It had to happen sooner or later. The Review recently carried a story about a confrontation between cyclists and a group of anglers from one of the Forest fishing clubs (not mine).
To make matters worse, the paper carried a picture of a one-armed man, apparently the fishing club's bailiff, brandishing a large stick at the photographer with another cyclist standing by. Apparently there had been words followed by a scuffle.
According to the cyclists, they may have been on the wrong track, they were uncertain, but had dismounted in order to show respect to anglers fishing from the path. And then they were abused and threatened.
But according to the fishing club, they suffer continual harassment and abuse from cyclists many of whom, they say – producing the trump card which Foresters so love to play – are "not from round here," which is intended to mean that there is nothing more to be said.
The old Forest attitude still lingers on that if people from other parts of the country have the nerve to show up in the Dean at all, well they should jolly well behave themselves. I should know: my grandparents arrived in 1928 and I am occasionally given to understand we are still on probation. And having been born in Bristol I am also aware that I can never call myself a Forester.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the affair, the picture looks ugly and very bad for the image of angling. I do have some sympathies for the anglers concerned.
Our own Forest angling syndicate lake is also a famous beauty spot and a SSSI with a footpath around it, so except for about half an hour after dawn, the public is always with us. The public are just supposed to walk around the lake, which is a nature reserve as well a fly fishery.
Most people are charming and some even ask intelligent questions about the fishing. But in our time, as you can imagine, we have also put up with cyclists, horse riders, motorised skateboarders, swimmers, radio controlled boaters and more.
The greatest difficulty we find tends to be with certain dog-walkers and... I type this with trepidation...often with lady dog-walkers.
As it's a nature reserve and a fishery, our landlords the Forestry Commission have asked on the surrounding notices that dogs be kept under control. And that's all we ask really.
We can put up with the odd barking and even with the muck on the bank. We like dogs. Most of us have dogs of our own.
But even owners with an anthropomorphic tendency towards their dog might think to avoid throwing sticks into the water while anglers are fishing or shouting gaily 'good girl' as the creature gallops into their line and tackle.
One of our members, a dog-owner himself, has resigned this year as he can't stand the bad manners of some dog-walkers any more.
However, if we have learned anything, it is that it is very unwise to remonstrate with an owner who won't control a dog. It's like getting embroiled in arguments with the neighbours; you can never win, and always best to turn the other cheek. Do it for the sake of the sport's public image.
More than a year ago, when an errant Pekinese ran in to try to grab a live trout which I was trying to unhook in the landing net, I made the serious mistake of suggesting to the lady owner that she put it on a lead.
Whenever the same lady shows up on the lakeside path now, on a good day I get a sarcastic remark or two, and on a bad day a torrent of swearing. Evidently she isn't over it yet.
– Oliver Burch, Lydney.