By John Adamson

I have day today contact with many anglers and know that my views reflect those of many others I speak to.

Many irrelevant comments made relating to keep nets recently. Red herrings have been raised by certain individuals within your paper, many of whom should know better. They unfortunately feel they have to jump onto whatever band wagon that passes. There is a distinct lack of intelligence being shown at present – think carefully before jumping onto any bandwagon. The wagon master may have already have lost some of his load and seeks people of similar ilk!

Freshwater angling needs the active support of all participants in order to survive. Internal attacks on our sport only provide our opponents with ammunition to use against us. It also loses support from within our own ranks. I know of many anglers who not only stopped fishing certain venues when keep net bans were introduced, but they stopped fishing altogether. Unnecessary bans drive people will only drive people away at a time when we need to attract more to join us.

We should only ban items of equipment that are inadequate and cause proven damage to fish, especially where safer and better items exist. This could include braid, knotted netting, barbed or treble hooks etc.

Keep nets, if they are of the correct type and used correctly, do not fall in this category.

There are four important current issues I wish to cover:

Having been an angler for 50 years I have seen considerable improvement in keep net design.  These days any angler using a keep net should only use a large net of approved design, and as long as such nets are used sensibly, there is be no damage to most fish.

It is no good stating that manufacturers are responsible for imposing size or quality of net. Many of these are ignorant of requirements and often only produce netting with no knowledge of fishing tackle. The only way to impose standards is for clubs, fishery owners and bailiffs (including EA) to clearly state minimum standards and then take full responsibility, supporting this it with positive action. Where anglers are found to be using substandard nets, these should be immediately confiscated (and destroyed).

The best way to start is for competitions, where fishery owners / clubs (and the NFA) should insist that all competitors use adequate and approved keep nets. I have fished many ‘nationals’ and have never had my net checked.

Approved keep nets should be of small/soft mesh, and have minimum sizes of 3m (10 feet) long, and either 18” X 20” (46 cm X 51 cm) if rectangular, or 18” (45 cm) diameter if round. Where nets are used anglers should carry two at all times, and be prepared to use these where necessary.

The rules for retention of fish should be set according to the likely potential of the water in question. They must be realistic and easy to follow, such as:

Although limitations on maximum weight of fish retained per keep net are well intentioned, such rules are not practical. Few anglers are able to assess weight correctly. Keep it simple and there are no excuses for anyone not following the rules.

Simple Keep Net Code

Weigh and return

Fisheries that allow match fishing and impose a weigh and return rule for carp over a certain size (often 3 or 5 lbs, which must not be retained in nets) have a misplaced view of fish care. I know of several such venues where 20+ anglers share one set of scales. The process is either:

Or

In both cases, damage to the fish occurs and both anglers lose valuable fishing time.

A friend of mine was recently timed (by another angler who was not catching fish). He lost 27 minutes fishing time out of the last hour of a match whilst waiting and delivering scales. This probably cost him 30 lbs of fish, and the match.

I have no such problems. I boycott all venues that insist fish are weighed during a match, and urge everyone else to do the same. If no match bookings are received it is likely that fishery rules will be altered to ensure fish are correctly cared for.

Match Weighing Code

Fish are not harmed by matches as long as the correct equipment is used and the simple weighing code is followed.

Any fishery capable of producing large weights must ensure that they (or competing clubs and/or competition organisers) supply scales capable of weighing at least 50 lbs at a time. These must have a minimum of two large weigh nets, and a large ‘unhooking mat’.

Weighing in process to be:

All match anglers must use soft mesh pan landing nets of adequate size to enable quick and easy transfer of fish into keep nets, and this should be part of fishery match rules.

I am regularly appalled when I see anglers catching fish up to 15 lbs still using massive (knotted) specimen landing nets. With fish in net they walk at least 5 yards back up the bank with their fish before dumping it on the ground, or at best a (dry) unhooking mat. The fish often thrashes around until someone kneels on it. Eventually the hook is removed (usually ripped out with forceps) before the fish is transferred to a (dry) weigh sling and weighed. It is then dumped back on landing net, ground or the unhooking mat, a camera is produced, and the angler then rubs his hands all over the fish to remove any weed or dirt (plus most of the protective slime) before taking photographs. Angler then calls his mates (who leave their rods unattended) to witness the catch and have a look. Sometimes the fish is re-weighed. Eventually the fish is returned to the water (usually going back into the knotted landing net for the journey to the water’s edge).

How can anyone condone such behaviour and argue against the use of keep nets and matches?

Retention of Barbel in Keep Nets

Next we have the debate about the retention of barbel in keep nets. Why should this be a problem? 

What makes barbel special? Absolutely nothing!

It is not many years ago that the same brand of angler spoke the same rubbish about carp. Can you remember being told how intelligent they were and hold easily they could be damaged? We now know carp are probably the toughest and most durable of freshwater fish, and stupid enough to be caught by novices on the most primitive of tackle.

The barbel is also an ‘ordinary’ fish and 'as tough as old boots'.  Next to carp they appear unaffected by time in nets, sustain no damage, and are re-caught regularly whilst remaining healthy.  This has made them an ideal fish for commercial fisheries, where fish need to be robust in order to survive. They also thrive in still waters – my best from a commercial being a perfect specimen of 8 lbs 13 ozs.

I fish regularly on commercial fisheries where barbel often figures in catches. I have yet to catch, weigh or see a barbel with any evidence of net damage, and I have not seen dead barbel on these fisheries. I often see dead roach, bream and carp. The only damage I have witnessed to barbel is cormorant damage.

I have also caught many river barbel (to 10 lbs 13 ozs) many of which have been retained in keep nets without damage. I have witnessed (on several occasions) barbel returned immediately after capture turn ‘belly up’ and then drift downstream, beyond reach from the bank, probably before dying. If a barbel is retained in a net you can see whether it is distressed and can take steps to ensure it resuscitates. Common sense (taking the size of the fish in question into account) will then dictate how long the fish needs to be (or may be) retained.

Please, let common sense apply so we can improve and strengthen our sport. Concentrate on getting rid of the real dangers. Do not attempt to make any particular fish or any type of fishing elitist. All anglers seek something different from the sport and gain enjoyment in different ways. We must encompass and tolerate all if we are to survive.