Salmon angling is a vital part of the Scottish economy; tens of thousands of anglers from all over the world come to fish on famous rivers such as the Tay, Dee, Spey, and Tweed, and they collectively spend hundreds of millions of pounds in the Scottish economy.  All this activity depends on the health of wild fish stocks which are under serious threat from policies emerging from the Scottish government.

Tomorrow,  15th January, the First Minister is due to attend the traditional opening ceremony to celebrate the start of the salmon angling season on the River Tay and it is hoped that this will lead to better policy decisions that protect wild fisheries and the angling industry properly.

Alex Salmond has shown enthusiastic support for the salmon farming industry which has directly led to the decline in stocks of wild salmon and sea trout on the West Coast of Scotland, with the loss of hundreds of jobs previously supported, directly and indirectly, by recreational salmon angling.  His government refused to accept a number of very sensible amendments to the Aquaculture & Fisheries Bill (now Act) which were proposed by environmental and fisheries organisations to try and reduce the impact of this highly polluting industry.

The Scottish Government also allowed the continuation and expansion of mixed-stock netting at sea in 2012, which catches fish indiscriminately, including fish returning to rivers where stocks cannot support exploitation.  This decision has led to strong calls for a re-opening of commercial netting of mixed-stocks in Greenland, which has been reduced to subsistence catches for over a decade to protect vulnerable stocks.  Greenlanders have been asking why they should hold back from catching fish – many of them from UK rivers – which go to Greenland to feed on small fish and shrimps, while mixed-stock nets continue to operate in the UK.

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal said:

“The Scottish Government has shown a poor understanding of the economic importance of angling to rural communities.  Tens of thousands of anglers from Britain and the rest of the world spend a small fortune travelling to fish Scottish rivers and they make a complex contribution to the local economy, supporting hotels, pubs, shops and the fishing tackle industry.  Many of the decisions that have been taken in recent years have threatened wild fish, which have been spawning in Scottish rivers for millennia, for the sake of a short-term profit from aquaculture and commercial mixed-stock netting.  If Greenland starts netting salmon again as a result of the Scottish Government’s failure to act to protect wild fish, the future of salmon fishing in the UK will be put at risk.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

During this patrol, what appeared to be illegal set lines were found - but upon inspection two handguns and an automatic weapon were found attached and hidden in the river. Thames Valley Police have now investigated the matter and confirmed that the firearms concerned were deactivated but capable of being reactivated if in the wrong hands; it has proved impossible to connect this arms find with any recorded crime.

Angling Trust Fisheries Enforcement Manager, Dilip Sarkar, a retired police officer, said: 
"This discovery confirms that potentially serious criminal behaviour goes on in the rural area - and emphasises the crucial role of the Voluntary Bailiff Service as trained "eyes and ears". It also underlines the importance of the forthcoming new National Rural Crime Strategy which in the bigger picture, given the National Intelligence Model, fisheries enforcement sits. As the Voluntary Bailiff Service goes from strength to strength, we look forward to supporting both the Environment Agency and police in making our waterways safe places for all to enjoy."

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The Angling Trust successfully applied for a licence from Natural England to rescue the seal during the close season (1 September – 31 December 2013) but this was prevented by extensive flooding. That protective period, however, has now ended. No further licence is required for the control or capture of grey seals until 1 September 2014.

Whilst the Angling Trust has no control over others, it remains entirely committed to working with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) animal rescue charity to safely rescue and remove the mammal from the Severn – both to ensure that the seal comes to no harm and protect vulnerable and fragile freshwater fish stocks. These species include the endangered shad and eel, and threatened Atlantic salmon. Moreover, this female seal will not find a mate unless returned to the ocean.

Last year’s agreement between the Angling Trust and BDMLR has the backing of the Environment Agency – which fully supported the Trust’s original licence application to prevent further damage to local fish stocks.

Dafydd Evans, Area Manager for the Environment Agency commented:
"We recognise the concern by anglers of the impact on specimen fish and that fishery owners can take action to protect their fishery. We will work closely with the angling community to investigate practical solutions to deter predation by seals."

Alan Knight OBE, Chairman of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said:
"The Angling Trust and local angling clubs have been committed from the start to finding a solution which avoided any harm coming to the seal but minimised damage to fish and birdlife. Although in an ideal world we would like to leave Keith where she is we do have serious concerns for the seal’s safety. We therefore remain committed to working with the Angling Trust to gently and safely remove Keith from harm’s way and return her to the sea.”

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust said:
"Local anglers remain rightly concerned about the impact of the seal on vulnerable fish stocks. The situation has not been helped by members of the public feeding the seal as if it was a pet rather than a wild mammal with a natural fear of humans. We are particularly concerned that the seal has been seen predating on highly protected fish species in the River Teme – a Site of Special Scientific Interest noted for its eel, salmon, shad, lamprey and barbel populations. These fish have specific protection under the law for very good reason. The right thing to do, therefore, for the river, the fish and the seal is for all lovers of wildlife to work together and ensure this animal is safely rescued – not harmed – relocated to its natural habitat and the fragile Severn freshwater system preserved for future generations."

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Due to the lack of pike fishing on the 65 acre lake it is almost impossible to estimate the size of fish currently residing in the lake but with the sheer volume of trout in the lake of this size, there is no doubt that a fair few surprises will be thrown up. 

With a two rod weekend (both Saturday & Sunday) fishing ticket costing just £20 it offers fantastic value for money.

To take up this SPECIAL OFFER or for more information contact the Fishing Lodge on 0115 9870785 or Nick Blackshaw on 07773 247371

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

This basic introduction to Coarse Fishing video is aimed at the novice angler and explains how to select a peg / swim on a lake. Selecting the right swim can definitely help stack things in your favour. So where to begin?

Watch and learn from the experts at Shakespeare Fishing.

If like me, you are a bit of a fair weather angler and believe that fish don't really feed in the winter months, then this video is for you.

Catching any carp in the winter months is always an event, but catching big winter carp requires being in the right place, at the right time, with the best baiting technique. Graeme and Mike Pullen get an exclusive interview with big carp enthusiast Tommy Flower at the famous Thorpe Lea Fishery. A small, one-day gap in the weather see our duo out with their camera's to collect as many tips for beginners as they can. Tommy really comes up with the goods, catching big double figure carp, and lots of 20-pounders, one after the other! It really does turn into a Totally Awesome epic carp film, and it's all brand new, filmed and edited within a matter of hours. With information to learn new carp tips, and top quality filming, it is little wonder The Totally Awesome Fishing Show is the only one to watch.

More angling videos form The Totally Awesome Fishing Show can be found by visint their YouTube channel or you can check out their Facebook page

There are how-to's and feature stories covering coarse, sea and game, interviews with some of our ambassadors, the former fisheries minister and one of our volunteers, plus news of the big campaign and legal wins from our various departments and the Fish Legal team.

If you thought you didn't really know what the Angling Trust and Fish Legal did well this hopefully will help to fill in some of the gaps. There are focuses too on our Volunteer Bailiff Service and our Building Bridges project both of which are finding a lot of support from anglers and also a close-up look from our finance team at how our matches are accounted for to aid with transparency in this area.

The next issue is due in the spring of 2014 and will continue to expand on the various programs, campaigns and initiatives we have under way and in partnership with others.
If you enjoy this and find it enlightening as to the role the Angling Trust and Fish Legal play in safeguarding fish and fishing, we hope you will consider joining as a member to help support our work further. Please see the link at the top of this page to "Join or Renew".

If you are already a member then we thank you and hope this makes you feel good knowing your membership fee is put to good use.

View "The Angler" (autumn 2013) online

Teams for the Division One National Championship are already selected each year due to promotion status.  The entry fee to take part is £190.00 per team.  There are five optional pools available to enter for individuals and as a team.  All individuals within the teams named on the entry forms must be individual members of Angling Trust. 

The Senior Nationals attracts some of the best anglers in the country. 

Teams who finish in the top ten of the Division 1 National Championships are invited to take part in the Preston Innovations Club Classic event held over a weekend at the end of September.  The sponsors present the winning team and the winning individual with a prize cheque to help their participation in the World Clubs Championship the following year. 

When and where

Date: Saturday 9th August 2014

Venue:  River Trent

HQ: Southwell Racecourse, Station Road, Rolleston, Nottinghamshire. NG25 0TS

Division One National fishing championships in 2013

The 2013 Angling Trust Division One National Championship saw fifty six teams, 560 anglers compete in a very close contest on Saturday 7th September on the Trent and Mersey canal between Rugeley and Burton. The temperature had dropped during the run up to the match, and a cold start to the day resulted in the better fish not feeding so well. This turned into a battle for bites from the smaller fish such as roach, perch and ruff.

Top team on the day were Shakespeare Superteam with 442 points a fantastic average of 44 points per angler. They fished to a very tight team plan, which involved putting five or six balls of groundbait down the far shelf then fishing chopped worm down the near side for perch and ruff while the groundbait settled. When bites on the inside dried up they fished squatts over their groundbait hoping for small roach, perch and skimmers. Later they moved to the shallow line on the far side with chopped worm as the bait. They finished the match rotating these three lines to catch the extra few grams, which worked well on a hard fished water.

In second place were a team with a first class record on canals, Maver Image with 429 points and again squatt and chopped worm tactics were the basis of their team plan. Third place went to Team Daiwa Dorking who are always in contention for any national title with their extremely talented team to total 416 points.

More information: Angling Trust division one national championship

Scottish Water was carrying out engineering works on the Logan Reservoir in May 2008 when it inadvertently released a vast quantity of silt, which filled the river to a depth of up to 30 centimetres along one and half kilometres of the Logan Water.  The silt smothered gravel on the riverbed, which is a vital habitat for invertebrates (the main source of food for fish) and where fish lay their eggs.

The United Clyde Angling Protective Association, which has extensive fishings on the upper Clyde, had written to Scottish Water prior to the start of the engineering works to warn them of the risk of sediment escape, and advising them to take proper precautions.

The Association is one of more than 1,000 angling club and fishery owner members of Fish Legal in the UK who benefit from free legal action if waters they own or lease are damaged by pollution or other issues. Fish Legal is fighting more than 60 cases throughout the UK on behalf of members, which is funded by collective subscriptions from its club and fishery members and from nearly 13,500 individual anglers who support its work with an annual subscription. Fish Legal has a fighting fund which means that it can meet the costs of losing cases, but it has only ever lost four cases in 65 years, and has settled thousands of claims on behalf of its members.

Robert Younger from Fish Legal said:
"We believe that a public utility like Scottish Water should take responsibility when it causes damage to its neighbours. It is a shame that we had to drag them to the court doors before they would pay our claim in full."

Joe Quigley from UCAPA said:
"We thank Fish Legal for settling the matter on our behalf. If Scottish Water had taken heed of my letter advising them to take proper precautions  it would have saved them a great deal of money."

Martin Salter, National Campaigns Co-ordinator at the Angling Trust added; “Having commissioned the valuable Sea Angling 2012 report the government now needs to use its findings to ensure that recreational sea fishing still has a future. This means greater protection for estuaries and inshore waters and the creation of designated recreational only fisheries and species. These policies have been clearly demonstrated to work well in other countries around the world.  We just need the imagination to make this a reality over here.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The Trust particularly stressed the need to protect juvenile and migratory fish in estuaries and other nursery areas from both legal and illegal netting and to stop commercial targeting of fish that are aggregating to spawn. These will be key elements of the Trust’s forthcoming ‘Give Fish a Chance’ campaign aimed at securing a better deal for sea anglers.

A recent Defra-funded report, Sea Angling 2012, demonstrated that sea angling has a £2 billion economic benefit for the economy, far greater than commercial fishing’s, but this is under threat due to a failure by governments for decades to protect inshore fisheries.

The Trust’s CEO Mark Lloyd and campaigns chief Martin Salter were accompanied by George Hollingbery MP (Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Angling Group). They told the Minister that although Sea Angling 2012 showed that nearly 1 million people are still going sea fishing, 70% of them stated that they would go fishing more if fish stocks were improved. 

They stressed that a lack of fish was the biggest barrier to the next generation taking up recreational sea angling.  The Angling Trust has also issued a briefing along these lines to all MPs in advance of the Fishing Industry debate this week.

Angling’s representatives also raised with the Minister other issues affecting anglers including unlawful canoe access to rivers, bass conservation measures, the impact of cormorants and goosanders on fish stocks and the need to implement the Water Framework Directive.  The Minister agreed to continue the practice of hosting an angling summit for a wide range of angling and fisheries organisations, in addition to regular meetings with the Angling Trust.

George Hollingbery, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Angling Group said: “Angling is really important to rural and coastal economies and the government needs to recognise this by giving recreational anglers a greater share of the fish stocks and by protecting juvenile and spawning fish from exploitation.  Fish are far more valuable to the country as a target for rod and line anglers than in a trawler’s net.” 

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust said: “George Eustice was receptive to our concerns and seemed well informed already about the issues we raised.  I am hopeful that we will be able to work closely with him and the other Defra Ministers in the future to guide policies for the benefit of all anglers.”

Martin Salter, National Campaigns Co-ordinator at the Angling Trust added; “Having commissioned the valuable Sea Angling 2012 report the government now needs to use its findings to ensure that recreational sea fishing still has a future. This means greater protection for estuaries and inshore waters and the creation of designated recreational only fisheries and species. These policies have been clearly demonstrated to work well in other countries around the world.  We just need the imagination to make this a reality over here.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News