The Close Season....

[Chesh]

With the End of the old Course season soon upon us, what are your views on the abolishing of the close season? and would you like to see it back?

Personally i could think of nothing more than waiting for june 15th to come round, the exitment, anticipation of hunting our quarry

i just feel that all the excitment now has dwindled as we are expecting to go and catch all year round.

The sight of leaving a lake in March having just survived a winter to the full summer delights of a lake in bloom is hard to beat in my opinion.

Should the close season be bought back

Your thoughts would be most welcome....

[Stig]

Sorry to you lads who are not but i am very much for the close season it gives everything both in and around the lakes ,ponds etc a break time for muddy banks to recover time for water foul and other creatures to raise there young without disturbance .The fish get a rest from the constant bombardment of anglers baits and rigs . Like Chesh i really miss the anticipation & excitement of those days leading up to that magical 16th of june .Ive fished places where the anglers set off fireworks at midnight on the 15th as the new season was now upon us and fishing could start again.
It is my opinion that every water should have at leastr a 2 month period of inactivity in the spring/early summer of each year just to let everything conected to the water have a break and repair itself.I mostly fish Capesthorne and i am glad that they still enforce a closed season there as when i eventually get back on the place its like everything is new.
A vote on wether to reintroduce the compulsary closed season would get a definate YES from me.

[Deano]

Got to agree that having a close season does give all the wildlife a well earned rest from anglers...not least the fish. One water I fish now has no closed season but it used to have a 2 month closure. 'Opening night' was a real event and the weeks of preparation, baiting up tying rigs etc was great. The fishing was usually great as well on the opening night with some good catches seen on the lake. The club had an excellent system of staggering the closed season between its two lakes, one was closed for 2 months then the other closed for 2 months thus giving you somewhere to fish and still giving the wildlife a rest. I did like the anticipation of the opening night but the old close season did rob us of some good fishing in April and May before the fish spawn. I think the enforcement of a closed season is well justified on hard fished waters like Redesmere but maybe not so important on lightly fished club waters.

I fully agree with a closed season..........but i reckon it should be timed in accordance with when the fish are spawning...............this 16 march-16 june lark is ridiculous..........with the shift in seasons this is now way out of sync with the fishes usuall spawning time ..........i think that a lakes closed season should be determined by the individual club........as and when the fish start to spawn.........

Between march and june is when most carp are triggered into feeding up before the onslaught of spawning....and yet its a time where many of them arent recieving the benefits from the high protein diets we give them........
If the fish could benefit from the anglers baits at this time would it produce a more successfull spawn rate ?

[Deano]

Yeh I agree there Phil the old timing of the closed season is way out as far as spawning is concerned....any club or lake owner worth their salt should close anyway during spawning even if its just for a few days....I've seen people placing baits amongst spawning fish

[Julian Grattidge]

Originally Posted by Phil highlander

Between march and june is when most carp are triggered into feeding up before the onslaught of spawning....and yet its a time where many of them arent recieving the benefits from the high protein diets we give them........ If the fish could benefit from the anglers baits at this time would it produce a more successfull spawn rate ?

Very interesting point Phil!

[kevw]

Syndicate I used to fish closed Jan/Feb, these were usually the wettest months and it gave the banks some time to recover.

Personally prefer to fish right through, it avoids the initial rush onto the waters when the season starts and helps to keep waters that don't close from becoming overcrowded. Also the fish don't always spawn during this time anyway, it is sometimes unavoidable to put a bait amongst them when they do.

I have to agree with Phil... Let the fishery decide...
At least they can see when the fish start to spawn. Im sure if you turned up at a water and the balif said theres no fishing at the moment as they are spawning most fisherman would want to leave them to it anyway...

[Northern_monkey]

I don't particularly agree with having a close season on lakes, every resonseable angler shouldn't fish for carp when they are spawning, and i don't think we need a 3 month break for a spawning that probably lasts a few days during May as somebody else said, the lakes management on teh majority of waters should shut when fish are spawning lakes generally get a break from anglers during the winter period from December to march anyway

As for the close season on rivers, maybe indroducing a later close season would be better, from the End of April until the end of june

[kerrwaf]

Originally Posted by Northern_monkey

I don't particularly agree with having a close season on lakes, every resonseable angler shouldn't fish for carp when they are spawning, and i don't think we need a 3 month break for a spawning that probably lasts a few days during May as somebody else said, the lakes management on teh majority of waters should shut when fish are spawning lakes generally get a break from anglers during the winter period from December to march anyway

As for the close season on rivers, maybe indroducing a later close season would be better, from the End of April until the end of june

Not all anglers are reasonable

[davidg]

I agree with Phil. Some kind of close season is good for the fishery, but leave it to the club/owner to decide. Perhaps a staggered close season across a clubs waters. Waters should always be closed when fish are spawning

[IanB]

Very selfish attitude but I love this all year season. If I get to a lake a fish are spawning I get back in the car and leave em to it. Before the close season went i had to go fluff chucking .

[Northern_monkey]

Originally Posted by kerrwaf

Not all anglers are reasonable

No they're not, but i don't believe you can stop the majority fishing because of a minority its up to the responsable anglers to put those doing wrong right

[Chesh]

after wholeheartedly agreeing with Phil and a few others on this thread it seems the general concencous is that maybe a close season 'of sort' should be bought back in, in order to lat enature heal itself!

Now, i have been pondering about my question since i posted it earlier and have nailed it down to one thing

MONEY !!!!!

Comercial venues are there to make money so in order to make money they need to maximise time on the bank which = no close season societies also need to maximise the potential of their fisheries, in order to do this they scrap any close season and allow fishing throughout the calender because societies and commercial fisheries budget for having poor winters, they have to build up the cash reserves throughout the spring/summer/autumn in order to keep Mr Bank Manager happy, at Any Cost!!

Now being a business man ahem ahem i can see the reasoning for staying open all year, however also being a fisherman, i can see the reasons to not. what i can see though is to maximise your stock & venues you need to take extremely good care of them. Nurture the fingerlings through to a size thats either a) good to grow on or b) good to sell; thus keeping the business afloat through the harder times of the year.

I dont really know anybody that likes to turn up to a hole in the ground in the summer with no foliage, no greenery, no shrubs in bloom, no lilly pads or reeds and cast out a couple of rods, that actualy know the fish they are after are in good health or are supported by a structured fishery management (and i know a lot of carp boys and girls) what they want to see is a business taking care of its assets which = ITS FISH and Surroundings.

My advice is (and for what its worth i think its pretty good advice) take a leaf out of the fisheries that are making ££, that are having to turn people away because they have the balance right of anglers per day/week and preserve/look after your most precious comodity - the fish!

If this means enforcing a close season when the complex is at its worst then so be it, if this means close the lakes for a month/2/3 when the fish are having a bit of nookie then fine do it! the end of the day a lake with unhealthy/dead fish will not make you any ££

bring back the close season or enforce a closure at specific times... it makes serious sense!

did any of that make sense?????????????

thought iwould have break from working as re-writing a 2 week induction really isnt funny

[Nige]

My personal view is that the closed season should stay, however I feel some sort of relaxed period may prove better.

1) Between the months of the closed season, waters that are closed are free from walkers and anglers, allowing the maximum amount of fertilisation/germination to take place, further improving the habits and undergrowth. This form an anglers point of view, can increase the amount of foliage both on the bank, and waterside, with a chain of events leading to more natural food for the fish.
2) It allows the fish to act freely and naturally and spawn in peace, rather than not going to certain areas in fear of anglers..etc.
3) It adds to the excitement of the start of the season, where fish “let their guard down” slightly, and can be caught on more varied baits, in areas that they would not usually get caught form later in the year/season.
4) Also, I think that it is a great way of getting work done. If anglers were able to fish the lake which are they more likely to do? Fish or Work?
5) Whereas if there only access to the water was to do work, they would both do work, and be positive about doing so, by the fact that it is a chance to get on the water.
6) Points 5 and 1 may sound like a contradiction, but work parties would no-where near equal the amount of activity on the bank, and if it did, would only be in short periods.

Moreover, I think that the closed season should stay enforced. OK some anglers may feel that they pay their fees at the beginning of the year so they should be able to fish, however I would have to disagree. The amount of pros as opposed to the amount of cons would suggest that closed season are a good thing with fish and bankside foliage being beneficiaries, as well as getting work done to keep the fishery well maintained.

In my opinion it should stay, and all look forward to the magical June 16th!!