I was reading the Nov issue of Total Flyfisher today and part of the editorial caught my eye, taking into account the threads currently running ref catch and release and killing brown trout.
The editor comments on the amount of dead fish shown in European angling magazines compared to ours and how in Germany it is now illegal to catch a fish for sport and the same will apply in Switzerland in 2009(where a course in humane methods of catching fish will have to be successfully completed before a fishing licence is issued).
He then goes on to say that a lot of people in the industry believe that it is simply a matter of time before the same rules about not catching fish just for sport apply here in the UK. So if this law was applied here (it won`t be in my opinion), how would it affect you if you had to kill every fish you caught ? Would you still fish or pack it in ?
For myself, if I was forced by law to kill all of the fish I caught I would hang up my rods tomorrow. On the bright side my clay shooting would improve....
Good fishing,
Andy.

__________________
The trout in yonder wimpling burn
That glides, a silver dart,
And, safe beneath the shady thorn,
Defies the anglers art

R.Burns

Who would enforce such a law? The EA? The Police?

Don`t know, I just wondered what people would do if such a rule was in place. What would you do EO ?
Good fishing,
Andy.

__________________
The trout in yonder wimpling burn
That glides, a silver dart,
And, safe beneath the shady thorn,
Defies the anglers art

R.Burns

Im with you Andrew in that it will never happen and if it did i would take to the hill lochs as you never see anyone.And i would agree it could never be enforced.

Exercise peaceful protest and refuse to do it. There are so many anglers in this country that if all of them simply ignore such a law, it becomes unenforceable.

What happens when all the fish are eaten and there is none left to fish for?

I have heard it said that many an angler in Germany eat as many fish as they can of those they catch, give as much as they can to relatives and friends that don't fish and then fill the freezer with the rest. When the following season begins they empty the freezer in the bin and start all over again.

When I started fishing at catch and kill fisheries, because that was all that was available to me. I eat, gave away and filled the freezer to the point when I travelled further to C&R fisheries.

__________________
Cheers
Wiz

www.wandletrust.org
www.wildtrout.org
www.a-c-a.org
http://www.aapgai.co.uk
www.riverflies.org
www.wandlepiscators.net

We were told by a Government Agency administering permits to control pisciverous birds that we would have the last bird if the quota got that low. There certainly isn’t the will at Government level to mess with c&r, wild trout systems and there is unlikely to be any urgency during the next Government's term.

Wizard wrote......
What happens when all the fish are eaten and there is none left to fish for?

No one fishes and angling as a sport dies out. Perhaps there is a political ulterior motive there in Germany and Switzerland
Good fishing,
Andy.

__________________
The trout in yonder wimpling burn
That glides, a silver dart,
And, safe beneath the shady thorn,
Defies the anglers art

R.Burns

Hi, All,
There is an alternative to actually catching fish with a fly, but still enjoying part of the thrill of the pursuit. A long while back I read about the practice in America of a method known as TAG fishing -- Touch And Go -- in which a fly with no point was used. You might say there was no point in doing it, but apparently the idea was to count up the offers to the fly. After all, the object of fly fishing is to con a fish into accepting the fly as something either edible or interesting to examine; and examining, to a fish, means taking an object into the mouth. Or does everyone think that is just a means to an end?
It's just a thought. Most, I suspect, will think of TAG as a poor substitute.
Cheers, TC
Pse, excuse the pun.

Terry, John Baily talks about doing the same thing in New Zealand in his book Trout at ten thousand feet.
Good fishing,
Andy.

__________________
The trout in yonder wimpling burn
That glides, a silver dart,
And, safe beneath the shady thorn,
Defies the anglers art

R.Burns