Swim hogging.

[barbelblanker]

OK, personally I have never experienced this so here goes.

I was chatting to someone recently who bought up an issue at a lake in the midlands. Not mentioning names or venues .

This lake is a club lake that allows overnight fishing by arrangement. The lake holds carp so the bivvy boys are there and the lake is also very busy in the river close season.

The point I am trying to reach is this.

You arrive at a lake and see it's busy. You find a swim and are about to start fishing when someone tells you, from across the lake/the next peg/two pegs away , that they are fishing that peg.

They have three rods out and are bivvyed down. They've cast baits to swims they do not occupy.

Now I am sure this discussion has taken place before , but what do you think?

My opinion is that you fish the peg you are sat in and if you cast to another then that's all well and dandy but if someone else turns up in that peg then tough luck (unless the place is empty then it's time to negotiate).

I am interested to see what others think.

I also realise that on other forums this could start the sort of stupid slanging match or "flame war" , as I said , on other forums......we are a civil bunch so I am sure we can discuss all this without this thread getting closed.

I am very curious on this point so I'd be interested to see the different viewpoints on this.

[Mark78]

i'm with you bb if you decide to fish water that is not in your peg and someone turns up you should move it, regardless of how much bait has been slung in. i will always fish the peg that has the water i want to fish but i have fished out of my swim before and will move it if someone turns up.

Edit, and i'm a bivvy boy.lol.

[SIMPLE MAN]

Well i am only a SIMPLE MAN but the way i see it is one swim one man,and although firstly i would try to reason,at the end of the day i really don't see how you could fish more than one swim unless you have paid for two ?????;and at this point i don't really blame said angler but the governing body who runs the said water and although i am by no mean a nasty man i am lucky in the sense that i am 6ft 3 and 22 stone and sometimes you have to offer a F!!k OFF tablet but in a nice way and they just laugh and walk off but i must say it does seem a bit strange
good luck and tight lines John SIMPLE MAN

[BoldBear]

Im with the others; If I am bivvied up and have laid bait into another swim, and then another angler turns up and moves into the other swim it is only fair to move my baited hook out of the swim and cast elsewhere.

Anyone who expects to take up more than one swim but doesn't expect to relinquish the other swim when someone else want's to fish it is an idiot in my book.

But it also helps if you are both friendly and gentlemanly about it and don't just start moaning especially if the bivvied up guy may be asleep and may not see you move into the other swim in the first place.

[muddy_boots]

I fail to see the issue here. If someone baits up a swim that they do not occupy and then someone else comes along and legitimately sets up there, then it is basically tough luck.

[mickleovermatt]

Im thinking the same as veryone else here. i was under the impression that your area of water is that which is infront of you and out to half way between the pegs on both left and right. In the situation of a peg oppersite then it is to the middle of the water. If you want to fish another swim either move or pay for another peg and sit between them....
This however is only my opinion and i may be wrong as i course fish mostly and carping has never really taken my fancy.

[Dubbed Squirrel]

This behaviour is unfortunately not uncommon, whether it be a carp lake, trout stillwater, or river, it`s just an act of selfishness.

[northern eye]

I dont have a problem with all the bivvie men/women but I have experienced crossed lines and swim hogging on smaller venues and feel that the problem lies with the fishery owners. Smaller lakes who open their doors to day ticket/pleasure anglers should have a limit on rod use. It is totally crazy to have three rods out on a lake that simply is not designed for that type of fishing, as soon as three or four anglers with 3 rods a piece are spaced out around these lakes then thats it for the others, all swims are taken. I think that there should be rod limits on all smaller venues and that the long distance, 3 rod method should be saved for the bigger carp waters. Unfortunately allot of owners prefer to charge per rod and line their pockets at the risk of ruining the more considerate anglers day. Its fine if the 3 rod guy is a nice bloke and reels in for you but some are simply ignorant to all others. I wouldn't be so concerned about this subject had I not been called all the names under the sun for crossing a guys line last year - he was actually cast out to the complete opposite side of the small lake, taking up 3 swims to his left and the 2 opposite, one of which I was unfortunate to set up in whilst he slept. It was only when I reeled in after my first cast that I caught his line and set off his bite alarm - waking the beast and suffering a torrent of verbal abuse from across the lake. No need for it!!

[Maddison_Twatter]

do what my mate did.. retrieve the line and tie it to a rock.
I had a similar problem on a water last year, a guy who was occupying a corner peg was casting his lines directly over our swims restricting us to about 2 rod lengths out, we had a word to no avail so I had words with the bailiff.. turns out he shouldve been out of that peg 4 hours earlier, problem solved ..nob head moved on.. you might feel like a grass but its the owners job to sort the pegs out and arrange the anglers so everything stays fair.

[Greenheart]

Originally Posted by mickleovermatt

Im thinking the same as veryone else here. i was under the impression that your area of water is that which is infront of you and out to half way between the pegs on both left and right. In the situation of a peg oppersite then it is to the middle of the water. If you want to fish another swim either move or pay for another peg and sit between them....
This however is only my opinion and i may be wrong as i course fish mostly and carping has never really taken my fancy.

Spot on mate.