Luck in angling

[Anderoo]

You've completly missquoted me, I suggest you go back and read the post properly rather than chopping bits of post up and put words into my mouth. We can all chop peoples posts up and turn it into something else.

 

Didn't mean to, sorry - this was your whole post:

 

Make sure you catch tm ! Since there's no luck involved in angling if you blank you are either a mediocre angler or doing something very wrong.

Not my opinion, as I know for a fact that if the fish arn't feeding you ain't gonna catch no matter what you do or who you are and whether the sun shines out of your brown eye or not.....apart from using a net or electro fishing that is

 

The point is, just because I can't catch anything, it doesn't mean no-one else can. How can we know that the fish just aren't feeding, and that they can't be encouraged to take a bait by careful feeding and pinpoint location?

[Tigger]

Your first statement isn't a fact, and I'm afraid saying so doesn't make it true. See what I wrote about the induced take in post 29.

 

 

As you said, "SOMETIMES" fish can be induced. SOMETIMES is the operative word. SOMETIMES they can be induced to take a bait and then sometimes nothing will induce them to. I am sure Hugh miles and other angling film makers would love it if fish could be induced to feed all the time. It would certainly stop them from having to go back to venues ie Redmire time after time in an effort to catch a fish.

This is a fact.

[Steve Burke]

But in reality not everyone who writes or appears on radio or TV is that successful at catching. It may be just that they can write or otherwise communicate well. Indeed, some of them aren't nearly as good as some of the members of this Forum.

 

I've purposely left this point to later to emphasise it.

 

These writers may not always be overly successful themselves, but they make a very valuable contribution as they're very good at helping others succeed. I've certainly learnt a lot from them, as indeed I have from members of this Forum, some of whom are very successful indeed.

[Steve Burke]

As you said, "SOMETIMES" fish can be induced. SOMETIMES is the operative word. SOMETIMES they can be induced to take a bait and then sometimes nothing will induce them to. I am sure Hugh miles and other angling film makers would love it if fish could be induced to feed all the time. It would certainly stop them from having to go back to venues ie Redmire time after time in an effort to catch a fish.

This is a fact.

 

Sorry, Tigger, I obviously haven't explained myself well enough.

 

You wrote, "Not my opinion, as I know for a fact that if the fish aren't feeding you ain't gonna catch no matter what you do or who you are". It's the bit in bold I disagree with, not that there are times when an induced take won't work.

 

I don't know how many reading this play the card game bridge. Here you have to bid for the right to choose trumps by stating the minimum number of tricks you'll win. Sometimes you'll bid too high and it would be very difficult to win the required number of tricks. In this case the accepted strategy is to assume that all the cards are in the right place and play accordingly. If they aren't you'll have lost nothing as you wouldn't have succeeded anyway.

 

I adopt the same strategy when fishing in difficult conditions. I assume that somewhere on the fishery there'll either be a fish feeding or one I can induce to feed. Everything I do is geared to that assumption. I certainly don't always succeed, but I do far more than by not ringing the changes. And a better angler than me would succeed even more often.

[Tigger]

Steve, in essence we are both agreeing .

 

It's rather like one person saying my glass is half empty and another person saying my glass is half full. you agree with me that on some occassions no matter who is holding the rod and what inducements they try sometimes they will blank.

As I've said over and over the angler with the most experience and knowledge should outfish the average joe but even Mr Superstar angler needs luck in a dire situation.

 

How many people on this board (appart from one) can honestly say they've never blanked and could have done with some luck ?

[Andy Macfarlane]

Me. I always catch fish....anywhere. It's true and my 52 years of fishing diaries are a testement to this.

[watatoad]

Me. I always catch fish....anywhere. It's true and my 52 years of fishing diaries are a testement to this.

 

:bigemo_harabe_net-163:

 

That's called taking the pigeons to the cat and I'll bet there are a few more on here who never blank, but they are keeping quiet in the background, although as I have said many times I blanked when fishing a floodgates pool in flood conditions.

 

Oh Dear! you are going to be in for some stick now Andy just like I get...hehehe

[Andy Macfarlane]

I doubt it mate. Considering I'm only 36, I doubt anyone in here, will take what I said seriously in any way.

 

52 years of diaries...lol

 

If anything, I was having a laugh at your expense, if only a little bit...

[John Weddup]

I won't add much to Steve's excellent post only to say that there are vast differences in angling ability amongst anglers that the best tackle, coaching and determination won't always overcome.

 

I'm currently writing a book about big roach due out next summer and I'm looking at many of the great roach anglers and their catches. Common factors abound from location skills, understanding their quarry, excellent bait presentation and feeding to grim determination to overcome horrendous runs of blanks.

 

Match fishing brought home to me the skill gaps between the best match anglers and average pleasure anglers. Average anglers often are skilled enough to catch a few in ideal conditions with no real pressure but the top match anglers (and some of the best big fish men) can catch when the going is tough. Earlier today I've been going through photos with one of the very BEST big fish anglers in the game. He'd already had two big chub this morning and was going out again this afternoon on the trail of a enormous chub.

 

You'd find the truth about luck if you took 40 anglers and made them fish the same 40 peg matches for an entire season, say 40 matches. The law of averages says that each should be in each position once. But it would not work like that. Half a dozen of them would dominate, a few would get the odd prize and many would win nothing.

 

 

I certainly agree with what you are saying about ability but having fished with many local match anglers (some very good) I beleive match anglers ability to catch larger fish is seriously hampered by their approach that allows success at matches.

 

The get a bite at all costs and fish for bites attitude seriously hampers specimen angling attitudes.

 

John

[watatoad]

I doubt it mate. Considering I'm only 36, I doubt anyone in here, will take what I said seriously in any way.

 

52 years of diaries...lol

 

If anything, I was having a laugh at your expense, if only a little bit...

 

nice one...hehehe...I though I remembered you moaning on one occasion...hehehe