For Information - Waterway Wanderers Scheme - Canal Fishing

[AshbyCut]

I thought I would place this thread here for the information of all TFF members, as it seems to be the most appropriate place.

There is a system in place these days called The Waterside Wanderers Scheme.

This is operated and enforced by The Canal and River Trust, requiring a permit to be obtained to fish those stretches of the canal system where the rights are not already leased to angling clubs.

An Environment Agency Licence must be active before a permit can be issued.

The cost of a Waterside Wanderer permit is £20 per annum ... £10 per year for Angling Trust members, Senior Citizens, and Disabled anglers ... £5 per year for Juniors. Permits run annually from date issued, not by season, so can be applied for at any time.

The canal system has no closed season for angling ... EXCEPT those stretches (like on the Ashby Canal above Market Bosworth bridge) which are designated "SSSI's" (Sites of Special Scientific Interest).

Full details can be read, and permits applied for, on this link :-

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and ... ers-scheme

There is also a list of the rules which apply to fishing on canals.

The full current list of stretches of the canal system which are covered by the scheme are available on this link :-

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/library/1509.pdf

I offer this to help to members as permits must be shown not only to E.A. bailiffs, but to any Canal and River Trust Staff who ask for it.

[Olly]

SSSI = Site of Special Scientific Interest. All except 2 have a close season, whatever/wherever they are, ranges from a water tank at Aldermaston where Great Crested Newts live to huge areas of moorland.

[Penninelad]

I can thoroughly recommend the WW permit.I got one when AC made reference to it some months ago and it have given me access to some lovely stretches of canal within easy striking distance of Sheffield.Its great value,especially if you are an Anglish Trust member.I fish most often on the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal which contains a great variety of course fish,with some decent sized Carp(my best 17 1/2 lbs,but I stress I would never describe myself as a carp angler)Pike and Perch as well as as a good head of Zander,which at the moment tend to be small.

[Vole]

Does anyone know if any of the London bits are worth bothering with?
The cynic in me suggests they have no tenant club for good reasons...

[Gord]

i cant access the list of venues in the london area but there is very good canal fishing generaly one reason clubs might not take up stretches of canal is there are some very unsafe areas along and around some bits of canal where your personal safety would be at risk but untill i see the list i wont know

[Stathamender]

I noticed this a while back when it was mentioned in a thread about Sheffield fishing (by Penninelad I think). What's unclear and curious on this page on the CRT site is whether or not this scheme is a) compulsory and b) backed by legally enforceable sanctions in the the same way that e.g. the EA licence is. That is: do you have to have one of these before you can do any fishing anywhere on the canal system that isn't controlled already by a club? It's curious that these things, if they apply, aren't explicitly stated at all on the page. The contact email is apparently a private one not at CRT and this scheme, which appears to have started up last year, isn't mentioned anywhere else on the web let alone the CRT site. The stuff about SSSIs for instance is superfluous: my understanding is that fishing is banned on these in the close season anyway through the EA regulations, the CRT is merely passing on the information.

Clearly the CRT has the standard riparian rights to the canal system, inherited from British Waterways, but are they actually enforcing these in ways that the EA does not for those rivers where it has the rights? Or is it essentially a voluntary scheme like the Angling Trust? The 'rules' for the scheme are, as I understand them, either the standard EA regulations (which apply to all waters anyway) again or general conditions that CRT already applies to its waterways. I have never seen any signage mentioning this scheme on the canals I frequent (like Pennine lad I'm fond of the 'Plumpers' stretch at Tinsley) nor met a CRT bailiff (but then I've never met an EA one either). I often walk the Sheffield Canal from the city centre out to Tinsley (about 3-4 miles) and there are plenty of CRT signs saying "don't do this or that" i.e. no fishing in the canal basin, which is packed with double figure carp, but no reference to this scheme. If it was compulsory I would expect that (indeed it would probably be a legal requirement) it would have to be generally publicised and waters it applied to have posted notices

I'll see if I can get CRT to clarify these issues. Clearly if it is compulsory we would want to comply with it but if it's not then all you need for these waters is an EA licence.

On the subject of likely fishing quality, the canal situation is much like rivers: many stretches have been given up by clubs that couldn't afford them or have gone out of existence. These may well be quality stretches that have been stocked in the past (Plumpers is a good example) and are still well worth fishing. Find your canal then check it against any of the online fishing guide sites, if there are safety concerns (and, frankly, these days I wouldn't want to be around a canal at night anywhere let alone London) they'll likely be mentioned.

[Stathamender]

And BTW, according to Wikipedia at least, the CRT controls only about half of the UK's inland waterways, although it does control most of the actual canals but there is a minority which are privately owned.

[Trainset]

Having read the information on the waterways wandering scheme I would agree with Stathamender, it doesn't appear to be a legal requirement, so to my mind you're paying for something you can do for free.
A few years ago I contacted the environment agency enquiring about who ran a stretch of the Grand Union canal in Hemel Hempstead. It had good wheelchair access and a particularly wide towpath that used to be an access lane to a lockmasters cottage. I was told no club had rights to the stretch and provided I had a valid EA fishing licence I could fish for free. I'm not sure if a club has since taken the stretch on, but I have spent many hours over 20 plus years fishing various sections of the canal, and the Aylesbury arm, and have only seen a bailiff and been happy to pay for a ticket on a handful of occasions.
If it is a legal requirement then I would fully support this scheme.

[AshbyCut]

Following my request for clarification on legal status I have received this email from the Fisheries Co-ordinator of the Canal and River Trust, who had spoken with their legal department.

I hope that this answers any questions about the situation :-

"Dear Malcolm,

Thank you for your enquiry.

The Waterway Wanderers scheme is legally enforceable.

The Trust’s canal fisheries are either controlled by angling clubs or they fall under our Waterway Wanderers Permit Scheme. Just as you are required to purchase a day ticket, permit or membership to fish a water controlled by an angling club, you are also required to purchase a Waterway Wanderers permit to fish the sections of canal that are not controlled by angling clubs.

By fishing these waters without a permit you are therefore fishing without permission and committing an offence under the 1968 Theft Act.

Please let me know if you require any further information.

Kind regards

Barbara Wilder

Fisheries Co-ordinator

Direct dial: 01908 302533"

[Trainset]

Interesting stuff, I wonder how the Water ways wandering scheme will be advertised as it would seem people will now be required to purchase a permit to fish sections that are not run by clubs. I had not seen or heard of this scheme before and haven't seen it listed on any clubs local to me.
I assume they will have appointed bailiffs, as clubs do, to collect any ticket money from the towpath.