Fishing The Fly Scotland Forum

Sandy Nelson

What price to fish?
« on: 05/10/2008 at 07:30 »
So hears the new topic

What do you consider to be reasonably priced fishing, What do you expect for your money and how does that equate on a pound to fishing ratio.
Do we measure with the quality of fishing - does this mean the size of fish?, the number of fish?, the quality of the river? , the beauty of the surroundings/ or the  whole experience?.

How does your spending on fishing compare to what you spend on tackle. Would you expect improvements in your fishing by spending more on tackle, if so does that ring true for spending more on the fishing itself?


Could be useful information to a variety of people :z16

Sandy

Barry Robertson

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #1 on: 05/10/2008 at 08:14 »

Nice question Sandy!

I personally dont mind about the size of the fish but a fish around 5lb every now and again is a nice bonus.
As for the catch amounts iam just happy as long as i get a few offers every now and again and if i dont hook any fish its my own fault for not paying attention.
I think the one thing that does bug me now a days is that its becoming a numbers game with catch amounts and that people expect to catch alot of fish no matter where they go!. Dont know if this is the fault of magazines or web pages advertising the fact that someone can catch 20 fish at a certain venues and others want to better it or equal it.

Prices??
 I am happy if i can go out on a boat and have a nice days fishing on a reservoir or fishery for around £25.

Surroundings are not that important to me as long as i am out of the house and i dont have to spend a day fishing next to someone who provides a running comentary on every bite or pull they get.
This to me gets on my (.) (.) as i dont pay good money to have to listen to someone telling the whole fishery all day long when he is changing his flee!

As for tackle i dont think having better stuff makes you any better a fisher but if its your fav hobby why not splash out and treat youreself to the finer things, some expensive stuff does make your fishing more easier!

Sandy Nelson

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #2 on: 05/10/2008 at 15:48 »
My take on this would be

For Wild trout on the river I'd be willing to pay £5 - £10 a day to fish on water where there is unlimited access depending on the surroundings, the nicer the place the more i'd be willing to pay.
If the beat had limited access then i would feel that £15 would not be unreasonable and if the beat was pretty much exclusive to me and a partner then £20 would be fine for a day out.
To justify more than this the water would have to be pretty special, in terms of the potential to catch larger fish (3lb+).

To me any fishing is worth the money if you enjoy your day out, Kingfishers, otters, osprey all add to the experience in my book as does seeing deer or squirrels. I like places that are a bit more romantic to look at, it makes me feel more confident.

On stillwaters i would pay £10 to fish catch and release at a hole in the ground, but up to £20 C&R if the place is really pretty and the fish are of a high quality and fight well. The facilities at a Stocked venue have to be maintained, and the fish provided so i feel it not unreasonable to expect to pay more than the river.
However i also appreciate that river managment also costs and as they are our natural waterways, i think perhaps we owe it to the propriators to help out by paying that little bit more. Naturally if the water is obviously being neglected despite a higher cost then i would refrain from fishing that beat, Fortunatley i have yet to come across that situation in Scotland.

I'm not sure what sort of price top put on larger waters and lochs, but would tend to agree with Baz, £25-£30 seems reasonable for a day out in a boat,( that has to be maintained too) if i took my own ie a tube then i would hope the price would drop to about half that.

As for tackle, i confess i probably spend more on gear than fishing, but then i use different things at different times (and much of the money is re-cycled from selling the older stuff- so maybe i don't ???).
I don't believe good stuff makes you better, i believe good stuff makes you feel better and hence more confident and that has the effect of you actually performing better, so perhaps it does :z6

It is a pleasure to fish somewhere with nice tackle in nice surroundings and just enjoy being there.  :z16

Sandy

Rob Brownfield

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #3 on: 05/10/2008 at 16:16 »
Cant really comment on the trout fishing side of things as I tend to head to waters that are usually free or the cost of a days trouting is a few quid as I love getting away from the crowds and tend to head up into the hills....same goes for Grayling, and I have not paid for Salmon for a good few years so a little out of touch except what I get told in the hotel....and that seems to vary wildly whether the angler has booked direct, gone through an agent or are on a package deal.

As for tackle..arrrghhh..say no more! I have only bought around 6 new/secondhand rods in the last 5 or 6 years, BUT, i have made 2 x carp rods, 3 x Pike rods, 3 x lure/spinning rods, 2 x fly rods and a float rod for myself  :oops. I have 2 more carp rods on the go just now and possibly another fly rod to build if I decide on the blank :)

Much like others, I "re-cycle" gear to someone else and use the money to get new stuff. I am lucky in that I get a good discount on several different manufacturers blanks so tend to do things that way :)..or build for others and use any money i make from that to pile back into the "tackle account".. :z4

JoshAnelli

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #4 on: 05/10/2008 at 22:41 »
Although i do think that if some of us didn't share what we were catching on, there would be alot more of those days with just the knocks and know fish, but hay you can't please everyone can you..... :z13

goosander

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #5 on: 06/10/2008 at 20:22 »
Mutch as i like fishing with good balanced tackle i would have to say that this has not made my fishing any better but made it possibly worse. When i started with greenheart and then solid glass followed by hollow glass you could hardly cast ten yards so you ended up a hunter of fish. You copied the herons stealthy ways. Now anglers throw twenty to thirty yards out. splash about and complain about no fish when they have scared them away

Rob Brownfield

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #6 on: 07/10/2008 at 09:00 »
splash about and complain about no fish when they have scared them away
Soooooooooooooo true!!!!

Iain Goolager

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #7 on: 09/10/2008 at 15:46 »
Hi Sandy,

I had written a big 'story' 2 days ago as way of a reply but unfortunately I'd timed out and had to log back in - which I can usually do after hitting the BACK button to the speach and then copting it onto a wrd document before re-submitting..............yawn!!!!!! blah!  any way here's the condensed version;

Stocked Waters

I'd like to see a head of 1 1/2lb fighting fit fish with a spattering of 4 -5 lb fish to give you that, expectation. I'd also like a water to have Browns (stocked is OK for a fishery- natural would be a great bonus), Blues, Char, Brookies, tigers...you get my drift, it's much more exciting to have a variety of Trout types IMHO. Although Trout fishing can be a feast or famine, I think four fish is a decent return for your session (how long is a session?) I also think that offers, lost fish etc. can be used as an indicator on the 'exciteometer' and a gauge as to the days' fun.

my fishing is 99% C & R so I'll say £10 for four - six hours and £15/16 day.
A three fish limit should more than satisfy those that take fish for the table? I think? so a days permit could be say £20 (bank fishing).

Rivers Trout
anything more than £12 starts to worry me but I will pay it depending on the situation. I'm more than happy catching 1/2 lb Broons and the odd 3/4 lb plus fish is a nice reward.

General

I think C & R should be promoted in all types of fishing, I think the size and quantity of fish required by todays stillwater fisher is unrealistic and might eventually push Fishery ticket prices in the same direction as House prices (what happens next?).
We spend a fortune on fishing tackle, permits and fuel yet I think that there is a section of todays fisherfolk that don't really see the quarry for what they are.... a trout is a trout is a trout and deserve to be treated with respect - without them, in whatever form, we have absolutely nothing.

Iain

Rob Brownfield

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #8 on: 09/10/2008 at 16:43 »
Just reading Iains reply and i had a thought...

What if...instead of stocking purely Trout, why not also stock fish that will grow to a good size and take flies, such as Ide (upto 5 pound easy), Chub (Stillwater chub are very spooky and it takes a lot of skill to get one), Carp (will take large dries and grow BIG) and Grass Carp.

Just wondering if a fishery that offered a "mixed bag" on catch and release would be viable? Certainly prices could be lowered and it would be far more interesting than catching the same sized rainbows all day long.  I know in France there are fly fisheries that do not contain a single Trout..only coarse fish, and in Holland there is a big following of fly fishing for roach, rudd, bream, Pike and Zander.

What do people think of that? Certainly I enjoy fishing more when I don't know what the next bite or pull will produce.

Sandy Nelson

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #9 on: 09/10/2008 at 19:47 »

Just wondering if a fishery that offered a "mixed bag" on catch and release would be viable? Certainly prices could be lowered and it would be far more interesting than catching the same sized rainbows all day long.  I know in France there are fly fisheries that do not contain a single Trout..only coarse fish, and in Holland there is a big following of fly fishing for roach, rudd, bream, Pike and Zander.



Sounds a like an interesting idea to me, rob :z16
Lowering the prices would only work where there are no predators, ie, otters, osprey, heron etc
As they will take just as many fish of any species, I'm sure Mike would testify to the fact that predators account for most of his fish losses. So i love the idea of a mixed fishery, but how many times would you have to tell people there was no bait fishing allowed :z4

Sandy

JoshAnelli

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #10 on: 09/10/2008 at 20:02 »
althow if fishing gets consontrated mainly on c&r then it is indefinatly going to get the attention of the anti blood sports peoples who will start demonstraighting again (fox hunting for example) because it no longer will be a fish to eat policy

Iain Goolager

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #11 on: 09/10/2008 at 21:54 »
Hi Josh,

I for one 'aint going to tell them.

I think these people (or the worrying element of them) will demonstrate whatever path we take. The problem is that they are cowardly, anti-social, anarchist, weirdos that will forever hide their personal agendas behind someone elses banner.

As for the 'mixed bag' I wasn't being disrespectful toward any other potential quarry, coarse fish or otherwise - I just had Trout in my head at the time & I know that the experience I had with Aboyne Loch Ide means that they will most definitely be on my agenda for the future.

Iain

Rob Brownfield

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #12 on: 10/10/2008 at 08:36 »
Sounds a like an interesting idea to me, rob :z16
Lowering the prices would only work where there are no predators, ie, otters, osprey, heron etc

Sandy,
most of the Scottish Carp Group waters have Otter problems, the carp have always managed to sustain themselves at a good head per acre. Ide especially are prolific spawners...so I reckon you would only have to do small top ups of Trout maybe twice a year.

As for "bait fishing"..well...when I see what goes on at my local trout fishery regards bait...I would say you would have to tell the trout boys, not the coarse ;)


Josh,
C&R has been pretty much exclusivly practiced in England for coarse fish for generations. I really can't see why there would be any difference up here. Look at the Dee for example, its being hearalded as a "conservation masterpiece" in some areas after the C&R was introduced. I know where you are comming from as its happened in Germany in that no only do you have to pass an exam to fish (great idea)..you are meant to kill ALL fish you catch, no matter what it is or what size it is. Needless to say, this is not widely practiced as can be seen by the huge Carp and Pike that get taken there each year :)

paavo

Re: What price to fish?
« Reply #13 on: 12/10/2008 at 11:19 »
Good question Sandy, this is the Swedish view

I’ve been fly fishing for nearly 30 years. I bought my first graphite rod -81, a Sage 9`#5.  Nice rod and I still have it. When I was younger it was more exciting with new rods and reels. 
Nowadays I don’t spend any big money on fishing tackle.
 
I don’t have any quality fly fishing waters near where I live in Sweden, so I put my money on fishing trips.
The recent years I’ve been fishing mostly in three rivers. This is what I pay for fishing tickets.

River 1. Main river has around 12 miles, both banks of grayling and trout.
Smaller rivers are 3 and have around 50 miles of fishing for grayling and trout and 400 lakes with pike and perch.
Prices are: Year/43£, Week/16£, 24:hrs/4£. No trophy waters. Over the weekends can some pools bee crowded.

River2. Has around 8 miles of fishing, both banks of grayling and trout.
Prices are: Year/58£, family member18£. Week/29£, 24:hrs 8£. Some pools are more exclusive with limited access and the price on these are 33£/24:hrs.
This is trophy water for both grayling and trout. Last week of July and first week of August can be crowded on some of the stretches.

River3. Has around 25 miles of fishing, both banks, grayling, trout, pike and perch, + several hundreds of lakes with mainly, pike, perch and some grayling. The river has a tributary with grayling and trout.
Prices are: Year/50£ + one family member. Week/21£, 24:hrs/7£.
This is trophy water for grayling. Here you don’t see many other fishermen during a week. I’m talking about wild fish in these 3 river examples.
On my fishing trips is the whole experience that counts.

Stocked stillwaters with quality fishing are few, and the coast on these are round 15£ for ticket+boat/24:hrs.

I’ve been too Scotland a couple of times, for the trout. Rivers I fished was Earn, Tay and Tweed. If I remember right I paid, 5-12£ for a day ticket, and that’s ok. I enjoyed the fishing very well, even if I dint catch any larger fish. Mostly the surroundings were great and the wildlife is quite different to what I’m used to. This was late April and in beginning of May so the evenings was free for ………. 

Hope you can make sense of my school english. I’m an old chap with a young mind, and still learning. :wink

//Harri


 




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