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FearTheHands

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Posts posted by FearTheHands

  1. *Takes deep breath*

     

    Firstly, I am very much a novice when it comes to any form of fishing. I have lived in the Midlands all my life & the ONLY exposure to fishing I have ever had was a mackerel boat my dad took me on in 1978.

    The nearest coastline to me is almost 100 miles away.

     

    I am now 34 years old & have taken up sea fishing, mainly because I want to eat what I catch.

     

    I knew I wanted to start fishing but was extremely nervous about dipping my toe in the water.

    I spent a week driving around Dorset, Devon & Cornwall, June this year & took particular note at what all the anglers were doing. I knew I wanted to fish from the beach as a starting point & did a bit of research on the internet about the basics. This was ALOT harder than I anticipated. Basically - if you don't know what you are looking for, you ain't gonna find it. Assumption of basics is prevalent.

     

    I finally took the plunge on my next trip & asked the advice from *A shop at West Bay*. They sold me a 10ft Ron Thompson Beachcaster, which I was chuffed to bits with. They did however assume a certain basic knowledge, which I didn't have. I repeatedly told them I had NO experience at fishing at ANY level, but they assured me what they had sold me would be easy to "figure out"

     

    We then moved on to Padstow. As I said, I have had NO exposure to fishing whatsoever, so even the extreme basics were a minefield to me.

     

    I had been sold a "Flattie" rig & a set of mackerel feathers (I only know that now).

    I spent an hour on the beach at Padstow trying to figure out my new rod & the feathers (no-one around to ask). Needless to say I tied the rig to my line & on my second cast my line snapped & I lost the lot.

     

    I bought a book called "Sea Fishing Encyclopaedia" from a shop in Padstow & stayed up most of the night reading it.

     

    Even this book assumed a certain amount of knowledge which I just didn't have.

    It assumed that I knew that ledgering was fishing on the bottom, it assumed that I knew how to tie a basic know, it assumed that I knew what feathers were - I had no clue. I just needed pointing in the right direction.

     

    The following morning I went into the tackle shop in Padstow & asked the female assistant if she could help me with the basics.

    She was extremely obliging & not patronising in the least & put me right on the extreme basics of fishing. This allowed me to start spinning for fish (the most basic method I could grasp) & gave me a good feel for fishing.

     

    Since then I have had a few trips to Dorset, talked to lots of anglers, read lots of books, watched a s****load of TV programmes & am just beginning to get the basics of sea fishing.

     

    My point is to all of the experienced anglers out there:

     

    Don't take the p***s out of basic questions - we all have to start somewhere.

    The 1st port of call for a novice like me is such things like Sea Angler magazine & their "basic" guides like how to tie knots & "what is Ledgering" questions, along with forums like this one.

    I now know the answers to these type of questions but at the time it is a HUGE learning curve, if, like me you have had no exposure to ANY type of fishing before.

    I have been asked a couple of time for advice from holiday anglers who assume I am a local whilst on holiday & it has been a great pleasure to pass on the valid advice I have been given.

     

    I have become an expert on many things in my short life mostly thanks to help from experts who didn't think themselves too big to help out novices like me & I have been happy to pass on this information to others knowing that "We all have to start somewhere"

     

    There appears to be a lot of snobbery (by some) when it comes to fishing which very much puts off novice anglers from asking "stupid questions" & potentially loses an angler who could be "hooked for life"

     

    I have posted a couple of questions on this forum so far & have received differing replies.

    Amongst those replies, thankfully I have had replies from people who have really helped me out & have helped me move on to the next stage of my angling career.

     

    All I would say is - Please don't treat EVERYONE like an idiot - an idiot is :

     

    quote:


    A person of profound mental retardation having a mental age below three years and generally being unable to learn connected speech or guard against common dangers.
    Most of us just want to learn how to do things without being mocked & ridiculed by "The Experts"

     

    Don't put someone off fishing, for life simply because they don't know what ledgering is ....!!

     

    Thanks to all the people who have put me right on my 1st steps towards becoming a sea angler, I REALLY appreciate your help - shame on you who take the p**s

     

    *Exhales*

     

    [ 30. September 2004, 12:30 AM: Message edited by: FearTheHands ]

  2. I was wondering what your preferred methods of despatching fish are ?

     

    I'm not keen on just letting them suffocate - perhaps this is the best method though ?

     

    Is the old "tap on the head" better ?

     

    What is the quickest & causes the least stress possible to the fish ?

  3. Thanks to everyone for your quick & informative replies, some useful information for me there which I will try out next time I go fishing.

     

    Thanks also for the recipe - I look forward to trying it out!

     

    Alan - I have sent an email to you with my postal address on it - thanks very much indeed! :)

     

    [ 18. September 2004, 10:03 PM: Message edited by: FearTheHands ]

  4. Hi all

     

    New to the forums & fairly new to fishing in general.

     

    Have taken up sea fishing & having a blast doing so! :D

     

    I spent the last week along the West Dorset coast trying every method of fishing I could. I was successful ledgering (West bay) & float fishing (Weymouth Pier) catching varying sizes of Pollack at both places.

     

    No matter what size of Pollack I caught or whether on a float or ledgering EVERY fish without fail almost swallowed the hook. The worst when I caught a 2 pound Pollack meaning I had to cut the hook off (advised by a fellow angler - is this correct?).

    The rest of the fish I managed to un-hook.

     

    Is there a way of presenting the bait to ensure hooking in the jaw or is this a particular trait of the Pollack.

     

    I previously have caught mackerel spinning & hooked all of them fine in the lips/jaw

     

    I was using sandeel in both cases.

     

    One last beginner question - are Pollack good eating fish ? If so, what is the minimum size you can keep ?

     

    Thanks in advance,

    FearTheHands

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