If you could fish for only one species of fish?

[tiddlertamer]

Which species of fish would you target if you could only target one species? A bit random I know but some people do spend much of their angling lives in pursuit of just the one species.

 

I’d have to go for chub. Not an obvious choice I know.

 

They don’t fight as hard or for as long as the barbel.

They don’t have the fantastic look of a large bristling perch – those wonderful stripes...

Neither are they as common or strong as the ubiquitous carp.

They don’t have the savagery of the pike.

They don’t have the grace of the wonderful red finned roach.

They don’t have the tug boat determination of a tench.

They don't have the huge sail like dorsal fin used so effectively in a river's current by the grayling.

They don’t grow as large as the bream.

They lack the Dracula like fangs of a zander.

They lack the exotic colours of the bronze rudd with its crimson tinged fins.

 

So what do they have? I think it was John Aston in ‘A Dream of Jewelled Fishes’ who described them as a ‘fish shaped fish’. Which I think is quite apt.

They grow to a decent size and their first rush to cover when hooked can get the adrenalin moving.

They hang out in rivers which are where I do 99 per cent of my fishing.

 

They are robust too. You can catch one, unhook it, weigh it, take its snap and it happily drifts off back into the depths when you release it.

 

And if they are very big put up a really good fight – not that I’d know as I have failed to snaffle anything really big.

 

I guess I like them because they are like your mates down the pub – bare with me here but there is method behind my madness! – they display very few manners and you’d struggle to call them awe inspiring. But they are fun to hang out with...

 

Which species would you target and why?

Edited November 15, 2010 by tiddlertamer

[Chris Plumb]

Well I'd probably fish for chub - trotting of course - but if I happened to get a barbel, or a perch, or a grayling, or a dace, or a roach - then too bad!

 

 

C.

Edited November 15, 2010 by Chris Plumb

[Anderoo]

Chub for me too.

 

Chub embody everything I love about fishing. As much as I love the spring tench fishing and those lonely vigils hoping for a big bream, I am always happiest when the leaves start falling and the air chills, and the rivers fill to their winter levels, and the chub fishing can start.

 

The thing I love most about chub is that to catch them - especially the big ones - you need watercraft and stealth, and you need to feed carefully. What you don't need are stupid, complicated rigs, or expensive baits. A link leger and lump of bread will do you fine if you've got the location and feeding right, and haven't scared them!

 

They don't fight anywhere near as long as other species, but those first few surges to cover are brutal...a few plucks on the tip is followed by two minutes of adrenaline as you struggle to keep them out of the snags with a reel locked up tight and a rod bent double.

 

And a big one looks awesome. A photo of a big chub will never do justice to how huge it looks in real life.

 

Proper wild fish from proper wild rivers

[larsagi2010]

I think my chosen species to fish for forever would be.....

 

The Tench

 

I absolutely love the green body and amber eye's of the Tench. Also combine the fact they can be quite tricky to catch in good numbers and that they are pretty good fighting fish they tick all the boxes.

 

Reasons:

 

1. Attractive looking fish

2. Quite a challenge to catch at times

3. You can use so many methods to catch them

4. Good sporting fish that can really put a bend in the rod

5. The locations you typically find Tench are the locations I prefer to fish

 

So I am going to break the Chub train and say Tench for me

[Dales]

Thats a tuff question

 

My heart says Perch, one of my favourites but my head says Carp.

 

I think ultimately I would tire of catching Perch, never thought I would say that but the limit to there size and the fact that there are not to many variations to them to keep them interesting if you only ever fished for them may lead me to grow a little bored with them . Sorry Perch, I do love you honest, please don't boycott my baits because of my harsh words

 

However the mighty Carp offers an abundance of variation in size, colour, pattern, body shape and methods with which to catch them. This is often overlooked by those who wish to indulge in a bit of carp knocking. One of the things I love about Carp fishing is catching different marked fish, it's not all about dragging in lumps. The variation in Carp would add some variety to the fishing if restircted to just one species.

 

Also the distribution of Carp allows fishing on a number of different venues from lakes, pits, reservoirs, canals and rivers.

 

But so do Perch

 

Confussed now. Can we have two?

Edited November 15, 2010 by Dales

[watatoad]

Roach every time -

 

Widely distributed in many different types of water

 

Multiple methods can be used to catch them

 

A Roach will behave differently on different waters

 

Bites vary from a suddenly vanishing float to a float just wiggling or a slight move off the line of trott to a lift bite and so on

 

Small Roach can just be pure fun

 

Small Roach in a large shoal can really call for fast reactions on the strike

 

Small and medium Roach can really play around treating the bait with the care and nervousness of Tench and Carp

 

Larger Roach are more cunning than Chub

 

Larger Roach size for size put up a better fight than Barbel

 

They can be a real test of skill and ability and watercraft

[Dales]

Roach every time -

 

Widely distributed in many different types of water

 

Multiple methods can be used to catch them

 

A Roach will behave differently on different waters

 

Bites vary from a suddenly vanishing float to a float just wiggling or a slight move off the line of trott to a lift bite and so on

 

Small Roach can just be pure fun

 

Small Roach in a large shoal can really call for fast reactions on the strike

 

Small and medium Roach can really play around treating the bait with the care and nervousness of Tench and Carp

 

Larger Roach are more cunning than Chub

 

Larger Roach size for size put up a better fight than Barbel

 

They can be a real test of skill and ability and watercraft

 

And best of all, they make great Pike baits

[Sportsman]

Living where I now live it is a difficult choice but realistically would have to be carp. The river just down the road has to be one of the top carp rivers in Europe and I am surrounded by lakes and ponds that contain fish from 5 to 50 lbs so availability comes into it.

When I lived in Scotland I didn't have the opportunity to fish for large carp, we were too far north, so I am sort of starting from scratch.

Yes, the idea of a 50lb river carp just appeals for some reason

[slitshot]

Made that choice years ago I fish for Mullet okay not a Coarse fish but I use Coarse fishing tackle to catch them pound for pound, the hardest fighting fish in sea or freshwater.

Bait , there is only one and that,s bread so nice and simple caught them on a variety of ways so far this year including

Ledgering

Trotting

Strettpegging

Laying on

surface fishing, my favourite

Freelining

[AddictedToScopex]

My choice would be barbel all day long. A truly stunning looking fish and power unmatched by any other stillwater species in the uk. I never tire of catching them.