Do you guys prefer Carp Fishing or general fishing ?

[Neil G]

I am going to go carp fishing this year but I will be using a fly rod or a single barbel rod and very simple tactics as that should be fun

 

If I really have to sit around behind rods I'd prefer to do it for something a bit more interesting like catfish

[Rusty]

I don’t often fish for Carp now but I’ll never forget the feeling of watching a squeezy bottle top slam into the rod, a Heron bite alarm buzz away and the reel give line at rate of knots. My very first (and PB to date) was a 25lb 13oz Mirror caught at, Darenth Leisure Sport venue during the early eighties.

 

For that reason alone every now and then I have to give it another go, about once a year I suppose. I only have one bottle top left and when that goes I’m not sure what I’ll do.

[Steve Burke]

Well said wordbender, each to his own and this sport of ours is big enough to allow everyone to follow their own course.

 

One fear that I do have though is the number of youngsters who start carp fishing as an entry into the sport without understanding the basics. They want to catch large fish but don't have a clue about water craft or perhaps more importantly how to handle a fish once they have caught it. Some of them even have no respect for the other species of fish they may catch along the way. I have heard many of them say, 'I only had a couple of snotties, bloody things'. Tench are similarly dis respected. That is a trend that I don't like.

 

Carp and pike fishing are the pinnacles of our sport of coarse angling and my belief is that anglers should work their way up to those heights, not start there.

 

The first 2 paragraphs I agree with, but not the third. I don't believe that any species is different to any others in this respect. Having said that I think I know what you're trying to say.

 

Personally I go both session fishing when I bivvy up (but not for carp these days), and also on short trips of just a couple of hours upwards. Which one I choose depends on the amount of time I have available, my mood, the conditions, and what species I'm after.

 

What I don't do though is fish for anything that comes along. Instead my efforts are focused on one species at a time.

 

Whilst I'm not an out an out specimen hunter I'm usually (but not always) after specimen fish. This is because they tend to be more difficult, and it's the difficulty that turns me on. Come to think of it I can't see many other reasons to go bream fishing at Wingham!

 

I don't therefore enjoy trips to commercials. I find the overstocking takes away most of the challenge. After all, in some cases these fish have to eat anglers' baits to avoid starvation! They may even need artificial air just to breathe!

 

The one exception of course is for perch, that aren't normally so easy in such waters.

 

However such waters do have their uses, including being ideal for beginners and improvers to learn their craft. They can also be good places to try new ideas, as on a difficult water you might blank despite the idea being a good one.

 

These waters do of course fill a hole (if you pardon the pun), witness their popularity. This is fine, provided there's still sufficient choice to give those who don't want artificially easy fishing.

 

And this narrowing of choice is one of the things I suspect Gozzer is most worried about.

[Kappa]

Carp and pike fishing are the pinnacles of our sport of coarse angling and my belief is that anglers should work their way up to those heights, not start there.

 

I agree with Steve, I'm not sure how I feel about the phrase "pinnacles of our sport" however, in terms of difficulty you'd be hard pushed to find much harder than very big bream.

 

Rich

[Anderoo]

I agree with Steve, I'm not sure how I feel about the phrase "pinnacles of our sport" however, in terms of difficulty you'd be hard pushed to find much harder than very big bream.

 

Rich

 

Big carp which are few in number, inhabiting a vast, rich gravel pit must be really hard to catch (I've never tried, but I'm thinking back to the pioneering carp fishing done in the 70s/80s/90s). Big pike, I think, are hard to catch because there aren't many of them. I reckon piking is one of the easiest forms of coarse fishing, so I'd disagree with W One there.

 

Big bream are the hardest fish I've ever tried to catch, but I bet trying to catch big roach is even harder!

 

What I think is the 'problem' (not the ideal expreesion, but you know what I mean) is the style of fishing. It's the going straight into strong rods, big reels, heavy line, boilies, rigs that are far too complicated and misunderstood, without understanding why any of it is being used. I don't mind if people want to catch a lot of carp (although I agree with Gozzer's lack of choice point), but using a 3lb tc rod, big pit reel and boilies in a little pond where the biggest fish is 15lb is missing the point of it all.

 

I think this is why I've turned into a grumpy 'rig cynic' too - beginners (spoon-fed by the media and tackle trade) thinking that doing nothing different except using a new rig or bait will instantly solve all their problems, when in reality the problems are much more fundamental (e.g. not being quiet enough, being in the wrong place, not being able to work out where the fish might be, poor feeding, fishing at the wrong times, etc.).

 

I would therefore say that a 'progression' from float fishing on lakes, to float fishing on rivers, to legering on lakes, to legering on rivers, to more specialised forms of legering which are necessary and to solve a specific problem, would be a better way to look at it.

 

However, if people start fishing at a certain (too high) stocking level and get used to catching a certain number of decent fish every session, it must be a real shock to then go to somewhere with a more natural number of fish.

[BoldBear]

Carp and pike fishing are the pinnacles of our sport of coarse angling and my belief is that anglers should work their way up to those heights, not start there.

 

I don't agree that Carp and Pike are the 'pinnacles of our sport' either, but I know what your trying to say though. I think that the same goes for other equally noteable sized fish and the angler should get a grounding on normal sized fish and learn his or her watercraft first working up to larger fish (not only Carp) when they feel able.

Too many young anglers today come into angling thinking that Carp are the pinnacle and only fish worth catching and buy carp gear without even being shown other sometimes much more rewarding and diverse species of fish and venues.

Edited March 10, 2009 by BoldBear

[Wordbender]

... in terms of difficulty you'd be hard pushed to find much harder than very big bream.

 

Rich

 

Bream worry me. I think they can tune into my thoughts. When I'm trying catch carp, bream queue up to scoff my hookbaits. I have caught many monster bream when I've been carp fishing, and recently caught over 200lbs of them in one carp session, and not a single carp.

 

Yet, on the, admittedly rare, occasions when I've gone after the slimy sods, they know my intentions and shun my every attempt to catch them. My 'proper' bream PB is under 7lbs. My 'carp tactics' bream PB is 17lbs 6oz and I've caught no fewer than nine over 15lbs during my accidental breaming exploits.

 

This weekend, I have commissioned the immensely talented Adrian Smith to do a 'how to catch bream' article for Carp and Coarse Angler, and if the bream in question know he's after them on my behalf, I know they'll go on hunger strike immediately.

 

Bream hate me. I don't know why, they just do.

[Dick Dastardly]

Thats an impressive tally of 15 plussers Tel! I have "suffered" similarly with Tench! can never catch them well when targeting them but have racked up a load over 8 whilst carping!

[Waveney One]

I can understand people misunderstanding my comment. What I meant was that specimen carp and pike fishing shouldn't be for beginners. I certainly wasn't trying to imply that anything else was less of an achievement, only that beginners should start at base camp and work their way up to whatever specialisation they want or indeed stay fishing for all species and enjoy the sport and satisfaction to be gained by that. Variety to me means everything.

 

Personally neither large carp or large pike appeal to me in the slightest but if that is where these youngsters wish to end up then for them it would be 'the pinnacle' but it should only be after an apprenticeship with other species and varieties of angling. That way they learn to appreciate other species and understand that a bream, tench or barbel on the right gear not only gives a reasonable account of itself but is just as much fun. Only then could they call themselves an angler and be in a position to decide what type of fishing they really want to do and enjoy.

 

I hold an opinion that a lot of the guys who start out fishing for large carp and nothing else soon give up the sport and never return. They quickly become disillusioned and it is bad for the sport as a whole.

Edited March 10, 2009 by Waveney One

[Dick Dastardly]

What I think is the 'problem' (not the ideal expreesion, but you know what I mean) is the style of fishing. It's the going straight into strong rods, big reels, heavy line, boilies, rigs that are far too complicated and misunderstood, without understanding why any of it is being used. I don't mind if people want to catch a lot of carp (although I agree with Gozzer's lack of choice point), but using a 3lb tc rod, big pit reel and boilies in a little pond where the biggest fish is 15lb is missing the point of it all.

 

Yes that about sums it up for me.

 

I do understand Wavneys veiw though that there is no longer any logical progression (regardless of what species you think are"higher" than others) Think its a shame as modern new anglers simply miss out on so much fun!