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Night fishing.

Hey Dave Taylor, I reckon that swim that you refer to is just above a busy bridge not a million miles away from me. I know it well and yes its changed in recent years. Perhaps you should fish it in the dark...... ;)
 
John McGough said:
Hey Dave Taylor, I reckon that swim that you refer to is just above a busy bridge not a million miles away from me. I know it well and yes its changed in recent years. Perhaps you should fish it in the dark...... ;)
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,
You've sussed it John,...but how would I get any shuteye with all that racket!:D
All the best mate...looking forward to next season down your way already.
 
An hour into dark is really enough for me, but then again the most productive period for most rivers is dusk and an hour in. Barbel as most other prey creatures feel safer at night, so to feed and generally do what they need to do to be healthy might be counter productive to fish for them at night?

Similar to 'snag' fishing I suppose, chasing Barbel in their normally safe havens at any time is probably one of the factors that have seen the decline on our smaller rivers.

Dawn can be as good if not better than dusk, so those that bemoan not being able to fish nights should perhaps try the early shift.
 
Dave Taylor said:
Took my hat off for while one night and about ten minutes after I had put it back on felt something else on the barnet,...an enormous field slug which had slid into my hat when it was on the deck was giving me the extra thick styling mousse treatment...gross:D:D
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Did you try it on the hook, the slug i mean not your Barnet?. Very funny though :D:D

Stephen
 
Plenty of interesting views as always on this topic. John, yes, I get the smiley face, sorry. Dave, I have heard the argument before about fish needing a break being a good reason to ban night fishing. Why? Why not ban daytime fishing? Or more reasonably alternate it on a weekly basis, nights only one week, days only the next? The vast majority who oppose night fishing assume those who do fish after dark are either incompetent or have jobs that allow no other option. None of these "antis" seem to consider that some people, myself included, actually prefer to fish at night even though we may be just as competent as the daylight "experts" and have normal jobs. I probably fish more daylight hours in a season than night because of considerations like the following day but the night time is so much more pleasant and enjoyable to be on the bank.

As for BAA banning it because it's unfair on the landowners, that's a pile of BS they peddle. BAA actually own quite a bit of their own water and they still operate a night ban on these stretches. They ban it because they are a match orientated club and don't like barbel anglers in the swims they wish to peg out the next day. This is understandable, it's their club and they make the rules, but they seem to forget that a great many barbel anglers fill their coffers each year and should be shown some consideration by at least being allowed to fish until midnight, if only on nights when there is no match booked for the following day. Sadly BAAs attitude is, and always has been, if you don't like it **** off!

As with everything in fishing it should be each to their own within reason. I think it's sad when fellow anglers want to ban a perfectly harmless aspect of our sport just because they personally don't like it. Or because they're afraid of the dark...:)
 
Good post Alex.

I also believe the daytime fishers are jealous because we catch bigger barbel :p;)
 
BAA are in existence purely because of the match scene, at least that's the official line, so with that in mind I guess we have to live with it, and the value for money coupled with the huge amount of water they have it is still the best option for many.

Again the official line regarding night fishing bans is the insurance aspect, however if it because they want to protect the interests of the match anglers, well as I said that is why they are here...matches and the revenue that brings

They do allow fishing for an hour after sunset, which is dark, especially in the winter, so no great problem there for me, but they do allow night fishing at a few venues in any case for a fee.

No one has countered what I said earlier regarding leaving the barbel to get on with life at night, so I guess there is no objection to that? :)
 
Alex Gowney said:
Plenty of interesting views as always on this topic. John, yes, I get the smiley face, sorry. Dave, I have heard the argument before about fish needing a break being a good reason to ban night fishing. Why? Why not ban daytime fishing? Or more reasonably alternate it on a weekly basis, nights only one week, days only the next? The vast majority who oppose night fishing assume those who do fish after dark are either incompetent or have jobs that allow no other option. None of these "antis" seem to consider that some people, myself included, actually prefer to fish at night even though we may be just as competent as the daylight "experts" and have normal jobs. I probably fish more daylight hours in a season than night because of considerations like the following day but the night time is so much more pleasant and enjoyable to be on the bank.

As for BAA banning it because it's unfair on the landowners, that's a pile of BS they peddle. BAA actually own quite a bit of their own water and they still operate a night ban on these stretches. They ban it because they are a match orientated club and don't like barbel anglers in the swims they wish to peg out the next day. This is understandable, it's their club and they make the rules, but they seem to forget that a great many barbel anglers fill their coffers each year and should be shown some consideration by at least being allowed to fish until midnight, if only on nights when there is no match booked for the following day. Sadly BAAs attitude is, and always has been, if you don't like it **** off!

As with everything in fishing it should be each to their own within reason. I think it's sad when fellow anglers want to ban a perfectly harmless aspect of our sport just because they personally don't like it. Or because they're afraid of the dark...:)
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Alex I am assuming you are a BAA member ? Have you had your membership renewal letter through the post yet ?
Enclosed with the renewal form is a membership questionaire .
Perhaps if enough BAA members answered questions and paid particular attension to questions 11,18,23,24,26 then perhaps we could get some thing done about night fishing on BAA waters . Even if they only allowed it on some waters it would be a start ?
 
If you're allowed then there's nothing quite like an all nighter, fending off rats, jumping at 'bat bites', listen to the barn/tawny owls/foxes, listen to the dawn chorus then sleep for a few hours before starting again at lunchtime. It's a different world out there when compared to day angling and I love it!
 
gavin hoe-richardson said:
if you're allowed then there's nothing quite like an all nighter, fending off rats, jumping at 'bat bites', listen to the barn/tawny owls/foxes, listen to the dawn chorus then sleep for a few hours before starting again at lunchtime. It's a different world out there when compared to day angling and i love it!
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neil smart said:
god not that old standby again.....
Argue the point man :rolleyes:
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in fairness you've got to feel sympathy, if a guy has to be home to make dinner for the wife & cant enjoy a good night session ;)
 
Joe, I mentioned that questionnaire on another site and completed it.

Neil, they do allow some night fishing but it has to be booked in advance and if conditions suddenly come good you can't wait two days for the postman!

Why not let barbel get on with life at night? Why not let them get on with it in the daytime as well? Fishing is fishing, whether carried out in daylight or darkness and if we are going to go down the road of questioning the fish's welfare at night then we cannot ignore the same argument applied to daytime angling either. I very much appreciate the pressure of 24 hour access to a water on fish so why not alternate days and nights on a weekly or fortnightly basis? There is absolutely no logical reason why night fishing should be considered inferior or less worthy than daylight fishing and any issue of fish stress is obviously applicable to both.
 
Alex Gowney said:
Joe, I mentioned that questionnaire on another site and completed it.

Neil, they do allow some night fishing but it has to be booked in advance and if conditions suddenly come good you can't wait two days for the postman!

Why not let barbel get on with life at night? Why not let them get on with it in the daytime as well? Fishing is fishing, whether carried out in daylight or darkness and if we are going to go down the road of questioning the fish's welfare at night then we cannot ignore the same argument applied to daytime angling either. I very much appreciate the pressure of 24 hour access to a water on fish so why not alternate days and nights on a weekly or fortnightly basis? There is absolutely no logical reason why night fishing should be considered inferior or less worthy than daylight fishing and any issue of fish stress is obviously applicable to both.
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The case for not fishing for Barbel at night is probably more appropiate on smaller rivers rather than rivers such as the Lower Severn Trent etc. Alternating periods would be a bit of a headache for clubs like BAA to administer let alone balliff .

I repeat what I said as we all know Barbel are a prey to many creatures and they need to have a period or area that they can feel safe, it is a requirement that all other animals have too, if we throw everything at them ask yourself how long will they stay in a river such as the Teme or Windrush? Coupled with all the other pressure these fish face with predators such as the Otter, actually expanding the period we could fish for them would be hugely counter productive on stocks.

It seems that as coarse anglers we don't have the same thinking as our friends the game anglers where common sense is applies when it comes to preserving stocks as opposed to fiiling 'yer boots.

Another reason night fishing can be a pain is the amount of waste that is left, fires lit and of course the lack of toilets bankside is evident to the angler that pops into the swim later, we all have been there....:(

Let's face it how long would the Wye continue to be such a fantastic river if it were not for the stewardship of the Wye and Usk Foundation?
We need to look at our habits and weigh up what is good for the general good of fish stocks to protect what we have and also improve in areas that are now almost devoid of Barbel, it is not an quick fix, I cannot see night fishing en mass helping at all.
 
Several points I would take issue with there Neil. Again, why is night fishing the branch that must be sacrificed for the welfare of the fish? It may be difficult to bailiff alternate weeks but any bailiffing is difficult at any time with limited resources. More mess left at night? I can see the possibility of this happening and have to agree it could pose a problem. I think an additional fee on the club ticket would perhaps thin out the serious anglers from the party goers. I don't think we lack the same concern for our fish as game anglers do. Clearly as most game fish are eaten the stock levels have to be monitored closely but no way can I agree that allowing night fishing on rivers is detrimental to fish any more so than daytime fishing. Does anyone have any examples of this, or of bad practise witnessed at night that isn't also apparent from daytime anglers? It is certainly not a case of fill yer boots just because some people enjoy night fishing!

But though I disagree with a lot of your points there's no doubt they are valid points and maybe a way of keeping everyone happy would be some sort of compromise, such as fishing until midnight in the summer and say, 10 p.m. in the winter.
 
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