Advice is, to say the least, conflicting! Some waters are to open

Advice is, to say the least, conflicting! Some waters are to open – in fact some have already opened, whilst some are to open for boats only. Others are to remain closed.I have tried to establish what is actually going to happen on the bigger reservoirs, but bear with me, as things are likely to change if there are outbreaks of Foot and Mouth in the vicinity of the fishery you wish to visit.Bewl Water:Opened this week, but it is for boat fishing only. Many of the banks around the lake are used for grazing or are farmland – hence access will naturally present a serious problem.Bristol Waters:Opening day put back to April 2nd. Blagdon is to be boat only; Chew will have boat and restricted bank fishing. The Barrow Tanks will remain shut for the foreseeable future, as sheep graze most of the banks and a movement order bans their removal.Grafham Water:Grafham is to open to boat anglers only on 31st March. Pitsford:As with Grafham, boat only from 31st March.Rutland:Obviously with its sheer size and amount of bankside grazing, there are worries over the use to bank anglers, so until further notice there is no bank fishing. Boat fishing is to commence on April 1st.Wimbleball:This delightful lake on Exemoor is to open this weekend. It will be boat fishing only as grazing occurs on most of the banks.Wessex Waters:Wessex Water is to open its reservoirs for boat angling only on the 31st March. Bank fishers to be notified when access allowed. Not in the near future!I will update this list as soon as I have confirmation from other waters. The outlook though is not good. Latest reports from scientists suggest that it may be August before the outbreak is cleared up! Personally, I have very mixed feelings about fishing whilst this crisis is on. I hear arguments both ways and really do find difficulty in deciding which approach to take myself! Some websites call for ALL anglers to side with farmers in this troubled time and NOT go fishing. Obviously, that is not going to happen, the water authorities themselves cannot afford for fishing to be totally “off-limits” and fishermen throughout the country are desperate to get the new season under way. I guess that the decision ultimately is an individual one. So, make up your minds and then stick with it.

Martin Cottis