NO Fishing during COVID19 lockdown

I was going to fish in 2020 like I haven’t fished in years, the plan was laid out and it was a good one. The emergence and spread of COVID19 was gaining pace and it was apparent by February that the plan was going to need to change at some point. By March it was clear that we were going to face a period of lock-down and most irritatingly it was going to coincide with the start of the wild brown trout fishing season in mid- to late March (depending on the water). The request to stay at home was followed by an order to do so given the numbers of people who flouted the governments request to stay at home and only travel if needed.

Living 5 minutes walk from the Staffs & Worcs canal I was hopeful in the week before the lock-down that fishing on the canal would be an option to get me through this period. I had spent several hours on the canal in February as a warm up session to test my equipment and polish the rust out of my cast. Fishing is a legitimate form of exercise and I would not have travelled unnecessarily to get there and given the towpaths in many places are wide I could maintain 2m distance from walkers and other towpath users at all times and there are few narrowboats moored on my club reaches. As such, I could meet all of the social distancing rules and still fish.

However, the gravity of the situation that is evolving daily is such that I have decided not to fish during this time and stay at home. I urge all fellow fishermen and women to do the same. I know the temptation to do so will be great especially as the weather has been sublime after a long winter off season. When one considers the numbers of people affected by the outbreak in the UK, those sick and dying as well as those who are losing their jobs and impacted economically, fishing at a time like this seems somehow frivolous. So stay at home as no matter how careful you are you can’t guarantee that you won’t come into contact with someone and inadvertently become a link in an infection chain. The reality is most if not all waters are closed e.g.:

As far as fishing on the canal goes, closures of towpaths are underway to protect people who live on narrowboats and the Canal and Rivers Trust (CRT) like so many organisations are having to respond to unprecedented numbers of people out and about not obeying government rules. The latest news from the CRT is that no fishing is allowed for now.

So what can we do while we sit out the lock-down after a long off-season: