Canoe License?

[corsican dave]

Never had an issue on the Tay with any canoeists and I've fished it a fair bit in my life.

generally speaking Jim, that's bang on. the canoeists aren't the problem.

one of the commercial rafting companies down there is taking the p*%# though, and that's threatening the whole thing. unfortunately most anglers lump them all (kayakers,canoeists, rafters, private individuals, commercial companies)literally, in the same boat!

it's sort of understandable i guess, as most hill-walkers seeing one of us with a fishing rod wouldn't necessarily make any distinction between our approach and the lager swilling neds they see parked in lay-bys with bait fishing rigs.

unless we can all make strides towards breaking down the barriers and speaking with a common voice as fellow outdoors enthusiasts, i suspect that Fred's vision of the future may not be as far-fetched as we'd like to believe

[corsican dave]

i rather liked this road sign from spain:

[Wildfisher]

This is a great post and affects most of the big river fishers. On Tweed I come across canoeists and they have always acknowledged my presence and sometimes stopped for a wee blether.We all have to live and allow others to enjoy their pastimes.

Bob, I often met canoeists on The Don. Without exception they were polite and considerate. I guess there will be ned canoeists just as there are ned anglers.

[Wildfisher]

That would do for me Dave,but the original post still hasn't been answered  :?

I asked it Bob and don't want to answer it myself, but in my opinion it's inevitable especially if a rod license comes into force.

[lochgarryfisher]

It sounds like the old case of the idiot minority ruining it for the majority, my present bug bear is litter, took a drive past Loch Lomond a few weeks ago and what i saw was disgusting and i presume fishermen were responsible for most of it but that is for a different post.
I was fishing the Spey last year in the pool pictured below so ie very wide, i was a few yards from the bank in about one foot of water fishing away when all of a sudden i ended up flying face down in to the water, a canoeist rammed in to me from behind.  I can only think it was deliberate because as you can see the river is plenty wide enough, the canoeist who i never saw because they were 100m away by the time i came up for air and managed to retrive my rod etc could not have known if i was male/female, my age or very elderly etc... imagine if that was an elderly person, it could have ended up very badly!
Anyway, the next day i was in the same pool when 2 canoes came through the pool as i was playing a fish  and shouted out "well done you" or something similar and asked if i needed a hand netting it, i said no ta but the guy shouted back "dont worry i am a fisherman, i wont fu@k it up" anyway they pulled in and watched and we chatted etc and one of them took loads of pics for me and the other one netted it so thank you to those 2 guys whose names i never got.
[attachimg=1][attachimg=2]

But re a canoe license and for that matter a rod license, i would be in favour of it if it could stop instances like the above [including the littering mentioned], i am not saying i think it would totally stop such wa@kers acting like this but could it not help?  Maybe there would be some kind of method of redress/punishment/enforecement or maybe the mere fact that you had to buy a license would weed out the idiot minority?

[sinbad]

That's a terrible way for anyone to act. The ramming if deliberate would be a criminal offense whether they had a license or not and having one would not make them more easily identified. The petrol from their house to river and back for the day would most likely cost more than an annual license so cant see it weeding out many

[corsican dave]

more likely out of control, to be honest. i've seen a lot of people who haven't really got a clue how to handle a canoe and of course the "one-off" users don't have any incentive to learn, either. that's fast water and once you're comitted to a line it doesn't really matter how wide it is. even so, completely wrong on many levels; no whistle or shouted warning, no attempt to check you were okay. licence nos. for boats? numbers on vests for anglers? tricky one.

[Wildfisher]

more likely out of control, to be honest.

That's what it sounds like to me, but on the wider point of  licenses controlling idiots that is certainly the road we appear to be on in Scotland. Cast the net wide.  Quite worrying really.

[Laxdale]

I agree that the canoeist was most likely out of control. I have seen a few that were a danger to themselves, never mind others.
In general, if a rod license is introduced, it seems fair to me that all other users of the wide open spaces should pay for one too.
eg...walkers should pay for the upkeep of paths.
climbers should pay to get rescued when they go climbing in dangerous weather.

[Wildfisher]

I think that's where we are heading Gordon.