Being a disabled angler i have fished up and down the country mostly in Scotland,a lot of the fisherys had good access etc and facillities and some not so good,but my question is this if i go on a fishery and purchase say a c&r ticket and the rules say all fish must be unhooked in the water,what happens there?? i cant reach the water so i must net them unhook em then release them to which i might add i have had no problems, my theory if thats the right word is this to abide by the rules a member of staff would have to unhook my fish for me as i dont see why i should ask another angler who i dont know to do my work for me,if the fishery couldnt assist surely they then would be breaking the law by being unable to provide a service to a disabled customer. whats yer thoughts on this im sure theres plenty and im well aware of the cost of fish etc

The trouble with this theory,Is it 'might' just tip the owner into not offering disabled facilities,Especially if it's a one person operation (which many are,and I forsee many more becoming)

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

problem with that jim if you are open to the public and dont offer a service to the disabled ,your then breaking the lawand the fishery would probably ahve to become a private water.

I don't know about everyone else but i would happily assist if i saw a disabled angler needing a hand its much like netting a fish for anyone else. Don't be afraid to ask a fellow angler, they would have to be pretty callous to refuse.

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http://www.fishleven.co.uk/
http://www.edenangling.co.uk/

i know most ppl would Tickle but it wouldnt be fair if i was having one of em good days and into fish every other cast,or im fishing in winter with the fishery to myself

Well, I would say if the fishery has a rule that any fish returned must be unhooked in the water, and you were not able to do it you should think about whether you should fish there on a C&R ticket. If the fishery has provided disabled facilities/access etc that's about as far as they can go isn't it? I can't see how they would be breaking the law if they have provided all of the above and also offer a catch and kill ticket.

Its a tricky one. The onus is on the fishery manager to facilitate its operations to disabled anglers and this does mean finding a solution to un-hooking fish, something i had never thought about before. Would the introduction of a long handled ketchum release be feasible? or carp style unhooking mat you could put on your lap in conjuction with one of these rubber mesh nets?

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http://www.fishleven.co.uk/
http://www.edenangling.co.uk/

All i really ask would be an exception for disabled anglers,like i said ive never had a problem with catching and releasing fish caught in a net,i take em quickly turn em upsidedown to stop em flapping ,unhook still in net back in the water and wait for em to revive all done in quick time

---------- Post added at 12:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 PM ----------

So stuart your saying your disabled you can only have a kill ticket,if i go into a shop and there is soemthnig on the top shelf ,am i not allowed this either because i cant reach? hmmm

I'm sure most fishery managers would be understanding, though I wouldn't take that as carte blanche to presume this will be the case on all waters. If in doubt then ask.

---------- Post added at 08:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 PM ----------

If I could take your analogy further, let's say an angler who wasn't physically able to cast a fly rod were to be refused a ticket because he could only cast a bait rod, would it be right for that angler to expect the manager to provide a service to cast a fly rod for the angler too?

I can think of several 'fisheries'(allbeit pretty wild),that do not offer Disabled facilities,and in reality never will,I do not know the ins and outs of The Law relating to Disabled anglers,so where do 'they'The fisheries, fit into the bigger picture.
How is the term Fishery defined relating to this subject.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.