rod licences

[WHEEZY]

hi lads,before i start a m8 and i had a heated talk about rod licences,and the policeing of them on club waters and fishiers i.e day ticket.it is in my opinion that thay sould be.i now the n.r.a do a good job but thay can't be on every water but clubs how ask for upwards of £150 a year and day waters ask £20 for 24 hours should be held responable for them that fish there waters.with out a licences

[Joephus]

Are you saying that there should be no rod liscences???????????

Its only £20 a year and for that the EA restock rivers and maintain public lakes and the canal system. So for me the small amount of money is well worth it, you may not fish the rivers but does that mean you dont mind if the fish stocks decrease and they become polluted.

If your expenisive club lake has a lack of oxygen in the summer and fish start to die then the EA will be the first people to lend a hand. Its not just about policing the waters. I full support them, so theres my answer.

[Bet]

I think Wheezy means, individual waters should be more pro activ in checking anglers rod licences, as the n.r.a cant be everywhere at once and that the owners of waters who allow anglers to fish without a rod licence,should also be held partly responsible if caught.

[WHEEZY]

yes that is what iam saying.my club as 500 or so members say 5% have'nt a rod licences thats £1000 lost.but my club as just got a grant of the n.r.a.now my opinion is if the club does not check for licences it sould not have the grant.and sould been fined instead

[braidman]

How about having to show your rod licence when you go into your tackle shop to buy your gear or do you think this is going too far . Some clubs have 20 or 30 miles of canals or river systems how would you police these. I have my two licences as do most carp anglers but there are going to be some with no licence or one licence that break the rules. Let us say for instance that i only have one licence and that after the club baliff has checked my club membership and ea rod licence i set up a third rod .The ea then turn up and catch me, are you saying that the club should be fined as well as me. After all the club baliff has done his or her job. The only workable way this could work at club level is to produce you ea rod licences on joining the club. Which involves more work for the clubs most of which do not make profits, there could then be costs passed on to the angler through the club raising fees for the admin costs. Far simpler to let the government police its own policys thats why i buy my licences.

[WHEEZY]

no what iam saying is before you jion a club you sould be asked to provide a vaild licences.the same as day ticket waters ask before you can fish

[braidman]

Originally Posted by WHEEZY

no what iam saying is before you jion a club you sould be asked to provide a vaild licences.the same as day ticket waters ask before you can fish

This would involve a 1 on 1 meet with the membership secretary or sending your licence through the post (Recorded delivery) there and back this all adds up to extra costs to the angler. This may sound petty but what about all the free waters you can fish the ea still police these waters surely someone is the owner of the land that the water is on, are they to be held responsible for people fishing without a licence. Let the government appointed body do it's job. Without threatening the clubs or in the end we will have nowhere to fish. How many £1000 or more fines do you think an average club could afford to pay before it folds. Some people will always break the rules as my example in my first reply demonstrated. You can't expect a man who is probably baliffing club waters for nothing but knowing he is doing his bit for the club to take on the responsibilty of a government authorised agent. Leave it to the ea i say.

[oscar_grouch]

It's a tough one this. Like Braidman and most other carp anglers i also buy my two licences each year, for the work the EA do i think it's money well spent for the future of our water systems. There is a small river where i live that was unfishable ten years ago due to rubbish and pollution, however last year it produced chub to five punds and carp to ten, not to mention the genaral increase in all coarse fish.
What really winds me up is the fact that a lot of "our" rod licence money, goes to making sure our beaches and sea are free from pollutants going in to them from our water ways. I am not saying this is not important, because it is, however this does benefit sea anglers, and they don't have do have any rod licences at all.
I'm not sure about clubs and fishery owners being responsable as well as the anglers for rod licences, but i also don't like the idea of fishing beside somone who has no licence. I had my licences checked last year and that was the first time ever, so it's clear that a lot of people will be slipping through the net. no pun intended lol.

Oscar

[Stig]

to come back to the policing of EA licence as a SOTAS member when you have your membership card checked by a society bailiff or society official he/she will also ask you for your rod licence and if you do not have one your card will be taken there and then and your membership terminated as of then as to whether or not the society disciplinary committee see fit as to either not reporting you or reporting you i suppose is up to that committee as the rule book says nothing as to if any other action is taken after membership is terminated .However if they do take things further and forward a list of offenders to the Environment agency no one should complain as its simply breaking the law .
cant remember who stated it but i think you will find that the canal system is maintained by British waterways not the Environment agency.

[WHEEZY]

it is so easy to put a space on a membership form.for the licence number.that then can be checked over the phone the n.r.a. thay will allways help clubs to check valid licences.

[braidman]

Originally Posted by WHEEZY

it is so easy to put a space on a membership form.for the licence number.that then can be checked over the phone the n.r.a. thay will allways help clubs to check valid licences.

SOTAS membership as do some other clubs memberships do not run the same year march to march as the ea rod licence therefor there would be more admin costs to the club and then onto you. Do you think the government would fund a service for every angling club in the country to have this type of phone enquiry anwsered do you know how many phone calls that would be. Not going to happen! Unless the cost of a rod licence goes up.

[TheDoctor46]

Originally Posted by WHEEZY

no what iam saying is before you jion a club you sould be asked to provide a vaild licences.the same as day ticket waters ask before you can fish

Suppose its a bit like getting your car tax ain't it?

[braidman]

Originally Posted by Stig

to come back to the policing of EA licence as a SOTAS member when you have your membership card checked by a societybailiff or society official he/she will also ask you for your rod licence and if you do not have one your card will be taken there and then and your membership terminated as of then as to wether or not the socirty disaplinary committee see fit as to either not reporting you or reporting you i suppose is up to that committee as the rule book says nothing as to if any other action is taken after membership is terminated .However if they do take things further and forward a list of offenders to the Environment agency no one should complain as its simply breaking the law .
cant remember who stated it but i think you will find that the canal system is maintained by British waterways not the Environment agency.

You still require a ea rod licence to fish canals so my point stands you can't expect the clubs who have canals on their tickets to police the ea rod licences on these waters it is not their place to do that. As an ex match angler i spent a lot of time on canals and british waterways officials never asked to see my licence the ea however did on many occasions. I have said my piece and thats my view on the subject.

[bash]

i feel SOTAS has it spot on. I was a bailiff for ADAC ( altrincham) for 5 years and it is a part of the club rules that any member must be IN POSSESSION OF a club card AND the relevant EA licence when fishing. Myself and other ADAC bailiffs checked for both types of licence on our rounds and anyone not in possession of either was escorted from the water.

If every club/day ticket water had this approach then it would free up a lot more resources for the EA.

(Although the question of maximising day ticket income makes this less feasable on their waters)

[PJW]

Originally Posted by braidman

How about having to show your rod licence when you go into your tackle shop to buy your gear or do you think this is going too .

Would this mean that my wife and daughters would then have to have EA Licences to enable them to purchase gifts for me?

As for the problem of the lowlife that sets up an extra rod after the club bailiff has been round well that is always going to be the case for that type of person no matter what action is taken. Maybe the only real way to ensure this kind of thing never happens would be to knee cap anyone caught as a warning