VENUES
Looking back at my Anglers' guide for l939/40 it is interesting to see that places like Herne Bay and Deal in the South East were regarded as very good venues, together with Scarborough and Filey in the North. Llanddulas in West Wales
gets a mention because tope to ten pounds could be caught from the beach. Achiltibuie was great for pollack and coalfish with sharks lying well off shore. Younger anglers I have spoken to express surprise, when told that Hastings was once regarded as a very good venue for Tope, which could be caught from a rowing boat within two miles of the shore. Skate to one hundred pounds were not infrequently caught at Hooks Hard about three miles to the east. Plaice and dabs were caught close in to the shore. In 1936 a skate weighing 169lbs was landed at Eastbourne, which was also notable for decent fishing from boat, pier or beach.
Boatmen at Brighton were reproached for being more interested in trippers than anglers. Poole, Weymouth and Portland get very good ratings and Cornish venues are particularly recommended. The North of England is represented by Filey and Scarborough but Achiltibuie is the only Scottish venue mentioned. By the way all these places were called "stations" in those days. Anglers who started to fish in the sixties and seventies may be surprised as much by some of the inclusions as they will be at some omissions. There are a number of reasons for this. Developments in tackle and the improvements in transport attracted more anglers to a wider range of Possibilities of good sport. The introduction of the Specialized angling boat also helped to broaden the Appeal of sea angling as a serious sport.

SOME THINGS DON'T CHANGE

Some things don’t change and the attitude of anglers towards safety and co-operating with others to protect themselves and their sport are prime examples. There have always been those opposed to fishing with rod and line, but because their numbers were small and unorganized, sea anglers tended to ignore them. Nowadays the anti angling people are well organized, and have friends in high places to help make things difficult for anglers. The creation of Country Parks under the auspices of various government bodies has provided a number of opportunities to restrict or forbid angling at a number of places around the coast. Further more, a great deal has been made of the dangers to the public when anglers are casting from piers and other places. The usual method adopted is to demand that a local fishing club takes out a public liability policy, costing as much as a quarter of a million a year, to cover all anglers who may use the venue. It must be quite obvious to all concerned that no club committee is going to use their members’ funds to compensate the victims of non-members--many of whom should never be allowed to hold a rod. I had a personal public liability policy specifically for my own protection whilst fishing with rod and line. For a few pounds a year I was covered against any accident to a member of the public whether it was a bad injury caused by heavy sea tackle or a fly hook. I have no idea what the same cover would cost today. I was also covered by the NFSA policy. Which brings me to the question of the value of membership of an Association, which can act at national level. I have to confess that I had not ever heard of the NFSA forty years ago. I was vaguely aware that a British Anglers Association had existed and that there was body called the British Conger Club. I believe there are a great number of modern day anglers in the same state of ignorance, even though there are more fishing clubs than ever before, and fishing magazines constantly refer to NFSA, EFSA, and the national associations in Scotland and Wales. Perhaps the time has come when rank and file anglers should take a more active interest in the organization of their sport and set out to attract more casual anglers to join a club and a national organization, this to will help make people more safety conscious. A chandler once told me that anglers and small boat owners generally would spend a small fortune on the latest electronic gadgetry but baulk at the spending of a few pounds on a set of flares and a flotation aid. It is a sobering thought.
May I wish you all a Happy New Year, Tight Lines and safe fishing

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