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looks like a load of money was spent trying to stop this.
buddle bay is now no good to dig the worms are very small and scarse.
the mussels are thin shelled and watery.
digging actually thins the beds out giving the worms the chance to breed and feed on the sands.
had a run inn with a warden there a few years ago who was addament i put the worms back,only thing was i had the folk!!.
needless to say worms went home with me.2hrs later nock nock.
whos there i said its the police?.
oh no i said whats wrong!.
he asked if i had been up to dig worms,i said only experimenting i said ??
give some advice to which he said was a load of boll@cs and waisting his time but he had to be seen doing his job!!!.
the area is now an sssi site but think it only last until 20007.
but dont realy no to much other than that.
good old mr anderson standing up for his rights. ( well done to him )
Am I right in thinking that the main physical danger posed by bait digging is not back filling. If this is the case then surely it should be "Not Back Filling" is against the law but digging bait should remain as it always has been - a right
The SSSSSSSI bit has always interested me as well. If a rare nesting bird may be put of it's stroke by the presence of people then It seems fair to try and let the little prude go about it business undisturbed. I would have thought this means no-one for any reason should be allowed near them, and that includes government sponsored twitchers. A lad digging bait or someone angling can not be anymore stressful to the environment than a bearded man on his hands and knees taking photos of seals bumholes. I've lost track now due to the over excitement of the NESA Comp
I'll be back later probably, it's a serious business and I'm getting para
"I mock thee not, though I by thee am mockéd.
Thou call'st me madman, but I call thee blockhead"
If you do enough "digging" you may find out who did the survey on Budle Bay and recommended that digging there was not sustainable? Interesting stuff, especially when you consider what company they run now
Interesting reading (again), even more interesting to see how many 'iidiots ignore the byelaw and dig north of the line!
Truth is the quality of the worms and quantitiy is diminishing. I have been digging there for years and it's getting longer and longer to get a sessions worth of worms, and the size is definitely getting smaller. I often wonder when I hear accents down on the beach if there are no beaches south of the Tyne to dig or if Boulmer is the only place? How can it be worthwhile to travel 40 miles to get Ł20 of worms when it must nearly cost that in a return trip of petrol.
"And I looked, and behold'a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with hi, and power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword and with hunger, and with the beasts of the earth"
I don't know if this is the right academic paper but it may be? Alan Charlton would know as he was involved in the original attempt to stop the ban at Budle bay.
Anyway, as I remember it, the report which suggested bait digging was un-sustainable in Budle bay and gave the ammunition to english nature to stop the digging was prepared by...
Olive, P.J.W. and Cowin, P.D.B. 1994. The
management of natural stocks and the commercial
culture of polychaeta as solutions to the problems of
bait digging and worm supply for sea angling in the
UK. Polychaete Research
full marks to anyone who spots what business they run
I have been digging there for years and it's getting longer and longer to get a sessions worth of worms, and the size is definitely getting smaller.
Anyway, as I remember it, the report which suggested bait digging was un-sustainable in Budle bay and gave the ammunition to english nature to stop the digging was prepared by...
does not the one point prove the other??
ʎɐqǝ uo pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ ʎnq ı ǝɯıʇ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ.
Thought for the day:
Some people are like slinkies - not really good for anything but bring a smile to your face when thrown down the stairs
Not really, to understand what's happening at Boulmer you need to know how the beach works and how the worms move.
From where the boats come down, along to about the car park is a nursery area. The further south and down the beach you get, the bigger the worms get. As the small worms grow they move along and down the beach getting progressively bigger. Certain people dig nowhere else but in this nursery area which effectively removes most of the worms before they have a chance to get to the main area you dig. This explains the lack of worms.
Boulmer has never been known for producing big worms, even when the ban was in effect the worms were still on the small side. In fact just after the ban was lifted, when Tony won his case, the whole beach was full of small worms. It wasn't until they were thinned out that they got to any size. There is only one area that produces big worms and thats on the bigger tides.
You will never wipe Boulmer out, it's as close to a perfect set up for lugworm as you can get. Lugworm feed on all sorts of stuff but their favourite is rotting seaweed. The way Boulmer is layed out is perfect, all the weed gets ripped off the rocks and dumped on the beach to feed the worms. Next time you're there look for patches of black casts. These are worms that are feeding on the buried rotting weed. There might be only half a dozen casts, but chances are there could be as many as 20 worms in that small area, and they will be much bigger than the one's in the surrounding sand.
I suggested a way to solve all the problems with boundries and boats a long time ago. Dump loads of fist size rocks where the boats go down. They would sink into the sand, make life easier for the fishermen, and digging impossible. Thats a far better solution for the money than spending it on taking people to court. I have dug over the line on smaller tides because there was nowhere else to dig, been to court for it and they couldn't do a thing about it. BUT, I have never dug where the boats go down or around the boats. If I was a fisherman, what I would do to the people who do this day in and day out, is borrow a JCB from the farm and dig a trench around their car.
Budle bay is another subject alltogether, how they can say someone digging bait is disturbing the birds is a mystery to me? I have seen more birds picking around in the area being dug than anywhere else on the entire place. Go a few miles up the road to holy island, and you can get a permit to blow these little birds brains out. From who? Why English Nature of course!
I should add that the birds in Budle are a special disabled variety that can't fly from one place to another so they need special protection just in Budle Bay. Yeah right, from long and often heated discussions with the warden for both Budle and Holy Island, my opinion is he is very anti angling. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if he was a member of Pisces or PETA.
Great points there Peter. Having been born and raised in Boulmer, I have first hand experience of digging there and as you say the area around the boats is classed as a nursery area, hence another reason why those idiots shouldn't dig around there. However with regards worm size, I have dug from the line as far south as the rocks and the only thing that makes a differnece with regard size is actually how far back you can get to dig. Bigger tides you can obviously get further down and because these worms don't get dug as much, size wise they are better. 3-4 years ago, even on a smallish tide you could probably (not always) get enough for a session and they'd be fine with regard size. As time has gone on I and many people I know have found that this is nigh on impossible. I know a few lads in the Alnwick Sea Angling Club have given up digging there and have found worm beds further afield.
As an other example, Further North in Boulmer there is a large channel that runs out and I used to go down there with my cousin about 15 years ago digging. Once it was seen that there were worms there, others moved in and now it is devoid of worms of any size. The sand that covered the area has been replaced with sloppy mud.
Agree with the bit about dropping rocks where the boats are. Good idea, but I prefer the one with the JCB and their cars.
"And I looked, and behold'a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with hi, and power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword and with hunger, and with the beasts of the earth"
Do you get lugworm out at sea? i.e 1/4 mile out etc areas that never get uncovered with water.
Just bring it up becaue if not and the worms we can see are all that is left of the worms on our shores then i hope cod like garden worm or chips in a 5-10 years time as we wont have any worms left on our coastline.
My thoughts, I have been coming up to the Alnmouth area for 20 years and married a local girl but we have lived our working life's in Surrey therefore all my fishing has mainly been from Norfolk down and around the south coast to Devon except for coming up to visit the in laws.
Retired 6months ago and moved to the best place on earth (Northumberland) joined one of the local sea angling clubs and have had a very warm welcome. So my view as a newcomer is, Some selfish people have spoilt it for you local people belive me it has happened in the South over peeler crab and very violently to. It would appear that the solution reached at Boulmer has not worked as most of the diggers I have seen in the last few months in my opinon are diggingout of bounds for profit. Locals you either know or I have seen about and they also speak to you unlike the special fork brigade who are forced of the beach only by the tide. Pherhaps a few enforcement officers from DHSS may keep them away?.
The painted rocks have all been covered by sand now!
We have not even mentioned the BVLB who are called out to save lives and hope the tractor does not sink to far into soft ground that has been dug.
You should not dig for profit according to the new agreement?
It would appear that the enforcement has been placed with your local Police, he is to busy with fox hunting!!
So if a sea fishing licence does become law will you need it to dig bait as that is now case law i.e. ancillary to fishing ??. (the local police will be busy protecting the new EA enforcement officers)
I wonder if the practical solution of the small boulders would work or would it get nasty as it did down south with the locals on the loosing side, Boats damaged, even the JCB.
I think we all know in this day and age All bait diggers are equal but some are more equal
than others.
Would it work if there was enfocement ??
Probably, for the non locals.
What a great thought "this is a local mark for local anglers"
Police can't enforce it as I have spoken to one who incidentally also helps with the BVRS. How do you prove that someone is digging commercially? Yes they may have (in the past maybe) 1000 worms in their buckets but how do you prove they're not for their own use. This guy had enforced it, the case went to court and they couldn't prove it was for commercial purpose.
Saw some lads being moved on last year but now believe that it's a waste of time for the police as they are now too busy catching motorists.
I have spoken to the local councillor who doesn't seem to be able to offer much in the way of a solution either but was worried by some of the threats that Boulmer Fishermen had received, although I think if enough concerns are expressed they will have to look at the impact some diggers are having on the ecosystem.
Like you say, the DHSS or Taxman may be the only way to stop some as, it'd be interesting to see how many are claiming benefits and selling their worms. Also those that claim invalidity for bad backs but can still manage to dig worms.
Only a Thought Loopy.....there are no longer local marks for local anglers.
BTW which local club did you join if you are from Shilbottle????
"And I looked, and behold'a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with hi, and power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword and with hunger, and with the beasts of the earth"
How's this then....Digging Saturday morning at Boulmer....1am....4-5 lights already down there.....Quiet....then all of a sudden....BRRRRRRMMMMMM.....BBRRRRMMMM......The sound of a generator....Didn't seem to be any extra lights....Maybe they were sucking them out of the sand...lol
"And I looked, and behold'a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with hi, and power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword and with hunger, and with the beasts of the earth"
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