mouth damage

[Dick Dastardly]

Wayne something you mentioned there has raised a little theorey of mine.

 

Heavy leads and even more so ultra short hook lengths. I use them as they are certainly very efficient but maybe just maybe these are a big contributer to the damage that seems much more common these days?

 

Also undoubtedly the increase co incides with the popularity of extreme TC rods for every thing. I watch lots of young/new anglers losing fish (inevitabley at the net) because they pull to hard! In the days of 1 1/2lb rods and 8lb mainline for anything other than snag fishing or ultra long range we had to play all carp carefully so hook pulls were quite rare. 15lb line has been the "standard" carp line for quite a few decades now.You cant break a line of this strength using the rod full stop so the art of gentley playinf big fish has somewhat slipped.As the line cant go then the only thing that can is the hook hold if you try and pull their heads off! No of course all arent lost but so many more come close and the damage is caused.

[gozzer]

Wayne something you mentioned there has raised a little theorey of mine.

 

Heavy leads and even more so ultra short hook lengths. I use them as they are certainly very efficient but maybe just maybe these are a big contributer to the damage that seems much more common these days?

 

And you've just brought up a a few thoughts of mine Budgie.

 

I have never used a 'bolt rig' set up. (My choice, I just don't like them).

The thought of playing a fish with 3-6oz of lead banging about around the eyes or gills of a fish puts me off it, apart from the static and self hooking nature of the method.

 

In fact I have had to smile when we had the "don't lay the fish on the grass, it could poke it's eyes out" threads. Well knowing, that half the fish in the pictures had just be through what I just described.

 

John.

[wayne baker]

Wayne something you mentioned there has raised a little theorey of mine.

 

Heavy leads and even more so ultra short hook lengths. I use them as they are certainly very efficient but maybe just maybe these are a big contributer to the damage that seems much more common these days?

 

Also undoubtedly the increase co incides with the popularity of extreme TC rods for every thing. I watch lots of young/new anglers losing fish (inevitabley at the net) because they pull to hard! In the days of 1 1/2lb rods and 8lb mainline for anything other than snag fishing or ultra long range we had to play all carp carefully so hook pulls were quite rare. 15lb line has been the "standard" carp line for quite a few decades now.You cant break a line of this strength using the rod full stop so the art of gentley playinf big fish has somewhat slipped.As the line cant go then the only thing that can is the hook hold if you try and pull their heads off! No of course all arent lost but so many more come close and the damage is caused.

 

I quite agree Budgie. So many people these days use heavy rods Even when there is no need. It seems to be the in thing. when i first started carping in the early eighties we had rods and reels a lot less meaty than what we have today. But it didn't stop us catching fish. And as i remember we saw a lot less mouth damage, You use to see the odd fish with a damaged mouth, Usually was a mug that got caught so often it never got time for wounds to heal but in general fish looked good.

I really think the finesse and subtlety has gone from carping. I can see some of the rigs these days and they wouldnt look out of place on shingle street.