Mr Crabtree

[Vagabond]

all us aged, decrepit Crabtree fans tend to be well into our sixties now, and not many of us are now visiting the banks

I was a Crabtree fan when the series started in the Daily Mirror in the late 1940s.

 

Used to take the train to school, and would arrive at the station early on Fridays because Arthur the bookstall manager was a keen angler and would let me and my fishing mate see the latest episode without having to buy the paper. There followed a brief chat with Arthur about what we had just read, until our train came in.

 

Original Crabtree fans are into their eighties now, and I am sorry to say most of my original fishing mates are dead, and as you say, even those fans whose first experience of Crabtree was the book published in the 1950s are getting long in the tooth.

[adsangling]

Not berating as such but wondering ,yates doesnt go the whole way himself knots are illegal as you know

Is it basics ? I certainly couldnt afford any decent vintage tackle of medium to top quality today (you can buy cars cheaper than good avons) perhaps the tackle i used? a tin reel with permenant clicker and a solid cane rod .

Dont think "basics" equals old ,dont think basics means less fish

The crabtree silliness has all been done before ,its quaint but for the majority of anglers far disconected from real life today

If cane and round reels were really that good we would all be using them today ,the best thing i ever did was take a two pound hammer to mine ,the rod lives in the loft it will never see a bank again

Yes theres a minority that like old tackle just as there is that like old cars or buses but most use modern gear and drive modern cars and travel on modern buses because they are more comfy more reliable and a dam sight easier to look after (i find older cars are easier say 20 to 30 ,like the reels i suppose)

I would say that you have more chance of landing carp on most waters the Chris Yates style than launching out two bags on alarms and hoping for a carp to hook itself. Yes i use all the modern methods and tackle effectively but I also still fish the old way just as effectively

and for your comment on nets etc, no i wont be using the old nets or barbed hooks because they're a danger to the fish and in that sense angling has moved on but what i wanted to do is show the old techniques still work today just as good as anything else and there is nothing better than catching a carp or tench in the margins with a centerpin.

As for being disconnected with angling i would say its the modern style of bolt rigs and bivvies that's way more disconnected from the passion of angling than anything, and the jumpers for goal posts comment is complete silliness as i think a red topped float up against a bed of lilies with worm is far more likely to catch a big carp or tench than a boilie on a hair rig and a bag of pellet and would put money on it.

[adsangling]

What, like Chris Yates, for instance, does?

Why berate a person for wanting to go back to basics? Go for it adsangling, I for one wish you every success in your venture. Be sure to keep us up to date and post the odd photo or two as well.

thank you for your support and if you add me as a friend i will keep you updated all the way, feel free to keep a check on my blog which will also follow my venture http://theartofcoarsefishing.blogspot.co.uk/

[kirisute]

go for it mate! you've got my support (for what its worth!)

just keep things simple and enjoy yourself..if you do a homage to Crabtree with modern tech then fine....in the end your doing what your doing for fun and you wont ever please everyone! and its pointless try to if im honest!

do what you feel and think is right for you! if other people like it then its a bonus!

that's how I produce my videosand ive had thousands of views and I would say 98% positive comments through them all!

if your seen to be enthusiastic, enjoying what you do and honest through it all then it will show and people will like it.

[chesters1]

I would say that you have more chance of landing carp on most waters the Chris Yates style than launching out two bags on alarms and hoping for a carp to hook itself. Yes i use all the modern methods and tackle effectively but I also still fish the old way just as effectively

and for your comment on nets etc, no i wont be using the old nets or barbed hooks because they're a danger to the fish and in that sense angling has moved on but what i wanted to do is show the old techniques still work today just as good as anything else and there is nothing better than catching a carp or tench in the margins with a centerpin.

As for being disconnected with angling i would say its the modern style of bolt rigs and bivvies that's way more disconnected from the passion of angling than anything, and the jumpers for goal posts comment is complete silliness as i think a red topped float up against a bed of lilies with worm is far more likely to catch a big carp or tench than a boilie on a hair rig and a bag of pellet and would put money on it.

No need to get in a huff but i see as a child you may have invested in rose tinted glasses.

Any skilled angler can catch with anything as vagabond said ,i stopped buying modern tackle in the 70's ,i have used cane ,i have used centerpins some people still do but they are suited to only a finite usage ,your not going to cast 50 metres into the snags with a centerpin without years of experience and probably not then (i certainly couldnt now or back in the 50's)

Now with modern tackle most of the watercraft has been removed ,what was impossible long ago can be achieved without effort almost from the start .

Good luck with your effort but i have one question if old wood rods and round reels were that good why is not everyone using them today?

Weve all see pashion for angling and misty mornings but (in our club for one) 68% of anglers are after carp ,some fish the rivers where pins have not really been bettered (i though prefer a abu 508)

And the pond i bailiff contains mostly silver fish and crucian and tench ,plenty of cane rods arials ,mitchells and even intrepids but most fish are caught on the pole the water is ideal for it and watercraft says thats the way to go.

Sorry to have disillusioned you but thats progress and the human need to do something easier faster.

You also dont need old tackle to fish like crabtree (or rather the way people tended to fish then) you can still fish the lift method ,dangle a worm ,lay on or float ledger etc with any tackle if you wish .

The difference in tackle boild down to thinness ,lightness and ease of upkeep and its cheap today ,a rod is still a rod a reel a reel a hook a hook

 

I think you think carp fishing is about catching carp ,i did it when those that stayed out overnight were "strange" a fish is a bonus on a nice weekend away from your worries ,if a bivvy and buzzers works for you good luck to you ,i use them when i went out at night because candles in jars and pennies falling on tin lids was hard work

If i wanted to catch carp in numbers i would use a pole ,if i wanted to relax and clear my mind i would camp as moxern carpers tend to do

Edited February 24, 2014 by chesters1

[adsangling]

yes i agree that you can fish the old or simple way with any tackle, the crabtree thing was just going to be to make it abit more intersting for the reader, and i know that every item of tackle new or old has its uses in different situation i was onlygoing to use old rods and reels just to show that its whats in the water that catches and not whats on the bank, and any rod and reel will catch fish its the setup that does the work. i myself have spent many weekends, infact sometimes weeks chilling out behind alarms but i was trying to say that this isnt the be all and end all of catching big fish.

I never said that old rods were better than new ones or anything else the article was going to be about using simple rigs and methods to catch fish without forking out on expensive hooks and end tackle that isnt always needed.

but as for the rose tinted glasses comment i think this is a little wrong, i may be a young angler but i do know what im doing and talking about and dont need to get angry and agressive to people and its something i wouldnt do, im a very chilled out and quite lad and just want to share my experiences and hopefully encourage youngsters into the sport showing them how to do it the cheap way as alot of people think you have to break the bank to catch fish

[Dales]

I would say that you have more chance of landing carp on most waters the Chris Yates style than launching out two bags on alarms and hoping for a carp to hook itself

I do love the way those Carpers launch or lob a bait out and wait for those fish to hook themselves. All chuck it and chance merchents. Don't those Carpers know that if they put on a tweed jacket and cords and used an old cane rod they would know be using water craft and skill to place a bait and not launching it in to the water.

 

Could never work out why lowering a bait in the edge makes some almost come with pleasure over how skillful they must be while sneering about some one else who clearly has no watercraft or skill because they have worked out where fish may be a distance.

 

As for the best place to catch a Tench or Carp, that will be where ever they are and it's not always up against a bed of lillies. Some times those pesky fish are at range. Those who can fish effectively at range show true skill, any one can drop a bait in front of them.

[adsangling]

I have to agree and fishing a bait over 100 yards or so requires a lot of skill specially when weed is present, accuracy is the hard bit especially for tench .

i watch the lads on thinking tackle and the way they fish at 150 yards with pin point accuracy is outstanding.

like you say there is skill required in all types of fishing wether down the edge or at distance its all about knowing where the fish are

[cooperman49]

Teach kids to fish a running line and float on a nice warm and sunny day. Use caster and hemp for bait and loose feed - set out to catch a few roach, gudgeon and perch. Young kids tend to find poles cumbersome and generally want fairly instant action - so no sitting behind alarm clocks on sticks for hours waiting for a run.....