[Closed] link for biker v fisherman

[url= http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/local/cycle_rage_by_the_canal_1_3838516 ]Swimming with the fishes[/url]

I had to chuckle - the bloke said if it happened to an older person there may have been consequences - he was 64!

Those poles are a PITA on towpaths, if they used old skool rods then no problems.

Poles are old school, been around for ages.

Canal towpaths are often busy, so user conflict is inevitable. No need to push folk in though. IIRC towpaths have a very low speed limit.

No need to push folk in though.

Yes, I know they've been around for yonks but using them on a towpath causes problems. Get it round my way when there's a match on, the whole towpath becomes unusable on a bike. Not a great problem for me I just divert 🙂

Anglers pay to fish canals cyclists don't pay to ride them therefore IMO angler has right of way, it literally takes a few mins to ship a pole in and land the fish.

Stop have a chat and enjoy the waterside.

The responsible anglers ship their poles to the side, instead of straight behind. If everyone did that then there would be no reason for a conflist. But for the record there is no reason for anybody to get lobbed in the canal (unless someone's being a complete arse :lol:)

Anglers pay to fish canals cyclists don't pay to ride them therefore IMO angler has right of way

They pay to fish the water, not to block the path. No one has right of way on a towpath; using the "I pay so I go first" argument is how plenty of cyclists have been knocked off by drivers who think "I pay road tax, you don't" means they get right of way.

Radical thought but all towpath user groups could try being considerate to each other?

Anglers pay to fish canals cyclists don't pay to ride them therefore IMO angler has right of way, it literally takes a few mins to ship a pole in and land the fish.

And as the Canals were built for Horse drawn barges, i think that blows any "right" an angler has to block the path out of the water.

And as most Towpaths are paid for through general Taxation your using the same Road Tax B*****ks argument.

Beware fly fishermen, a hook in the head from a back cast is quite sore!

learn to bunny hop then 😉

A few poles? thats nothing. You should see the surfers dodging 6oz lead sinkers off the end of Saltburn pier!

There was a link to this on calderdalemtb... I ride that section of towpath now and again but the same applies anywhere, a fisherman having a pole obstructing a towpath is a PITA and is potentially asking for trouble / going to piss off cyclists, walkers, dog walkers, people with pushchairs etc.

That said, its no excuse for some mindless moron (of which theres plenty around Halifax/Brighouse) to push some fella in the drink.

Oh, and take no notice of the comments on the Courier website - they're a bunch of cyclist hating benefit cheats.

Dave (cyclist, angler and Halifax resident)

Snapped a guys (fishing) pole riding across it (it was across the path and clamped between two trees behind) on my bmx as a child.

He went mental, legged me and my mates for ages. Was shitting myself as a child, looking back it was entirely his own fault.

I ride that stretch of canal all the time and to be honest, it could have been anybody, a jogger, a dog walker, a twitcher a person pushing a push chair etc that could have pushed the 64 year old in the canal, not just a cyclist. Quite often the angling folk look at you like 5hit and give a attitude of they can't be bothered to move their rods out of other users way! He probably gave the cyclist some form of abuse and got the worse of the confrontation!
Davy, you beat me to it!

thanx oxnop for link !

Pik n Mix - Member
Anglers pay to fish canals cyclists don't pay to ride them therefore IMO angler has right of way, it literally takes a few mins to ship a pole in and land the fish.

I don't agree that they have "the right of way" to block the path but do you think the right of any means you can push a pole into the path with out looking first?

If the rider had any skills he would take this as a challenge and bunny hop the poles 😉

I see these sprat bashers all the time near me (further West on the same canal) and some of the fishermen can be real obnoxious prats with those ridiculous poles. I actually think some of them like to block the towpath on purpose to 'prove' their 'ownership of the canal.

No need to push someone in though, thats just thuggish behaviour.

Personally, i can't see the point of spending all that time, money and effort to prove to yourself that you're slightly smarter than a fish...

there's some real tossers about aren't there..

there's an obvious protuberance of anglers on the day in question due to the fishing competition.. so tough luck for the cyclist I reckon.. slow down and look out for hazards.. why behave like a petulant little nob..?

Militant cyclists really need to be dealt with very severely.. by the authorities or by their peers..
cos whether they're annoying other road users.. upsetting walkers.. or pushing old duffers in the canal.. when it comes down to it, by not sharing the trails nicely with other users you're giving me a bad name too

I suspect a bit of both - angler puts pole into the path of the cyclist without looking in his excitement and getting a bite, cyclist reacts to the near crash, handbags ensue.

Anglers blocking the canaltowpath is not on - its a right of way. There is no speed limit on a towpath

If the rider had any skills he would take this as a challenge and bunny hop the poles

Why are fisher peeps so miserable, sitting there alone all day, with their rod and some string dangling in the water, hoping to hook a fish and then kill it.

We used to have a garden Gnome in our garden, next to the pond who did exactly the same thing, he never caught a fish though, we didnt put a hook on his line.

I suspect a bit of both - angler puts pole into the path of the cyclist without looking in his excitement and getting a bite, cyclist reacts to the near crash, handbags ensue.

Anglers blocking the canaltowpath is not on - its a right of way. There is no speed limit on a towpath

Yes, it's a 50/50 thing.
This I know, having probably spent equal amounts of time doing both!
Angler needs to look before he ships his pole (It's not always possible/practical to ship to the side) but equally the cyclist REALLY should have noticed that there's people fishing, and be aware of what might happen. It's not rocket science, and towpaths are shared paths so you need to keep your wits about you.

My guess is that it wasn't a "cyclist" as such, just "someone riding a bike"

Well said Yunki

I fished at national level for many years, and have seen more Cycling/ Angler confrontations to last me a life time,

Usually Starts with a pole blocking a path or pole being ridden over, and then a big kick off.

If both party,s concerned are paying attention then the confrontation shouldn't happen.

If you look at the picture

[img] [/img]

The second angler is using the last section of his pole, so he,s fishing at least 11m out possibly 13m or more

As are the last 2 fishermen in the photo,

If you look at the distance from canal to the wall its no more than 5 metres, so this means the angler brakes his pole down twice to get to his top 3 kit ( the bit with float and bait on )

when you ride down a tow path you look forward so you can see where your going, and see any obstacles that may be in your way,

But when the Angler is looking forwards he is facing far bank as this is where the fish have been driven due to bank side noise and boat traffic,

so to stand a chance of winning he needs to fish the far bank hence the need for a long pole.

Every time an Angler catches a fish he needs to look left and right before he ships his pole in, if he fails to do this, and blocks the towpath then in my opinion he deserves everything he gets,

But as a responsible cyclist you should have noticed the fisherman long before he notices you, because he is in your sight of view, and you are not in his, and at some point may just shove that big piece of carbon behind him without looking, forcing you to take action.

Its all about tolerance,and everybody has a right to enjoy the outdoors.

Ive seen people on bikes have a go at a woman with a double buggy on a towpath

A disabled guy on one of those mobility scooters nearly pushed in for giggles by some idiots

And dog walkers that let their dog shit right next to you during a fishing match and just walk of.

pissheads being sick

the list goes on and on

And 3 people with no helmets on, tut tut tut

it doesn't bother me if an angler has his/her fishing pole across the canal.they always move it for me and apologise.it's not like 20 seconds is a long time to wait 😉

to be honest, I didn't know what pole fishing was until I read this thread so riding along that ^^^^ towpath, I wouldn't expect my path to be obstructed my an 11m pole.

Why are the cyclists blured out in that picture, just looks like a mum out on a ride with her kids. The only reason I can see is to demonise cyclists in the viewers eyes.

at some point may just shove that big piece of carbon behind him without looking, forcing you to take action