Even better news from Ireland
Posted: 28 Jul 2006 06:09 PM

The Pike Conservation Bye Law we reported yesterday applies to the whole of the country, the PAC has been told tonight.

Pikers warned over Pikelines computer virus
Posted: 28 Jul 2006 03:14 PM

A computer virus with the heading Pikelines and Dorothee is doing the rounds, members have reported on the PAC Message Board tonight.

We're looking into it, in the meantime it pays to make sure your computer security is up to scratch these days and not to open e-mails you're not expecting.

E-mails from the PAC are usually sent as plain text, either because we need to contact you about something, or when we update our news feed.

If in doubt, delete it without opening.

PAC Members Forums go live
Posted: 21 Jul 2006 05:57 AM

The PAC's new Message Board has now gone live.

Webmaster Dave Lumb has been building and testing the forums on and off all week. They'll give members a chance to socialise online and also debate the issues facing the pike and pike fishing with committee members.

"If there's one thing pikers like almost as much as pike fishing, it's talking about it," Dave said. "Whether it's a bit of banter or debating the best way to wobble a deadbait, lure fish a river or set up a drifter float.

"As a committee, we're also committed to making the way we run the PAC as open and transparent as we can, and giving members the chance to have their say on the important issues of the day."

The board has a selection of forums on both general pike fishing and more specialised aspects of the sport. There are also sections for those who want to discuss some of the politcal issues affecting pike fishing, raise matters with the committee or individual officers, or even talk about some of the wildlife you get to see out piking.

All PAC members are welcome to join. You'll have to use your real name to post, which will be checked against our membership records.

Log onto www.pacgb.com to access it. Follow the link to the message board, which you can sign up to using your name and PAC membership number as your password.

There will be a short delay before your registration is confirmed by e-mail.
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PAC on tour at summer country fairs
Posted: 16 Jul 2006 06:35 AM

The PAC roadshow will be spreading the word at two major country fairs this summer.

We'll be at the CLA Game Fair at Broadlands, Romsey, Hants; from Friday, July 28 - Sunday, July 30.

We'll also be attending the Fenland Fair at Stow-cum-Quy, Cambs, on Saturday, August 27 and Sunday, August 28.

All pike anglers more than welcome to to come along and visit our stand for a chat about the PAC.

We'll also have PAC products and non members can join on the stand.

Home-tied fly fools Chew Valley 30
Posted: 15 Jul 2006 11:38 AM

A magnificent 30 from Chew Valley Reservoir has fallen to a home-tied fly.

South Wales-based Roger Barnes nailed all 30lbs 2oz of it on a 4/0 white bucktail, after a spectacular take almost under his rod tip.

Engineer Roger's previous best was a 21 from Llandegfedd, near his Glascoed home.

Speaking of his new PB, he told FISHINGmagic: “I fished from a boat and the big pike took my fly on my second cast of the day as I was about to lift the fly out of the water.

"I saw everything from it's mouth opening, gills flaring, etc, to the moment its great jaws closed over the fly."

For the full story, go to www.fishingmagic.com/news/article/mps/UAN/4161/v/1/

Eel be going soon - last of Fen netsmen retires
Posted: 15 Jul 2006 09:32 AM

Sid Merry's a familiar face to predator anglers who frequent the Ely Ouse. Now the last licensed eel netter in the Fens says he's hanging his nets up for the last time.

Sid, now 75, told a local paper: "I'm not getting any younger and I am just not getting the quantity of eels I used to, so I don't think I will carry on for much longer.

"At one time I would get a stone or more a day, but this week I have only caught four eels in three days and that is just not enough to keep going."

Eels were once the staple diet of fenfolk. The city of Ely is named after them. But while East Anglia's rivers and drains once teemed with anguilla, the fish which migrate half way around the world to the Sargasso Sea to spawn are in serious decline.

Roswell Pits, where Sid paid £1.50 a week to set his nets, is also up for sale. Agents say housing and a marina could be built on part of the site.

PAC launches legal bid for Abberton papers
Posted: 15 Jul 2006 07:13 AM

The PAC has launched a legal bid to obtain internal documents concerning the future of fishing at Abberton Reservoir.

An application has been made to Essex and Suffolk Water under new Environmental Information laws designed to make utilities and public bodies more accountable.

We've asked for copies of all internal reports and correspondance, including e-mails, leading up to a meeting on June 12, when anglers were told the future of fishing on this historically important pike water was uncertain.

The water company has 20 days in which to respond.

Buller's Irish retreat goes up for sale
Posted: 12 Jul 2006 08:26 AM

A unique piece of pike fishing history in the West of Ireland has gone on sale.

Fred Buller's cottage retreat for more than 30 years, close to Lough Mask, is on the market for 195,000 Euros.

The two-bed cottage at Ballinrobe, Co Mayo, boasts a boat store, rod and tackle room and peat house, as well
as central heating and double glazing.

"It's real a wrench to sell it, I've spent a long time staring into a peat fire with good friends and a good drop," Fred said.

"Fred J Taylor, Hugh Falkus - even Ted Hughes, the late Poet Laureate, called in with his son once because his son was keen on pike fishing.

"Bill Giles stayed here, the famous Norfolk pike fisherman. He was a very good pike fisherman, he's in his 90s now.

"The Revd Edward Alston was another great friend of mine, holder of the rudd and tench records at the same time."

Legendary author Fred, whose meticulously-reasearched Pike and his Domesday Book of Mammoth Pike inspired generations of pikers, turns 80 this year. He said his advancing years were behind his decision to sell up.

"I've had it for 32 years now and I enjoy fishing all the loughs of Ireland, because I'm fishing for wild fish, which is what makes me tick whether it's pike, trout, sea-trout or salmon.

"But Lough Mask, in particular, can be dangerous. You have to be able to move around the boat quickly if a wind gets up or you see a rock or something."

While he has now sold his boats, Fred hopes to continue fishing with a ghilly.

For more information on the property, email patkilleen@eircom.net

Abberton expansion latest
Posted: 11 Jul 2006 04:31 PM

Documents sent to the PAC show how Essex and Suffolk Water plans to elbow anglers out of Abberton.

Water chiefs want to extend the size of the reservoir, to boost water supplies for drought-hit Essex.

But the plan includes increasing the amount of water pumped from the Ely Ouse via the Cut-Off.

And there are concerns this could harm the ecology of Fen drains like the Delph, Old Bedford and Well Creek, as envrionmental studies show their lower reaches could become silted-up or saline.

The PAC was first called in by members who feared fishing at Abberton was under threat.

Minutes of a meeting sent to the club show ESW wants fishing to stop at the reservoir once work on enlarging it begins, in 2009.

But while the scheme is due to complete in 2014, ESW propose pike anglers should stay away for a further five years, to allow bankside vegetation to recover.

After that, it says the Government's wildlife quango English Nature ahould be consulted over whether or not fishing should be allowed to resume.

The PAC has tonight made a request for all documents, correspdance and background documents under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

While the water company stresses the reservoir's importance for over-wintering migratory birds, it is quite open about the fact it wants to make the reservoir more attractive to birds, in documents seen by the PAC.

Anglers and environmentalists in other areas affected by the scheme are fearful for its impact on Fen drains like the Delph and Old Bedford.

Reduced flows in the tidal Ouse increase the risk of saline incursion into both waters.

And if Denver Sluice can not be kept clear of silt, winter run-offs will be channelled through the Relief Channel, where fisheries scientists say strong flows have sucked whole year classes of fish out to sea.

PAC secretary Mark Barrett last night addressed a meeting of the Lower Ouse and Fenland Fisheries and Angling Colsultative (LOFFAC).

It was the first some representatives of it 16 member clubs had heard of the Abberton abstraction scheme.

The PAC will campaign hard on this issue, but we need your help.

We need anyone who's ever fished any of the waters concerned to get in touch.

We also need to hear from anyone who is in a fishing club on waters affected by this - Great Ouse, Little Ouse, Lark, Wissey, Cam, Delph, Old Bedford - to get in touch. All will be affected if this scheme gets the go-ahead.

PAC obtains privileged access to two scottish lochs
Posted: 10 Jul 2006 12:14 PM

Special events organiser Mark Skinner has secured privileged access to two more waters in Scotland.

Butterstone Loch near Dunkeld, Perthshire, is close to the River Tay and surrounded by some stunning Scottish scenery. It's also home to pike to 30lbs-plus.

Officially the pike fishing season on Butterstone opens on November 12. But we have been given a privileged access day on Sunday, November 5.

Loch Fitty is three miles north-east of Dunfermline, Fife. It's a 170-acre shallow, fetile naturally-formed loch, containing most coarse fish and of course pike.

We've secured access on Sunday, March 5 - the day after our last Menteith event.

For more details on the numbers of places, ticket prices and draw for places, see Pikelines.

Pikers battle to stop Scottish pike killers
Posted: 10 Jul 2006 09:48 AM

Pikers north of the border are making headway in the fight to stop the thoughtless slaughter of pike on a scottish loch.

Earlier this year Scott Davidson, PAC liaison officer for Scotland, was given horrific evidence of fish being killed and left to rot on the banks.

They included almost 50 fish of all sizes, including pike of 15lb and 19lb left hanging by their gill covers from a tree and a twenty thrown in the bushes.

The water concerned - which can not be named at this point in time - has a rule that all pike under 20" must be removed.

It also stages a monthly pike fishing competition, with a shield awarded to whoever catches the most over the season.

Scott believes all fish caught in the event were being disposed of.

"Over the years there has always been a problem on this basis, but this year seems to be worse than ever and getting out of hand," he said.

"The balance of pike in the water has now been damaged to a great extent. There has been an explosion of jack pike, and who knows what long term damage will have been done here."

Scott consulted both the Ayrshire Region of the PAC and the Glasgow Branch of the Pike Anglers Alliance for Scotland for advice on the best way forward, along with the PAC committee.

It was agreed to start off with a low key approach of local anglers writing letters complaining at the carnage.

Within weeks, the secretary of the controlling club and its bailiff had agreed to deal with the unacceptable behaviour of anglers on their water.

"They've been very co-operative and are keen to reach a positive conclusion," Scott added. "Both these gents now have a copy of pike in your waters which has been a big help.

"They are aware of the importance of the balance of pike in the waters, and although they are with me on the subject they both realise and I agree that the biggest hurdle is convincing the members who kill everything they catch."

So far, the club has agreed to put up signs at all access areas stating pike should now be returned, while the bailiff will hand out leaflets when doing his rounds which stress the value of pike to a healthy water.

Most encouraging of all, the rule that all pike under 20" should be killed has been consigned to the history books and all pike must now be returned.

A talk at the annual shield presentation night is also in the offing.

For the full story, watch out for Scott's Scottish Region Report in Pikelines.

Hundreds of lapsed former PAC members are set to receive letters inviting them to rejoin the club.
Nearly 600 people did not renew last October, meaning membership has slumped below the 2,000 mark.
While numbers are now on the up again, membership secretary John Cahill, who is masterminding the recruitment drive, said it was vital people supported the club as it deals with increasingly complex threats to pike fishing.
"A new PAC Committee took over the running of the club in May 2006," he said..
"We are already tackling the threat of further bait bans, translocation issues, culls, the threatened cessation of angling on Abberton Reservoir, the Scottish Fisheries Review, and its implications for both bait and lure anglers.
"Putting it simply, as a former member, we need your support."

Use the link at the top right of this page to choose your prefered subscription method.

The PAC wants to hear from anyone who's fished Abberton Reservoir over the years.
What tiny bank access pikers are allowed on the water looks set to be withdrawn, amid plans to extend the lake and pump millions of gallons of water down to Essex from the Fens.
But as well as the loss of a pike fishery steeped in history, the scheme has major consequences for Fen rivers and drains.
Environmental impact statements obtained by the PAC show the Ely Ouse, Old Bedford River, the Delph and Well Creek could all suffer increased siltation and in some cases increased salt ingress.
"When we started looking into threats to access on a water steeped in pike fishing history, a far bigger picture emerged," a PAC spokesman said.
"These proposals are not only going to affect the few yards of hallowed bank at Abbo, they have far-reaching consequences for Fenland rivers and internationally-important nature reserves like The Wash and Welney Washes."
EA documents show water quality, flow rates, saline ingress and a wide range of habitats could all be affected.
Essex and Suffolk Water claims the scheme will help it meet demand in so-called dry years, with thousands of new homes set to be built in the county.
If you've ever fished Abbo, please e-mail secretary@pacgb.co.uk

Details of the proposals can be viewed here.

Webmaster Dave Lumb has freshened up the look of the PAC website as we prepare to launch a members' forum.
This is the first in a number of improvements planned over the longer-term, when we expect to move increasingly towards communicating with members and the wider predator fishing community online.
One recent change has been to the way we carry live news on the site.

We have added a news feed, which you can sign up to from the site or by visiting http://pacgb.blogspot.com/ and follow the instructions.

The PAC is one of the first angling sites to utilise this technology.There is a rolling news headline from the feed on the PAC homepage which anyone running a regional or personal website is free to include on their site.
Again, instructions for doing this are to be found on the PAC website in the Use of Website Material page.
Why not have a look at the site when you get a minute and let us know what you think. Just click on the PAC logo at the top of this blog.

If you find any broken links or have any other trouble with the site please let Dave know at webmaster@pacgb.com

PAC membership is going on sale in tackle shops, as the club steps up its recruitment drive.
Four shops - all of which will be well-known among the predator fishing community - will try out the idea, before it is rolled out to the trade.
The idea came from Peterborough-based Pike Angler of the Year Rob Christen, a regular at the city's Shelton's tackle shop, which is among the first to take part.
Membership Secretary John Cahill said: "All credit to Rob for coming up with such a good idea.
"You can buy just about everything else you need to go pike fishing in a tackle shop, so why not PAC membership."
Membership of the club is on the up again, the committee heard at a meeting in Cambridge on Saturday.
One of its key pledges at the AGM was that the club would grow in both size and influence.
The club's website currently features a special extended membership offer.

Speakers for the PAC Convention were agreed by the club's committee today.

The theme is unity, as pikers meet for the club's annual conference on the eve of it's 30th anniversary.

PAC president Phil Wakeford has secured speakers from Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England.

Pete Climo, from Wales, will kick off with a look at some of the incredible fish landed during Llandegffedd's heyday, along with more recent experiences fly fishing on Chew.

Ian Forde will cover the Irish angle, in a talk which will be tinged with sadness for many with the recent death of David Overy.

Scott Davidson will focus on his experiences on some Scotland's wild, untamed lochs. The draw for privileged access events on Menteith will also be made at the Convention.

Bill Palmer will finish off the day with My Golden Season. Bill not only found he had more time to go pike fishing the winter aftern he retired. In a winter when some of Norfolk's finest struggled, he banked more than 30 twenties to go with his bus pass.

Piking 2006 is being held on Saturday, September 23, at the Royal Armouries, Leeds.

We are sourcing deals on accommodation and parking - watch this space.

The event is open to all pike anglers - you don't have to be a PAC member to attend.

Other attractions include a mega raffle, tackle stalls, and second-hand gear - as well as the chance to renew aquaintances and meet pike anglers from all over the UK and further afield.

Advance tickets will be on sale shortly, with a £1 discount.

Prices on the day are adult member, £7.50/non-member - £8.50. Up to two juniors (under-16...) per member free admission.

Check website for updates www.pacgb.co.uk

The PAC will be taking up the cudgels for all anglers who fish Abberton Reservoir, after pikers were told to sling their hooks.

Water bosses want to extend the reservoir to ensure water supplies in the drought-hit South east.

They want to raise levels in the reservoir and create a new nature reserve.

But when anglers asked where they would be able to fish once work begins, they were simply told: "You won't..."

The PAC is not only fearful for the impact on those who fish historic Abbo.

A spokesman said: "The scheme has far-reaching implications, as water will be abstracted from the Ely Ouse, via a pumping station on the Cut-Off Channel, in Norfolk.

"And an environmental assessment means flows in the Ouse will be further reduced, increasing siltation around sluices which protect the Old Bedford River, the Delph and Well Creek."

Historic waters are under threat, notwithstanding wider environmental implications. And the PAC is taking up the fight.

Last week's Angling Times reported changes to the way rivers were managed in the Fens had led to whole year classes of fish being sucked out to sea through the sluices in the Relief Channel.

Predators have declined sharply in what were once Premier League fisheries.

The EA claims it can't afford to solve the problem. Yet they're responsible for sorting it out.

"The PAC is engaging MPs and conservation bodies in the areas affected by this, in the hope we'll protect this unique environment," a spokesman for the club said.

A new book which both looks back over the history of the PAC and looks forward to the future is in the pipeline.

The committee has today given the go-ahead for adveritising and promotions manager Mike Kelly and press officer Chris Bishop to come up with a shortlist of content.

"We're going to be looking for the best articles published in Pikelines over the club's 30-year history," Chris said.

"We'll be looking for both the agenda-setting stuff and things we've published over the years which have either captured the mood of pike fishing at the time, or just entertained people."

The book will be in a similar format to the highly-successful Piking Beyond 2000, a sell-out which has now become a collector's item.

"We'd like to hear from people about things they've read in Pikelines which have either changed their fishing over the years, or they've just enjoyed," Chris said.

"I think we're onto a winner here, but we need to know what matters to pike anglers out there to really make it score."

Two of Britain's biggest deadbait suppliers are backing a new Pikemark which lets bait firms show their products come from lawful and sustainable sources.
The initiative is being launched by the Pike Anglers Club, in response to claims that coarse fish were being illegally netted from the Norfolk Broads to supply the deadbait trade.
PAC advertising and promotions manager Mike Kelly said: "We strongly rebutted claims coarse fish were being netted illegally for the deadbait trade when they first appeared in the angling press and other media.
"But it was clear that with bait companies and those who sell or use their products coming under increasing scrutiny, we needed to work more closely with the industry to show that coarse fish are not being stolen wholesale to supply it.
"Anglers can buy bait carrying our Pikemark with confidence, in the knowledge that the PAC has checked out the supply chain to ensure that the bait they are buying comes from a legal and sustainable source."
Commercial confidence means the PAC can't make details of where dealers source their baits from public.
But Mike Kelly said: "We insist on knowing the origins of baits and carrying out background checks before allowing anyone to use our Pikemark.
"This ensures that we meet the needs of pike anglers, bait suppliers and anyone else who is concerned about where deadbaits come from."
Paul Bird, managing director of Grimsby-based Baitbox, said: "We've signed up to the Pikemark because pike fishing is under attack.
"We feel it's important for the tackle trade and the PAC to work together, pike fishing's important to us and being able to use a range of baits, including coarse deads, is important to pike anglers."
In 11 years, Baitbox has expanded to employ six people, who help supply 350 shops and 11 wholesalers around the country.
The firm supplies anglers with eight or nine tonnes of coarse fish a winter, all of which come from a large stillwater where no recreational fishing is allowed and coarse fish are harvested each year.
Neville Fickling, proprietor of Gainsborough-based Lucebaits, said: "I'm endorsing this because I'm a pike angler and I've been a member of the PAC from the beginning."
Lucebaits supplies 60 tackle shops and deals with around a tonne of coarse fish each winter - approximately 10 per cent of its turnover.
These are obtained from a similar sustainable supply to that used by Baitbox. Both firms will be displaying the PAC Pikemark on their packaging this winter.
Mike Kelly said he hoped the rest of the bait industry would follow suit, to show pike anglers' baits came from legal and sustainable sources.
"Baitbox and Lucebaits have shown the way by signing up," he added. "We'd be happy to hear from any other companies interested in finding out more about the scheme."

Confusion surrounded Scotland's proposed new fisheries laws today, after the draft bill which has been laid before MPs appeared to stop short of a total ban on livebaits.

Proposals similar to the Section 30 legislation which exists in England and Wales are incorporated into the draft Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill.

The apparent U-turn comes after calls for a blanket ban on the use of livebait, to prevent the movement of non-indigenous species, and fears Scottish legislators would follow the example of the North West bylaws in Britain, which ban the use of all coarse baits on designated lakes.

In an earlier consultation exercises 79% of respondants wanted a livebait ban.

But the draft bill simply states:

Unauthorised introduction of fish into inland waters:

(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if the person intentionally introduces any
live fish or live spawn of any fish into inland waters.

(2) A person shall be guilty of an offence if the person possesses any live fish or
live spawn of any fish with the intention of introducing it into inland waters.

(3) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under this section if— 15

(a) the inland waters concerned constitute or are included in a fish farm, or

(b) the appropriate authority have previously consented in writing.

The PAC is now seeking urgent clarification from the Scottish Executive. Meanwhile, the draft bill is open for public consultation until September 15.

The Scottish Parliament's Environment Committee will then consider the final wording of the document, before MPs get to vote on it later this year.

The deadline for responses is September 15.

They can be e-mailed to: ERDC@scottish.parliament.uk

Letters - maximum four sides of A4 - can also be sent to: Jenny Goldsmith, Assistant Clerk, Environment and Rural Development Committee, Room T1.01, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP.