What Is Angling?

[corydoras]

I'm just the opposite Cory.

To my mind it differentiates between, what I do, and what say, a commercial netsman would do.

(source Wikipedia)

 

Maybe it's an English thing cory.

 

John.

It may be. Do you really say 'I'm just off for a spot of angling'. It sounds soooooooo pretentious.

[nick]

I'm an angler that fishes

[nick]

I like this from wikipedia:

 

Angling is a method of fishing, specifically the practice of catching fish by means of an "angle" (hook).

 

So I guess everyone is right

Edited July 27, 2007 by nick

[Simon Everett]

So what is fsihing/angling?

 

For me, it is the art of contemplation whilst not actually catching anything.......the thnking man's sport - whilst fishing you have time to contemplate and think. The act of angling is not necessarily about catching - whilst fishing is.

 

By the way there are only 3 true sports: hunting, shooting and fishing. Everything else is just a game - football is a game, not a sport, same with rugby, cricket, tennis, NFL, F1 motor racing (definitely NOT a sport - a competition yes, but a sport, no.) I HATE it when the papers call all the other things sports - darts or snooker a sport???? Come on!

[corydoras]

So what is fsihing/angling?

 

For me, it is the art of contemplation whilst not actually catching anything.......the thnking man's sport - whilst fishing you have time to contemplate and think. The act of angling is not necessarily about catching - whilst fishing is.

 

By the way there are only 3 true sports: hunting, shooting and fishing. Everything else is just a game - football is a game, not a sport, same with rugby, cricket, tennis, NFL, F1 motor racing (definitely NOT a sport - a competition yes, but a sport, no.) I HATE it when the papers call all the other things sports - darts or snooker a sport???? Come on!

So some overweight git, lying on his back in a camp bed, in a bivvy, can of beer in one hand, spliff in t'other waiting for some equally overweight carp to come and munch on his left boilie is participating in a sport? Sorry but I just don't get that. I can just about get my head round the idea of match fishing being a sport, but it really is stretching my imagination. I fish for the same reasons you do, but I really, really loathe that 'angling' word. Yeah, I know what the word means, but that does not lessen its' ugliness. Edited July 30, 2007 by corydoras

[John S]

I suppose I'd best add my thought on the subject that I've "volunteered" for

 

 

Angling gives me the opportunity to get near to nature for a few precious hours - sitting on the bank of a lake or canal watching the wildlife going by; the swans floating serenely past, the ducks with their newly-hatched offspring, the kingfishers zooming along the canal as they search for food. Nothing can beat fishing in the pre-dawn light with a gentle mist rolling over the tranquil surface of a lake, listening to the ‘gloop’ of a fish as it takes a surface-caught insect. Paradise.... Catching fish? That’s always a nice bonus.

 

To each of us, angling means something different.

 

Some people enjoy angling by taking the minimum amount of equipment and stalking along the river or the lake hunting their prey, others get their pleasure by taking enough equipment to stock a small tackle shop (it would be nice to know what each of you take on a typical trip (no, I don't mean 15 lines of coke! )) - neither of them are wrong, it's just what they choose to do in order to get the most pleasure from their pastime.

 

It's the same with the fish we target. I prefer to fish for anything, others want to target certain species often to the exclusion of all others. Again, neither is wrong, it's just what they choose to fish for. Then there's the match-angler, his main objective is to get the largest weight of fish in the alloted time and hopefully beat all the other anglers in that match. One of my drinking-chums is a match angler, and when he isn't fishing a match he'll probably be fishing the lake where a match is due to take place finding out what the fish like to take, the lay-out of the lake and the best pegs. That doesn't make him less of an angler than the specialist or those who just go out to fish, again it's just personal choice and he should not be condemned for that.

 

The fly-fisher will spend ages deciding which fly to use, what type of line and which weight. His joy is seeing the line snaking out dropping the fly nearby where he hopes the fish will be, and watching as his quarry takes the bait as the river carries it past. The sea-angler, either on the beach, pier or boat, hopes to cast into a shoal of mackerel or cod, or to entice a conger from a sunken wreck. Maybe his target is one of the many species of shark that hunt around our coastline, or even the so-called common skate.

 

 

 

I'll keep this thread open for a couple of weeks then start to write the article. I would like more input though - what do you think of the fishing scene at the moment? Are we living at the best time as far as angling is concerned or did our forefathers have it best? What are the major threats to angling now? Are the modern materials our rods and lines are made from really any better than the cane rods of old? Sure, they are lighter and more responsive, but does that equate to more fish on the bank? The in-thing now for coarse anglers is camo, but are the fish really all that bothered about what you wear or is it just the angler that is getting caught? What do you think might be the next 'fad' in angling and will it improve our pastime?

 

It's over to you....

[greg long]

Angling is the art of catching fish on rod and line. It should be carried out in a gentlemanly manner, sadly too many 'anglers' today have no consideration for other anglers, waterside users or the natural wildlife that make fishing or angling so enjoyable.

On another note personally I consider multi bolt rig set-ups with bivvy tents sleeping bags and beds, bite alarms and other self hooking systems a bit too close to set lines to call it angling. Is a rod and reel set-up really any different than a fixed set line if fishing itself?.....

 

 

.....now I'm going to duck from the flying leads, (substitute) anti-tangle rigs and hair-rigs...

[Janet]

"Thus have I proved, according to my purpose, that the sport and game of angling is the true means and cause that brings a man into a merry spirit"

 

From the text of The Treatise of Fishing with an Angle, 2nd Book of St. Albans, 1496

 

Sort of says it all really. It's what makes us smile, more often than not makes us shake our heads in frustration, but always brings pleasure, whether it's actually doing it, or just the anticipation of doing it. Many times the anticipation is better than the event, but when it all comes together, it's just perfect.

 

I'm relatively new to this sport, but it has brought a new and very welcome focus to my life, and an escape from mundane things. To be out on the river bank, or by a lake, watching the beauty of nature in all its glory is a wonderful experience. It gives me time to think and reflect, and to achieve a balance which is missing in the hectic lives we lead in this increasingly fast-moving world that we live in.

 

Janet

[kleinboet]

I have to agree with John S.

 

People from all walks of life switch the television on and marvel at the wild life in what could be their back yard!

A lot of people have discovered how to see it for themselves - they go angling!!

How often have I sat by the side of the water and watched the Insects, the Birds and all the other wildlife! I have been privileged to have a Kingfisher use my rod as a roost with the best view of the water! How many times have I been lost in thought and at one with nature, only to be brought back with a bang when my rod whips round!

Then comes the second experience - What fish have I got on the other side of my rod? What size is it?

Suddenly there is a flash! and you see the fish for the first time, marvelling at the beauty of it!

And then the excitement of slipping the net under it - and it is yours!

As an Angler, I am one of the LUCKY ones!!

Edited August 3, 2007 by kleinboet

[corydoras]

Angling is the art of catching fish on rod and line. It should be carried out in a gentlemanly manner, sadly too many 'anglers' today have no consideration for other anglers, waterside users or the natural wildlife that make fishing or angling so enjoyable.

On another note personally I consider multi bolt rig set-ups with bivvy tents sleeping bags and beds, bite alarms and other self hooking systems a bit too close to set lines to call it angling. Is a rod and reel set-up really any different than a fixed set line if fishing itself?.....

.....now I'm going to duck from the flying leads, (substitute) anti-tangle rigs and hair-rigs...

Being an old fashion Scot I agree with you. I was taught to fish with my rod in my hand. In Scotland a rod in a rest is a set line, and is illegal. Long may that continue.