A couple of Facebook folk have taken time out of their busy schedules to comment on our recent decision to restrict the use of feed boilies and pellets on our lakes to just two brands – a decision which, they contend, is commercially driven; designed to compel anglers to spend more money in our shop.
As to the first, our being commercial driven, they are correct. We are in business to make a profit.
As to the second – compelling anglers to spend money in our store – they are wide of the mark.
Nonetheless, I thank them for opening-up the topic for discussion. Everyone is, after all, entitled to their opinion (however inaccurate); and to voice that opinion online.
So here’s mine.
Contrary to popular belief, profit is not a dirty word. Rather, it’s the means by which we’re able to keep the fishery running; to invest in stock and landscaping, amenities and facilities.
And as an aside, to pay for the many free ‘Family fishing’ and ‘Get into fishing’ events that we run throughout the year – enabling us to close one of our ponds to paying customers, and to fund coaches, food, prizes, tackle and bait.
‘Doing our bit’, in other words, to bring new blood into the sport.
Being in full possession of all the facts, I’m also pleased to clarify why our critics are, simply, wrong.
1/ Having a fully equipped tackle store onsite, we’re able to supply a range of particles, pellets and boilies from the likes of Bait-Tech, Dynamite, Mainline, Nash, Sticky and many more besides. All at full retail price.
Yet we will not sell any of these baits to anglers, to use on our lakes. Why not?
Because, whilst these firms do produce terrific baits, some of their shelf life offerings leave a lot to be desired. And inspecting / approving everyone’s bait on arrival is simply too onerous a task.
OK, then; I hear someone in the back of the room yelling; why the ‘blanket ban’? Why not mandate the use only of, say, freezer baits?
Simple: because certain anglers will then freeze their ‘shelfies’. (Yes; this really happens.)
2/ We discount the cost of our approved baits (which, incidentally, are available to buy elsewhere), to encourage the adoption of a nutritionally balanced feed, whilst allowing anglers to use any bait they see fit (save for artificials) on the hook.
3/ On our last lake, we gave anglers free rein. And why not: the pit was 20 acres in size; spring fed with depths down to 30-feet. So the potential risk to the fish’s welfare – through the use of inferior bait – was extremely low.
4/ We strongly recommend the use, by anglers, of minimal bait.
Fact is, we have a small head of very big carp in a modestly sized pond. Big beds of bait just won’t ‘do the do’.
Rather, we supplement the carp’s diet, where conditions (such as pre- and post-spawning) dictate, with the right products and at our own expense.
We do this during periods that the lake is closed (something we do regularly, to allow the fish and the water to recover from angler pressure).
One of our critics also remarked that ‘90% of boilies are hnv’ [SIC].
Frankly, I don’t know where that figure comes from; and whether it’s accurate or not.
And nor do I care. Rather, my concern, if that figure *is* accurate, would be with the ten percent that isn’t ‘hnv’; something I can neither police nor control, without engaging the services of a trained chemist.
And which will rot on the bed of my lake, leading to ammonia spikes, oxygen depletion… and fish kills.
Oh, and as an aside, that same critic remarked that he ‘would never fish a lake where he had to book a swim’.
Umm. We allow a maximum of three bivvy-anglers on the Back Lake.
The lake has seven swims. And we hold a watercraft draw at the start of every session – giving everyone an equal chance of securing their first-choice peg.
As to the rest of our rules; well they are, without exception, borne of a legitimate concern for the wellbeing of the fish; a commitment to giving anglers a great experience; and, as an *indirect* consequence (apparently I should – but don’t – feel dirty saying this):
Allowing us to continue reinvesting into the complex – and ultimately, heaven forfend, make a modest living.
