 | After disastrous floods ripped through the UK recently, anglers are urging the Environment Agency to extend the river season to not only aid the industry, but to arrest the sport’s decline. The start of 2024 was a write-off for most of England’s river anglers, as many waterways hit record levels. It’s an all-too familiar story, each winter bringing new bouts of record floods, while summers are hotter and drier than ever. |
One tackle shop – Premier Angling - was hit by a rising Bristol Avon and forced to close for a period. Angling Times columnist, Martin Bowler, implored the angling community to get behind the store.
“It’s a great shop run by great lads,” he said. “Please support them now they’ve re-opened. The Bristol Avon is out of control.”
While not quite as directly affected as Premier Angling, tackle shops are often those hardest hit by floods – killing cashflow at what is a crucial time of year.
Dave Harrell, a long-term proponent of scrapping the closed season, believes the current dates (March 15 – June 15) are ‘completely wrong’, and is urging the EA to make a change.
“I hate to see tackle shops talking about closing down,” he said.
“I guess due to climate change, conditions get worse every year, which stops people from trading. If shops had an extra three months of business – when the river levels are often excellent – it’d make a massive difference to them.”
Figures released by the Environment Agency showed that rod licence sales were at their lowest this century, but Dave reckons an extended river season could stop this decline.
“An extra three months of fishing when the weather is nice and the river levels are good would encourage more ‘occasional anglers’ to buy a licence and get on to the riverbank,” he explained.
There are arguments over targeting spawning fish during the traditional closed season, but Dave believes empowering angling clubs is the key to finding the right balance.
“Anglers know their local rivers better than anyone. With social media, an announcement can be released in an instant, should any species be spawning or vulnerable. We saw numerous clubs do this in summer, to protect fish in high temperatures,” he added.
“It’s a great shop run by great lads,” he said. “Please support them now they’ve re-opened. The Bristol Avon is out of control.”
While not quite as directly affected as Premier Angling, tackle shops are often those hardest hit by floods – killing cashflow at what is a crucial time of year.
Dave Harrell, a long-term proponent of scrapping the closed season, believes the current dates (March 15 – June 15) are ‘completely wrong’, and is urging the EA to make a change.
“I hate to see tackle shops talking about closing down,” he said.
“I guess due to climate change, conditions get worse every year, which stops people from trading. If shops had an extra three months of business – when the river levels are often excellent – it’d make a massive difference to them.”
Figures released by the Environment Agency showed that rod licence sales were at their lowest this century, but Dave reckons an extended river season could stop this decline.
“An extra three months of fishing when the weather is nice and the river levels are good would encourage more ‘occasional anglers’ to buy a licence and get on to the riverbank,” he explained.
There are arguments over targeting spawning fish during the traditional closed season, but Dave believes empowering angling clubs is the key to finding the right balance.
“Anglers know their local rivers better than anyone. With social media, an announcement can be released in an instant, should any species be spawning or vulnerable. We saw numerous clubs do this in summer, to protect fish in high temperatures,” he added.
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