Hi, What would you all think of a £6.50 price rise in the cost of your fishing licence? down to government cut backs apparently, read more below.


"Would you pay an extra £6.50 for your rod licence?
That’s the question anglers may well be forced to answer next season if recent proposals to strip £9.4 million from the Environment Agency’s budget are carried through.
As reported in last week’s Angling Times, the contentious proposals from Government advisory body the Wildlife and Countryside Link would see the EA relying solely on money raised by rod licence sales to fund its work.
Considering the fact that the Agency is stretched to financial breaking point already, the shortfall would almost certainly need to be recouped elsewhere, with anglers’ pockets being the most obvious option.
Given that 1.5 million rod licences were sold last season, the increase needed per angler to meet the shortfall is around £6.50 each, taking the cost from £27 to £33.50.
Angling Times polled a cross-section of 1,000 readers on whether they would be prepared to pay the extra, and 60 per cent said ‘no’, with the remainder saying they would only do so on the proviso that the EA became more transparent about how the money is spent.
“Before I’d pay, I think the EA would need to fully justify the increase and introduce some form of customer charter for anglers,” said AT reader Ryan Neal from Sheffield, while Steve Smithson from Manchester commented, “At a cost of less than £3 per month, the fishing licence would still be a bargain.” Totally against the possible increase though, was AT reader Steve Carter, saying: “I would give up fishing rather than pay the extra.” John Williams, Secretary of the Birmingham Angling Association, the UK’s largest angling club, said, “Traditionally coarse anglers have never seen any benefit from the £9.4 million grant-in-aid the Agency receives anyway, the money mainly goes to trout and salmon work. So to make coarse anglers pay more to fund areas that are of no benefit to them is ridiculous.
“An increase in price will also just lead to more license evasion - something we’re seeing more of on our waters now anyway due to the economic climate”, he added.
When asked about the possibility of an increase in rod licence prices, a spokesperson for the Environment Agency declined to comment on the subject."
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ID AGREE TO IT, IN FACT I THINK IT SHOULD BE RAISED BY AT LEAST £10,

BY DOING THIS MUCH MORE REVENUE IS RAISED AND FISHERIES AND WATERS CAN BE IMPROVED,

I SAY ACCEPT THE RISE AND GET ON WITH IT,


I MUST ADD I FISH IN IRELAND LOLOL

1 dont agree, and if it goes £10,then im finished with fishing,apart from shooting what other sport needs a licence

im a coarse matchman just taking UP fly fishing,.

Now tho the E,A will look after salmon and trout fishery,s they do sweet fanny adams for coarse fishery,s of which most of coarse licence is spent on game fishing

None of us want to pay more for a fishing licence but the reason they'll do it is because they know that when it comes down to it, we're all going to find the extra cash to continue fishing. What hurts about this one is that it won't result in more revenue for the EA and therefore more value for anglers - it's just getting the funding from elsewhere. I think that one positive impact could be a heavy reliance on angling by the EA and therefore the angling community having far more influence. If anglers are the lifeblood of the EA then the EA should be far more concerned aboput the views of anglers and of issues that affect our sport, and perhaps less concerned about other groups whose aims aren't always compatible with those of the angling community (e.g. some branches of the paddling fraternity).

How much is fact and how much is scaremongering by the AT?

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Save the softmouth trout

There's not a word of fact in the entire story. It's speculation based on a possible reaction to the possible outcome of a proposal. (Actually, the way the story's written, there may even be two proposals in the mix.)

Even if it wasn't *******s, as Yorkio so sagely points out, I'd suggest that not wishing to pay an extra 20p per week (IF THE £10 PER ANNUM RISE CHAMPIONED BY HOBBLE, THE GLORY-GLORY NON-LICENCE PAYING ROONEY APOLOGIST, WERE TO BE IMPLEMENTED ) is rather silly. It's about the price of a third of a cheap fly lost each weekend. So, don't cast near trees or snags and learn to tie strong knots. The extra cost will then be absorbed.

For crying out loud just listen to you lot! £6.50 equates to less that 13p a week!! What a misery-gutting load of whingers most of you seem to be. I sometimes - no, very frequently, despair of my fellow anglers. Do none of you wonder why angling sucks on the hind t1t compared with groups like the RSPB or the canoe people? It's because they are organised and are prepared to pay for their sport and they make sure those in power are aware of that fact. Result? They get what they want. Anglers? They whine and snivel, gripe and grizzle and get nothing which is pretty much what they deserve.

£33.50 for a rod licence for a year - if it comes to pass. Last year I paid a total of $220 in BC for 3 weeks worth of licences. That was when I got $1.70 to the pound, so you work out what I paid. It was worth every cent.

Seriously, you would give up for the sake of less than £1 a month?

ps Motorsport needs a competition licence.

Actually that's not all that different than what you'd pay in the PNW for a fishing license and a 'punch card' which allows you to fish for/retain Pacific Salmon/Steelhead. That said, the $$$ allow you to fish any public water (which most are) within the State. Very few what you may call 'Private Venues.' These would be premier lakes located on private property. You'll pay up for what you get, but from what I understand it can be well worth the money as the trout are bigger than hell and don't see that much in the way of 'hooks.'

If you're 'out of State' and want an 'Annual License' the number will be (roughly) 1.5 times that amount. If you want to fish in British Columbia, Canada .... Ooooooooooooooo!

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