Poacher ??

johnnyjb

Hi i do some trout fishing here in cork but find it hard to get into a club.I dont buy a rod licence since there is no decent place to fish for salmon outside club waters.

My question is am i seen as a poacher if i happen to fish for trout on a stretch of river that is part of a club but im unaware of.It would be near impossible to fish if you didnt just go out and tried a few spots that you were unsure about.I never puck fish and throw back my fish as i dont eat them.

Would a balliff come down hard on the likes of me i i was seen fishing but not in possesion of any illegal gear or salmon without a licence. Is there any slack given, the way i see it they dont want anybody fishing except rich foreign holiday makers

SeaFields

Firstly you should always respect a clubs waters. The vast majority of clubs are open to membership. Clubs exist as a protection mechanism for our rivers and lakes. From the clubs that I am involved in, the members are there for their love of fishing and for the protection of their sport.

How were you unaware that you were on a clubs waters? Were there signs on the river telling you that it was a club stretch?

A bailiff would not come down hard on you because you are fishing in club waters. That is not in their powers. If, however, you were found to have salmon or sea-trout in your possession without a salmon licence you would be prosecuted under fishery legislation. A club could take a civil legal case against you for fishing their waters without permission.

Where in Cork do you fish?

johnnyjb

Ah come on you hardly think im gonna give out that info.This is whats wrong with angling, previous poster is quizzing me like a detective for asking a question.Every inch of every bank is not and cannot be sign posted to mark club waters.

Im hate being seen as a scummy lout out pucking or just being nuisance on the river.The point im trying to make is that its totally unfair for people to be barred from a river (natural resource) cuz some priveledged or lucky people are left into a club.Ive asked how to get into clubs and it seems you have to be related or know some one well to get in.Very annoying

I totally understand there are bad things happening to the fish and rivers but there no progress bein made and it willnever get better unless more access is given to the average angler.Paying 10 - 30 euro to fish a river in your own area doesnt really work for locals -tourists maybe not locals.

bernard0368

I disagree with you Johnny, most clubs are far from elitist and a lot of rivers are free of clubs you just need permission from the land owner. In regards to been a local and having the right to fishany club water. Think about the amount of work that most clubs put in preserving this natural resource through cleaning rubbish, restocking and spawning beds etc. As for baliffs they may not come near you on club waters but some clubs will have court appointed waterkeepers who have the right to confiscate tackle etc. Try your local tackle shop they will tell you where you can and cant fish and would give you good advise as to gaining membership of a local club.
I am a member of a club which has strict entry criteria some of which has been forced on the club by the landowners along the river. This arose from non-members littering, damaging fences and lighting fires on the farm lands whilst fishing. That is another thing to remember by getting to the river you could be on someones land do you have permission??

johnnyjb

Bernard i understand where your coming from but in regards to the work put in by clubs ,if you decide to clean a few fields and call yourselves "club members" does that give you the right to stop people access to a river provided by nature.

Im not a tree hugger but rivers were not build by any angling club. Its a "click" that the clubs have going.I dont wanna go bashing every one in a club cause if i could get in a club i prob be just like them. Its just annoying some tosser acting like he owns the river when it been there long before any of us.

coolwings

Johnnyjb You are being disengenuous. It's not a free world. I sympathise with your desire but that's just how it is. We live in the world we find ourselves in.

Has it occurred that maybe the club actually DO own the river? As in it might be the case they pay THEIR money to the landowners who might just actually own the land too having bought it with THEIR money.

Fish around and learn over time ... free fishing is usually worth what it costs. Only preserved waters have a decent stock of fish in them nowadays.

It's not a smartass question, but you mentioned "hard to join" and "clique", ... have you asked to join the clubs and been refused?

You also talked about "them" but you usually find club members are normal people who want the fish to do well in their waters So is it possible they are protecting the waters and you are "them" - as in the ones who denude open waters - the people clubs have had to be formed to protect their water from, the ones who take out but don't want to give anything back?

Not accusing, I don't know you at all. But your posts (so far in this thread) smack of "something for nothing" angling philosophy, and usually those are the ones who kill heavily for the pot. It's an impression given by your own questions and how you framed them, might be wrong, but don't get heavy with us for our conservative beliefs. We also have to protect "our" trout if you see what I mean.

Usually, asking at the local tackle shops gets all the info required, contacts and so on. But the club waters will often be worse fishing than the private and better than the open waters.

stylie

Two rivers in Cork, the Lee and the Sullane have club trout tickets..never heard of anyone having trouble joining them. The rest of the Lee tribs are free fishing, which equals a lot of good trout and occasional salmon waters

Kess73

The stretch of Lee above the Cork Weir is free fishing. The main tribs, the Sullance and Laney have a mixture of free and ticket stretches. The Blackwater also has a mixture of free and club stretches.


Salmon fishing on the Lee is restricted to a nine or ten mile stretch, which is all controlled, bar the bit by the weir that I mentioned.

The controlling parties are Cork Salmon Anglers Association Ltd, the Lee Salmon Anglers' Club, the ESB, and a surprisingly large number of private parties for such a small stretch.

It may be some of the private parties that the OP is talking about as many of them are invite only, so you do not even have the option of paying to join to fish the waters they control.

premiercad

Hey Johnny. I fished New Zealand North and South Island a few years back. Bought a 58NZD ticket which allowed me fish every and I mean every river in the country within season (bar a small area in the centre north island). They have a thing called the Queens chainage from olden days where the land a few metres back from the rivers edge all along its reach is public land. But this is Ireland and as much as I'd love that rule to apply here I know it would be just open to abuse and fish stocks would be decimated. Some clubs here do have strict control on membership and you would need to be related to the chairman etc. to get an invite which is sad in many ways but as Coolwings has mentioned, they pay throught the nose for those rights. The good news is there are as many public stretches or open membership clubs out there that would be more than happy to see a genuine fisherman join them on the banks.

Remember ignorance of the law is no defence. Better to go somewhere you know your allowed fish and enjoy a days fishing.