The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Snape wrote:

Shaun Harrison wrote:By far the nicest place I fished in 2012.

Oh you tease! :chuckle:

There is a publicity ban on the two lakes. I'm not sure if I am allowed to admit to have actually been there to be honest.

A truly magical experience though for those who can appreciate on both lakes. Definitely the place time forgot and nature took over. I have some lovely pictures from there, a very special time.

I caught Clara the common and Morris the mirror there last week. Oops!

Just need to protect the member that took me as a guest. He is a user of this forum.

A couple of pictures have been used in my magazine articles and on my Facebook pages with no issues as the word Woldale wasn't used alongside the pictures. Pictures on this thread would be a bit of a give away.

I really dislike total publicity bans but need to honour them when in place.

Its an interesting point Shaun, this publicity ban on some waters. I belong to a syndicate in Sussex that although doesn't have a publicity ban, would be frowned upon if you publicised the water and possibly jeopardise your membership. Its a gentleman agreement and it works.
I've searched the web for our waters and only the odd mention comes up in forums.

This may seem a little elitist but we do get to fish a very unspoilt lake with a good mix of anglers.

I have fished some very well known and almost impossible to get on lakes with no publicity bans. To my humble mind I feel if there is a publicity ban then there is something they are ashamed of getting out to the general public.

I guess if the water is in the middle of nowhere and hardly frequented by its members then it does certainly help to keep the whereabouts to your chest. But, not being able to use discreet pictures, pictures of fish with nothing but a bush behind etc etc. I struggle to see the harm in that.

There is a very secret water in the Midlands that produces proper English commons to just a touch below 50lb. I was a member in the past (1984) and would love to be able to fish it again but I need to be able to use my pictures for my writing and generally being seen to be catching the odd fish on my bait.

I have pictured lots of fish where you wouldn't have a chance of knowing where it was. Out of respect for other anglers fishing the waters I fish I only ever name waters if the owners want/ask me to. The Mangrove I publicised a fair bit and Grenville I do because I was asked to and I see little harm in this as no-one can fish the waters anyway other than the chosen members of the syndicates.

Not sure where I am running this to other than I fully appreciate people keeping waters secret but I don't understand the not being able to share discreet pictures (backgrounds removed or whatever). To my mind in most cases these waters possibly have fish they perhaps shouldn't have.

Shaun,where's that lake again?

Tadpole wrote:Shaun,where's that lake again?

:beg: :chuckle:

It's quite easy to find on google maps

Living as I do, not very far away at all (from Benniworth Haven) i've wandered down there a couple of times and asked about the fishing, but nobody seems to know and I've not yet seen anybody fishing there.

I have a couple of pictures though!!

I've run no publicity waters in the past and fished some (including Woldale). The publicity ban was normally because the waters were remote, little fished and open to poaching or were leased and there was a risk of the lease being lost, either because the owner didn't want publicity or there was simply a risk of being outbid!

On Ashmead, I own the water, so there is no threat and it cannot be poached easily, so there is no risk. Since I write about my own fishing it would be hypocritical to ban others from doing the same.... But I do understand and respect the contrary view on many other waters.

The main reason I write about Ashmead is to try and present a view of carp fishing that is becoming sadly rare these days and that is seldom mentioned in magazines full of advertorials for bait and tackle - Ashmead is all about the careful management of a semi-natural environment and it's wildlife. The carp are a naturally self-sustaining population and have grown big because of the careful stewardship of their environment and good stock management.... It's also somewhere where the atmosphere of carp fishing as I first knew it in the 70's can still be savoured. There is only one rule; please respect the environment, the fish and other anglers.