. the seasons are definatly changing. how do i know this???. in my job i have to keep a record of the daily temp at noon, have done so for 20 years. in 1990 febuary,s weather was cold, icy, and never went above freezing for 12 days and bairly above for the rest. 10 years later its down to 4 days and the average temp in 2000 was the same as aprils in 1990. this year we are actualy beating some temps from may 1997. so we also need to alter anything linked to the seasons acordingly, and before anyone mentions the tax myth global warming the last six augusts have mirror,d the previous six septembers in rainfall and temps, as have mays. can you remember last may?? best month for sunshine all 2007, july the wettest just like our late septembers used to be wet and windy. keep the close season just alter the dates.

Guitarman

I think I'd better air my own views since it was I who started it.
I personally am in favour of the closed season purely for the points mentioned above
about the Eco system and giving everything a chance to catch it's breath so to speak,
plus there is something magical to me (some of you may think that's a bit OTT)about being able to get to the river (ribble in my case) on June 16th and try for those Barbel that I've been thinking about since March.

D N W

What scientific proof is there for a close season, England has a close season and the river match fishing (trent and witham for me) is cr*p, Holland does not have a close season and the fishing is great (also they have very few carp lakes so 90% of fishing takes place on natural rivers and lakes).

So the debate goes back to the magical 16th its also magical waiting for christmas day with the kids but no scientific evidence that the rivers need a closed season or that father christmas Exists.

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Steve Davies

torchwood

the wild/bird life being disturbed by anglers if the river close season was stopped gets blown out of the water by the fact that walkers bikers boaters dog walkers still have access to the water side and infact disturb wildlife far more than anglers ever do
the protection of our river stocks also holds no water as our rivers are not fished as much as in the 60s to early the 90s the main threats to populations of river fish are pollution cormorants and fish thefts these can all be reported and in some cases stopped by anglers on the river bank reporting pollution and fish thefts to the relevant bodies (ACA NRA POLICE) no anglers on the bank means no reports I doubt if the dog walker or boater would even notice dead fish let alone take the time to report pollution or fish being nicked
I say keep the rivers open all year round and get rid of this peice of outdated and unfair peice of legislation
torchwood
TORCHWOODTACKLE.COM

andy taylor

i think rivers should be kept open all year round or at least left to clubs and owners discretion