An angler's journal

An angler's journal

Monday 4 December 2017

Des Taylor drops a clanger

It appears that Des Taylor has been enjoying some long trotting down on the river Test. A good catch of grayling ensued and at the end of a successful day he posted the following on his Facebook account. Now for some, this won't pose a problem. Rules state that a single angler may take two grayling between 30 and 38cm on any given day. Presumably he had the help of a friend to make his quota legal.

However, the point of the argument is Des's rhetoric over the past decade. He has been a vocal campaigner. Indeed he almost prides himself on ruffling a few feathers. It appears that if you say it louder than everyone else it must be right, or at least is Des's world it does. As mentioned, Des has been an active in promoting the threats to fishing over the years. He was recently pictured at Powick Weir following a successful campaign to save it. He is also an Angling Trust Ambassador.

He even said upon being granted the title, "Waters like my river, the Severn need to be looked after for the future of angling and I see that protection coming from the Angling Trust. I am honoured to be asked to be an Ambassador for the Trust." 

This of course for a Trust that has tasked themselves with saving waterways from predation and poaching amongst other things. Therefore, I feel it was pretty bad taste for Des to be posting dead fish on his page. At best it was plain stupid and a man of his experience ought to have known better. In reality, I won't be alone in thinking this stinks of hypocrisy. If a non-British angler had posted this it would have caused a social media meltdown with all sorts of stupid comments being posted. Instead it was a national ambassador for angling - great work in promoting our sport!






8 comments:

  1. Very well said Lee,my sentiments exactly.What's the point in calling for an otter cull and then going and taking potential fodder fish for the otter.People will always blow smoke up so called celebrity anglers backsides,when the truth of the matter is there are no celebrity anglers,anybody can catch fish,the fish is the star not the angler.Unfortunately the narcissism epidemic is getting worse.

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  2. Cheers, Mark. If you have to take a fish then you don't slap it on Facebook. Certainly not in today's climate.

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  3. Shock horror, Des Taylor is controversial. The man's made a career out of it - it puts the reader figures up.

    One of his best was in one of the Weeklies when he made the observation that the better chub/barbel/perch rivers all had signal crayfish in them so 'perhaps we should introduce them into the Severn'. A moronic comment like that is always likely to have some idiot take the introduction into their own hands.

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  4. I'll see my lawyers about this!!

    Des Taylor

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    Replies
    1. Lawyer's about taking 4 fish that could be undersized?


      The Swan Lady of Bewdley!

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    2. How am they undersized?

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