Do you guys prefer Carp Fishing or general fishing ?

[Lake owner]

I never really got into the catching the Big Monster Carp scene , I dont know if its just my mindset or what but i tried it sat all day and most of a night without a nibble

 

When i was last down in White acres to get to one of the lakes everyday we would pass this Guy who had got there on the Saturday , and by the Thursday hadnt caught a thing but had slept and lived by the lakeside

 

Now thats not fishing surely ?

 

I prefer a good mix maybe lob the Carp rod out near the island and then do general fishing on the Pole , sort of best of both .

 

Is it just i am old ? Or does anyone else think my way is right ? I still love to catch a nice quality Roach or Tench gives me as much of a buzz as a big Carp ..

[Neil G]

I think you'll find the majority of anglers on here enjoy a very mixed bag of fishing types but not that many are into the long session carp scene.

 

TBH even if I was into carp fishing I wouldn't have the time to do such long sessions...I'd soon be single again!

[Peter Waller]

carp fishing and angling, two different things aren't they

[Ken L]

Definatly not a fan of carp. A limited number in a mixed fishery makes things a bit more interesting but even a few to many makes it impossible to fish fine responsibly without leaving an unacceptable amount of broken tackle in fish.

As for muddy holes filled with pasties, it turns me cold.

I don't do the bivie thing either, I'm definatly a hunter rather than a trapper.

[Wordbender]

carp fishing and angling, two different things aren't they

 

Cough! electronic fish-finders Cough!

 

[SPSwallow]

I never really got into the catching the Big Monster Carp scene , I dont know if its just my mindset or what but i tried it sat all day and most of a night without a nibble

 

When i was last down in White acres to get to one of the lakes everyday we would pass this Guy who had got there on the Saturday , and by the Thursday hadnt caught a thing but had slept and lived by the lakeside

 

Now thats not fishing surely ?

 

I prefer a good mix maybe lob the Carp rod out near the island and then do general fishing on the Pole , sort of best of both .

 

Is it just i am old ? Or does anyone else think my way is right ? I still love to catch a nice quality Roach or Tench gives me as much of a buzz as a big Carp ..

 

I have never caught a carp in my 20 years of fishing on and off. I mainly target Bream and Tench in the summer and Roach in the winter and i'm currently learning about pike to add that to my winter pursuit as well.

 

The carp phenomenon wouldn't bother me at all if it wasn't for the fact that it violates my style of fishing. When I can't get to a river due to lack of transport I cycle to a local fisheries that has good heads of Bream and Tench. There are 3 pools and I avoid the ones with massive carp. I'm sat minding my own buisness when you get thick head bailiffs ridiculing your lighter tackle every 5 minutes and telling you that you should be using 15lb line and 3lb test curve rods etc. And thats before the carpers start having a go. Idiots. I'm tempted to go around telling them 'ooooh you'll never catch a roach on that barbaric gear, you want to be on 2lb hook length'. I don't though, because I know how to mind my own facking buisness.

[wayne baker]

carp fishing and angling, two different things aren't they

 

Quite agree Peter

Carp fishing is a kind of sport of its own. I think most guys who carp fish have no interest in other species. I had the carp bug back in the late seventies anf early eighties and at the time i was quite obbsessed with catching big carp, Though back then it wasnt as popular as it is now and there was still a lot of challenges and so forth. I think its kinda sad these days youngsteres coming into fishing and starting straight on carp, And not learning the basics. EG learning to shot a float properly or even just catching a few small fish down the local canal.

 

Carp are very low on my hit list these days. I cant even remember the last time i targeted them by disign. Being older now and married i would have the time to do the long sessions anyway, What with work and family. comitments. I have been lucky in the past i have had English fish to over forty, Quite small i supose by todays standards, Most of my summers now are spent after tench and barbel. Come October its good old reliable esox.

[BoldBear]

carp fishing and angling, two different things aren't they

 

I don't do the bivie thing either, I'm definatly a hunter rather than a trapper.

Exactly what I think; although I tried the big Carp fishing scene for several years once; but the pull of more enjoyable active fishing called me back to the real world again.

Edited March 10, 2009 by BoldBear

[Wordbender]

Quite agree Peter

Carp fishing is a kind of sport of its own. I think most guys who carp fish have no interest in other species.

 

 

Every carp angler I know, and I know quite a few, goes fishing for other species.

 

Just to add a bit of balance, like.

[Anderoo]

I used to love fishing for carp when I was younger, stalking them around the margins in lakes where people didn't even think they existed. I spent many happy summers doing this. They were a very worthy challenge and good observation, patience, and being extremely quiet and careful was the key to success.

 

I'd still say that fishing for a few good carp in a water is difficult enough to be interesting. Finding such a water now is, ahem, tricky though.

 

Since the fashion of tipping stacks of them into every possible lake, I haven't fished for them, and I actively avoid any water which has loads of carp in. Once they're stocked above a certain level, they turn into a kind of anti-challenge, i.e. how do I avoid them.

 

It's a pity, I really like carp and love stalking them in the summer, but I think that particular pleasure has been lost to me now. As a result, my summer fishing doesn't really have a focus, I'm never really sure what to fish for.

 

Shame.