Has
fishing been underpriced?
A welcome phone call from Simon Brough in Chesterfield pleased me because
he and I last fished together 15 years ago when Simon was still a teenager.
Would I be interested in a spot of trout fishing with him and could I
suggest a good venue?
I booked permits for us at a fishery at no great distance where I have
always had good sport in the past and where the facilities were good.
On a bright, sunny day, and with murky water for some reason or other,
I knew it would not be an easy day, but enjoyable for all that, and I
was helped a lot by Simon who enabled me to get up and down the steep
grassy banks of the fishery.
I was very pleased to see that Simon still has the skills that I remembered
him having all those years ago.
He casts a fly line really well with expertly executed double haul casting
and I was happy to see him land four good trout.
It was a day of humiliation for me though for I failed to land a single
fish.
This gave me time for thought and I began to realise why the number of
good small stillwater trout waters has diminished so greatly in recent
years.
We have good trout reservoirs, and world famous trout rivers in Derbyshire,
but fewer small stillwaters.
Two such places have shut completely while two others have reverted to
coarse fisheries only and another has had the water drained out.
For many years our small venues have offered fishing at prices very much
lower than can be had further south in England.
Prices are rising now but they still have not quite come into line with
other areas.
Could we have been fishing in a false paradise I ask myself?
Making money out of a trout fishery is not at all easy to do, especially
if you have to buy trout in for stocking though those fisheries (like
Barlow) that have their own trout farm on site have a big advantage in
this respect.