Sea fishing Forums

Rushy wrote:I suppose you know what you're talking about Andy....seeing as you build the bloody things!!

And we let him be a member on here?!?!?!


Yer on a warning Nuttall, any more rock armour in you are in big trouble!!!


Just thinking.... when they had all the barriers up there was a volker stevin employee fishing inside the barriers behind my flat, made me so mad i took a picture and posted it on a forum i was then involved with along with a rant Might have been you lol

Not seen that before Dave. I would've thought it would just wash away in an area exposed to the tide but, don't know the area in question. Would be a damn sight cheaper than concrete though as you need to use special concrete in sea defenses due to the time constraints you're working with and the strength it needs to reach in a very short space of time.
Normal concrete takes around 28 days to reach full strength but, takes years to fully "go off". You can break into concrete after a couple of years and still find that it's "green".

That shingle would definitely be of benefit to anglers if it's usage was suitable in the area you're talking about.

Oh, and where did you manage to find a picture of you with a fish? lol

lol paul. I always make sure the ones I do are far far away from here!

baitdigger wrote:i've always wondered if small angling pods could be created in the rock armour of the jetty, Grosvenor, Battery car park etc.

an infill of concrete to create a short and safe walkway with a safety railing at the end would be ideal. The pods could be made wide enough for 3 or 4 rods and some could be designated and adapted for disabled anglers. Made safe to encourage children to take up a sporting recreation. Pod competitions, Top Pod of the week, Pod sponsored by Gerry's?!! .............. got me going now!

I don't think they would greatly alter the look of the armour nor would they compromise their wave deflecting purpose. As Morecambe Bay is one of the most important feeding grounds for sea birds, I'm sure we could encourage our friendly Twitcher friends to support the idea? They use them when the tide is out, and us when it's in!

I think the time has gone when people will come to Morecambe for entertainment (Blackpool has this and we'll never compete). We should make the most of what's there already - The Bay, the views and the wildlife. I visited North Berwick a few years ago. They have done this and have the Scottish Seabird Centre on the shore - cafe, gift shop education and webcams on the wildlife. major attraction and tastefully done. Why doesn't Morecambe make the most of what it already has?

Well done on your letter Rushy -brilliant

that is an exerlent idea mate, i mean the idea of fishing pods is brilliant and it would certainly attract the right attention for fisherman tto travel to morecambe, ''i know instead of fishing local lets try the new pods at morecambe'' i think your on to a winner there but how much would this cost and would the council not pay for it, it might end up a case of we get councils permission to go ahead but we as anglers have to someway raise the money this is a strong possability as we know what the council and current climate are like at the moment

Thanks Mike T,

it will always come down to costs and safety i guess? I'm not sure how much concrete would be needed to make a narrow walkway between/over the rock defences and then a widened area at the edge? There are two either side of the stone jetty - my idea was to follow this style, but on a much, much smaller/ narrower scale ( and without all the boulders out from these that make them un-fishable!!) I know these are part of the jetty structure, but a precedent has been set there - so the pods must be possible?

I got a pm from baitdigger the other day about something he'd spotted in the Visitor

baitdigger wrote:Hi Rushy,

just wondered if you'd seen page 3 of 'The Visitor' this week? David Croxall, Town Clerk seeking public consultation on Morecambe's 3 year strategic plan, including promenade development.

Not sure if this is the same as your post - as this is the Morecambe Parish Council? Closing date Feb 24th for emails.
Let me know if you want all the details.

Baitdigger

Now neither were sure if this is the same as the MAAP, but thought it worth sending an email out with a slightly altered and expanded version of what I'd sent previously....

Hello,

I am a representative of Recreational Sea Anglers (RSA) for the Morecambe & Heysham area.

I am co-administrator of the Angling Addicts website which currently has close to 500 members, many of which either reside in the local district or travel to Morecambe to use the current facilities available to anglers. We obviously have an interest in any proposals in the Morecambe regeneration plan regarding the development of the promenade, beaches & seafront and, hopefully for us, improvements to the current venues available to anglers.

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=3702

As you are no doubt aware, Morecambe has two highly regarded and much visited tackle shops (Gerrysfishing on Parliament Street & Morecambe Angling Centre on Thornton Road), and these are a catalyst for bringing RSA into the area to spend time & money in the local economy The RSA would be grateful if you would recognise the contributions RSA make to the local economy and would very much like to have our voice heard in any consultation regarding the development of the promenade.


A recent suggestion by a member of AA and a resident of Morecambe........

"I've always wondered if small angling pods could be created in the rock armour of the jetty, Grosvenor, Battery car park etc.
an infill of concrete to create a short and safe walkway with a safety railing at the end would be ideal. The pods could be made wide enough for 3 or 4 rods and some could be designated and adapted for disabled anglers Made safe to encourage children to take up a sporting recreation.

I don't think they would greatly alter the look of the armour nor would they compromise their wave deflecting purpose. As Morecambe Bay is one of the most important feeding grounds for sea birds, I'm sure we could encourage our friendly Twitcher friends to support the idea? They use them when the tide is out, and anglers when it's in!

I think the time has gone when people will come to Morecambe for entertainment (Blackpool has this and we'll never compete). We should make the most of what's there already - The Bay, the views and the wildlife. I visited North Berwick a few years ago. They have done this and have the Scottish Seabird Centre on the shore - cafe, gift shop education and webcams on the wildlife. major attraction and tastefully done. Why doesn't Morecambe make the most of what it already has?"

Since the placement of rock armour along the full length of Morecambe Promenade, anglers have had vast swathes of potential fishing venues taken away from them. Morecambe has historically always been a popular destination for anglers to visit, fathers & sons spending quality time fishing whilst the mother/grandparents went shopping or for a coffee with the rest of the family in the town. Morecambe needs to find the reasons for people wanting to come and spend the day here again. We believe angling could be a major factor in that.

Another suggestion would be to reclaim the beaches from the unforgiving rock armour and dump tonnes of the much more user friendly shingle on top, such as the council have already done between Green Street slipway and the Yacht club slipway. This suggestion wouldn't compromise the effectiveness of the sea defences but would make the beaches more accessible to its potential users. People enjoy strolling along the beach, that is an undisputed fact. You only have to look at the success dumping sand on the clock tower area of Morecambe beach has been. In summer that area is incredibly busy and the knock on effect is shops reopening selling beach paraphernalia, coffee shops, cafes etc etc. If the beaches were made more user friendly along the rest of the promenade, you would encourage not only anglers, but dog walkers, bird watchers, families et al.

Whilst the rock armour has been an undoubted success in respect of its intended purpose as a sea defence, it has perhaps created a physical and psychological barrier between the promenade and the beaches. The proposals we have included may go some way to reclaim the use of the beaches as a major attraction in Morecambe's armoury.

The RSA would be grateful if you would include improvements that would increase areas where anglers could fish in safety and comfort, which were taken away when the rock armour was put in place.

Yours sincerely

David Rushworth


And we have had a reply.........


Dear Mr Rushworth
Many thanks for your email regarding the views of Anglers about the future regeneration of Morecambe.
I will ensure your views are considered by the Town Council following completion of the Consultation period on 24th February.

Kind regards
David
David Croxall

Clerk to the Council
Morecambe Town Council
Town Hall
Morecambe
LA4 5AF

We'll see what that brings

Well written Dave I'm sure after reading that it will give them something to think about i hope they listen other wise your gonna need a boat to fish Morecambe Bay.

Well, we will have to see what happens.

Nice email Rushy

I've had a reply from the MAAP consultation which confusingly appears to be a totally separate issue from the Morecambe regeneration project

Dear Mr David Rushworth

You have been registered by Lancaster City Council because you have either
stated interest in taking part in online consultations, asked to be on the
Lancaster City Council consultation database or have responded via letter or
email to a current consultation.

It appears that if we had expressed an interest early enough, we would have been included to fill out a questionnaire which would have gone some way to form the councils planning outlook for the next 15yrs.
As we're too late for this, we need to think of another strategy...quickly!

I propose we come up with either a document or a power point presentation (which can be put on a disk) and sent to the relevant people. This would at least get our point across and clarify what we currently have and what we would like.

I'm thinking along the lines of taking photos of the long stretches of rock armour, juxtaposed with archive pictures showing how it used to be (we've lost MILES of potential venues). Pushing Baitdiggers pods idea (is anyone any good at mocking up a diagram or photoshop an example of what we want?). We need to push dual purpose usage of any development, I liked baitdiggers idea of anglers use it when the tides in, twitchers when the tides out etc etc
We could mention the historical aspect of angling in Morecambe, the News of the World matches which used to take place on a Sunday and attract anglers from all over the North West (that venue is lost to us).

I need ideas from you guys.....what can we put in a presentation that will force the council to think again? Can anyone tell me what Sea Angling is worth to the economy? What will it do for Morecambe's economy?
Have a read of this Outline Options Paper, the section regarding Outdoor Recreation development of the PROMENADE is the final section..... Various sports can and are safely enjoyed on the beaches. Led in the main by voluntary run membership clubs, and somewhat isolated from other visitor markets activities possible include kitesurfing, windsurfing, power boating, sailing, sea kayaking and recreational and commercial fishing.....that's the only mention fishing gets in the whole shebang

Hi Dave I just came across this thread, it’s good to see a commitment from the RSA fraternity coming together to try to improve local shore angling facilities.
There are several posts regard adapting the existing sea defence works but I can’t help thinking that you may be banging on a stable door where the horse has long since bolted.
During the construction of the sea defence works I personally and other members of Morecambe DAC attended meetings with LCC and their engineers on a monthly / bi-monthly basis from around 1992 to 2007.
Stakeholders at those meetings included the commercial fishermen, yacht club, life boat, coastguard, disabled anglers and of course Morecambe dinghy angling club but I can’t recall any representation from the shore angling groups. All of the stakeholders at the time were rewarded with improved facilities within the construction of the sea defences. The fact that shore angling groups were not represented is probably the reason that the only concession to shore fishing is the not so practical space on the stone jetty.
It’s probably worth remembering that the £millions spent on sea defences came from European grants and the likely hood of there being any money left in the pot for further improvement is pretty slim. Any money allocated is probably being soaked up by continually sweeping sand of the promenade and gardens as a result of beach nourishment in phase 7 of the coastal works.
I think you are in for a struggle but best of luck.
p.s. If it’s any help and you want to get really really bored I probably still have the minutes to all of those meetings.