An angler from Cornwall made a rod for his own back when he was caught fishing without a proper licence.

Now the Bodmin man has been forced to pay out nearly £450 by the courts.

Daniel Hoskin, aged 39 from Burden Close, was caught fishing without a rod licence at Bake Lakes in Saltash on April 23, 2024.

The case was proven in Hoskin’s absence and he was fined £220, as well as ordered to pay £135 towards prosecution costs and an £88 victim surcharge at Northampton Magistrates Court on August 22, 2024. The prosecution was brought by the Environment Agency.

Benjamin Pessl, fisheries enforcement officer for the government agency, said: “There is no worse feeling than being sat on the bank then seeing us approach you, knowing you don’t have a licence.

“It’s not worth the gamble. We do patrol and we do check, and we do prosecute.”

How to get a licence

Any angler aged 13 or over, fishing on a river, canal or still water, needs a licence.

A one-day licence costs from just £6 and an annual licence costs from just £30 (concessions available). Junior licences are free for 13 to 16-year-olds.

Licences are available from www.gov.uk/get-a-fishing-licence or by calling the Environment Agency on 0344 800 5386 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

The Environment Agency carries out enforcement work all year round and is supported by partners including the police and the Angling Trust.

Fisheries enforcement work is intelligence-led, targeting known hot-spots and where illegal fishing is reported.

Anyone with information about illegal fishing activities can contact the Environment Agency incident hotline 24/7 on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The full charge

Daniel Hoskin was charged that on April 23, 2024 at Bake Lakes, Saltash, in a place where fishing is regulated, [he] fished for freshwater fish or eels by means of an unlicensed fishing instrument, namely rod and line, contrary to Section 27(1)(a) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.