I can think of at least one place where stock levels must be right at the edge of a disaster, where you need enough keepnets to fill half a van if you land on the right peg, that's just madness.
Spot on, we've been telling this to our members for ages and finally, we are netting our lake to remove the masses of small fish this year. But not restocking. Great video and thanks for your advice.
Ben, you put it across so well, and your 110% correct. Your message to me is, you care about the stock and want to regulate before somebody regulates us. Never understood? Match fishing is about beating others in the match. What's better, come second in a match with 260 pounds of fish or first with 25 pound of fish. And if stocks were lower, we would see a lot fewer fish with ripped off lips. From conveyor belt fishing.
I absolutely agree. I find fishing at some match venues quite depressing, the fish just aren't that healthy, so I very rarely go to those places any more.
It's such a shame! No fishery manager means to be causing fish such stress, it's just a lack of knowledge and experience. The whole reason for this video, to try and open eyes and let them see it from another prospective. 😁
Excellent video, finally someone talks about this. I agree 100% with what you said. Here in Slovenia, there are also many waters in which, in my opinion, too many fish are stocked in certain waters every year (mainly stocking with carp). In recent years, I prefer to go fishing in non-commercial waters, because what has become of these commercial waters in the last few years is no longer fishing for me.
At last someone from fishery management speaking out, I was involved with creating fisheries, stocking and maintenance and the constant moaning of not enough fish, I gave up and moved on, now everyone moans about the fish conditions?
All the barbless, grey watered, treeless, nod holes disgust me. I'd much rather fish 30 acres for 5 carp than bag up a load of mouthless, battered F1'S I really don't understand the appeal of hook a duck and generally find most dedicated matchmen to be rambling old gambling addicts.
The modern infatuation and increasing desire for Carp and F1s to fill kerpnets with huge weights is a problem. Fisheries who net Silvers out to make more space for Carp doesn't make sense from a balanced perspective. No pool full of F1s or Carp will be in good condition or in a state of balance. Many fisheries are merely Carp holding facilities no different to a linered pond in someones back garden, just bigger with paying people many of which have never experienced the amazing variety Angling has to offer. It saddens me that this is what we create to pass on to our younger generation. Not all fisheries have fell foul of this Viral Carp thing but the majority have and its so wrong and needs rewinding to make other species more fun, important and normal rather than filling a net full of mutants.
The way the match anglers treat the fish during weigh ins knocks me sick, couple that with an over stocked venue and poor management = lots of problems, ok keep your stocks up but regular netting’s and water quality checks are a must, I honestly believe half these owners and there bailiffs have zero fishery management quals
Well said. Stop stocking carp. Stick with silvers. A match winning weight of 20lbs should be the aim. 100lbs and 200 lbs of tame carp that are caught three times a week is, quite simply, obscene.
It'll never happen with the state the EA is in but we need more regulation within the coarse fishing industry to ensure waters and their stock are kept to an acceptable standard. It's animal cruelty for profit to put it bluntly, no other livestock practice is so unregulated and it's about time things changed to save us from ourselves.
In the KOI world, you control density by culling fry, but don't you do to select for better individuals, such as those with superior body shape or well-lined scales?
Absolutely! Selecting for better individuals with superior body shape and well-lined scales is a common practice in the KOI world. It helps to maintain and improve the overall quality of the fish.
@@BPMilling Single-coloured varieties close to the original species, such as DOITSU CHAGOI and DOITSU KARASHIGOI, will have approximately the same culling criteria as Common Carp. These have been bred to be over 1 metre in size in recent years, and could they be converted to fishing use?
Fisheries have a lot to answer for. Both match and specimen. The latter eridicates all other species and ecosystems for the benefit of what is essentially a invasive species. I look at you average carp fishery and just see a once healthy ecosystem that has been systematically turned into a mono culture. Even the water is blue, might as well be sitting by your bath.
Hi Ben, whilst you are probably right in some circumstances. I don’t believe the well run commercial fisheries do as you suggest. My experience in running club waters would suggest the bigger problem is with these clubs where the pressure on the committee is always to stock to commercial densities but without the knowledge and experience you have highlighted. Good commercial waters would soon fold if they all did what you suggest.
Greatest of respect and thank you for your comment but i'm not sure I understand you? Am I right that you agree with what I'm saying, but not what I suggested? Not sure I understand why commercials would fold either? Constant re-stocking is costly, whereas cropping fish is an income generating practice if you position yourself well in the market and keep a good fish health status to allow you to re-home your surplus fish. A healthy fishery will yield growing fish with a high level of recruitment, so the biomass will natural increase, even without food. So every year the biomass needs to be understood and corrected for another problem free summer, but instead of doing that, most match fisheries will add to the stock. Even explaining it is increasing my blood pressure. 😂 All fishery managers mean well and want the best for their fish, so it's just naivity and inexperience that's behind the decision making. That's the reason for the video, to try and explain it from a different angle and compare it to other livestock practices.
@@BPMilling Hi, thanks for the reply. I am agreeing with your thoughts but saying (rather badly) that not all commercial fisheries are the same. The good and successful fisheries net and move /sell fish around their estate. My experience with club management is similar to what you described. Club secretaries are under more pressure to stock than fishery owners, don’t have the experience and tend to over stock as you suggest. Keep the debate going as more people need to hear the message
There's never been a truer word said mate! 😂 How many fish do predators eat? It's impossible to know. So it's important to carry out population surveys, in most cases annually if you want to make the most of every growing season. Stocking fish willy nilly to combat predation is just a stab in the dark, an expensive one at that! If the birds are predating on juvenile fish, then the more mature fish will grow into the space created by predators anyway. The biomass is always increasing, if it's not then there's a problem to investigate! 😬
I can think of at least one place where stock levels must be right at the edge of a disaster, where you need enough keepnets to fill half a van if you land on the right peg, that's just madness.
Spot on, we've been telling this to our members for ages and finally, we are netting our lake to remove the masses of small fish this year. But not restocking. Great video and thanks for your advice.
Have not even finished watching. Spot on. Keep plugging this message.
Ben, you put it across so well, and your 110% correct. Your message to me is, you care about the stock and want to regulate before somebody regulates us. Never understood? Match fishing is about beating others in the match. What's better, come second in a match with 260 pounds of fish or first with 25 pound of fish. And if stocks were lower, we would see a lot fewer fish with ripped off lips. From conveyor belt fishing.
I absolutely agree. I find fishing at some match venues quite depressing, the fish just aren't that healthy, so I very rarely go to those places any more.
It's such a shame! No fishery manager means to be causing fish such stress, it's just a lack of knowledge and experience. The whole reason for this video, to try and open eyes and let them see it from another prospective. 😁
Excellent video, finally someone talks about this. I agree 100% with what you said. Here in Slovenia, there are also many waters in which, in my opinion, too many fish are stocked in certain waters every year (mainly stocking with carp). In recent years, I prefer to go fishing in non-commercial waters, because what has become of these commercial waters in the last few years is no longer fishing for me.
Your passion shines through Ben - Keep spreading your messages 👍
Always appreciate your kind comments Gordon, Wishing you all the best for 2024! Love seeing your social media posts of your stock, i'm watching! 😜
At last someone from fishery management speaking out, I was involved with creating fisheries, stocking and maintenance and the constant moaning of not enough fish, I gave up and moved on, now everyone moans about the fish conditions?
Brilliant video, thank you
All the barbless, grey watered, treeless, nod holes disgust me. I'd much rather fish 30 acres for 5 carp than bag up a load of mouthless, battered F1'S I really don't understand the appeal of hook a duck and generally find most dedicated matchmen to be rambling old gambling addicts.
I gave up match fishing when it all went over to these holes in the late 90s. They’re horrible .
5 star video as always you can feel the compassion 👌
Love the video Ben. Nice one and makes complete sense as ever.
The modern infatuation and increasing desire for Carp and F1s to fill kerpnets with huge weights is a problem. Fisheries who net Silvers out to make more space for Carp doesn't make sense from a balanced perspective.
No pool full of F1s or Carp will be in good condition or in a state of balance.
Many fisheries are merely Carp holding facilities no different to a linered pond in someones back garden, just bigger with paying people many of which have never experienced the amazing variety Angling has to offer.
It saddens me that this is what we create to pass on to our younger generation.
Not all fisheries have fell foul of this Viral Carp thing but the majority have and its so wrong and needs rewinding to make other species more fun, important and normal rather than filling a net full of mutants.
The way the match anglers treat the fish during weigh ins knocks me sick, couple that with an over stocked venue and poor management = lots of problems, ok keep your stocks up but regular netting’s and water quality checks are a must, I honestly believe half these owners and there bailiffs have zero fishery management quals
Well said. Stop stocking carp. Stick with silvers. A match winning weight of 20lbs should be the aim. 100lbs and 200 lbs of tame carp that are caught three times a week is, quite simply, obscene.
It'll never happen with the state the EA is in but we need more regulation within the coarse fishing industry to ensure waters and their stock are kept to an acceptable standard. It's animal cruelty for profit to put it bluntly, no other livestock practice is so unregulated and it's about time things changed to save us from ourselves.
Completely agree with this!
In the KOI world, you control density by culling fry, but don't you do to select for better individuals, such as those with superior body shape or well-lined scales?
Absolutely! Selecting for better individuals with superior body shape and well-lined scales is a common practice in the KOI world. It helps to maintain and improve the overall quality of the fish.
@@BPMilling Single-coloured varieties close to the original species, such as DOITSU CHAGOI and DOITSU KARASHIGOI, will have approximately the same culling criteria as Common Carp. These have been bred to be over 1 metre in size in recent years, and could they be converted to fishing use?
Fisheries have a lot to answer for. Both match and specimen. The latter eridicates all other species and ecosystems for the benefit of what is essentially a invasive species. I look at you average carp fishery and just see a once healthy ecosystem that has been systematically turned into a mono culture. Even the water is blue, might as well be sitting by your bath.
Hi Ben, whilst you are probably right in some circumstances. I don’t believe the well run commercial fisheries do as you suggest. My experience in running club waters would suggest the bigger problem is with these clubs where the pressure on the committee is always to stock to commercial densities but without the knowledge and experience you have highlighted.
Good commercial waters would soon fold if they all did what you suggest.
Greatest of respect and thank you for your comment but i'm not sure I understand you? Am I right that you agree with what I'm saying, but not what I suggested?
Not sure I understand why commercials would fold either?
Constant re-stocking is costly, whereas cropping fish is an income generating practice if you position yourself well in the market and keep a good fish health status to allow you to re-home your surplus fish.
A healthy fishery will yield growing fish with a high level of recruitment, so the biomass will natural increase, even without food. So every year the biomass needs to be understood and corrected for another problem free summer, but instead of doing that, most match fisheries will add to the stock. Even explaining it is increasing my blood pressure. 😂
All fishery managers mean well and want the best for their fish, so it's just naivity and inexperience that's behind the decision making. That's the reason for the video, to try and explain it from a different angle and compare it to other livestock practices.
@@BPMilling Hi, thanks for the reply. I am agreeing with your thoughts but saying (rather badly) that not all commercial fisheries are the same. The good and successful fisheries net and move /sell fish around their estate. My experience with club management is similar to what you described. Club secretaries are under more pressure to stock than fishery owners, don’t have the experience and tend to over stock as you suggest.
Keep the debate going as more people need to hear the message
👏🏼
Another fantastic video 😊
God bless you! 😁
All we are doing is playing into the antis hands.
Yeh but comerants otters goosander, s herans don't eat cattle 😮
There's never been a truer word said mate! 😂
How many fish do predators eat? It's impossible to know. So it's important to carry out population surveys, in most cases annually if you want to make the most of every growing season. Stocking fish willy nilly to combat predation is just a stab in the dark, an expensive one at that!
If the birds are predating on juvenile fish, then the more mature fish will grow into the space created by predators anyway. The biomass is always increasing, if it's not then there's a problem to investigate! 😬