Now, I’m not going to recite the arguments for and against,
but both articles raise interesting points. Firstly, where did this 2lb
limit come from? Why is 2lb a magical number? Do trout turn rogue above
this weight? What is the science that led the EA to choose this limit?
Well, like so many ‘facts’ it is not a fact at all. Did you know the ‘five
a day’ mantra had its origins in an advertising campaign by the Californian
Fruit Marketing Board in the 1960’s? We are in danger of much the same here
with something oft repeated becoming a truth by default.
I can tell you why this is so with absolutely certainty
because in a Zoom call with EA officials last year I asked the question:
why 2lbs? The question was eventually fielded by the scientific field
officer who had proposed the 2lb limit. As a keen angler himself he opined
that a two pounder was the largest fish he liked to generally catch, hence
the limit. So, there you have it; policy based on the personal opinion of
one man. No science. No consultation. No logic. Had he been a regular at
Dever Springs, home to both the British brown and rainbow trout records,
who knows what monster size he might have proposed.
For size does have a part in angling; I was particularly
drawn to one line in Fort’s article where he quotes from JW Hills, of
Summer on the Test fame, who said the average fish (this was the early
1900’s) was 2lb and a big fish 4lb. If anyone asks me today what the
average fish size is I say 1.5lb and a big fish anything 3lb plus. Maybe
things have not changed that much for frankly it is a huge myth that
chalkstreams are stocked to the gunnels with huge fish that commit ritual
suicide at the sight of any fly, cast anyhow.
Which brings me to another of Fort’s beefs, the stocking of
rainbow trout in rivers. Now, I’m not all that keen on rainbows myself but
since they do no harm to the natives it seems to me, that if you own a
river and that is your preference, fair enough. We have over two thousand
miles of chalkstream. Some are ideal for little wildies. Others less so. If
you want to fish for one but not the other, choose your beat accordingly.
There are many shades of fly fishing. Let us try to embrace
them all.
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