Jealousy - a powerful poison

I'm rather saddened to make this post; it marks the end of a very enjoyable period at a wonderful fishery. Long Shaw Farm is a fabulous place to go fishing - no question. That the owners should have a set of rules, by which they see best they look after the fish stocks in their control, is perfectly within their rights and I have absolutely no objections to anything that they do - after all it is their own property!
As of 1st January 2015, there has been a new rule introduced - no fishing with floating bread. Pretty straight forward, but - and here's the crux, they still allow floater fishing and sell floating pellets in their shop. The fish stocks are also fed with floaters as part of the management strategy - can't quite understand why the carp should be so easy to catch when surface fishing?

My first double-figure carp in over twenty-five years!
Long Shaw Farm - June 2011

So with all this going on, I wrote a post about our successes at the venue, showing Luke and Benno using fly rods and zig-bugs. Crazy, enjoyable, fun fishing - at a venue which exists to provide just that. There is, however, a massive conflict of interests going on? The various pools, of which there are four to choose from, are home to myriad Mallard/Mallard hybrid ducks whose sole purpose in life is to eat anything which anglers introduce as floating hook-baits or freebies. The floating bread rule wasn't introduced to aid the fishing, or fish welfare but, instead, protect the ducks? Two questions - why allow any type of floater fishing? And, more importantly, is this a fishery or a duck sanctuary? Neither questions need to be answered, I won't be spending any more of my cash in order to visit the site.
Benno and Luke returned yesterday, to be confronted by the owner, complaining about the amount of cat biscuits they had used, the previous week, and saying that they weren't really fly fishing! Benno attempted to diffuse the situation, only to discover that two other anglers had complained that they couldn't catch carp off the bottom due to the amount of floaters they had been using? Fucking genius - they were fishing on another lake!

Like bees to honey - surface fishing for carp at Long Shaw Farm is some of the best fun you can have with a fishing rod!

I can't say that I enjoy not catching fish but, to think that someone else is catching, thus causing you to fail, stinks of jealousy! You're not catching because the tactics you're using, on the day, aren't suited to the conditions. If you can't catch at Long Shaw then you are a very poor angler or employing some very poor tactics - indeed! With this level of nonsense getting in the way of enjoyment, I've had it - fortunately there are many other similar venues where I can go to wet a line and catch a carp, or two. Many thanks Long Shaw, it's been great entertainment, but I ain't putting up with any more of that stuff.
Please let me make it very clear that I've no gripes with the owners of this fishery, it is a fantastic place, with some superb angling on offer. The wildlife is magnificent, as are the surroundings, I'm simply unable to enjoy my time when hampered by so many rules, regulations and attitudes!