Speed hooks and Yoyo reals are legal in UK

[wingstoo]

I have been in contact with the Environment Agency over the last few months about the use of Speed hooks and Yoyo reels.

I think you will be surprised by what I have been told.

Here is the email I received today, read it carefully and you will see that you are legally allowed to use both items on UK inland waters.

As usual there is a big "BUT"

The quick response is that it would be illegal to use the yo yo reel as marketed as it would be a set line which is not a legal instrument under the salmon and freshwater fisheries act.

The speed hook would also fall foul of the law for similar reasons.

However, if you attached the rig to a rod then it could be a legal instrument that you would need a rod licence to legally use - except in Thames Region where the use of an automatic hooking device within it would contravene regional byelaws.

One other point is that they are designed as survival gear and one of their big selling points is that it can be left whilst you go do something else. This would also be in contravention of our byelaws as no rod is allowed to be left unattended.

I hope this helps. Please give me a call if you want to discuss this further.One other thing. You could legally sell these in this country but as discussed above could not legally use them.

Kind regards

Heidi
.
Heidi Stone
Fisheries Policy Manager

So providing you attach either item to a licenced and closely monitored fishing rod it would certainly appear that both items can be used.

Perhaps a note of the above should be carried next to your rod licence with Heidi Stones name and position highlighted.


Tight lines


Wings

 

[stooboy]

kinda like how its legal to buy a knife but illegal to stab people with it then ?

 

[w00dsmoke]

okenest:

 

[wingstoo]

kinda like how its legal to buy a knife but illegal to stab people with it then ?

Not really

However, if you attached the rig to a rod then it could be a legal instrument that you would need a rod licence to legally use

Major difference there I think

Might not, in many anglers eyes, be very "sporting", but legallity of the items was raised a while back, I took the time to contact the relative authorities, in this case Heidi Stone who is the Fisheries Policy Manager to resolve the question.

Wings

 

[Bushwhacker]

They're a nice idea and certainly have a place somewhere, but if you're using/holding a rod you already have a means of striking and setting the hook.
Also, not every type of fish requires an instant strike - some need to be allowed to run with the bait before setting the hook otherwise it results in a missed fish.

 

[Crowe]

Hi Wingstoo, thats a very useful piece of information, thanks for taking the time to track it down. Is there a supplier of speedhooks in the UK?
Crowe

 

[atross]

Quick google search came up with

http://www.yoyofishing.co.uk/index.cfm?sid=50688&pid=777032

 

[wingstoo]

They're a nice idea and certainly have a place somewhere, but if you're using/holding a rod you already have a means of striking and setting the hook.
Also, not every type of fish requires an instant strike - some need to be allowed to run with the bait before setting the hook otherwise it results in a missed fish.

They are, or would be, very useful for disabled fishermen and women who might find it difficult to "strike".

I did like the comment made by Ms Stone:-

designed as survival gear and one of their big selling points is that it can be left whilst you go do something else. This would also be in contravention of our byelaws as no rod is allowed to be left unattended.

If you are in a "True survival situation" you would be glad to see the person who was going to raise a prosecution for using it in an illegal manner.

I guess she had to put that in though.

Wings

 

[FGYT]

now read the last thing she said between
"One other thing "
and
"kind Regards"

 

[wingstoo]

I guess it is how the wording is interpreted by the reader, she says that if they are attached to a licenced rod then they become legal items; but if used as described in their accompanying literature they would be illegal as they are "set lines" which are, and as far as I remember always have been illegal.

I would be quite happy using the items in tidal waters and the sea as these do not come under fisheries acts the same as freshwater does.

I would also be quite happy attaching them to a licenced set of fishing tackle.

I would be more than happy using either of them in a "True survival situation", but the chances of that happening in the UK are pretty remote. At least if they are able to prosecute I would have been found alive

YMMV

Wings

I have re-mailed Heidi Stone to ask for clarification of the two contradicting sentences in her reply.

 

[Bushwhacker]

I did like the comment made by Ms Stone:-


If you are in a "True survival situation" you would be glad to see the person who was going to raise a prosecution for using it in an illegal manner.

I guess she had to put that in though.

Wings

Could be the best survival tip ever.

If you're in trouble in the UK do something illegal, you'll soon get picked up.

 

[Gavmar]

Well done.

 

[Adze]

Also worth bearing in mind that said items may be banned on the water you're fishing by the person or organisation which controls the fishing. Most coarse fishing venues are pretty unlikely to give permission to remove fish from the fishery and using speed hooks or other self hooking gear for catch and release fishing is unlikely to be allowed in the terms and conditions for your permit to fish.

 

[atross]

Out of interest and I never intend to use them unless in a true survial situation or attached to a rod I ordered some speed hooks and yo yo reels from the above site yesterday came through the door this morning.

Interesting bit of kit, very simple design but well made the yo yo reel has some tug on it once activated and the snap hook sure does snap.

Off the US in a couple of weeks so may take them with as apprently they are only illegal in minesota!

 

[wingstoo]

Have received further info from Ms Stone.

More Info:

In my view they could both possibly be used legally if used if used as terminal tackle on a rod and line.

The speed hook device is simply a single hook attached to a spring device which sets the hook when a fish takes the bait.

But it is clearly designed and marketed to be used as a set line left unattended where of course it would be illegal.

Similarly with the Yo Yo reel which seems to be simply an automatic reel which if used in conjunction with rod and line would be legal, we already have automatic fly reels which retrieve line at the touch of a button.

As previously mentioned Thames regional byelaws would prohibit the use of any automatic hooking device.

This would be a complicated and probably not a cost effective way of setting up terminal tackle.

Heidi Stone
Fisheries Policy Manager

Hope this has helped clarify the EA legal view of the kit, though as already pointed out it might have regional variations so check club rules if on club waters and fishing permits on other water.

Wings

 

[rik_uk3]

I'm not a fisherman but I'll try out the yoyo reels I have, need to get a rod.

I was given a gill net last year but I'm told I'm not allowed to use it in the UK?

 

[wingstoo]

I'm not a fisherman but I'll try out the yoyo reels I have, need to get a rod.

I was given a gill net last year but I'm told I'm not allowed to use it in the UK?

Try them in an estuary Rik, or on a sandy beach, or in tidal waters.

Don't forget to get a rod licence, which is actually for two rods at the same time I believe. A rod is just a pole to hold the line, so a stout piece of hazel should be ok.

Wings

 

[spirit-bear]

kinda like how its legal to buy a knife but illegal to stab people with it then ?

Quality

 

[Bushwhacker]

I'm wondering how sensitive the trigger is.
Would anything more turbulent than a slow moving river set it off? Would a small tug from a tiny fish or crab inspecting the bait do the same?
A bolt rig would probably do the same thing - a fixed weight on a short trace - the fish feels the sharp hook, bolts and then the fixed weight sets the hook.
If the fish you're after prefers to run with the bait like a pike or bass you can make it with a running weight and a backstop.

 

[Neumo]

I was looking at the YoYo reels the other day & they seem interesting but I am not sure how practical it would be to use them leaglly as they would look to many like a poachers tools, working in a similar way to hanging a spinner on some line attached to a tree branch over a river, as used by many of the old school poachers. In a real survival situation I would use a few bank lines overnight, as that kit would weigh less & you can set many of them, as you have the same sort of odds as with snares; the more you have out the morechance you have of getting something (within reason, say no more than 4 or so)