Probably going to start a bun fight with this one
I've been a keen sea angler all my life despite living as far from the sea as is possible in England. Recently I have been getting into coarse fishing to scratch the itch somewhat and oh my goodness what a ****ing mess it all is.
The obvious major problem is what the hell has happened to our rivers. The utter state of them is a national disgrace and I would welcome criminal prosecutions to those responsible for destroying our water ways, and these asshole anglers that leave all their **** at the river bank when they're done fishing. People have absolutely no respect for the natural environment these days and it boils my p*ss to see empty cans and bottles, discarded equipment and tackle lining the bank.
Then on top of all that we've got the regulations. Now I don't mind regulations, they're a good thing for preserving fish stocks and so on and I think the general coarse and game fishing regulations in this country are good. Open and close seasons to give fish a break, and if you're of the mind to take a pike or perch home to eat (if you find a stretch of river clean enough) then you can if they're of a certain size. I will say this however, the attitude from the general coarse angler and their associations of disdain towards people who would like to fish for something to eat from their local water is utterly repulsive. If you want to catch and release go ahead, some people might want to take that jack pike home. Presumably we all got into deer stalking for a similar reason. And of course you'll need to find a stretch of river that you can take a fish from which is pretty difficult as the angling associations have lapped up the majority of fishing rights for our water ways and then impart their own rules for it which would then make you liable for theft if you were to ignore them. I don't even want to get started on how I feel about someone owning the fish in the river even if they aren't the land owner (yes I feel the same about the archaic system of sporting rights).
Well at least we can get down to the river to get rid of some invasive crayfish and perhaps get a good feed at the end of it. Or perhaps not, because these same fecking angling associations often forbid crayfishing in their membership rules too! The EA won't even give you a trapping permit these days unless you've got permission from a land owner with rights/association with rights to do so. And then of course you'll need to kill them all immediately upon removal so no chance to purge them.
The absolute state of coarse fishing and rivers for the common man who likes to catch fish to feed himself in this country is a joke. Rant over
