Care for your environment and those who we share it with.

Common sense and a bit of thought can go a long way to ensuring that the image of angling is a good one.

Fishing can be a solitary sport, a chance to be on your own. But DO NOT EVER forget other people. A few thoughts for other people, wildlife and our environment can all help preserve the image of our sport.

So where do we start ? .

Ok, so how do most of us get to our venue, we drive and if we are really lucky we own a 4 x 4 which means we can go up and over the sand Dunes and straight down on to the beach.

NO !!!

Never take your vehicle onto the beach and never drive over sand dunes or sea defense barriers. Taking your vehicle on to the beach creates risks to both you and the wildlife living on or near the beach. 

Park your car in a position which will not cause an obstruction. Never park on a farmers field on in an entrance to his field. (Unless of course he is a friendly farmer who has given you permission. [ Probably more chance of finding Elvis on parking Control Duty !] ) and avoid Private Property. Always try and park in a Public Car Park, if possible, else park considerately.

Remember you may be returning to the vehicle, deep into the night. You may be wide awake but if you have parked your car in a residential area, those around you will be tucked up, sound asleep. So keep the noise down.

When going to your chosen mark, or retuning from you car, use the footpaths or well trodden tracks. That friendly farmer will not be so friendly if he sees you trekking through his crops in your size 10 wellies, dragging you trolley behind you. When following those paths, always open and close gates, don’t climb over them or try to straddle fences. Something will get broken, it may be the fence or the gate, but it may be YOU !

When you get to your mark, make sure there is plenty of room around you. Yes, I know when you fished the British Open, there was ten of you fishing a one meter mark, but normally the beaches are fairly empty so enjoy the freedom of the space and keep at least twenty meters from any other angler. Like that casting will be easier and he / she will not have to put up with the after effect of that Curry you had before you set out !

When setting up your base camp, tie a rubbish sack or a carrier bag to your tackle box, leg of your beach buddy or something that will stop it blowing away whilst keeping it easily accessible. As you fish, put ALL your rubbish straight into the bag, when you finish, tie the top and take it home. Leave the area as clean, if not cleaner than when you arrived.

When throwing away old tackle, always break of the points of the hooks and put them into several sheets of news paper, or better still if you are a photographer save the plastic cases 35mm films come in. They make great containers for disposing of old hooks. Put the folded up newspaper or the old containers into you rubbish sack before tying up the top.

One of the biggest problems the “Antis” always throw at us is discarded line. If goes without saying NEVER LEAVE ANY OLD LINE LAYING AROUND. But remember just because it is inside the rubbish sack, does not make it safe. Bags can split open and the line may end up trapping wildlife. So wrap the line around your hand form a tight coil, the cut the line into small pieces (100mm – 150mm)) by cutting through the coil. Then put these small pieces into your rubbish sack.

OK so you hare all set up and having a good day. Hopefully you are following a “Catch & Return” policy, however if you are going to keep some for your tea. Please don’t kill it just as Mrs. Jones and little Johnny comes walking over to sea what you have caught. Be discreet. Keep dead fish in a proper enclosure or bag. I have a “Cooler Bag” which is designed for picnics, this is ideal for keeping the fish in, till you get them home.

If you clean the fish at you peg, make sure all the bits you don’t want are put back into the sea, (This sometimes acts as an attractor for feeding fish). Never leave dead carcasses, or blood and guts laying around on the beach or pier. Non fishing members of the public will be quite right to complain and we do not want to give the Town Halls the ammunition to close down your favorite spot, “In the Interests of the Public”, do we ?

Very often you may become a “Attraction” on the beach and I don’t mean to hoards of screaming girl fans ! How often have you been fishing and  a few people have stood and watched. The image our sport must have, is one of caring for our environment and those we share it with. Next time you go fishing make sure you show that us Genuine Anglers DO CARE !

Kevin Knight