Numbers down ... and down

[Robbie]

There are few suitable loch near me but I have taken my wee boy to a local rainbow  fishery and hes has had a ball.

In the defence of local clubs there are several offering free / cheap fishing to juniors. Laurencekirk offer free membership up to 15 yoa and Haddo House Angling offer free membership in first year to under 14 then £8.00/yr under 14 and £25/yr for under 16.

One issue that may be impacting uptake of juniors is that in this day and age it is not safe to let kids run free, I would not dream of giving my wee boy the freedom I had at his age. This is not due to the risks of hin hurting himself but the danger possed by strangers.

[free the bees]

I saw a few teenagers spinning for mackerel on the rocks in the summer, but they are the only young 'uns I've seen fishing this year, introducing my grandkids to fishing, they had a ball chasing stuff with a net on Lewis beaches and "helping" granddad landing and releasing wee flounders. I have taken my lads two crab fishing with a line, but they are moving back to England next week. I have some wee rods and reels, so hope to find some fishing somewhere near Perth. Keptie pond used to have local kids fishing on it, but some miserable old scroutem had the council ban fishing there.

When i was younger i used to fish the Perth harbour as a kid and there were loads of kids who would spend the day down there catching flouders, eels and the odd trout.  But like someone has already said, fishing isnt as freely available and even the harbour area has been all fenced off now. 

[Wildfisher]

A serious  question - does it really mater if kids don't go fishing these days when there are lots of other equally good hobbies they can pursue.  Times and interests  do change.

[burnie]

A serious  question - does it really mater if kids don't go fishing these days when there are lots of other equally good hobbies they can pursue.  Times and interests  do change.

I'd base my answer on my experience, fishing took me to loads of places and had me out in all weathers having a great time without causing any serious harm to anyone, or anything. Contrast some of the acquaintance's who don't have the same hobby and they admit that their lives have been less fulfilled on reflection. Some who fished and gave it up express regret now, my other main hobby of wildlife photography came from being at the waterside when younger and an interest in the wildlife grew.

[Wildfisher]

Good points there Richard.

When I was a boy just about all my friends fished. Out of all those I'm still in touch with I'm the only one who still does. That has to say something.

I think we have to accept that there is just far more on offer to take up kid's attention nowadays  and fishing has a lot more competition. We also have to accept that fewer people are comfortable with the ethos of field / blood sports / killing for fun or amusement and that's what fishing is no matter how we like to dress it up.

Some parents will not allow their kids to go fishing or actively discourage them. Blood sports are under very close scrutiny now and the seemingly never ending bad press brought about by illegal killing of protected species by game preservers is not lost on the public. For example the latest mysterious disappearance of yet another 4 rare hen harriers has been all over the news like a rash  today. I first heard about it on the national news this morning. All these sorry events chip away at the foundations and  anyone who thinks they don't is in denial.

At 66 and a lifelong angler I'm questioning how I can justify fishing with all this negative stuff going on. Why would any modern parent not do the same?

[burnie]

Certainly south of the border, angling still has a fair amount of younger participants, particularly in the match fishing fraternity. I guess the perspective is different north of the border as up here angling was very much a fish for the pot, south of the border, if I had eaten some of the fish I caught from rivers and canals, I would have been very ill at best. Pollution and with it the lack of game species after the war years, meant that catch and release is very much a given in England and parts of Wales too. I often get some ribbing when returning sea fish that I do not wish to eat, I prefer to eat my catch fresh, rather than fill the freezer.
So from my point of view, I have never viewed angling as a blood sport, maybe very mis-guided, but it is a view that was very common south of the border during the debates around the time that lead shot was banned as fishing weights.

[Bobfly]

I see trout fishing as much more a pastime rather than any blood sport !

[scobo]

I hardly chap any wild fish these days, maybe one or two a season, if that.
It's all about the take for me now, couldn't care less if they get off. I've seen me cursing at losing fish in the past but not now. I guess that's another thing that changes as you get older.

[Wildfisher]

We used to kill everything we caught above the size limit, times have certainly changed. I used to be naive enough to believe C&R would be viewed less harshly  when in fact it is presented as being far worse, much  more cruel and the pointless harassment - even torture of fish

My ex wife was certainly far from impressed by the ethics of it

Note I say ex wife   :lol:

It's an argument we anglers will never win so it's pointless even trying. 

[johnny boy]

As a child my mother used to throw us out of the house and tell us not to come home till dinner time (weather permitting), nowadays that would be a childline call followed from a visit from child services.

A lot (not all) youngsters now expect instant gratification on anything they do, patience is not often practiced, pity really.