Don’t
throw accusations at anglers
I have long been aware that it is foolish to believe everything that you
read in the media. Often reporters pick up on some aspect of angling and
write features which reveal that they know absolutely nothing about the
subject.
A recent article that appeared in one of the national daily papers made
me, and many other anglers, hopping mad.
The writer had heard about our concerns over some immigrants from Eastern
Europe – where carp are a part of their diet – killing and
taking away carp that they had caught, and either eating them or selling
them to owners of other fisheries.
The writer expressed the view that we must educate the fish stealers (for
that is what they are) to understand that English anglers (and carp anglers
in particular) throw the fish back after catching them.
Worse still, the writer went on to say that several fishery owners had
put up notices telling anglers that they must throw the fish back. This
is nonsense, of course, and dangerous, ignorant, nonsense too.
English anglers – carp anglers especially – revere the fish
that they catch, knowing them to be valuable creatures.
The keenest carp anglers go to great lengths to look after the fish that
they catch, even cradling them in special unhooking mats while they are
unhooked.
As a result lots of big carp have been landed several times and –
due to their distinctive markings – have even been given names by
the anglers who seek to land them.
It is strange, though, how anglers in different countries regard carp.
In parts of America, where they breed more freely than they do in English
waters, carp are persecuted and regarded as mere vermin.
But let us be quite clear about this matter and understand that English
anglers do not throw any fish anywhere.
We may sometimes reach out and drop a small fish back into the water from
a height of a few inches after holding it in wet hands, but throw them?
Never!