The christening

[George387]

Ive sat back and said nothing but have to agree with Ian, He took great care of his catch, all the fish were safely handled, photographed and returned and now people are using it as an excuse to get on their high horses about fish care. I'm also one of many who don't use an unhooking mat, the fish is left in the net either in the water or great care is taken to find a wet patch of grass, I have even put water on the grass to sit the fish on, and the fish are handled with great care, there is a few guys who are now saying you shouldn't do that & you must use an unhooking mat and that your conscience will be better for it...what a load of balony!

 

If you feel that much about fish and their welfare then why go fishing and stick razor sharp hooks through their lips, drag them in on the end of a synthetic nylon line using a carbon rod!

 

If more people took notice of themselves and less notice of the responsible anglers who care for their catch then discussions like this wouldn't be happening.

 

If you don't like it and know it will start an argument then don't comment! Simmples

 

Getting back to why this post was started, Ian your reel looks smashing and your catch is also superb, well done

[Dick Dastardly]

Ian and Brian many thanks for the invite.

 

Next sorry to Ian for hijacking this thread but...

 

Teme Man when unhooking mats were first brought out it was to protect carp when laid on gravel (quite common around the pits we fished then.........) No one used them on soft ground.They were to stop abrasion from the gravel rather than to protect them from hard ground. Most were carp sacks (which were in common use back then) with foam rubber stuck in them.The first commercially readily available ones were the silver and black ones from Nash.These were brought by thousands once we campaigned heavily for their use on unfriendly banks. They were a lot thinner than our DIY ones as once again they were purely to protect from abrasion rather than the fish thrashing about. Later the unhooking mat (for carp) was developed into a far more complicated piece of kit which reassembled the mini paddling pools (er that us going abroad after big carp used.....) These not only protected against abrasion but also offered "padding" if the fish thrashed about and the "walls" kept them on the mat.............

 

In my day the carp were played out on lighter tackle than is the norm today and once landed were far more tired out and as a result didn't move a great deal on the mat (whether this was good or bad is debatable of course) These days with tackle of twice that strength commonly being used for all size fish they are landed a lot quicker and as such are far more livelier on the bank (once again good or bad is debatable) The heavier padding and walls etc etc are obviously an improvement over our initial mats in coping with this. I wont go in t the ins on outs of whether a fish should be allowed to bang about or not as that's a separate issue.

 

Back to the early mats. A lot of us carp anglers back then were "all rounders" so when we were fishing for other species that were of a size that they often would be laid on the ground after landing/for unhooking/photos etc we could see the sense in using our mats for them.....when the ground was unsuitable ie once again gravel or concrete or sand or similar. Other specialist anglers soon noted this and carrying them when fishing such venues gradually became the norm.In fact it became the norm full stop no matter where you went as in as much as you had it might as well use it.

 

BUT remember even if we did start to use them as standard/out of habit it didn't mean that on some venues they were necessary! And as such I think its wrong and not at all helpful to insist they are all the time let alone chastise some one for not using one in a situation where its not essential. It just smacks of the "No one loves carp/fish more than me (so I must be superior)" one upmanship that has become rife in today's carp scene and is flowing over into the fishing scene full stop.

 

Promote good fish care/handling by all means but be sensible as if your not you will just pi$$ a lot of people and undermine the work a lot of us have done in the past. Any knowledgeable person would instantly dismiss any advice given by some one who states that "fish can get diseases from being laid on dry grass" regardless of if you meant directly or indirectly through slime removal.

 

You've not replied to this issue to anyone who has questioned it, If you miss worded it or simply made a silly statement in an attempt to back up your (admittedly well intended) point then simply say so. No one will mind or take the pee we all do it in the heat of the moment,But having a go at those who don't agree in the way you have ie questioning their ability/knowledge/level of care towards fish simply alienates both them and the many others who respect their opinions.

 

Ive allways found your views towards angling in general to be much in line with mine its just the way you put those views over that seems to be the problem.That said I will admit that rather than "what twaddle" I should have worded my reply in a some what less confrontational manner just that I had hoped by now you would have got to "know" me and so not instantly taken offence but instead tried to justify your position/debate it.I was wrong however like I said I could/should have worded my reply differently.

[gozzer]

Its more the 'possibility' of disease by the removal of mucus/slime by a dry surface, rendering the area in question less protected against disease I believe. Same sort of thing with the stiff grass 'stems', (deja vu?). Did catch a Bream blind in one eye the other day. Unlikely to be a grass stem injury but looking at the poor things mangled mouth, a distinct possibility.

 

For the record I always use a damp unhooking mat(Ok, ok, its wet bubble wrap!), If I need/have/want to remove the fish from the water. Unless I can comfortably hold it of course.

 

Renrag

 

If we are going to eliminate the "possibility", of harm or injury to fish, then we had better leave them alone. I mentioned the 'possible' dangers of some rigs in common use the last time we spoke about this. I haven't heard of anyone changing their methods to diminish/eliminate that 'possibility'.

The hypocrisy of many overstocked waters that insist on the use of 'fish friendly' methods after the fish is caught, but care little about the conditions before they are caught, is well known.

 

I'm all for treating fish with care, but this attempted 'sanitisation' of what is essentially a field sport, is ridiculous. In an attempt to show ourselves in a good light to others, we run the risk of changing angling into a sterile, artificial pastime, that will come back to haunt us in future years. Some have already agreed to rules restricting many angling practises, for no other reason than hysteria caused by a few, and promoted by the angling press.

Some time ago I read an article (I can't remember the author), in it he said, "I don't need more rules, I have ethics", add common sense and experience, and it sums it up perfectly.

John.

 

John.

[George387]

No one is getting on high horses well not me, looks like you are advocating good fish handling as I am, however it is a point worth airing that mats are good in protecting fish, that is why commercials insist on them to protect their precious resource, that is all I was saying, instead we see another reaction from those who suspect that I am right but prefer to pick holes in something that is accepted as a must nowadays.

Perhaps there is too much emphasis on showing off the tarty tackle as opposed to putting the fish's safety first? After all the the clue is in the title where the 'pin is the star not the fish.

 

Hi Teme, Yes I am advocating that fish handling is of the utmost importance to look after our sport, but you hit the nail on the head as has budgie with his post above, unhooking mats were brought out for use on commercial fisheries for carp, to protect their assets!

 

There is too much emphasis on carp fishing matters and techniques being brought across onto the river side of things, Any descent river angler worth his salt will tell you that carp tackle belongs on carp holes that was what it was designed for, the sincere river anglers are looking after the natural river assets I would personally say more so than the managers of carp holes but they don't need to be dictated to about using mats and other contraptions (not that I'm saying your dictating but there are a lot of people out there who do.) but your comment of

Nice fish and would have been better if 'framed' on a unhooking mat.

Yea I know I will get flack but fish are very prone to disease after being led on dry grass etc.

was surely a post of antagonism by the way you have worded it! & why oh why would it have looked better if framed on an unhooking mat??

 

As for Ian posting, there is a lot of anglers who would rather see a more simpler piece of tackle such as a centre pin catch bigger fish than today's all swinging all fandango fighting drag, with bait runner capabilities done in Aircraft grade graphite and this is purely what Ian meant by saying his pin had been christened nothing more nothing less, not everyone likes Barbel fishing but they do like to see a nice simple reel catch larger fish, don't knock the guy! otherwise without guys like him the forums would be dead and filled with guys who talk a good days fishing but that's about all they can do!

Edited July 16, 2011 by George387

[George387]

SNIPPED

I was not knocking anyone at all, however if you post up pictures of big fish , make sure you put them on a mat, I personally would prefer to admire a well cared for fish than a tarty 'pin.

As far as talking a good days fishing and I assume that was aimed at me,

Hi Teme, 1stly when I catch large fish which I often do, I wont be doing anything different to what I do now and thats not use a mat, I dont see why after nearly 40 years of fishing I should change the way I carefully handle fish and look after them all because some folk insist I use a mat, It wont happen so that we will have to agree to disagree on that.

 

As far as you assuming that the comment was made towards you please read my comments again, don't think it was aimed at you as it was not! I was simply making reference to what would happen if anglers such as Ian stopped posting their fishing pictures. Never assume anything as assumption is the mother of all **** Ups my old drill sgt major used to tell us when we were in training.

Edited July 16, 2011 by George387

[Tigger]

Ive sat back and said nothing but have to agree with Ian, He took great care of his catch, all the fish were safely handled, photographed and returned and now people are using it as an excuse to get on their high horses about fish care. I'm also one of many who don't use an unhooking mat, the fish is left in the net either in the water or great care is taken to find a wet patch of grass, I have even put water on the grass to sit the fish on, and the fish are handled with great care, there is a few guys who are now saying you shouldn't do that & you must use an unhooking mat and that your conscience will be better for it...what a load of balony!

 

If you feel that much about fish and their welfare then why go fishing and stick razor sharp hooks through their lips, drag them in on the end of a synthetic nylon line using a carbon rod!

 

If more people took notice of themselves and less notice of the responsible anglers who care for their catch then discussions like this wouldn't be happening.

 

If you don't like it and know it will start an argument then don't comment! Simmples

 

Getting back to why this post was started, Ian your reel looks smashing and your catch is also superb, well done

 

Thank's George for your nice words and everyone else of course...bar one in particular

Edited July 16, 2011 by Tigger

[Newt]

Teme Man - you've made your point.

[Tigger]

Some time ago I read an article (I can't remember the author), in it he said, "I don't need more rules, I have ethics", add common sense and experience, and it sums it up perfectly.

John.

 

John.

 

 

 

Sounds spot on to me John.

[arbocop]

Still just the one small cabinet Paul.....but it's getting a bit cramped .

 

 

If it won't fit in the cabinet, I'm sure I can keep it for you. I'll send you regular photos of it, so that you know it's OK.

 

Just pop it in the post, it'll be fine with me.

 

 

 

Mike

[Tigger]

If it won't fit in the cabinet, I'm sure I can keep it for you. I'll send you regular photos of it, so that you know it's OK.

 

Just pop it in the post, it'll be fine with me.

 

 

 

Mike

 

OK Mike, If I have any trouble with overcrowding I'll orphan it out to you m8