Your favorite species?

[Dick Dastardly]

I would have to give much the same answer as Peter! Being an all round angler I do enjoy fishing for all species.As some have also mentioned a lot of this depends on the time of year.

 

Also if I suddenly get acsess to a water that I believe holds good specimens of a certain species I will target them.

 

However if I could only fish for one species for the rest of my life it would be a very difficult choice! My initial choice would be Pike as like Rus says there are just so many ways to fish for them,but having said that Ive been quite lucky with this species so havnt any real challenges left with them.So despite my love for them would most likely say no.

 

Roach,are one species that despite catching thousands of them Ive never caught a really big one (in fact never had a 2lbr) For me float or ledger fishing for these is angling in its most basic/purist form,only trouble is that I dont think that (providing I was on a suitable water) they would supply a big enough challenge.But there is just something about them and the way you fish for them!

 

Cats,Zeds,Perch I love em all and have caught some great specimens of these.Yes Cats do fight great but they dont really supply that much of a test do they? Zeds and Perch,well Ive been spoilt by these so even though I would miss them they would also be rejected.

 

Carp, despite an intense love affair with them for nearly a decade I would also have to say no.More because of the fact that I dont like the modern carp scene rather than the fish though.

 

Allthough I enjoy all other fish the ones Ive mentioned are the real contenders for the "My Favourite fish" title but the real competition would have to be between two fish that both spend time in freshwater and saltwater alike! this would be Mullet and Eels.Why?

 

Both present a very real challenge to even the most experienced of anglers.Any size mullet is difficult to catch consistantly and big eels are just so elusive! For me the real challenge that I would need to remain interested for the rest of my fishing life would come from one of these two species.

 

So I suppose I need to decide on the ultimate "winner" Well I suppose it would have to be Mullet.The reason being is that if I fluked a big eel then my interest would possibly not be as great but with Mullet I dont think you could ever catch them easily on a consistant basis.Due to that the challenge would always be there.

 

So my "favourite fish" is Mullet!

Edited September 14, 2006 by BUDGIE

[MordenMike]

In the summer Tench, for the winter anything I can catch on a float in a river.

[Peter M]

that is a nice answer budgie

[Ducktape Corkfeet]

For me, it's down to the methods, as much as the fish.

Pike on a fly rod - never a better method for this fish

Roach on a waggler - one method, one species...rest of my life..??

Bream on a slider

and then there's Pollack off the rocks. Spending the day covering maybe a mile or two of rocky coastline, whatever the method, fly, float, bomb (handline on occasion), just great sport, and unlike the other three (probably) tastes amazing.

[Janet]

As a newcomer to the sport, I've only caught trout, bream, rudd, perch and roach, so I've a lot to learn, but my favourite would have to be perch.

 

Feisty, tough, bad tempered arrogant little beggars. These fish have real attitude! Don't think I could ever get tired of catching them.

 

Janet

[s_mac]

I have to go with Chris on this and split it into different seasons:

 

Spring and summer, Tench

Late summer and autumn, Barbel

Autumn and winter, Perch

 

However probably my all time favourite fish is the humble Gudgeon which i don't seem to catch many of anymore.

 

Rich

 

Im catching gudgeon every day, i fish the grand union week days. and sometimes you think you got a nice roach, till it pops its head up, but i would catch them all day long on light gear. sometimes i think the odd one is on steroids lol.

 

as for my preff, i dont really have one. i will sit from dawn to dusk catching skimmers, roach, perch, of any size.

 

smac

[Ken L]

Tough one but as I've spent most of the last 10 summers targeting chub on lures, I supose I have to say chub.

 

In the hight of summer, they're almost to easy to catch with better than a hundred pound of fish in an afternoon being no challenge at all. But come the end of August and the first half of September, they start getting harder to catch as they start dropping back into deeper water and instead of comming in like a plastic bag, they go crazy because they're fully fed up and the cooler water gives them more oxygen.

 

They also respond to trotting, fly fishing (great fun) and almost any other method that you choose to use so they really are a fish for all anglers and all seasons.

[YorkieT]

I enjoy catching all species but my favourite would have to be the Eel ( anything over a pound in weight that is! ) they give a tremendous fight for their size and it's a pity that more anglers don't appreciate them.

 

Alan.

[tincatinca]

Over more years than I care to remember, I have fished for nearly everything that swims in the UK using most methods plus several trips to France after several varieties of Carp, Catfish and Black Bass but I still find that float fishing for Tench with a centrepin takes some beating. A nice misty summer morning close to the pads with a red topped float and when the bubbles start to fizz getting you are on edge with anticipation. Pure magic. Following that I still love trotting a float in a river for whatever happens to be there. Size of fish no longer has the importance it once had compaired with the condition although it is still very satisfying to land a good fish of any species in pristine condition. It is just so enjoyable to be out there.

[D Dawis]

Hmmm, difficult one but i always seem to go back to fishing for Pike (smaller relative of your muskies i think?) I fish for just about anything but they will always be my first love.

 

Paul.

 

Yes, muskies are related to, and are in general, larger than pike. I, too, am a big fan of pike. Muskies aren't to much different other than that they can be completely silver, or have dark vertical spotting/banding (like a tiger) rather than the yellow spots that pike have. They are also hard to find, but they are definitely worth the effort. They are often referred to as "the fish of 10,000 casts".

 

Dave D