Do the right thing and buy a rod licence - Rob Hughes

THERE have been calls from some anglers this past week for the Environment Agency to give a reduction in rod licence fees and even refunds for angling time lost due to the lockdown.

When I first read about this on social media, my initial reaction was: “Are you serious? A licence costs a little under 58p a week, and you want a refund?”

Angling licence sales have been falling for a number of years and this enforced hiatus will lead to them falling even further. There’s also a risk that if the lockdown continues, some people might not buy a licence for a few months, or even at all this year, instead choosing to chance it in the hope that they won’t get caught.

The thing is, rod licences run for 12 months from date of purchase, so you won’t lose out. Better still, buy one now anyway, even if you don’t get to use it for a number of weeks or months.

Why? Because any further reduction in rod licence sales will weaken our numbers, our funding and our position as a sport. Funding for fishery improvement comes back to us from rod licence sales. The fewer that are sold, the less money comes into the pot.

I bought my own rod licence when it was due on April 1, knowing full well that I’m going to miss out on a proportion of it. Why? Because angling needs me now more than ever before, and I want to do the right thing.