Fisheries set for busiest winter ever as licence sales soar...again!

THE BOOM in angling participation has shown no signs of slowing down this month, with many venues reporting unprecedented numbers of visitors for the time of year.

After angling’s busiest-ever summer, it was anticipated that numbers on the bank would tail off as temperatures started to fall, but reports suggest quite the opposite, with fisheries saying business is still booming.

Surrey’s Bury Hill Fishery is one of the venues enjoying a productive autumn, as staff member Ian Chennell revealed:

“I’d say there’s probably a 40 per cent increase on the usual numbers we’d experience at this time of year. We sold a lot of memberships for our carp and predator waters, and these anglers keep coming back.

“In particular, we’ve had a lot more people interested in catching pike and zander, so as the temperatures fall, we hope these guys will keep fishing for these winter species.”

A similar trend has been witnessed further north at East Yorkshire’s Starcarr Lakes.

“We’ve had unprecedented numbers on our banks” said fishery boss Shane Turrell.

“I expect things to drop off a bit more when it gets really cold and the bream begin to back off, but if only half the people come who are currently visiting, we’ll still be doing much better than usual.”

In addition to the continued surge in bankside numbers, the Environment Agency has reported yet another boom in rod licence sales, with 36,851 people buying or renewing their licence in October.

This suggests the influx of newcomers to the sport is continuing unabated. An EA spokesperson told us:

“Despite colder weather, we continue to see thousands of people buying licences. We hope this shows that the current popularity of fishing isn’t just a summer trend but the revival of a much-loved sport.”

People can’t get enough of fishing and now look set to hit the banks all winter too!