What makes a really good angler?

[Kappa]

I was wondering what people think makes a really good angler? I don't mean those that are in the mags every other week after camping for weeks at the going venue, but those anglers who can consistently catch more and bigger fish than their peers (IMO the really good anglers rarely publish their catches).

 

Personally I think its is very hard to describe what it is they have but I think they just get all the small things right almost all the time.

 

What do you think?

 

Rich

[chavender]

Personally I think its is very hard to describe what it is they have but I think they just get all the small things right almost all the time.

 

What do you think?

 

Rich

 

 

well i think its those who suceed despite the odds ,that even when the little or big things go wrong ,they have the capacity to overcome this and find away .

[Angly]

I think I recall this being discussed in the not too distant past here Rich. I think the end result after lengthy debate was that there was no consensus of opinion, different people valued different qualities in an angler.

 

Is an angler who cannot travel far, and therefore can't fish for certain species necessarily a poor angler? Ditto specimen sized fish. Is an angler who has caught near record weight fish of all UK species, mainly through hours on bank, but has no affinity with nature a good angler? Does an angler have to be an expert at all methods and techniques, or master or some?

 

Just some random thoughts off the top of my head before bed.

[Kappa]

Is an angler who cannot travel far, and therefore can't fish for certain species necessarily a poor angler? Ditto specimen sized fish. Is an angler who has caught near record weight fish of all UK species, mainly through hours on bank, but has no affinity with nature a good angler?

 

In a word NO! If you can get to fish the very best waters AND you have enough time eventually you will catch some very big fish! Boring fish out of the water doesn't count as good angling in my book!

 

Rich

[BoldBear]

I was wondering what people think makes a really good angler? I don't mean those that are in the mags every other week after camping for weeks at the going venue, but those anglers who can consistently catch more and bigger fish than their peers (IMO the really good anglers rarely publish their catches).

 

Personally I think its is very hard to describe what it is they have but I think they just get all the small things right almost all the time.

 

What do you think?

 

Rich

I think that what makes an angler better than average is:

 

They have a genuine thirst for knowledge and will understand that they can never know it all and that there is always something that makes them question what they know.

 

Watercraft comes into it; and they have the uncanny abiity of placing themselves in the place of the fish they are after and to do this they will usually enjoy spending as much time observing their quarry as they do in catching it.

Edited May 12, 2009 by BoldBear

[Judley]

Patience!

[poledark]

I think I recall this being discussed in the not too distant past here Rich. I think the end result after lengthy debate was that there was no consensus of opinion, different people valued different qualities in an angler.

 

Is an angler who cannot travel far, and therefore can't fish for certain species necessarily a poor angler? Ditto specimen sized fish. Is an angler who has caught near record weight fish of all UK species, mainly through hours on bank, but has no affinity with nature a good angler? Does an angler have to be an expert at all methods and techniques, or master or some?

 

Just some random thoughts off the top of my head before bed.

 

Surely being a good angler means being sucessful at catching fish? We can all appreciate nature and our surroundings, but there is a lot more to it than that.

 

Most of the good (succesful) anglers I know, will put themselves out to find the venues with big fish in, then make the effort to get there, often spending a lot of time and money. They then apply their skill and knowledge to catch the fish. Sometimes this involves spending quite a lot of time sussing out the swims etc, making repeat trips over a period of time, before success in catching.

 

I agree though, that simply "going through the motions" at a known big fish venue, is not what makes a good angler.

Take Vagabond for instance, he didn't get all those fish by sitting on his local pond, even though that pond may have lots of wild flowers/birds and mammals.

 

Den

[Anderoo]

I would say it's a combination of instinct, adaptability, and effort.

 

Instinct is often overlooked but sometimes there's no other way of determining why an angler fished a certain spot or fished in a certain way. Watercraft comes under this.

 

Adaptability is the main one for me. Under this comes the whole wealth of experience from fishing lots of methods for lots of species in lots of conditions, meaning an angler can adapt to situations. Long hours/years on the bank - there's no beating it and no shortcut. After a while it becomes instinct. Good anglers are always thinking and drawing on experience.

 

Effort comes into it too. You have to actually go fishing and try new things. Some will work, some won't, and lots of effort will result in no actual fish, but it all feeds into adaptability. Also under this comes the practical skills like casting accurately, which is learned by effort.

 

Catching big fish is irrelevant. Catching difficult fish is what a good angler can do. Sometimes they are big as well though!

 

However, I would say that if you go fishing and enjoy yourself and don't do any harm to the environment (maybe even improve it a little), you're a successful angler.

[Worms]

A happy angler regardless of what he's (she's) caught....they will probably have learnt something as well!

[Sportsman]

I would say an angler who makes the best of what is available to him or her in terms of venue, tackle, fish etc.

Edited May 12, 2009 by Sportsman