Spiderfan

Thanks Carpking, I'll have a look. I went onto the Solar bobbins at the time - at least they let go of the line when you picked up the rod!

Ah, I see . . . the Rita Skeeter's of the world!

Hi Peter, Could you qualify what you mean by a ‘leading angler’ or a ‘worthwhile’ one? ‘Tis a rare breed, someone who knows their onions on the bank and who can write in an interesting and entertaining manner. All too often nowadays, its people with privileged access and a politically controversial topic line that get their ‘work’ published. That, and last year’s rigs . . .

Singy, the reason I use pop-ups is because the presentation keeps the all-important hook-point clear of crud on the bottom – all the better to prick fish with when its not masked by leaves or weed. They don’t know what to be afraid of Mat, which is precisely my point. They are wary of everything, almost all of the time. Take a hypothetical water with some angling pressure – where do you start and what do you look for initially when searching for the fish? I would look for snags – overhanging bushes, especially around islands, sunken trees, weed-beds etc.. Why? Because they’re natural fish-holding areas that the fish will retreat to when they feel threatened. They feel safer there, more secure and more likely to feed there should the opportunity arise. Self-preservation will generally override the desire to feed, so pressured fish will always be found in relatively ‘safe’ areas. More carp are caught at night, yes? No co-incidence then that this time coincides with the least amount of bankside activity by anglers and a reduced ability to detect potential threats using sight on the carp’s behalf.

Hi Mat, Not necessarily 'smarter', maybe more 'wary'. . . that is, some fish's survival instincts are tuned better than others? The 'carp between the legs' episode occurred on a popular PAAS water known for its prolific carp fishing. I was fishing in a boggy, mozzy-infested corner with difficult access. Maybe the fish felt more relaxed in that area due to the lack of bankside activity in contrast to the rest of the lake? That, and I like to think I was fishing stealthily! Brains? Nah, but yes, I think luck has a lot to do with it, especially when it comes to what size of fish ends up in your net!

Hi Gaffer, I very much doubt that either of us has professional qualifications in the ‘animal behaviourist’ field, and far be it from me to refute your interpretation of what you saw. At the other end of the scale though … I was floater fishing a lake whilst ‘paddling’ the margins in waders as the banks were largely overgrown and access by wading was the only route to the area I wanted to fish (other than using an axe and bow-saw!), standing in water 15” deep no more than a yard or two from the bank. I was fishing into a slight breeze and un-taken freebies were starting to drift back round my feet, when I felt something between my legs (no laughing, please – I’m trying to be serious!). I looked down to see a large carp literally bullying itself between my waders to get at floaters behind me. The fish methodically began mopping up all the bait it could find while I slowly reeled in. I held my controller at arms length, with the hook-bait touching the surface and it was taken just seconds later. I ‘struck’ by hand, and after a good scrap, returned the estimated 16-17lb common without it ever leaving the water. If carp can learn by association and communicate their acquired wisdom, how come we can still catch them?

Fox swingers (original models) absolute carp(sp). Don't know what the later versions are like as I lost faith and didn't buy 'em.

Hi Matt, Yes, I have seen fish spook off lines and bait, but not unreasonably more so than I’ve seen fish spook themselves in shallow, exposed situations with neither bait nor line anywhere near. Maybe a leaf fell of a tree and landed by them or a twig they didn’t notice touched their side? It’s just that when fish feel vulnerable, especially in clear, shallow water, their ‘flight’ senses are turned on high such that they will panic even if the shadow of a bird flying overhead hits them. Thanks for the link to an interesting article, but I read nothing compelling that would change my views. As for the Redmire scarecrow (I couldn’t tell the difference, could you?), it’s merely a case of the fish exploring their feeding opportunities. It’s very fanciful to think that the fish he caught had ‘accepted’ the presence of a scarecrow because it had not been threatened by it for 3 days. Who’s to say that was not the first time that particular fish had visited the area and all Chris Yates was doing was being stealthy by making no sudden movements while moving into position etc.? If you can put a hook-bait that a fish will eat, in a situation such that a fish will find it while using tackle strong enough to land it, then the only other requirement is time. That’s regardless of species, be it still or running water. Greatly over-simplified I know, because you need to add watercraft, casting technique, fish-playing ability, sharp hooks, good knots, blah, blah, blah to the equation in order to achieve success and consistency within the time window you have available to fish. Bait, location, presentation – they’re my priorities, and in that order. I think red letter days are as a result of us getting it right and the times when we struggle or blank are more down to us getting it wrong, rather than the ability of the fish to avoid our attempts to catch them. We’re creatures of logic and naturally try to justify our successes with our alleged ability to solve a perceived problem - we’ve got the opposable thumb after all! When we cast to a different spot, or change a rig or bait and then catch a fish, the reason for our previous inactivity was probably down to a problem with bait, location or presentation in the first place rather than our cleverness in solving an angling conundrum.

Just how ‘intelligent’ are carp (or any other fish for that matter)? We hear and read phrases like; ‘that bait flavour has blown on this water’, ‘they spook off large beds of particles’, ‘they bolt if your lines are up in the water’, ‘they avoid that area as it’s over-fished’. In response, we seem to develop ever more complicated rigs, gimmicks and gizmos in order to stay ahead of the game on the assumption that the fish are continually wising up. Are we justified in thinking that our quarry is capable of cognitive thought and have a memory capable of storing personal experience over days, weeks, months or years? Do they ‘learn’ by their mistakes, or are they just dumb animals that rely on basic instinct in order to survive and propagate the species? And is it merely self-gratification on the angler’s part so that we can say we’re cleverer than them when we’re successful, or is it Lady Luck who decides if and when we catch the largest fish in the lake? To my mind, fish are bound by what I like to call the three ‘F’s: Food, Flight and . . . well, I’ll let you guess the last. They’re not in any particular order. Indeed, in different circumstances their importance and order in which they’re applied to a fish’s behaviour changes. Generally speaking, ‘Flight’ comes first – self-preservation – can’t do anything if you don’t survive! If a threat, potential or otherwise is perceived, then leg it to the nearest bit of cover, be it deeper water, a weedbed or the centre of the shoal. Then comes ‘Food’, and it’s usually a see-food and eat it before someone else does or, if it looks like it might be food, taste it to find out if it is. It’s not necessarily a hunger thing; if food is plentiful it comes out of the other end just as fast as it goes in. If food is scarce and nothing goes in, bodily reserves are used and nowt comes out. Sometimes, hunger puts ‘Food’ ahead of ‘Flight’, especially in instances where other fish are already feeding (confidence/competition). Finally, when the spawning season arrives, the third ‘F’ kicks in and the other two go right out the window! Season’s greetings to all.

I'll second that, well worth the money IMO. A Cats Whisker, for example, with JC cheeks makes all the difference. Bite the bullet, Tinca but try to find a cape that off a 'farm'-raised bird - there are a few about.

Hi Craig, It’s a tough call to say whether it will ‘do you’ or not, only you can decide that. In my experience you pay for quality and better quality generally means better performance. Given that some fly-rods can cost in excess of £400/£500, this Normark kit can be said to be at the ‘economy’ end. That said, there should be no reason to suggest it can’t do what you’re expecting of it, as long as you’re not expecting to punch tight loops with an 8-weight line and a 4” lure on the end 30 yards into a stiff on-shore wind! Being able to do that relies on both skill and the quality of your gear - it’s only a rod and reel after all. Remember that salt-water is highly corrosive and you should rinse rod, reel and line well with plenty of fresh-water straight after use.

There'll be mullet and trigger fish too, if it's anything like Fuerta Ventura. Use fry lures and shrimp and crab imitations. I took an 9 foot, 8-weight on holiday a few years back but that was only for targetting fish up to a couple of pounds. I certainly wouldn't recommend trying to hook-up a 15lb striped tuna on the same gear - you'd just be spooled!

Where did you end up, John? Manage to wet a line? I was off down the M57, M62 & M6 (with roadworks on each!) that day to fish Westlow Mere near Congleton. A mate and I had 5 a-piece, including a cracking 9lb+ beauty! The green-eyed monster in me is sorry to say my mate caught the biggie, but it was nice to see it go back!

Maybe 'carps' means something else in Dutch? Other than 'karper', I mean.

You could try Graiglywd (sp?) Springs near Penmaenmawr (sp again?), small but holds some nice sized fish. Or Llyn Brenig if you fancy a bit (!) more water to go at.