Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

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Old Man River
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Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

Post by Old Man River »

I could not sleep last night, so I lay tossing and turning, presently my mind turned to what I consider to be the poor excuses for stillwater day ticket fisheries that we have forced upon us,these days, ok they are targeting certain types of angler, the bivvy carp boys, or the match angler, or the average person who just wants to catch as many pasty carp as he /she can in a day without too much effort,these are waters that are what seems to me to be simply a financial goose that lays golden eggs. these waters usually have little in the way of tree cover, weed beds, wildlife, or areas where a fish could go to seek solitude or a simple quiet time away from the world.
These "waters" hold no attraction to me whatsoever, and I would rather poke out my eyes with a burning stick than have to fish at one.

OK thought I , so what would type of water would I have, given a bottomless bank account and a free reign to do whatever it took to return to a time when I could fish in a place with less noise and more green, where nature came first and second.

So, here is my answer..

It would be a day ticket only water, no night fishing at all,dawn till dusk.

It would be at least ten acres,preferably larger, with only 8 accessible well spaced out and minimally managed swims for able bodied anglers, and 3 easily accessible swims for disabled anglers and a second angler,or whoever else happened to be accompanying them for the day.

No children under ten, any anglers under 18 to be accompanied by an adult of over 21.

Keepnets must be over ten feet long, , and a minimum dia of 24 inches, no fish over 4 lbs to be retained.

The only fish stocked would be Crucian Carp, Tench, Roach, Perch , Bream, Gudgeon. There would be a small number of large Common/Mirror carp, numbering probably 15 -20 in total.


Now for the rules, and rules is rules !

Every angler to produce a current EA licence prior to fishing, no EA licence , no fishing !
No fishing prior to purchasing day ticket, which would be available "on line" and pay via paypal, or on the day at the Lodge/gatehouse.
All anglers to "book in " at the lodge/gatehouse on arrival, and " book out " on leaving.
No bivvies of any description, umbrellas with small "wings" permitted.
Two rods maximum.
No bite alarms,
No bait boats,
No continental pole fishing, a "whip" of no more than 10 ft is fine though.
No drones.
No radios ( personal headsets ok with earphones )
No litter. A bag will be provided for litter , to be disposed of at the "lodge " at the end of the day.
No bedchairs,
No alcohol.
No fixed leads,no bolt rigs,
No braid main lines or hooklengths., in fact no braid lines of any description.
Anglers must allow the bailiff to examine all rigs on demand.
Keep nets , and landing nets to be dipped prior to fishing. Every angler to be in possesion of a suitably sized landing net , each swim would be provided with an unhooking mat .
No wading allowed.
No open fires, a Kelly Kettle is permissable though.
All fish to be returned
Anglers may be accompanied by a non fishing visitor, but only one angler allowed per named swim.
No firearms, no air weapons of any description allowed.

Bait ...and this would be a rigid rule... no Pellets,no Boilies, no high nutritional baits,of any description, no processed meat of any description.

Each swim would be named, anglers could reserve their preferred named swim for an additional fee. No fishing in disabled swims except if you are actually disabled or accompanying a disabled angler.

There would be motor access to disabled swims, and a car park for all others away from the water. There would be an unobtrusive maintained track , well back from the waters edge to the named swims, which could be navigated by a Golf trolley type vehicle, the manager/bailiff would take you and your gear to the swim of your choice on Golf trolley, and collect you when you wanted to leave.

On thinking about these rules, it would necessitate an on site "manager ", so the whole lake would be in a rural location, with unobtrusive walls or fences, quite heavily screened by trees and bushes, there would be a small "lodge " with toilets for the anglers, and the manager ( bailiff ) who would provide hot soup, or sandwiches, and a flask of hot water,tea bags/coffee/milk for anglers, who would order these for a given time during the day to be delivered to the swims.

This seems quite an exclusive "pond" and the day ticket price would reflect this, all tickets would be around £25.00 for dawn till dusk fishing, there would be no charge for food, no charge for parking, anglers who could not drive would be collected from the nearest bus stop at no cost, and dropped off there when they had completed their day, again at no charge.This would encourage anglers with transport problems.

Any individual found to be contravening these rules would be required to pack up and leave immediately, he/she would be barred from returning again, there would be no refund of any part day lost due to their own behaviour.

I dont know what your views on the above are, but it seems to me that the only way to return to the type of fishing I enjoyed as a young man would be to enable the above, with obviously some modern refinements , and also obviously a lot of restrictions that a lot of anglers these days would find almost impossible to comply with, as such has this pastime of ours developed .


Any other suggestions to add to the above ?

I know it seems a very rigid and firm rule book, but it would not in any way limit your fishing really, and may well actually improve
it . The rules as above are designed to make your day as peaceful, and undisturbed as possible, there would be a chance of actually hooking and landing large specimens,without any modern electronics, from a day ticket water,where wildlife is encouraged,

OMR.
Hurrumph....... whatever happened to Handlines ?

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Northern_Nomad
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Re: Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

Post by Northern_Nomad »

A secluded pool or small lake. Tree lined and minimal human intervention as possible. No cars near the lake. A few discretely managed gaps in the waterside flora and fauna.

Fishing by invite only. Disabled anglers would be assisted.

No rules other than appreciate it's my lake and fish it like it was yours.

Anyone abusing hospitality would never be spoken to about it but would never get a second invite.

Fishwise whatever was originally in there within a sustainable biomass.

Nesting boxes everywhere, hedgehog hides and logpiles throughout the undergrowth. Discrete otter fence all round.

Enjoy
"We knelt side by side looking at it. I knew it was big, and suddenly it dawned on me it was more than that. It was tremendous!" - Richard Walker

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Old Man River
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Location: Yorkshire

Re: Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

Post by Old Man River »

Nice !

OMR
Hurrumph....... whatever happened to Handlines ?

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Gurn
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Re: Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

Post by Gurn »

My perfect angling oasis would be three fields worth of medium sized river, with a weir at the top gliding down to a straight, willow lined first field. The far bank pacey, near side snaggy with perchy slacks. The middle field would have arcing bend and reed beds with gravel runs, with a faster streamer laden glide beneath. A chubby bend with overhanging tree leads us to the next field with shallow gravel beds and cattle drink, before meandering between reed beds towards it's shingly bottomed end.
The stock would consist of double figured barbel, 7lb plus chub, river tench, bream, carp and dace...perhaps huge perch and roach.
Membership would be restricted to 20, all close friends with access to private secure parking....and there would be just two rules. 1. Use common sense. 2. Never speak of it's location.

Now just imagine, if this was real..... :Wink: :whistle:

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Northern Eel
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Re: Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

Post by Northern Eel »

Image
(Pic taken early April 2017)

This is mine,

Rules: None
Cost: Free

Within walking distance of my house, all banks inaccessible except for part of an island accessed by climbing over two deep channels and up a steep bank,
Chances of meeting another angler = virtually zero

Only downside is that the fish population (mostly Tench and Rudd) have a rich variety of natural bait making fishing quite difficult.
"Chasing frothy bubbles while the world is full of troubles"


"Simple pleasures maybe, but very real ones, which seem all the more precious in these restless modern days."

'BB' Denys Watkins-Pitchford

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Santiago
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Re: Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

Post by Santiago »

A side stream of the Thames up to a weir and only accessible by punt. No other river traffic and no silly rules. Bream to 8lb, barbel to 17lb, perch to 4lb, chub to 7lb, eels to 5lb, roach to 1lb, and pike to 25lb. And I hope to have it mostly to myself throughout the summer.
"....he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy"

Hemingway

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Loop Erimder
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Re: Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

Post by Loop Erimder »

Old Man River wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2017 2:14 pm I could not sleep last night, so I lay tossing and turning, presently my mind turned to what I consider to be the poor excuses for stillwater day ticket fisheries that we have forced upon us,these days, ok they are targeting certain types of angler, the bivvy carp boys, or the match angler, or the average person who just wants to catch as many pasty carp as he /she can in a day without too much effort,these are waters that are what seems to me to be simply a financial goose that lays golden eggs. these waters usually have little in the way of tree cover, weed beds, wildlife, or areas where a fish could go to seek solitude or a simple quiet time away from the world.
These "waters" hold no attraction to me whatsoever, and I would rather poke out my eyes with a burning stick than have to fish at one.

OK thought I , so what would type of water would I have, given a bottomless bank account and a free reign to do whatever it took to return to a time when I could fish in a place with less noise and more green, where nature came first and second.

So, here is my answer..

It would be a day ticket only water, no night fishing at all,dawn till dusk.

It would be at least ten acres,preferably larger, with only 8 accessible well spaced out and minimally managed swims for able bodied anglers, and 3 easily accessible swims for disabled anglers and a second angler,or whoever else happened to be accompanying them for the day.

No children under ten, any anglers under 18 to be accompanied by an adult of over 21.

Keepnets must be over ten feet long, , and a minimum dia of 24 inches, no fish over 4 lbs to be retained.

The only fish stocked would be Crucian Carp, Tench, Roach, Perch , Bream, Gudgeon. There would be a small number of large Common/Mirror carp, numbering probably 15 -20 in total.


Now for the rules, and rules is rules !

Every angler to produce a current EA licence prior to fishing, no EA licence , no fishing !
No fishing prior to purchasing day ticket, which would be available "on line" and pay via paypal, or on the day at the Lodge/gatehouse.
All anglers to "book in " at the lodge/gatehouse on arrival, and " book out " on leaving.
No bivvies of any description, umbrellas with small "wings" permitted.
Two rods maximum.
No bite alarms,
No bait boats,
No continental pole fishing, a "whip" of no more than 10 ft is fine though.
No drones.
No radios ( personal headsets ok with earphones )
No litter. A bag will be provided for litter , to be disposed of at the "lodge " at the end of the day.
No bedchairs,
No alcohol.
No fixed leads,no bolt rigs,
No braid main lines or hooklengths., in fact no braid lines of any description.
Anglers must allow the bailiff to examine all rigs on demand.
Keep nets , and landing nets to be dipped prior to fishing. Every angler to be in possesion of a suitably sized landing net , each swim would be provided with an unhooking mat .
No wading allowed.
No open fires, a Kelly Kettle is permissable though.
All fish to be returned
Anglers may be accompanied by a non fishing visitor, but only one angler allowed per named swim.
No firearms, no air weapons of any description allowed.

Bait ...and this would be a rigid rule... no Pellets,no Boilies, no high nutritional baits,of any description, no processed meat of any description.

Each swim would be named, anglers could reserve their preferred named swim for an additional fee. No fishing in disabled swims except if you are actually disabled or accompanying a disabled angler.

There would be motor access to disabled swims, and a car park for all others away from the water. There would be an unobtrusive maintained track , well back from the waters edge to the named swims, which could be navigated by a Golf trolley type vehicle, the manager/bailiff would take you and your gear to the swim of your choice on Golf trolley, and collect you when you wanted to leave.

On thinking about these rules, it would necessitate an on site "manager ", so the whole lake would be in a rural location, with unobtrusive walls or fences, quite heavily screened by trees and bushes, there would be a small "lodge " with toilets for the anglers, and the manager ( bailiff ) who would provide hot soup, or sandwiches, and a flask of hot water,tea bags/coffee/milk for anglers, who would order these for a given time during the day to be delivered to the swims.

This seems quite an exclusive "pond" and the day ticket price would reflect this, all tickets would be around £25.00 for dawn till dusk fishing, there would be no charge for food, no charge for parking, anglers who could not drive would be collected from the nearest bus stop at no cost, and dropped off there when they had completed their day, again at no charge.This would encourage anglers with transport problems.

Any individual found to be contravening these rules would be required to pack up and leave immediately, he/she would be barred from returning again, there would be no refund of any part day lost due to their own behaviour.

I dont know what your views on the above are, but it seems to me that the only way to return to the type of fishing I enjoyed as a young man would be to enable the above, with obviously some modern refinements , and also obviously a lot of restrictions that a lot of anglers these days would find almost impossible to comply with, as such has this pastime of ours developed .


Any other suggestions to add to the above ?

I know it seems a very rigid and firm rule book, but it would not in any way limit your fishing really, and may well actually improve
it . The rules as above are designed to make your day as peaceful, and undisturbed as possible, there would be a chance of actually hooking and landing large specimens,without any modern electronics, from a day ticket water,where wildlife is encouraged,

OMR.
I get where you're coming from....but with respect that isn't a place for me...I do like to fish occasionally overnight......(in a bivvy)...I don't see the need for keepnes unless you are in a match, which also isn't for me, I fish with processed meat and also soft dog biscuits too which is processed. Food delivery service! :Confused: ....25 quid is excessive. I can fish many places with everything I need in a lake. As for rules some places I'm able to fish do not have rules just common sense for fish welfare and these places are not visited by many. They are simply pools left to grow with very little interference. So......I'm already fishing my perfect oasis. Some may agree with me some may not.....Each to their own :Hat:
Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish

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RBTraditional
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Re: Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

Post by RBTraditional »

The rules and set up you have described there OMR are a tad too contrived for my liking....give me a wild stretch of river and I'm a happy man.
" Angling is not an escape from life, but often a deeper immersion into it..."

https://thepiscatorialraconteurs.co.uk/

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Snape
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Re: Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

Post by Snape »

I'm not one for rules and named swims where you have to fish. I like to crawl around the undergrowth and climb trees.
So I'll go with Gurn and Northern Nomad's idylls and thankfully pretty much have access to those places. So no more said. :Hat:
“Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers,” Herbert Hoover.
`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸ ><((((º>

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Marc
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Re: Your Perfect Angling Oasis..?

Post by Marc »

River, always a river. Very few ponds, lakes or puddles have even come close to peace and tranquility of an empty river bank, in fact I can't think of one. And keepnets, no thanks.
Marc. (Prince of Durham)

“A life that partakes even a little of friendship, love, irony, humor, parenthood, literature, and music, and the chance to take part in battles for the liberation of others cannot be called 'meaningless'...”

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