Hi Howard,
please can I ask a couple of GENUINE questions?
What are the benefits/reasons/advantages of joining the BS?
How does the R&C work that the BS does benefit barbel/anglers/environment?
I've been a keen barbel angler for 40 odd years and have never felt the need to join.
Have I been missing something? Or doing the future of barbel/angling a disservice by not joining?
all the best, Tim
Hi Tim,
Apologies for the slightly long winded reply, but I wanted to offer a personal perspective to your question.
Compared to many perhaps, I am a newcomer to barbel, only really fishing for them specifically in the last 3 years. And that's after a 15 year absence from fishing of any description. To kick start my barbel fishing I booked a guiding session on the Kennet with Steve Pope. Steve was a very engaging companion, highly knowledgable and passionate about barbel fishing. It was also my first encounter with a centrepin and I even managed to hook and land a barbel on one. Well, you know more than anyone Tim the trouble that has got me into. Your 1 a.m. voicemail telling me about a Witcher that had just come up for sale on eBay was the start of my economic downfall. But what joy!
Like many I suppose I turned to the Internet for more guidance and insight on this barbel fishing malarkey and that's where I stumbled across BFW. So many knowledgable anglers happy to provide sincere advice and help. I now fish with a few of them and their tolerance of my stupid questions and general ineptitude is to be applauded. Rarely for me I even fell out with a few posters but it was quite easy to ignore that and concentrate on the positives.
Joining a group devoted to the species I had come to adore was a very natural step and when I read more about the BS, it was a very simple decision to join. What stood out for me was the devotion and focus on barbel and environment conservation. There may be those that argue with the execution or specific focus applied by the BS but the philosophy is what resonated. I have no expertise or time to contribute but I can certainly find £30 odd quid a year knowing it's helping to keep the oxygen going into an organisation seeking to do good. I throw more than that amount of money in the bin each year with the bait I buy but never use and let's not mention the various tackle items lying redundant in my shed. In a "what's in it for me now" world, investing in R&C effort that doesn't provide an instant return may not seem like a great way to spend money. That's never been my sentient however.
I think Pete Reading and the team do a fantastic job with limited resources (time, money, people) and much of it may go a little unnoticed unless people take the time to read the R&C section on the BS website. By his own admission, Pete doesn't parade in the social media spotlight and I don't blame him. It carries the very real risk of a diminished life force and you have to respect Pete's preference to simply get on with the job.
I don't get science but I do get its significance if you want to truly understand barbel and their environment. Particularly if you want to be able to appreciate the impact of actions and environmental trauma so that informed and decisive intervention can be made. It's all about the facts and that's the currency that the R&C efforts trade in. This has the potential to benefit all anglers, now and in the future as well as clubs and related organisations. Results from studies and projects shared, allowing those that engage with this aspect of fishing to perhaps change their approach or adapt their fishery rules accordingly.
So much more could be achieved and achieved more quickly with more resources and perhaps more critically, help and practical support from those with the time and expertise. Until then progress will be slow, but progress will be made. From time to time open requests have been made for data/scales etc and I'm not sure it's been as successful as it could have been. The barbel diet analysis is a case in point. A far more impactful and informative narrative could have been generated with more data from a wider selection of rivers. Some were quick to jump on the studies perceived short comings though.
Tim, you have a fantastic and inventive fishing brain, I've witnessed that myself on the bank (although I would exclude the moment you stole my rod so you could land a 2lb grayling) and perhaps there is a reverse to your original question, based on what you might be able to contribute into the BS through insight and knowledge sharing. So many new and young barbel anglers could learn an incredible amount from you.
The BS does need to adapt to remain relevant but that's a perfectly normal situation in an evolving world. It may surprise many that the strong advocates for change are those that many think incapable of it. Whatever changes occur, the core philosophy and focus of the BS should remain unchanged in my view.
Best regards.
Howard
Whenever the BS crops up on BFW within a twinkling of an eye this sort of point scoring bitchiness ensues , Why ?