My doubts over climate change
There can
surely be few, if any, sports that are so affected by weather conditions as angling.
I am not convinced that global warming and climate change is a long term thing
because the climate is constantly changing and it has been since our planet was
first formed. I have lived long enough to have experienced every kind of weather
while fishing.
I do concede that winter conditions are far different from those that prevailed
when I was in my 20s, but those journalists who told us during a series of severe
winters half a century ago that “the ice age is coming back” were
totally wrong.
And I cannot deny that in my 20s when I undertook the long journey at least once
a week to fish for pike at Hornsea Mere on the East Yorkshire coast from the beginning
of October to the end of the winter I very often experienced treacherous driving
conditions with deep snow and ice.
Cold and snowy or icy conditions held the moisture in the land then so that flooding
on the rivers was far less commonplace.
Now, in recent winters, the rivers have been in spate and almost unfishable on
many occasions.
This has caused problems for anglers. Generally, fish feed better in rivers in
winter than in stillwaters. They have to keep swimming and needing energy replacing
food to keep swimming against the river current.
Grayling will feed in our Derbyshire rivers in even the coldest conditions and
fish like roach and perch will usually bring you some sport in winter too.
Whether I am right to doubt that climate change is more than a normal limited
term thing or not a few simple rules will enhance winter fishing chances if you
remember them. Don’t rely on sandwiches for sustenance. Fish places where
hot food is available, or take hot food in a vacuum jar. It makes a very big difference
to your comfort.
And I still believe that global warming is a temporary thing that some sections
of the sales industry take advantage of for further revenue. In other words, be
wary of trusting scientists too much. Very often they know nowt!
Human industry and motoring may cause bad air and fog but climate change? We are
far too puny to do that.