Carp problems abrewing?

[Kepis]

Nope! The general rule is that, whilst living, fish are considered to be ferae naturae (wild animals) and therefore not in anyone's ownership. The law is a bit complicated and can be subject to interpretation. The carp in your garden pond, for example, cannot swim away and are therefore not deemed ferae naturae. Riparian ownership is, however, much clearer. I may not own the salmon in the river, but if you come come poaching on the stretch over which I have riparian rights or ownership, you'll be up before the beak.

Burnt Ash

The course i did at the Institute of Fishery Management must be wrong then?, mind you it was a couple of years ago, and as you quite rightly say the law is open to interpretation also and i speak from experience, the club i belong to and am on the management committee of, stocked carp, tench and bream into a water that we lease from a local landowner, after a set period of time, and im sorry i cannot remember the period without consulting my fishery management books, the ownership of the fish passed to the landowner despite the fact that it was us that purchased them and could prove this fact by way of a purchase invoice.

 

[KAE1]

Nicely put and full respect to you for having some understanding about what you are doing in your sport, I bet it makes you better at it than someone who does not care...
I have always understood that fish, being cold blooded do not feel pain, a bit like if you accidently chop off a frogs leg while strimming or mowing, it will still just sit there as if nothing has happened...(Please don't try this at home btw)...
Like you say we could write a book on it and still get nowhere, we simply do not know what goes on inside a creatures head...
Out of interest, what are your thoughts on barbless hooks...? Do you use them for your pike fishing..? I remember, as a kid, going pike fishing with a 3 piece pike plug and catching a huge chub and having real problems getting the hooks out because they had barbs...

Jon,
90% of my predator fishing is with artificial lures and I always crush the barbs with pliers making them barbless. Unfortunately a lot of kids are drawn to catching pike - understandably as they are exiting, mighty predators but......... a lot of kids are too scared (again understandably if you don't know what youre doing) to handle and unhook them properly.

I once helped a few lads unhook a nice 15lber. They wanted a photo and I carefully explained how to hold the pike. I knelt beside the lad as he posed for his photo. The fish gave a kick, the kid let go and I tried to catch a 15lb pike in mid air to prevent it hitting the ground.
Its teeth ripped across my fingers and my hand absolutey streamed with blood.
Trip to docs and stitched/patched up fingers.
The pike was fine and released back unscathed.

 

[John Fenna]

A new slant on "man eating fish"!
Surely the fish had the right to shove sharps into you - you did it to him first.......?

 

[Burnt Ash]

The course i did at the Institute of Fishery Management must be wrong then?

See Angling & The Law, by Carty and Payne (1998) pp 39-41 section entitled 'Who Owns Fish?'

Burnt Ash

 

[JonnyP]

A new slant on "man eating fish"!
Surely the fish had the right to shove sharps into you - you did it to him first.......?

Lol...Pike do have nasty teeth, they point inwards so if you do manage to get your hand in its mouth, the instant reaction being to pull away means you tear yourself more. As Kae says you need to handle them properly...

 

[Spacemonkey]

Pah... try flyfishing for pike while your at it...
Great fun, but the flies are massive... not such a good idea on windy days.