Wye fish poachers

RSS
Email

0 Kudos

Forum Jump

Author	Comment
elverspresley	Wye fish poachers	Lead	[-]
Posts: 38 (18/11/08 16:37) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None Copy of article in today's Angling Times below:
PunkandtheGodfarther		#1	[-]
Posts: 34 (18/11/08 17:02) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It seems Adam Fisher was right on a few accounts.And do message boards not help these people along the way a little,with regards to areas to go and plunder?I'm sure they do look at all kinds of angling web media. Allegedly a bailiff and his team on a Southern river a couple of seasons back,pointed a shotgun at our European friends.They have not been back.Is it right to allegedly use such force?Not for me to say
thisisjohn		#2	[-]
Posts: 8235 (18/11/08 17:19) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	take it out on their car....j.w
elverspresley		#3	[-]
Posts: 41 (18/11/08 17:27) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	PunkandtheGodfarther wrote: Allegedly a bailiff and his team on a Southern river a couple of seasons back,pointed a shotgun at our European friends.They have not been back. They were probably caught poaching salmon or sea trout but at least somebody has got some b*lls. I heard that golf clubs were the preferred tools of our friends on the Taff.
fishless		#4	[-]
Posts: 479 (18/11/08 21:07) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	they cant be allowed to ruin our rivers give it em hard ! the ea wont
PunkandtheGodfarther		#5	[-]
Posts: 35 (19/11/08 07:19) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	elverspresley wrote: PunkandtheGodfarther wrote: Allegedly a bailiff and his team on a Southern river a couple of seasons back,pointed a shotgun at our European friends.They have not been back. They were probably caught poaching salmon or sea trout but at least somebody has got some b*lls. I heard that golf clubs were the preferred tools of our friends on the Taff. No there were no Salmon ect involved.The clubs and landowners had expressed there concerns to the local Police force.They understood these concerns but were reluctant to do anything.So they took the course of action they thought best.As I said in my previous post,I'm not going to judge if it is right or wrong.
maximusdarbus		#6	[-]
Posts: 23 (19/11/08 08:17) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think a quick nudge into the river if the waters nice and deep may slow them down.Its not just fish these gypo's are after they kill and eat ducks, swans, and any other wildlife they can get there grubby hands on.The problem started when we let them all in, close the borders and send them all back that's what we need to do.This is all down to letting every man and his dog stroll into our country and this is the way things are going to be for a long time.Would this sort of thing gone on 10 years ago ?
Young Dave Burr		#7	[-]
Posts: 248 (19/11/08 09:53) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Before we go down a xenophobic route that will bring the Nazi's on to bfw let us take a step back and look at the problem. We are losing a lot of fish to Eastern Europeans and because they are not salmonids the EA seem to be disinterested. The only people able to police the rivers are therefore club bailiffs or concerned anglers neither of which have had any training or carry legitimate defence equipment and are poorly organised. The poachers usually (in my experience) rarely fish alone making a confrontation inadvisable unless you have numbers on your side. This is a difficult situation to find yourself in and one which the poachers know and will play on. In my opinion it is inevitable that somebody is going to get seriously injured or even killed at a fishery if people continue to try to sort it out for themselves. A far better course of action is for angling clubs to contact their local police and explain in a letter what is happening. When poaching is taking place contact the police on each and every occasion. If the police refuse to attend write a letter of complaint o the Chief Constable and to your MP. Also, as anglers unhappy with the attitude of the EA, you may write to your MP stating how dissatisfied you are with their attitude and put in the letter how you feel that the river banks will become a battle ground of racial tension. Do not come across like a thug or a Nazi, keep it calm and sensible. Problems often only get sorted when people think that there is no way of ignoring them any more so the more noise you/we make about it the more chance there is of getting a response, its the same with close season poaching, more noise equals more action.
scubasteve		#8	[-]
Posts: 3619 (19/11/08 10:00) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Good post Dave. I'd hate to see someone get seriously injured for the sake of a fish, but that's easy for me to say, as we seem to have escaped this kind of problem on the rivers I fish, so far. Steve
iain		#9	[-]
Posts: 699 (19/11/08 10:29) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	in kent we have a lot of polish ,poaching the stour in canterbury. although barbel are scarce on this stretch,there are many chub in the 2-4lb bracket. these fish are very easy to catch due to them being used to bread(for the ducks) and other foods being thrown into the river. recently ive seen lots of these foreigners fishing with bread or meat,very heavy gear and no net etc ,obviously fishing for the pot. three of them have made a camp on the riverbank consisting of shelter made from wood and tarpaulin and a bench made from tree logs and wood etc. even worse, under a bridge this summer i found a strange sort of short keepnet containing 3 beheaded chub of around 2-3lb in the water,obviously to keep the fish fresh. also there was a pile of clothes with the net. needless to say i took the net and put it somewhere else ,and put all the clothes in the charity clothes bin outside the supermarket. i then called the EA on 0800 807060 and told them what id found ,they took my details and details of what id found but seemingly did nothing else as i told them where id put the net so they could see for themselves,but it was still there next day. i,ve reported the shelter(which must have took some building) 6 times now but its still there. i demolished it a bit about 3 months ago but its been rebuilt. my mates have phoned the EA too but nothing seems to be being done,indeed its not unusual to see 8 or so foreigners fishing like this in full view of the public in town. freinds who go trotting on the stretch say sport isnt what it used to be and its hardly surprising is it!!
willcatch		#10	[-]
Posts: 170 (19/11/08 11:01) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	scubasteve wrote: we seem to have escaped this kind of problem on the rivers I fish, so far. Hi Steve, I know from your posts on here that you fish the Teme and Severn. Just to let you know that we have this problem ongoing on a syndicated bit of the Teme I fish near me, similarly it has happened right in the centre of Ludlow where a group of them smashed the sluice gate locks off one of the weirs and held a net underneath and I also remember pictures from last season on BFW Severn thread of a group of "Eastern Europeans" fishing the centre of Bridgnorth under a bridge there. Also, the Lugg downstream of Leominster has been very badly hit by foreign poachers and it seems that every time I go over there now (which admittedly is less often as the sport is not as good as it used to be - hmm, I wonder why...) every local angler I meet has got stories of chub, pike, trout and grayling being stolen by large groups of foreign agricultural workers. I have seen a group of 10 of them being dropped off next to the river on a Sunday with lots of sea fishing gear by the farm minibus that they are ferried about for work in. I doubt if they were on their way to the Welsh coast! I know you are out and about on the river a lot and at all hours but maybe you've just been lucky and not seen this first hand - yet... What surprises me is the lack of action by those businesses with a vested interest in returning river anglers. I know we all have to make a stand as individuals by writing to MP's contacting police and EA and so on but if some of the people with money and influence who rely in part on river fishing for their income (tackle and bait companies, fishing shops, "famous" anglers - Bowler, James, Taylor, Welch etc) would put a bit of pressure on perhaps something will get done before it is too late. How long can this go on for before our rivers are "fished out"?
scubasteve		#11	[-]
Posts: 3621 (19/11/08 11:34) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	willcatch wrote: scubasteve wrote: we seem to have escaped this kind of problem on the rivers I fish, so far. Hi Steve, I know from your posts on here that you fish the Teme and Severn. Just to let you know that we have this problem ongoing on a syndicated bit of the Teme I fish near me, similarly it has happened right in the centre of Ludlow where a group of them smashed the sluice gate locks off one of the weirs and held a net underneath and I also remember pictures from last season on BFW Severn thread of a group of "Eastern Europeans" fishing the centre of Bridgnorth under a bridge there. Also, the Lugg downstream of Leominster has been very badly hit by foreign poachers and it seems that every time I go over there now (which admittedly is less often as the sport is not as good as it used to be - hmm, I wonder why...) every local angler I meet has got stories of chub, pike, trout and grayling being stolen by large groups of foreign agricultural workers. I have seen a group of 10 of them being dropped off next to the river on a Sunday with lots of sea fishing gear by the farm minibus that they are ferried about for work in. I doubt if they were on their way to the Welsh coast! I know you are out and about on the river a lot and at all hours but maybe you've just been lucky and not seen this first hand - yet... What surprises me is the lack of action by those businesses with a vested interest in returning river anglers. I know we all have to make a stand as individuals by writing to MP's contacting police and EA and so on but if some of the people with money and influence who rely in part on river fishing for their income (tackle and bait companies, fishing shops, "famous" anglers - Bowler, James, Taylor, Welch etc) would put a bit of pressure on perhaps something will get done before it is too late. How long can this go on for before our rivers are "fished out"? I probably should have said "we seem to have escaped this kind of problem on the stretches of rivers I fish, so far". I'm sure it goes on mate, but I can honestly say that I've never seen "Eastern Europeans" on the stretches of the river Severn or Teme that I fish. I dont remember the thread about a group of "Eastern Europeans" fishing the centre of Bridgnorth under a bridge either, but I'll have a look back see if it jogs my memory. Maybe like you say, I've been lucky so far. I aware it goes on, and I suppose its up to individuals to decide what action needs to be taken to control it in their area. Steve
willcatch		#12	[-]
Posts: 171 (19/11/08 11:42) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hi Steve, It was on the Severn thread in the posts where someone on here said that they had seen the poachers buying big feeders in the local tackle shop out of season (which I'm assuming would be Bridgnorth tackle), the person then went and took some pictures of the same people fishing later in the day under the bridge and posted them on the thread. I think you even got a mention when it was pointed out that one of the poachers bore a passing resemblance to you! "There's Scuba with the net" or something similar .
scubasteve		#13	[-]
Posts: 3622 (19/11/08 12:08) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'll have to have a look now................................ EDIT Ok, just found the thread, it was posted by pritch and they look more like 'close season' locals that EE's. They were fishing by one of the bridges at Ironbridge (well Coalport actually), and there was reference to one striking young man that had an uncanny resemblance to me......... but I can assure you it wasn't me. Sadly 'close season' fishing on the Severn is a problem, but no where near as much as people taking large numbers of fish for the pot. I think we have to be careful to distinguish between EE's fishing for the table and morons fishing the river during the close season for 'sport/fun'. There was also a mention of 3 poachers buying feeders in Bridgnorth, (you have a good memory). Steve Last Edited By: scubasteve 19/11/08 12:54. Edited 2 times.
Fish Head		#14	[-]
Posts: 57 (19/11/08 13:02) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Don't say it PunkandtheGodfather, I know nothing, I just want the whole river to myself
TRIGGA		#15	[-]
Posts: 403 (19/11/08 13:05) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The thing with this whole situation that i can't understand is how undervalued our coarse fish species really are with the authorities. If the poachers were taking salmon the EA would be all over it like a rash but because its chub and barbel it doesn't seem to matter. When you consider the amount of money anglers spend in persuit of our river species you would have thought they would be better protected as an asset to the economy. I'm talking rod licences and club fee's, the vast amount we spend on tackle and bait, fuel and food etc etc. Do the authorities not realise that all this spending will come to a grinding hault when are rivers have been emptied of all sizable fish. Fishing is supposedly one area that can ride out a resession but not if there is nothing left to fish for. I would encourage everyone to raise these points when talking to the authorities about the problem. A double figure Barbel or a 5lb chub has taken a long time, many years, to reach that size and such fish are highly prized by us anglers - they are far too valuable to be knocked on the head to feed a few migrant workers. They are taking something to save a few quid that is worth thousands of pounds to the local economy - so it needs to be stopped.
Robbopike		#16	[-]
Posts: 132 (19/11/08 16:46) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I totally agree with Will, around the Ludlow/Leominster area poaching is rife. Rather than repeat what Will has said about the Rivers I can go onto other places, as a club Chairman I was interested in taking over the lease of a large gravel pit towards Hereford until we found out the Strawberry pickers (who literally double the local population in the summer) were using home made harpoons, grappling hooks and nets to hit the double figure carp that flocked to an inlet. There were scales, heads and carcasses everywhere, and this was on a site owned by a very large road surface company who have night security.There are literally thousands of these people in our area, at the local Car Boot you are lucky to hear English spoken, and all the fishing tackle even rubbish stuff gets snapped up, particularly nets. Pike are openly for sale in the indoor market in Hereford, the stall owner openly admitted they were from the Wye. It would be lovely to think that law and order will prevail and a lot of letters will get the Government going, but when you consider that we have people who remain in this country who want to preach hate and support terrorism who we can't get rid of because it will infringe on their Human rights and who claim all sorts of Disability whilst being photographed by newspapers carrying heavy objects we are living in a dream world. I predict that NOTHING will change in the near future (just like Cormorants) and we will be saying the same in at least 5 years time.
willcatch		#17	[-]
Posts: 172 (19/11/08 20:53) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Steve, I looked at the thread again too and you're right they look more like locals than EE's - my memory obviously isn't that good! Yes, you are right - we shouldn't lump together local closed season poaching with the more serious problem of EE fish killing. Trigga - spot on about if it was Salmon the EA would come down heavy on it but the EA will never admit that and more to the point, will actually continue to deny that is the case. I will be including your points about the value of Coarse Fishing to the economy when I write some letters tomorrow... Has anyone got the figures from last week's Angling Times (...I think it was last week's) where they showed pie charts of amounts spent by UK anglers on fishing broken down into regions? I no longer have my copy. It showed how much is spent on each branch of the sport and I remember that game fishing was low compared to coarse. Robbo - Very funny about the "heavy objects" but if you met the same bunch on the river bank they would more likely be pointed or edged . I think you might be right about "in at least 5 years" but I don't think the rivers will take it for that long so I'm at least going to try the letters approach. Might at least get some humorous replies...
maximusdarbus		#18	[-]
Posts: 24 (20/11/08 08:47) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dave I agree with what you say whole heartedly there is no point putting life's at risk, i am not a Nazi or racist but was letting of a bit of steam on a subject i feel strongly about, some times you have to fight fire with fire. not the right thing to do but neither is pulling knifes out on loan bailiffs, threatening to kill anglers etc. I have come across these people and telling the authority's will do little as they will not respond as people will have already found. Sorry if i come across as racist, aggressive but some times this is the only way... Numbers and they will go away
scubasteve		#19	[-]
Posts: 3625 (20/11/08 09:52) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Will we (anglers) have a better chance of fighting our corner if Angling Unity succeeds? Steve
willcatch		#20	[-]
Posts: 174 (20/11/08 12:09) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	scubasteve wrote: Will we (anglers) have a better chance of fighting our corner if Angling Unity succeeds? Let's hope so. Think the real problem though is finding a practical solution to the fish theft. To use Robbo's analogy with the cormorant situation. There are two ways to deal with cormorants: Shoot them Increased footfall on the riverbanks - they don't like people being around them We can't deal with the EE's by using no. 1 () so what is the realistic alternative that might bring about no. 2? More money to fund extra EA bailiffs paid for by a slight increase in the rod licence to police and implement new legislation brought in by the Marine Fisheries Bill? I'd pay it if it means I will still have river fishing in 5 years time. I'd rather pay for that than join Angling Unity unless they can make some promises about the fish theft problem.

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Yuku free message boards

Wye fish poachers

Wye fish poachers