5 Causes To Support If You Love Fishing

For many of us, fishing is more than a hobby. A chance to get away, chill out and have some time outdoors, whether you catch or not!

But for some members of society, fishing represents the opposite, and they’ll use everything in their power to put blame on the sport. Whether that be anglers leaving litter, poaching or the classic case of animal cruelty.

For that reason. I wanted to highlight the few organisations that are doing great things in fishing, whether that be helping it to continue or just supporting people in other ways.

Here are four causes that you should consider supporting for the good of fishing:

Angling Trust

The Angling Trust are a not for profit organisation, representing anglers, fighting for fish, fishing and the environment.

They are recognised by the government as a governing body, and are often seen campaigning against any angling restrictions imposed by the government.

Most notably, the Angling Trust campaigned hard when Covid restrictions imposed a ban on recreational fishing. At the drop of a hat, they pooled their resources and released a full 11-page report titled ‘When We Fish Again‘.

It was presented to government as a way to highlight the mental health benefits associated to fishing, and present a way for fishing to return in line with Covid restrictions.

Sure enough, at the next review, restrictions on fishing were lifted.

Overall, the Angling Trust is probably the number one association when it comes to safeguarding our sport, and is well worth supporting.

Support The Angling Trust

Anglers Against Single Use Plastic

There’s no getting around it; fishing is terrible when it comes to the use of plastic.

The amount of plastic packaging you can pick up in a single trip to the tackle shop is astounding, only for you to empty the contents into your carp tackle box. Even the smallest packets of rig rings are housed in plastic 10 times too big, which just emphasises how far we are from solving this problem.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a group of Anglers who’s come together to create a Facebook group; Anglers Against Single Use Plastic In The Tackle Trade (AASUP).

Their mission is to highlight the issues with single use plastics in the angling trade. Through raising awareness and highlighting the issues to major companies, they hope to make a real change in reducing the amount of plastic the industry generates every year.

I for one am in full support of this and are pleased to add this group to our list of causes you should support.

Join The AASUP Group

Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme

On the same subject of plastic waste, we wanted to highlight this excellent scheme which has been in play for a few years now.

The Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme was designed to provide a way for anglers to easily recycle their old line. By placing recycling bins within local tackle shops, you can simply take your old line and deposited it on your next trip to the shop.

As carp anglers, we are regularly changing our line and it definitely makes me feel better knowing that endless amounts of line are not just going to landfill.

Since their launch in 2016, over 200 tackle shops have signed up to the ANLRS along with over 50 fisheries, angling clubs, charter boats and some manufacturers have pledged their on-going support. 

Next time you re-spool, put your old line to one side and take it along to your local tackle shop.

Know the facts about line

• An estimated 400 metres of line is discarded each year
• It takes 600 years for heavy monofilament carp mainline to degrade in landfill
• Discarded line poses a major threat to wildlife, not to mention the overall image of angling

Tackling Minds

Formed in 2020, Tackling Minds provide events in the UK aimed at supporting people from all walks of life who are struggling with a range of issues including:

• Mental Health
• Social Deprivation
• Addiction
• Long-term Health Conditions
• Disability
• Family Turmoil

The group delivers fishing days on a range of venues, designed to provide personal stimulation & development opportunities and the positive stress-relief therapy that blue-green spaces offer.

The group raises much of their funding through the sale of merchandise and has recently announced that they will be stocked in Angling Direct stores nationwide.

They’re also well supported amongst the angling celebrity circuit, with people such as Manchester’s Ricky Hatton supporting the brand.

Support Tackling Minds

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Fishingthemind

Fishingthemind is a group aimed at helping people struggling with mental health issues.

Their Facebook group is a supportive environment that anyone can join and contribute to. Unlike many of the other carp groups, this one is full of positivity. With 3.8K+ members, there’s plenty going on, and many people sharing tips and advice as well as support for mental health.

Not only that, but the group organises meetups where people can get together and enjoy a days fishing.

Support Fishingthemind

Add more to this list!

Know of any more organisations that are doing good work to help support the fishing community? Contact us and we’ll add them to this list.