how do you step over a mine field

samsman · #21

on a more serious note joff i do think that a bit of diplomacy goes a long way, but it has to come from all parties. although it's a bit hard to stomach when we (anglers) are the ones who are being complained about by people who don't pay to be there and we do!! ::)
what have they been complaining about in general?
if you remember that bloke coming up to me at the top end of the h/plant hire 249 in the tweed jacket he's write a letter to the local paper asking why the police allow us to obstruct the towpath with our poles surely its a crime ::) ::)he then goes on and on about bait being left on the towpath parking without Jew care and attention and on and on and on so i have to put a reply but i can see it being a mine field one wrong word and i'm going to get it

you'll have the religious community after you to if you keep parking on top of jews

samsman · #22

i've had three sh!t peg's on loughborough but hav'nt called you

do i get a good one this sunday for good behaviour

joffmiester · #23

dave just save it for the semi

over the last three matches your lads are getting to grips with it even Quorn have not had the rub of the green
ha look at preece hasn't he been pegged between us in the first two matches

paul_brown · #24

I enjoy fishing on my local canals (grand union/fazeley/etc) and always try to keep out of the way of walkers and cyclists, but if I do encounter them I politely ask them to wait and try to move my pole etc as soon as I can.

This works with 99% of people but cyclists just get impatient.

Now I might be wrong with this, and please correct me if this is so, but I was led to believe that cyclists needed to have a licence to use the tow paths

#25

I was led to believe that cyclists needed to have a licence to use the tow paths

Yep GB - there is a pdf licence for them to download and print off in the link I posted above

MALC · #26

Trouble is it's anglers and their attitude that are in my mind a nightmare on the cuts.

I spent around 25 years on the Canals fishing matches first 15 years were spend on the London canal circuit and due to the heavy foot fall on the tow paths we used to ship along the bank NOT over the tow path.

Also a lot of section we had walls about 5ft behind us so still shipped along the bank.

Fair enough most only had 11mtr poles back then but we still shipped along the bank causing no obstruction.

Then i moved and started to fish the Midlands canals and still i shipped along the tow path everyone else though shipped across the tow path so causing an obstruction.

I think i heard maybe a handfull of moans whilst on the London circuit which were mostly the type of moan that would be heard even if no one was there.

In the Midlands though all the time you could here what i still today class as ignorant anglers moaning because they were asked to move their poles to allow people past.

To me its the Angler that needs to be taught how to ship in / out just as much as walkers and the such need to learn to look ahead and slow down.

Now i guess most that read this will be whining and saying im wrong but if i as an Angler can see the problem just think what non anglers must feel and see.

I walked away from the canals for a few reasons of which Boats - Dog Cr@p - Pitiful Returns - Anglers Pompous Attitudes were some of those reasons.

In my mind Joff until Anglers get their own act together you are on a loosing battle we as anglers SHARE the canals with others and yes at present we and boaters are the only ones that pay (have you ever met a cyclist with a licence ?) but everybody has a right to walk along the tow path without having to hurdle loads of carbon.

Now i'll stick my hard hat on.

#27

Bombs away Malc

The key word you used was SHARE, that should save you a bit

MALC · #28

LOL

You know me Si i just say it as i see it.

joffmiester · #29

you are correct in a lot of ways malc and honest with your views and this what i mean unless we THE ANGLERS don't change our attitude towards the towpaths i'm going to be wasting my time writing this peace in the paper
i like yourself can see it every match i fish a small number either shouting at boats to slow down or move to the middle others with carbon everywhere even when not needed
my old man always said to me if your nice to people its harder for that person to be nasty back and 9 out of 10 times it works and until we get this attitude we have no chance of telling the public the rights and wrongs
and its exactly the same from the other side [public] if you stop a bike and ask him for a licence he would probably know nothing about a licence so you see its going to be a long drawn out matter and i know the public will rise to it

#30

THIS MAY BE OF INTEREST

Cyclists, on the towpath, are supposed to have third party public liability insurance in the same way that anglers are covered by the clubs having it.

Food for thought

#31

This was the response I received re permits for cyclists:

The advice is to download a cycle permit which means that cyclists are agreeing that they have read the Waterways Code.

#32

Anyone riding a bike showing no courtesy for anglers fishing a competition need to be told they are cunts

#33

Malc .....

Stick to fishing boilies

joffmiester · #34

decided not to do the article just yet

:-/as some of the lads on the river match at the weekend had a boat that wanted to turn round but couldn't [he had gone above the match length first] he then drift down still trying to turn it round needless to say the anglers gave him a fare amount of grief and one threatening to drag him off the boat

i can't see a very good out come from both sides

i know its easy to walk away but next year someone else can run the matches i can just look after myself ,if a boat stops rev-es,reverses or puts his foot down i can deal with it in my own way not sorting every other angler out and every complaint off the public

#35

To be honest, Im not surprised he got grief, crappity smack idiot should be able to handle the boat before taking it out, and also show respect to other water users if he expects to be treated with respect... once he has crossed that line, whatever abuse he gets is down to his own stupidity ( in my opinion)

#36

40 peg canal match ...... 40 carbon fibre poles ranging in price from say £1,000 to £2,200 plus all the 40 anglers top kits etc average about 40 x 5 top kits = £12,000 YES around £12,000 ie 1 top kit average is say £60 ....5 x £60 = £300 ...... that is around £65, 000 of carbon on show for some egotistic knob end of a mountain biker or bikers to smash through even though they shouldnt be riding a mountain bike on a canal towpath .... methinks they probably "get off" doing it fully knowing it proper p!sses off nearly all canal match anglers after all they could go and mountain bike a million other places couldnt they ?

Oh and joggers they just love jumping over 2 grand of carbon fibre ....... get real everyone only anglers get abused on the towpath , cant blame one single angler for letting rip at ANY cyclist or jogger

MALC · #37

Dodge thats exactly the problem with Anglers attitudes that i mentioned.

How is a NON Angler to know that the lump of carbon spread across the towpath is worth anything and not just a bit of painted 2 x 2. (extreme i know but get the drift).

Look at it another way would you park your car in the middle of a road without thinking it might get hit as its blocking the road.

Just because a pole has cost the angler £2k dont give the right to block what is a public right of way.

As i say i'm an angler and i can see the problem and i work around it and i even had 1 guy last year on the forum champs that TK ran on the cut stop and comment as to how i was shipping along the bank rather than blocking the towpath as all the others he just walked past had been.

And thats how joe public see anglers on canals and until anglers make the move in the right direction it will only get worse.
As there are more non anglers out there ready to pick fault than there are anglers.

Just my views of course.

#38

Dodge/Malc/Joff et al

Quote:

There is no public right of way for cyclists on canal towpaths and British Waterways reserves the right to withdraw permission from users who disregard the rules.

It's all back to the anglers; we all know cyclists flaunt the rules by speeding or being reckless but have any ever been reported to the proper authorities, eg your British Waterways region.

For so,e reason or other you don't need a cycle permits for the London canals, don't ask because I don't know why.

It is worth a look at the BW website called waterscape. There are all sorts of do's and dont's somewhere on there but would they stand up legally, I don't know....

#39

how i was shipping along the bank rather than blocking the towpath as all the others he just walked past had been.

I didn't ship back many times

MALC · #40

Regards the cyclists on London towpaths it dates back to a law from when they where first dug (see even canals are really commercials)

regards every Londoner had the right to traverse the canal tow path.

Or at least thats what many moons ago we were informed whilst on the regents canal one day.

LOL

Not many of us shipped in or out much