Is This Fishing?

[Guest phonebush]

Andy,

I read the article and Wazzy's comments on the article. Should I be reading between the lines regarding Wazzy's comments? It looks to me as if he has gone out of his way not to disparage the angler. It dosen't appear Wazy is asking if the angler in the article is playing fair or legal, more that is impractical for the average fisherman to be able to make the same preparations. Wazzy says, "time spent fishing is three days". I assumed he is referring to the preparation time because in the next sentence he says, "there doesn't seem to be a lot of angling involved" Well according to the article it didn't take long to catch the fish once the preparation was complete. Wazzy says, "[he's] missing the point, is he? Do you think in some subtle way Wazzy actually condemning or trying to indicat a low opinion of the esteemed Mr. Lampard? I didn't see that in his post.

[Guest phil hackett]

Originally posted by phonebush:

......"Wazzy says, "time spent fishing is three days". I assumed he is referring to the preparation time because in the next sentence he says, "there doesn't seem to be a lot of angling involved"......

 

This opens up a different line of investigation does it not!

I.e., what do you consider to be "angling."

 

Is it only time spent with rod in hand?

 

Is it time only spent playing fish?

 

Does it include down time of rods (rods in rod rest) and observation of the water?

 

Does it include preparing the swim with bait and feeding it during the session?

[Guest Oatmealjack]

Wazzy, how about if you scout out the water in your boat, see some fish and bait up and sit in your boat and catch them all day? Would you guys consider that fishing? I ask because here in the states that is one of our normal ways of fishing and we consider that a normal method, equal to scouting out for fish from the bank and casting to them or even a combination of both, wading in the water to cast to fish you can see.

 

Oat

[Guest Kevin Hackett]

I have no problem with the use of boats for baiting up or fishing from. My only concern is when there is a 100 yards of weed between the angler on the bank and the fish. In the article I think it states some fish were lost. If it requires a boat to land a fish that has weeded itself solid on a regular basis then I would not be fishing for them.

Losing fish in weed does not do them any good and rowing out to land them would not give me any satisfaction. As an aside the two hook rig did not look particularly 'safe' to me.

[Guest phil dean]

I'm with those who think this is fair, had Terry sat in his boat above the swim..would anyone have questioned this, if his boat had gone to a submerged island and he'd fished from there, perhaps by wading, there wouldn't have been a problem.

 

Surely this is an extreme version of someone who pre-baits a margin swim, walks his bait to it, to ensure accuracy , and walks back.

 

The only "unsporting" element would be pre-baiting, essentiallly preparing a trap, getting the fish confident before springing it, but isn't that what most of us do if we fish one line and keep another fed.

 

IMO it is a Good catch by a good angler using hunting skills I wish I had. It wasn't long ago when people called pole anglers, useing the elastic to tire fish rather than the skill of tiring them with a real, but who would say that now. (Not me as I can't land them with elastic and tend to have to revert to reals if they're big fish)

 

leave him alone, it sounds like jealousy both for the time he has and the the brains he's used.

[Guest Chris Shaw]

Hmmm, thought some more on this one.

 

Could not anybody using all the equipment that he uses catch fish?

 

I seem to recall the meaning of the word angle or to angle as being: To fish with a hook and line.

 

Where in that does it mention rowing boats, radio controlled boats, echo sounders etc etc

 

Yes I agree sort of that he is more than likely skilled with an echo sounder, radio controlled boat, rowing boat etc etc.

 

He does not cast out, he does not reel in, only when a fish is hooked, does he need a rod and reel at all I wonder, could he not just handline the fish in?

 

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Chris Shaw

 

They played on while the reel handles spun in unison.

[Guest Mike_pk_Waters]

Maybe there is a difference between anglers and fishermen, I mean longliners are fishermen, they use knowledge, watercraft, boats etc to catch fish so why not. I have no axe to grind and grudginly admire anyone that dedicated. It's an individual thing. But one thing for certain is without the effort being put in would the rest of us known these fish were there. It's all about the challange and how badly we need to suceed at our quest. Me, i am happy with a net of gudgeon and some peace and quiet.

[Guest Simon Newbould]

I haven't read the article so I guess I can't really comment with any authority.... but, me being me... I'm going to anyway

 

Personally I don't think I'd find much satisfaction fishing in this way.... I mean - I could handle the fish spotting, swim finding from the boat aspect of it... but if I couldn't bait up (using a spod or whatever) and cast accurately to the swim from the bank or by wading a few yards I'd leave it and find another potentially productive area...

 

My own personal motto is "if you can't cast to 'em, don't fish for 'em"

 

Having said all that - I've sort of gotta disagree with some of the posters that say that given the same tackle, bait and equipment they could have done the same thing.... are YOU the most successful angler on the waters you fish or does someone else putting in a similar amount of time (note I said time and not effort) with similar equipment have more success?

 

It all comes down to watercraft guys, some of us could row around in a boat for days and still not know where to put a bait

 

Simon

 

[This message has been edited by Simon Newbould (edited 07 June 2001).]

[Guest Steve Burke]

It's accepted by many of my friends in the specimen world that big gravel pit bream are the hardest fish to catch consistently. I haven't tried it myself as most of these bream come out at night and I dislike fishing all night long. I don't care what size the fish is - at 2am I want to be asleep!

 

The skills involved aren't always conventional ones like casting. The greatest skill is using watercraft to locate the fish, the skill that the vast majority of anglers possess least of! You then need a lot of patience - big bream hunters measure success in fish caught per season!

 

If you fish for long enough on the right water, by the law of averages you'll catch a big fish eventually. However, Terry Lampard is one of the best specialist anglers in the country, having achieved great success with many different species. So obviously he's very skilful.

 

Presumably, it's therefore the methods that some of you object to. If those concerned would say exactly what they object to and why I'm sure a good discussion could get going. So far we seem to have just skirted the subject.

 

However, in the final analysis does it really matter provided the fish are well cared for and the sport of other anglers isn't affected?

 

There's different skills involved in each branch of the sport. I take my hat off to anyone who reaches the top in their chosen branch - whatever it is. However, as a specimen hunter I can

best relate to what fellow specialists achieve.

 

Perhaps that's where the problem lies. Those who have criticised obviously don't appreciate the skill involved. They're different skills to what they're used to but skills nevertheless. However, I for one salute you, Terry!

 

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Wingham Fisheries

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm

[Guest phonebush]

Phil,

You have stepped right over my point. Wazzy is or was a new poster. Certainly new posters are welcome. Innocently, he said, "maybe I have missed the point".

Before he could reel his line in he was an idiot.

Would not an explanation of the point he missed in the article in a more gentle and patronizing way have been more appropriate. At least until you knew for sure he was indeed an idiot.

After re-reading the entire thread, do you think Wazzy will be back?

Phone