Fishermen! Don't you just love em.

beyond the blue

beyond the blue

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Neil
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I've been having a go at a local magazine photo competition for the last few months. So, I set off at 5am this morning with the winning shot in mind. I walked for 30 minutes through long wet grass to the mist covered lodge, get all set up, framed, focused, waiting for the sun to poke out over a particular tree...5,4,3,2,1.... and then a soddin big silver 4x4 plonks itself right in the middle of the shot:bang:
 
Is this just another fishermans story? Are you sure it was a huge 4x4 or just a Robin Reliant?

I do feel your frustrations at times like these.
 
Did you let rip at him? [IF he saw you shooting that direction that is, most likely he did not] Because if you knelt down beside him to take a shot while he was stalking a catch, and you scared the fish off, he'd probably almost belt you!

And I say this as both photographer and ex-fisherman [gave it up, just couldn't be bothered]
 
Is there no way you couldn't have talked to him and explained and asked him if he minded getting out of the way for a while?
He may well tell you to get lost but worth asking isn't it?
 
I was going to say similar, but he says he was counting down to the sun being in a specific spot against a tree - the moment had passed I think.
 
Cagey75 said:
I was going to say similar, but he says he was counting down to the sun being in a specific spot against a tree - the moment had passed I think.
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Yep! Well passed. They were on the other side of the narrow lodge and had as much right to be there as me. They were two nice guys and were surprised to see me crawl out of the long grass.:D
 
It's just bad luck, it happens us all. I remember a few years back, and yup, I still remember vividly - headed off down the river for a long cycle with the camera, only had a bridge at the time and was trying to learn a little of everything concerning light - Anyway, got to a lovely spot a few km down river, and the sun began to drop, right over the river bend, casting a beautiful orange glow across it - I settled in to take the shot and .... Durrrrrr ... battery died. Lens backed it's way inside the body and said night, night.

I still see that shot in my head :(

And now I alwas bring spare batteries :D
 
I like fishermen - they catch fish for me to eat!

I'm less fond of anglers unless they catch to eat (which makes them fishermen IMO!) in which case, see above. Did have one pole angler look me straight in the eye as I was cycling along a cycle path alongside the canal then pulled the pole back across the path. VERY satisfying crunch as I rode over it!
 
Nod said:
I like fishermen - they catch fish for me to eat!

I'm less fond of anglers unless they catch to eat (which makes them fishermen IMO!) in which case, see above. Did have one pole angler look me straight in the eye as I was cycling along a cycle path alongside the canal then pulled the pole back across the path. VERY satisfying crunch as I rode over it!
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I'm sure he was very pleased at the destruction of a section of what could well have been a £1000 section, it's possible he was seeing if you had time to stop, as he needed to pull in his pole for another reason you were not aware of? The last sentence shows your actions were a bit childish at best :(
 
MWHCVT said:
I'm sure he was very pleased at the destruction of a section of what could well have been a £1000 section, it's possible he was seeing if you had time to stop, as he needed to pull in his pole for another reason you were not aware of? The last sentence shows your actions were a bit childish at best :(
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As someone who fishes and cycles, I would definitely have made sure the towpath was clear when a cyclist was coming. I see no point in deliberately antagonising other people, but I see a lot of antagonism on a daily basis.
If the pole angler wishes to think he has a right to obstruct other people, then he must face the consequences - not everyone backs down to appease "bullying".;)
 
Nod said:
I like fishermen - they catch fish for me to eat!

I'm less fond of anglers unless they catch to eat (which makes them fishermen IMO!) in which case, see above. Did have one pole angler look me straight in the eye as I was cycling along a cycle path alongside the canal then pulled the pole back across the path. VERY satisfying crunch as I rode over it!
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MWHCVT said:
I'm sure he was very pleased at the destruction of a section of what could well have been a £1000 section, it's possible he was seeing if you had time to stop, as he needed to pull in his pole for another reason you were not aware of? The last sentence shows your actions were a bit childish at best :(
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Meh....

I've had people do that across me years ago, it used to be so they could stop you and give you a load of verbal abuse about not being aloud to ride on the canal toe paths. Which once resulted in an argument, with me showing some guy my license from British Waterways (as it was back then), him grabbing it and throwing it in the canal

From this point onwards, if there was a fishing pole in my way I used shout "I'm not stopping!" and continue along at 25mph. You'd be surprised how quickly they move...... And if they don't, it's a gamble as to whether your bunnyhop clears the pole or crushes it.

As someone who fished the canals as a child, I never understood the need for a fishing pole that stretched twice the width of the canal and was inevitably left protruding 8ft behind them and into a hedge.

Always tended to be the "old boys" that gave me trouble, but with more adult bikers (and families) using the canals now, they seem to have moved on. Now they either stand on MTB trails and try to stop mountain bikers there, or they setup wire traps at neck height and dig holes filled with sharpened sticks (covered in bracken to hide them).
 
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He was being an ass and the towpath is a cycle path which he's not allowed to obstruct. Had I had time to stop safely, I might have but his attitude was defi(a)n(i)tly deliberately antagonistic so I didn't.
 
Bit harsh to say that without reason! People just give their opinions, like anywhere ... You can disagree, but flaming from the off! Bit harsh ..

On the angler v [true] fisherman point, I totally agree. I can't standthose guys who have way more gear than sense and never even keep their catch!

Fishing is a hobby, a break, an enjoyment, but also a good way to feed yer family. We used to make a right day of it, light fires on remote, safe areas, cook up grub, have a few bevvies, anyone was welcome. We never tried to 'claim' any area of bank. if a farmer or landowner came along and moved us along, we'd go, no question. but 9/10 they would stay and have a sambo and mug of tay with us, and wish us luck with the catch. Even ask if we'd give them a trout or eel on the way back if we done well.

There was a real comradery about it. I remember pulling in our lines to allow boats to pass, and the guy's on the boats throwing beers out to us, ice cold :)

And I'm not an oul' lad like! It's not that long back.

Why these course fishermen have that way, trying to claim the banks, filling it with over priced poles and nets and trailors to carry their gear - and then to throw all the fish back in!?

Different strokes ..
 
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I don't come in to disagree, just give my own ;) But slating people as an opinion is a little rough, no?
 
I cycle a lot (on the road) and I wish it was only fishing poles I had to worry about but that is a another subject...
 
Cagey75 said:
I can't standthose guys who have way more gear than sense and never even keep their catch!
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Like there aren't people who have more camera gear than sense who spend more time obsessing over lens sharpness than taking photographs... :D
 
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ernesto said:
I cycle a lot (on the road) and I wish it was only fishing poles I had to worry about but that is a another subject...
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I mostly avoid roads, my bike wasn't really built for road use, full suspension + hills = killer, off-road is fine, but on road there's a pressure to keep up a good pace. I prefer to drive to locations with the bike in the car.

But I took a ride down the canals on Sunday, 6 miles, then looped back down the same road I used to cycle on 15 years ago (to my first job), it was not a pleasant experience. I don't know if I was just oblivious to it years ago, I'd say 95% of drivers were fine, but some seemed to have a "let's scare the cyclist, they don't pay road tax!!" attitude to them.
 
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And just in case it starts anyone off, Road tax hasn't existed since the 1930s when Churchill got rid of it so nobody actually pays road tax :)
 
ernesto said:
And just in case it starts anyone off, Road tax hasn't existed since the 1930s when Churchill got rid of it so nobody actually pays road tax :)
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On the other hand I have two cars and pay £200+ VED on both of them, so yeah a really dumb argument drivers use to justify trying to kill cyclists.
 
Lyonspride said:
Meh....
From this point onwards, if there was a fishing pole in my way I used shout "I'm not stopping!" and continue along at 25mph. You'd be surprised how quickly they move......
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Now I'm not much of a cyclist but sharing a canal path with pedestrians and all sorts of users and hurtling along at 25 mph on a pushbike seems a tad fast for the conditions. Would the attitude be the same for approaching a family having a walk along the canal path with kids running around?
You and your bike would definitely end up in the canal approaching me in that manner.

Whatever happened to the liesurely cycle ride? It seems these days a lot of cyclists must ride hell for leather regardless of their surroundings.
 
I believe towpaths are owned by British waterways and you used to have to have a permit to cycle on them, don't know if thats still the case.
 
Lyonspride said:
But I took a ride down the canals on Sunday, 6 miles, then looped back down the same road I used to cycle on 15 years ago (to my first job), it was not a pleasant experience. I don't know if I was just oblivious to it years ago, I'd say 95% of drivers were fine, but some seemed to have a "let's scare the cyclist, they don't pay road tax!!" attitude to them.
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There are now a lot more drivers, and a lot more cyclists, any many of both take the view that 'Right of Way' and 'Consideration for other road users' means they have right of way, and other road users should be considerate of them!

There are drivers who need to be more aware of cyclists, but also cyclists who need to be more aware of drivers - and help provide opportunities for cars to overtake in a safe manner - because otherwise some drivers will just get frustrated, and overtake the next 10 cyclists when there's not really enough space.
 
Faldrax said:
- and help provide opportunities for cars to overtake in a safe manner - because otherwise some drivers will just get frustrated, and overtake the next 10 cyclists when there's not really enough space.
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The fact that some drivers get frustrated and then dangerously overtake into blind corners, oncoming cars etc,. is their own issue (and evidence they shouldn't really be driving).
We all share the roads and I am not going to be stopping or riding 2 inches away from the edge of the road to save a driver a minute on their journey.
 
frank said:
Now I'm not much of a cyclist but sharing a canal path with pedestrians and all sorts of users and hurtling along at 25 mph on a pushbike seems a tad fast for the conditions. Would the attitude be the same for approaching a family having a walk along the canal path with kids running around?
You and your bike would definitely end up in the canal approaching me in that manner.

Whatever happened to the liesurely cycle ride? It seems these days a lot of cyclists must ride hell for leather regardless of their surroundings.
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25mph is the speed required to get both wheels safely over a fishing pole with a low bunnyhop (less chance of a crash). 15-20 is a normal speed, I have hydraulic disk brakes so I can slow down extremely quickly, pedestrians are not normally an issue if you give advanced warning of approach, but there are two hazards/exceptions:

1) You may get the occasional "old boy" that stands there with his arms out wide trying to stop you (though I had this more often as a teenager).

2) You may get a group of undesirables hell bent on trying to steal your bike.

For both of these the only deterrent is speed.

swanseamale47 said:
I believe towpaths are owned by British waterways and you used to have to have a permit to cycle on them, don't know if thats still the case.
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It's now the "Canals & Rivers Trust" and I don't think there's a licence any more. BUT they took over in 2012 and will probably start trying to make money from the canals somehow. So who knows?
 
beyond the blue said:
Yep! Well passed. They were on the other side of the narrow lodge and had as much right to be there as me. They were two nice guys and were surprised to see me crawl out of the long grass.:D
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They probably started a thread on an anglers forum... Photogrpahers! Don't you just love em... there we where setting up and...
 
Lyonspride said:
25mph is the speed required to get both wheels safely over a fishing pole with a low bunnyhop (less chance of a crash).
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Going wildly off topic but you need to practise your bunny hops! You should be able to get over a fishing pole at 5 mph. At 25 mph I can completely clear cattle grids on my road bike...
 
ernesto said:
The fact that some drivers get frustrated and then dangerously overtake into blind corners, oncoming cars etc,. is their own issue (and evidence they shouldn't really be driving).
We all share the roads and I am not going to be stopping or riding 2 inches away from the edge of the road to save a driver a minute on their journey.
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I'm not suggesting you should ride 2" from the kerb - but on a well maintained road, where it is safe to cycle 1' from the kerb (and by doing so allow cars to overtake while giving the cyclist a wide berth) then to cycle 6' from the kerb is not 'sharing the road'.

The key is that ALL road users should consider how their use of the road affects others.
 
ernesto said:
Going wildly off topic but you need to practise your bunny hops! You should be able to get over a fishing pole at 5 mph. At 25 mph I can completely clear cattle grids on my road bike...
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I don't like big airtime bunnyhops, not along canal toe paths.

Faldrax said:
I'm not suggesting you should ride 2" from the kerb - but on a well maintained road, where it is safe to cycle 1' from the kerb (and by doing so allow cars to overtake while giving the cyclist a wide berth) then to cycle 6' from the kerb is not 'sharing the road'.

The key is that ALL road users should consider how their use of the road affects others.
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"Safe" is whatever it needs to be. Normal road it's 2 inches from the storm drains (you really don't want to get a wheel twisted up in one of those).

Then there are potholes, parked cars and pinch points, at which time i'd signal right and take primary position (middle of the lane) until I'm past the hazards.

I'm not going to pass parked cars in the door zone and I'm not going to let some fool overtake me through a pinch point. I don't give a damn if that "affects" anyone, it's about survival.
 
When I used to 'go fishing' many years ago I used to treat it like a sport rather than a food source. I enjoyed my time and tried my hardest to leave with exactly the same as I went with and not leaving any tangled tackle for birds to try and eat. I also tried to make sure I kept everything close by so as not to cause any hazards to anyone else. I find it rather narrow minded that people say you should eat what you catch to make a real fisherman. Maybe I was being ecological before it became PC. I also think that the riverbank, towpaths etc should be for the use of everyone and deliberately not stopping and damaging other peoples property because of the way he 'looked at you' is pretty pathetic. Lets hope nobody manages to knock your camera out of your hand while 'hareing' along on his bike next time thinking it'd be a bit of a laugh to do so with a big smirk on his face.

The only things that really annoys me about cyclists these days is when they go straight through a red light and then abuse the motorist who has to slam the brakes on and nearly hits them as though it was all the motorists fault for driving through a green light in the first place. The other is when they ride in the road when there is a perfectly good cycle path about 12 inches away from them. It happens a lot on the road into the village I live in and got caught behind a long trail of traffic the other week behind a guy slowly pedaling down the road and weaving all over

As for the OP, it was just a matter of fate that construed to be against you, I've been in the same position a few times and there's not an awful lot you can do about it. Had you been closer and been able to catch their attention I'm sure they would of moved had you asked them.
 
Faldrax said:
I'm not suggesting you should ride 2" from the kerb - but on a well maintained road, where it is safe to cycle 1' from the kerb (and by doing so allow cars to overtake while giving the cyclist a wide berth) then to cycle 6' from the kerb is not 'sharing the road'.

The key is that ALL road users should consider how their use of the road affects others.
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It is never safe to cycle 1' from the kerb as it gives you no room to move to left if required. Sharing the road means cyclists are treated the same as another car. If you want to overtake me you have to think carefully about oncoming cars, blind bends etc,. just as you would if overtaking a slow moving vehicle such as a small tractor.

A cyclist has a hell of a lot more to lose than a car driver if the worst happens and the worst only happens if the driver is impatient.
 
modchild said:
deliberately not stopping and damaging other peoples property because of the way he 'looked at you' is pretty pathetic.
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My reading of the post was that the angler deliberately threw his line in front of the cyclist. That's extremely dangerous and - if there was an intent to injure - constitutes criminal assault. If the worst that happened was a broken rod he got off lightly.
 
Can I just rewind this thread...


People saying it's okay to destroy a piece of fishing tackle that's worth several thousand pound because they feel it's okay to be vindictive because the angler was seemingly awkward? Yes, there are some anglers who like to be awkward towards other members of the public, getting riled by the mere presence of someone near them while fishing. But it's not a reason to lower yourself to their level. Likewise, there are cyclists and joggers who seem to think that their pursuit of fitness gives them some right to ignore those around them, smashing into expensive kit without a care.

Also, taking fish is not the done thing. I don't know the specific legalities but there is a massive programme of education undertaken by the EA and various angling bodies and clubs to dissuade the taking of fish to be eaten.

I've read some moronic comments on TP over the years and some of what's been spouted in this thread are classics.
 
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specialman said:
Can I just rewind this thread...

People saying it's okay to destroy a piece of fishing tackle that's worth several thousand pound because they feel it's okay to be vindictive because the angler was seemingly awkward? Yes, there are some anglers who like to be awkward towards other members of the public, getting riled by the mere presence of someone near them while fishing. But it's not a reason to lower yourself to their level. Likewise, there are cyclists and joggers who seem to think that their pursuit of fitness gives them some right to ignore those around them, smashing into expensive kit without a care.

Also, taking fish is not the done thing. I don't know the specific legalities but there is a massive programme of education undertaken by the EA and various angling bodies and clubs to dissuade the taking of fish to be eaten.

I've read some moronic comments on TP over the years and some of what's been spouted in this thread are classics.
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Indeed Pat, hope your settling in well at your new job and enjoying it :)
 
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