I don't agree. If you are going to have a close season don't do it half way. I am familiar with the close season and WHY. What I fail to understand is when you target a different species are you not still stressing the fish by your presence? Coarse fish are caught even though they aren't being targetted. There isn't a close season to speak of in the US. I am more familiar with their rules and having been here and followed the rules, my own personal view is that it would make more sense if the close season was for all species, to include flyfishing, for the 90 day window.
ps Doesn't this debate come up every year around this time?
yes your right that this debate comes up at this time every year.....
-but may i suggest that before you recommend that fly fishing be included 'in the 90 day window
you may want to consider the simple facts ,
-that fly fishing is not normally employed to catch coarse fish in the u.k. (except pike, chub and grayling and then usually by special tactics)
-also that far, more usually (and it must be brown trout we are talking about here)
trout are the quarry and as these spawn during november/december they are more than adequately 'mended' by the time the season opens 25th march .....
-so would you really see river trout fishing start on june the 16th???
because by default it appears that you obviously believe in the neccessity of a close season , -therefore it would follow that there is a need for the (river) trout season to end on september the 30th as it currently does to adequately cover spawning, as it is supposed to.
-this would make for a VERY SHORT season indeed....
and as for rainbow trout the reason no close season exists on them in stillwaters is that they are not considered to be a a species that is capable of reproducing naturally in that situation.
so basically i don't agree with your point of veiw
Yep - it comes up every year.
I still don't see why stillwaters are OK but rivers are not. surely if the object is to protect spawning fish then it shouldn't matter what type of water they are in.
I like my Pike fishing and as Pike spawn earlier than the official season I tend not to target them once the weather starts to warm in a couple of weeks. It's my choice though and opinion may vary. Some Pike anglers specifically target them at this time of year as they could weigh an extra 5lb's. I stop fishing for Tench for a month or so once the water has warmed and and I catch my first egg-bound female but again some anglers target them at this time.
The historical aspect of the closed season was to prevent people killing and eating breeding stock which (apart from our newest arrivals) isn't really an issue any more. I fished my local pond last week and my landing net was still dry - all of them were un-hooked without leaving the water (or me touching them). the only time I would "land" a fish is when I want a photo or to examine it.
In an ideal world anglers would know when to leave their target species alone but in the mean-time I suppose a general closed season will have to do.
re pike fishing , like you i also like my piking,
-they are a fish that i have great respect for and have been fortunate enough to enjoy catching a great many of them with more than my share of very big fish.
but my findings are that pike in different waters/ localties vary greatly in their spawning times
the rules of thumb i would apply are that in rivers they spawn earlier (in february/march -in my belief the current close rivers season does nothing for pike at all) and in shallow stillwaters (in a decent 'warm' spring) they will spawn at around about the same time, -conversely though in deep, cold stillwaters (which are slowest to warm) they will often spawn much later (may, early june)
-far more important than a close season, and in my veiw this applies to ALL species....
- but where pike are concerned is absolutely vital and that is: FLAWLESS fish handling,
and from your post above it is obvious that you know where i am coming from (i.e. where possible not removing the fish from the water)
to come to the ultimate question of this thread: - basically 'davo' has it exactly right in his assessment of why the close seasons came to pass and without doubt as anglers' intent towards what happens to the fish after being caught has now broadly changed the true need for a close season has now passed into history.
i believe that a strong case exists for a abolition of the total closure of british frehwaters .
however i also believe that restrictions upon the removal/taking away/or killing of fish should remain in place.
what would be far more sensible would be an EXTENDED period of protection to adequately cover spawning during which time fish can be caught legally but must be released,
in a similar way to the law as it stands at present governing un-seasonal fish
-say if you are grayling fising in december and a trout takes the worm ,
-no offence is committed providing the fish is released immediately without delay
but before we all go rushing to campaign for the total abolition of the close season..........
- don't forget that some anglers now resident in this country whom originate from other cultures within the E.U. (eastern european) where the catching and eating of practically all species of coarse and game fish is pretty much the normal 'done thing'. -veiw our british freshwaters/fish in much the same way as those back home.
close season NO! flawless fish care ??? ......... ALWAYS!!!
