If I was going to apply the same rule I apply to most sports to myself, I’m a fly fisher.
Allow me to explain that rule.
If you dabble in a sport, be that cycling, running, climbing, or ping pong, you can reasonably claim to be a cyclist, runner, climber, or ping-pong(er?).
I don’t adhere to the idea that you have to regularly practice a sport to be able to become a part of it.
So, going back to the beginning, I’m a fly fisher.
I’m not very good at it mind…
That out the way, I wanted to briefly talk about a frustration I have with fly fishing.
If you visit the Patagonia website or any other site that sells fashionable fly fishing gear you will see big open rivers, abundant with salmon or trout, and some smooth-looking bearded hipster in his 20s – 40’s with a trucker hat and a smile on his face enjoying himself.
I do believe that this probably isn’t too far from the reality in the US and Canada, where you can fish in many rivers without access issues, to my knowledge. I believe in Canada you need to buy a fishing license, much like you do in England and Wales.
Where I get frustrated with fly fishing in England is this: Cost.
I’m a HUGE advocate that the outdoors needs to be accessible to all. accessibility should be on a cost basis, as the first point of access, but also a transport, and community level.
The issue with fly fishing here starts with the basic cost – the cost of access to rivers and streams where you can legally fly fish.
Most English waterways are privately owned, and although footpaths run down the spines of many rivers, access to the water is prohibited. Wild swimmers know this well, with the activity known for its need to frequently trespass.
But for trespassing, you get a slap on the wrist and told to move on.
Whereas fishing in England’s rivers and streams without permission from the landowner makes you a poacher – a thief. Even if you catch and release.
That’s all fine, and I respect the legality behind anti-poaching laws. However when the cost to access the rivers is so high, straight away it rules out anyone below a certain income bracket.
Fly fishing access to private stretches of river can cost anywhere from £60 per month.
£60 a month! That’s a lot to spend on access to the countryside.
My gripe here is that access to the UK’s waterways is broken. We need to move towards open-access waterways. Still with a reasonable level of control over them, and a need to register permits, but away from the privatised fishing industry we currently exist within.