The future of fishing

[Peter Waller]

That can not be true Newt! Surely a bit of computer wizardry!

[Newt]

http://www.biminitops.cc/boatent/

[Guest allibee]

Fenboy, I really like you but what a load of ****

 

 

Poledark has it spot on.

 

Take off those rose coloured specs FB, dismount that trusty steed and join the real world. Life just ain't that rosy anymore. At least not south of the Thames.

 

I invite you all to watch Tight Lines when it comes from RMC Angling's Thorpe Lea ... hopefully soon ... I think it may change your mind on puddles, their benefits and the people who fish them

 

Children need to be told how clever they are, whatever they catch and from wherever they catch them. Those who will become an asset to the sport with enquiring minds will go on to explore other types of fishing, that's what enquiring minds do. Those that don't will either fall by the wayside or be happy with what they do ... and that is their decision, their fishing. By providing them with safety and opportunity you are giving them start.

 

NO ONE learns anything by blanking. No one has ever been enticed into a passion for something by the no results. There is enough pressure from the antis to make children have to really want to fish, why make it any more difficult?

 

The angling in schools thing is a great step forward, but only a tiny part of the equation. Give them the opportunity to succeed and they will be hooked for life. Give them only a chance to muddle along and they will move on to something more gratifying: computer games, skateboarding, ram raiding or whatever....

 

[ 27. July 2004, 05:17 PM: Message edited by: allibee ]

[Peter Waller]

Newt:

http://www.biminitops.cc/boatent/

Only in America Newt, only in America!

[Peter Waller]

Was in a tackle shop this morning, shhhh, buying carp stuff .

 

A young mum was there, with two even younger kiddos, about 8 and 10. The youngsters had £10.00 each to buy feeder rods, which courtesy of Red Wolf they got, lovely.

 

But, and its a big 'oh dear'! The staff in the shop were having a big laugh, and yes it was funny, but not in front of mums with kids.

 

Basically the assistant was relating the story of a lusty young carper who took his young lady fishing, and ended up in A&E, having nearly choked to death on a hair ball! Only it was rather more detailed and you'll have to use your imagination as to how the story went. Typically very lurid and said in very loud voices.

 

So where is the problem? Quite simply a tackle shop is not always a good place to take youngsters, and if anglers talk like that in a shop then what are they like on the bank?

 

These youngsters are the future of fishing, if their parents allow them to do so. We can be our own worst enemies sometimes!

[Guest sslatter]

Peter, regarding your local carp that nobody fishes for, I just don't understand it myself either. On my local patch is the best IMO floatfishing river stretch that I have ever seen, bar none.. and it's free fishing too. In season, it's brimming with specimen fish. At the moment it's "going off" bigtime, plenty of large fish showing. Do any locals fish it? Barely any.. but if you walk upstream half a mile or so, above the mill dam that separates the freshwater stretch from the estuarine, you'll see loads of floatfishermen on the artificial landscaped bank trotting for silver fish and the odd chub and grayling etc. It never ceases to amaze me that they seem unaware of, or unwilling to fish the estuarine stretch, which, like I said before, is a river floatfisherman's dream.

 

[ 28. July 2004, 01:18 AM: Message edited by: Graham X ]

[lyn]

I was going to stay out of the 'carp puddle' debate for obvious reasons but I have to deal with both sides of it as far as Liam is concerned. I don't have access to these waters (my pet hate as well!) & I am also very much against him sittting behind buzzers & boilies. I strongly believe that at his age (now 8) he still has to learn the basics.

 

Yes I agree 100% that to start it helps if you can get on a pond/lake with a lot of fish in as they do need to catch to keep their interest up, but they don't have to be carp.

 

I certainly don't agree that they are 'the way forward' a need for them maybe but a must, no!

 

I have to make sure that I keep Liam's feet on the ground and that at his age he is not setting his sights to high. I have finally made him realise that he has his whole life ahead of him to catch big carp/fish.

 

He fished with a pole the other week and had 21 small fish out and had great fun, I just need someone to show how to set up/use one of these things properley :confused: lol

 

Wed eve he went with Matthew (big bruv for those that don't know) he had his 10' float rod, all set up for 'tiddler catching' and hooked a 8lb8oz carp the rod coped but his tiny reel struggled!!! (Matthew took a picture on his phone I will try & email to one of the 'mods' to put on here.)

 

Yesterday I had him down on the Bristol Avon, he moved into the next swim, cast his own bait, hooked and played a barbel but unfortunatly we lost it at the net, my fault of course!!!! (really don't know what went wrong, the line went without any real pressure on it)

 

I was really proud of him, he had done so well, it was such a shame we lost it, never mind we will have plenty more chances.

 

Liam, I feel, like myself, is lucky that he was born into a 'fishing family'

 

Onto the future of angling, I have just recieved my 2nd newsletter from 'Junior Copurse Angling (UK)' saying how successful the 'Fishing in Schools' progamme had been and that the Oxfordshire school is going to continue to run this course during curriculum time. Other schools are looking into doing the same.

 

This is such great news because the kids not only get the theory but they are also taken out fishing and shown how to put all they learnt in the classroom into pracitce!

 

Well done to Les Webber for getting angling onto the National Curriculum and congratulations to him for being awarded the ' Investors in Education 2004' award by the Oxford City & East Education Business Partnership.

 

If you know of any schools that may like to run one of these courses just put them onto Les at leswebber@jacuk.org

 

lyn

[argyll]

'Take off those rose coloured specs FB, dismount that trusty steed and join the real world. Life just ain't that rosy anymore. At least not south of the Thames'

 

What a load of tosh.You need to try a bit harder Allibee, there's still plenty of roses out there to smell even south of the Thames.

 

First my last experience of a puddle.

Suffolk Water Park, just outside of Ipswich. Arrived with a few friends to have a crack at the so called 'legendary' pike. We were told by the management that we should avoid disturbing the carp anglers and to stick to the other side of the main lake. We did and were about 150-160 yds across the lake from the nearest carpers, five lads with the usual criss-cross of lines everywhere. My pal spots a float bobbing up and down tight against the bank on our side of the lake where we were about to start fishing. He picked it up, blissfully unaware that it was a marker float for one of our 'friends' across the lake who promptly rings the main office and complains that someone is stealing his float. Out comes the manager and asks us to move even further way, I suggested Wales, exit humourless manager.

For the following 4/5 hours until we left, we were treated to the sight and irritating sound of a three wheel motortrike buzzing up and down the bank carrying much needed eggs bacon and chips from the restaurant to the poor sods on the bank who's sandwich making skills had presumably long gone. I asked the trikeman if he wouldnt mind popping down to Sainsburies and picking up my weekly shopping. No chance. By late afternoon our five camoed friends were well into the bevvy and had left at least 15-16 rods unattended as much as 150yds away whilst they gathered around one of their friends who presumably was in charge of the Fox camo cocktail bar. We stopped fishing to watch. I never returned.

 

The other side of the coin.

Yesterday morning (sat)I headed down the Thames an hour or so before dawn. Found some large perch which stuck around just long enough to give me some excellent sport for about an hour with 5 fish up to 2.5lbs on lures. Then I dropped a mile further down and failing in the half light to notice a carp fisherman bivvied up, I ran across his pitch whilst distracted by a small pike. Stopped my boat and apologised. 'Thats OK mate I've got back leads on, no problem' I asked where his baits were placed and whether he'd mind if I anchored just 30-40yds down. Again no problem. I shared that spot with him until about 9.00am until it was time for me to head back. During that time he saw me pick up some more nice perch and a few jacks (the big pike were not playing the game) and I saw him land a fin perfect long lean 22lb common (according to him not his best from the area by a long shot) On my return, I found my neigbour on the next mooring had a 9lb barbel and several good chub during an early morning session. During that time I saw nobody else fishing a two mile stretch although two turned up on the bank as I drove away about 10am. This was a summer saturday, ought to to have seen at least a few (you'd have thought) This is an average sort of day, no fluke, exactly what I'd expect.

 

When I was looking to put a boat permanently on water rather than trail it, I thought of the Thames (I live in South London) Everyone said dont bother its more or less finished. I spent most of the 01-02 season reccying bits of the Thames Valley before choosing the spot where I am now, largely becaust it was almost completely devoid of other anglers. I found plenty of other spots where the fishing looked good but putting a boat there was a problem and in that respect I compromised. During my first season there, I had two pike over 25lb (best 27.5lb) and a lot of smaller fish, perch up to 3lb 6oz and chub up to 5lb 2oz. That was just my first season. All of those fish looked like they'd never seen a hook in their lives and all came to lures. Now I dont mind telling you all of this because even if you knew the exact spot (and some of you already do)I know that most of you wont even consider tearing yourself away from your fully facilitated ponds even for fishing of that calibre. Face it gentleman you're in a rut of your own choosing, but that's what you consider proper fishing to be. Its not.

The real stuff is right under your nose, some of which you probably drive past every week The problem is that you'll have to buy some OS maps and spend some time figuring it all out, like whats in there, how deep, hotspots, best times because there's no manager at the entrance gate to tell you whats happening, where and how.

 

Don't have a pop at Fenboy, he may be capable of ruffling a few feathers but he's largely got the right idea.

 

[ 01. August 2004, 10:49 PM: Message edited by: argyll ]

[Peter M]

I agree with lyn. I have started off my step daughter (Now age 9) with float fishing as this is what she enjoys the most. LAst week on holiday she was trying to trot the HAmpshire Avon ( with more success than myself) and it was a joy to watch her as she really got into the whole thing.

I have taken her to small ponds and canals and she has caught crucian carp, gudgeon, dace, minows, bleak, rudd and roach. I will eventually take her to a comercial as she wants to try for a carp with a float rod. Until then I want her to enjoy fishing for the small stuff which so far she is doing.

[Pangolin]

When I was young, there seemed to be a different degree of difficulty associated with different species of fish. I used to catch perch, rudd and bleak without any trouble at all. I also had many an unwanted eel. Having mastered the skills of catching these 'easy fish', I set my sights on harder things, like catching roach, dace and chub, from the river, bream and tench from the pond, all of which I eventually achieved. My proudest moment was either catching my first ever pike, or accidentally catching a salmon whilst lure-fishing for pike. I accepted that the species I'd probably never catch were carp and barbel, both of which were only for 'specimen hunters', and renowned as the most difficult species of all.

In setting up stocked pools, surely what has happened is that we have simply re-graded the different species in terms of ease of capture. It isn't such a boast, now, to say that you have caught a carp, so the angler will move on from small carp to trying for something more rewarding. What is the current most-prized species? I expect it varies from place to place: I'd still like to catch a barbel or, perhaps, a zander from a river...