Greatest Angler Of All Time

[Bob Bradford 0]

Budgie, I believe great anglers are capable of catching any fish,anywhere, at the end of the day if an angler can put his hook where he wants time after time,present it properly time after time, and use the correct feeding pattern and bait time after time, they will succeed regardless of their quarry or environment.

 

The question of who the Greatest angler is, is ,for me at least, more complicated than catching fish though, there have been hugely influential anglers over the decades like Walker and Drennan, Hayes and Wilson,Marks and Ashurst but over time one man will stand head and shoulders above all of those luminary's because of his political influences for the good of angling....all of angling, and that man is Keith Arthur, if he succeeds where others have failed it will be a no contest,

 

Regards and seasons greetings to you ,

Bob.

[mark barrett 0]

Budgie, I believe great anglers are capable of catching any fish,anywhere, at the end of the day if an angler can put his hook where he wants time after time,present it properly time after time, and use the correct feeding pattern and bait time after time, they will succeed regardless of their quarry or environment.

 

The question of who the Greatest angler is, is ,for me at least, more complicated than catching fish though, there have been hugely influential anglers over the decades like Walker and Drennan, Hayes and Wilson,Marks and Ashurst but over time one man will stand head and shoulders above all of those luminary's because of his political influences for the good of angling....all of angling, and that man is Keith Arthur, if he succeeds where others have failed it will be a no contest,

 

Regards and seasons greetings to you ,

Bob.

 

 

i tend to agree with a lot of that, i certainly think that keith is a very good angler and broadcaster and a very nice bloke in real life. however i dont think that he will ever outshne Dick Walker for me, as Dick developed a whole philosophy in angling " the i can catch big fish" mentality.

along with the tackle items that he invented Dick will always be number one for me.

 

however i also tend to agree with Budgie, that if you are going to be classed as "the greatest" then you need to excell in a wide variety of disciplines, not just the one. i would no more give it to a matchmen, than i would a carp angler or a pike angler. in my eyes to be a great you would need to be able to master running water, still water, big and small venues, perhaps sea and fly fishing too. i dont think that overseas anglers need to come into it myself, because realistically it as always going to be that the greatest, was of this country (UK) not the worlds greatest.

[peter mccue 0]

Mark & Budgies last posts say it all for me really, couldn't agree more. However, I wonder how much these polls reflect generation gaps rather than a studied examination of the facts.

 

Much along the lines of those annoying best album in history polls where people simply vote for their favourite artistes.

[Dick Dastardly 88]

Yes spot on Chris I was going to mention the generation gap thing. We all know who Matt hayes is but I bet very few "under 30's" would have a clue who Bill Keal was for example.

 

Maybe that is a good measure of greatness ie being known across a wide age gap?

[Vagabond 1013]

Maybe that is a good measure of greatness ie being known across a wide age gap?

 

On that criterion Budgie, Izaak wins hands down - he is actually still in the first fifty after 350-odd years !!

 

But of the names on the list, Dick Walker stands out by a mile.

 

To someone like me, who has been fishing since before Dick Walker was even heard of, some of the non-entities in the list make amusing reading. Angling did not start with Dick, either - some significant omissions from the list include:(not in any particular order of merit)

 

Capt Leonard A Parker

 

F.W.K Wallis

 

Jim Bazeley (twice winner of the All-England, and with many specimen fish to his credit - he was advocating floating crust for carp in the 1930s)

 

Pete Thomas. Dick Walker would always tell you Pete was a far better angler than himself, and as Dick said to me once, "Modesty is not one of my failings"

 

John Bickerdyke

 

W.C Stewart

 

Francis Francis

 

H Cholmondeley Pennell

 

Rev E E Alston. Once held British records for both tench and rudd, and had plenty of big pike and salmon to his name.

 

Any who haven't heard of most of the above, need to broaden their knowledge beyond the weekly comics

 

...and who is this "Bob" Hutchinson at No 12? ROD Hutchinson I know - now he does deserve to be in the list.

.....and Fred J Taylor certainly deserves to be much higher in the list than he is.

 

I know its all just a bit of fun, but the very composition of the list (and the omissions from it) reveal how little the compilers know about the history, scope and development of their sport.

[Peter Waller 50]

W.C.Stewart, unfortunate initials, is a mystery to me. Vagabond, we are talking Angling Times. Trust you had a good Xmas.

 

Is this THE W.C.Stewart?

http://www.sexyloops.com/rivers/upstreamwetfly.shtml

Not a gentleman that I had previously heard of.

Edited December 25, 2006 by Peter Waller

[Vagabond 1013]

W.C.Stewart,..... is a mystery to me. Vagabond, we are talking Angling Times.

Yep, you now have him to rights Peter - I enjoyed the link that you found.

 

He not only invented the upstream wet fly (before Kite, Sawyer or even Skues) but was an accomplished loch fisher for salmon, seatrout, trout and pike. He was master, not only of the fly, but the spun dead-bait, the dapped live mayfly, and the upstream worm. OK he was not coarse fisher, but he caught what was available to him in Scotland.

 

...and "talking AT" - there was a time when Angling Times featured trout fishing - when there was REAL trout fishing, ie before put-and-take. Anyone remember "Trout by all means" a weekly feature by T.K.Wilson ? A man after Stewart's heart.

 

Have had a good yuletide thanks, Peter - I trust you and yours did likewise.

[s_mac 0]

So being world champion four times in the last few years doesn't make the list, but a numpty in front of a camera is number one?

 

Don't see any game fishermen in there, or sea anglers for that matter.

 

I shan't bother.

 

i agree with someone in front of the camera making number one should not be there...the top people should be the match fisherman, not always the world champion, but, who has consistanly performed over many years, in match situations..

 

as for the number in the list, well i guess i could be number one given the best venue, the best tackle, and also the best editor.

 

as for the specimen fisherman, i cant comment as i dont really know much about that side of our great sport.

 

sean

[Tony U 36]

"the top people should be the match fisherman, not always the world champion, but, who has consistanly performed over many years, in match situations.."

 

Er why? Didnt the so called numpty beat a so called great match angler in a three venue competition?

I think it should be someone who shows the ability to turn their hands to all aspects of the sport and also shows innovation and thought, commitment and communication and in that respect; whilst I dont think John Wilson is the greatest angler ever, he ticks a lot of the right boxes.

 

 

Tony

Edited December 29, 2006 by Tony U

[Steve Burke 177]

i agree with someone in front of the camera making number one should not be there...the top people should be the match fisherman, not always the world champion, but, who has consistanly performed over many years, in match situations..

 

as for the number in the list, well i guess i could be number one given the best venue, the best tackle, and also the best editor.

 

as for the specimen fisherman, i cant comment as i dont really know much about that side of our great sport.

 

sean

 

Sean, I'm with Tony here. There are many top anglers who've never fished a match.

 

Having said that I suspect that many top specimen hunters would soon do very well at match fishing; likewise many top match anglers would soon do very well at specimen hunting. Indeed several have already done well at both. However in general specimen hunters are better at location, match anglers are better at feeding.

 

I also very much take issue with you when you say that you "could be number one given the best venue, the best tackle, and also the best editor." I can't speak for those on the list, but all the TV programmes and magazine features I've done myself have been fished on club or day ticket fisheries using my own tackle. Catching under these conditions isn't easy, especially when you've got a camera in your earhole and a lot of extra disturbance is being made! Those who get invited to participate already have a track record of success otherwise they wouldn't be there!

 

So let's face it, neither you nor I would appear on this list of the greatest anglers, any more than either of us could beat Ronnie O'Sullivan at snooker!