Angling weaknesses, what are yours?

[chavender]

fly casting is my biggest failing

in coarse fishing i'm slow at setting up etc which is a weakness when in matches

i always seem to leave something back home i'm going to need.

another weakness is not really caring if i catch a fish ,i find i'm more impressed by a accurate cast to a tricky spot .

another weakness is not being in anyway competative ,i'm more happy if a companion catches than if i do .

i can be ruff with my tackle ,often just chucking it too one side rather than carefully placing it down when unhooking fish etc.

i often swing fish in to hand ,that really i should net.

i'm rather clumbsy so i do often pick up small cuts etc

i often stay in a swim ,when i should move on

i'll persist too long with a method thats not working on the day ,rather than change

i can be a tad stubborn ,i wont quit until i've caught that one last fish

i often fish on too long after another ,one last fish

i've a weakness for fishing empty swims

Edited October 9, 2012 by chavender

[JV44]

I don't see it as one to be honest, no. I know it costs me fish, but I get more pleasure from being selective than catching more

 

 

I am a bit of both sometimes i will persevere for ages with a method/style till i catch other times it`s a case of Lobworm on and love the what will pick it up question .

Spend to long fishing wrong method for the conditions coz i won`t go home to get the right gear when conditions are not what i expected .

My fly casting is far from perfect ,get side tracked by predators if i see some striking at bait fish,going home when i get cold during winter after dark chubbing esp when my mate leaves to get a curry ............................

Fishing with Rusty

[Rusty]

going home when i get cold during winter after dark chubbing esp when my mate leaves to get a curry ............................Fishing with Rusty

Steve there's more to fishing than.....fishing. The selection of ales in the local hostelry and the quality of nearby restaurants are crucial factors in venue/swim selection.

[JV44]

Steve there's more to fishing than.....fishing. The selection of ales in the local hostelry and the quality of nearby restaurants are crucial factors in venue/swim selection.

 

 

Yep fair enough they are indeed crucial factors....good job the Chub fishing is a bit good there then

[Vagabond]

First, thanks JV44, for raising the topic. If anglers spent a little time in thinking about their strengths and weaknesses (providing they are honest with themselves) then it is very likely they would improve as anglers – and being honest means more than not kidding oneself you know it all, it means you must not sell oneself short either. I remember Dick Walker telling me how good he was at double-haul casting, and ending with the statement "…and that’s how it is, modesty is not one of my failings!"

 

As others have said, some aspects of one’s angling profile can be seen as either – like patience, for example. Patience can be a strength, (like waiting for fish to home in on your ground-bait or loose feed) but when it extends to bone-headed persistence (when a little thought might indicate a change of swim or a change of method) then it’s a weakness.

 

How would one define an angling weakness? Something that stops you catching at all ? In extreme cases, maybe, but let’s just define it here as something that results in fewer and smaller fish than you would wish.

 

I started fishing (on my own, or with others of the same age) at seven years old, and am still going 71 years later. Now although I haven’t learnt it all, one would have to be extremely thick not to have learnt a hell of a lot in 71 years of intense angling. I have also had the privilege of fishing with several anglers who are/were REALLY good - much better at reading water and controlling tackle than I could ever be.

 

So one thing I have learnt, is what constitutes a "good" angler, and I can thus compare my actual performance with the standard I have witnessed in others..

 

Take casting, for example – because I am a species hunter seeking many varieties of fish all over the globe, it is necessary that I am reasonably proficient in a variety of different casting methods – float, ledger, lures (from heavy baitcasting to light spin casting or fixed spool), fly casting (from roll and switch casting in overgrown streams through the Double Spey to thumping out streamers on a #12 outfit for tarpon). Add beachcasting and uptiding, and the necessity to improvise in some spheres when you are hundreds of miles from the nearest tackle-shop, and there is plenty of scope for weaknesses !

 

One thing I concentrate on in all forms of casting, and that is accuracy before distance. In only one form of casting would I regard myself as "expert" (like Dick Walker, modesty is not my failing ) and that is in inch-perfect casting of spinners in small overgrown streams – many years of practice saw to that. Every other form of casting I have to be satisfied with reasonable proficiency – ie proficient enough to catch the fish I’m after most of the time.

 

Because I learnt my fishing on small streams and small ponds, stealth and watercraft were paramount. The fish were always close. Once I had learnt not to spook them, being close meant I could see things happening. That gave me a head start in watercraft (a strength). However, as there was no necessity for long casting, it was something I didn’t do and was not well practised in (a weakness). But being close to both fish and snags in a small water meant I developed pin-point accuracy at short range. Most marked with spinners and free-lining, but some rubbed off on float fishing (a strength)

 

As a result, even on a big water, (and sometimes, even in the sea), I play to my strengths (stealth and short-range accuracy), and get as close to the fish as I can, rather than resort to long casting.

 

Steve mentioned he would like to be able to cast a fly farther – reminded me of my "rainbow trout period" where nearly all the members of our local trout syndicate could cast farther than me.

 

My technique differed from theirs. Whereas the intervals between their pulling out the fly and getting it back in front of a trout with 6 or 8 false double-haul casts took just over a minute, my style of one roll cast into the air followed by one backcast, then a forward cast and shoot took just ten seconds.

 

True, they cast 30 yards to my 20, but if you do some sums then my "weakness" of not casting far transformed into a massive advantage of how much more actual fishing my fly was doing. Add to that the factor that my simple technique rarely tangled, whereas a tangle during a mis-timed double-haul tended to be spectacular, took ages to sort out and my advantage increased accordingly.

 

There was a further advantage to me – they all fished their flies too fast – in fact the object of retrieval seemed to be to get the double-haul going again as soon as possible. If exercise was the object, then they were getting plenty! Whoosh ! Whoosh! Whoosh! Beating air. Meanwhile, of course, their fly spent even less time in front of trout, and was going at the wrong speed anyway.

 

So, when it came to the fish-off for the Troutmasters, I won it, went to the final at Grafham (caught fish there too) and witnessed all that is good and all that is bad about put-and-take trout fishing. One of the bad things about it is the illusion of skill it gives – whereas once you can bung a fly out it is the easiest form of fishing (for fish of 2lb plus) that I know – on a par with mackerel feathering from the shore.

 

Although I have concentrated on casting to illustrate the points made, the same principles apply to most aspects of angling – bait preparation, rig assemblage, float shotting, loose feeding etc etc. If I was asked to summarise my approach it would be "Be aware of your weaknesses, and try to improve them by all means, but when the chips are down, play to your strengths"

[Phone]

Vagabond,

 

Bravo! Well done.

 

Mods should seperate post 1 and your answer as a primer.

 

Phone