If you could catch just one of the following...

[snotty]

I would go for the perch, never had a big one, come close though.

Horses for courses I guess but a big perch is worth more to me than any carp, chub or catfish.

mmm... the tinca might be nice too though...

[wayne baker]

40lb catfish...never seen one.

30lb carp...never caught one.

20lb pike...done.

12lb bream...lol...not quite no. Only caught my first recently and that was a skimmer.

10lb barbel...never seen one but rare and most likely small.

10lb zander...never seen one.

9lb tench...never caught one but rare and most likely small.

5lb chub...hardly caught any though and never by design but rare and most likely small.

3lb perch...done.

2lb roach...done.

2lb rudd...hardly caught any though and never by design but do-able I'm sure.

2lb grayling...done. Did that when I was 12 or something. First recorded Grayling from the White Cart.

1lb dace...very nearly and very do-able I'm sure. Again, from the White Cart.

 

It's odd that list. I've managed to catch the listed weights of the fish that are most widely available to me and as a result, I've targeted them. Pike (25/8), perch (3/12), roach (2/8), grayling (2) and very possibly dace (only recently realised how rare the big ones are so now they'll be weighed). The rest are very rare or non-existant as a species up here and the weights are highly unlikely.

I think some of the list will be impossible as long as I fish In Scotland.

When i first got married, It seems like years ago now i moved up to scotland. With my missus who is from inverness. All my time up there i kept fishing for pike mainly, And i managed a few naughty salmon ssshhh. But most over species were very thin on the ground and to be honest i really missed just wandering down a river with a bucket of bread mash after chub and stalking a few carp on a summers eveming.

To cut a long story short after about two years we moved back to essex, She must love me ha ha. I still miss the mountains and that wild piking though

[poledark]

Weighing your fish can actually enhance the satisfaction when you do reach your target. I had 7 Roach which weighing in at 1lb 15oz over the previous 47 years years, even had 4 in the net at once on one occasion. But when I did get that two pounder 8 years ago, it really was special. I just sat and smiled for a couple of hours

 

Same for the 20+ carp (I started young) and then the magic 30

 

I can't quite imagine what it must be like to always be wondering just how big (or small) a speciman fish was.

 

Den

[Anderoo]

A big part of the challenge and satisfaction for me, as others have said, is that I was trying to catch that species. It's heartening to see so many votes for the roach - that would have been mine too (like a shot) if I hadn't had one over 2lb. Over the years I have been very lucky and caught two 2lbers (real scrapers! one of 2lb exactly and of one 2lb 1.5oz) but they were both pretty flukey. (I caught the biggest one when I was about 14 from the mighty relief channel in Norfolk - I thought it was an eel and did all I could to knock it off on the way in . The other one I had a couple of seasons back on a big lump of luncheon meat meant for tench. They were both on the float though )

 

I would dearly love to catch a 2lb roach by design. That's why I go the Timsbury fish-ins!

 

All the PBs of the other fish in the list (except rudd, but I know somewhere local where a 2 is possible if I try hard enough) have been by design. Not that I knock 'bonus' captures at all, I'll take anything I can get

[MikeT]

Weighing your fish can actually enhance the satisfaction when you do reach your target...

 

I can't quite imagine what it must be like to always be wondering just how big (or small) a speciman fish was.

Yes, that’s very compelling. I can understand the satisfaction of realising a longstanding ambition like that, and that the whole purpose of trying to catch fish of certain target weights is the toughness of the challenge this presents. I guess it’s the way we can make our fishing competitive, even when we’re not in a competition as such. We’re competing with the challenge of catching a fish that’s defined (by its weight) as extremely hard to catch, and there must be great satisfaction in succeeding in such tough challenges.

 

My personal misgiving about this is that it could eclipse the real point of fishing (for me), and effectively spoil the simple pleasure of this noble sport. I’ve seen anglers actually become disappointed upon finding their fish an ounce or two short of twenty pounds, when moments before weighing it they’d been exhilarated. Reducing it to a known weight thus diminishes their achievement (rather more often than not). Which is insane, in my not so humble opinion.

 

By never weighing my fish, I’m quite unable to compete with myself because I have no Personal Best targets- so I rarely know for sure if I’ve ever bettered them. And I cannot compete with anyone else’s fish, nor even share my experience of my fish by describing it in objective terms according to its size. It therefore remains an essentially personal thing, which is how I like it.

 

Instead, the way I measure the achievement of my catch is by completely subjective means. If the fish is big I don’t need scales to tell me. Weighing it cannot improve its appearance- it’s either beautiful or not. If I’ve worked especially hard to catch it I already feel a sense of achievement, and the wonderful satisfaction of succeeding in the challenge. The greatest achievement for me is the pleasure I take from simply being there, regardless of the size of any fish I may happen to catch, and I reckon I’m lucky to feel I can meet that challenge well enough without reducing fish to their weight.

 

But I know I'm a bit odd!

Edited October 31, 2008 by MikeT

[gozzer]

My choice of a big roach came from sitting in Leeds & District Anglers Club about 50yrs ago.

I used to sit with my 'pop' and crisps looking at the stuffed fish in the mounted cases in the 'snug'.

There were pike of 30lb, chub 7lb, huge perch etc, but the roach of 3lb+ (caught by Bazley) still stick in my mind for some reason.

I can't fully remember, but the weights were either 3lb 1oz, or 3lb 10oz, caught from Hornsey Mere.

 

I have had several periods over the years trying to catch a 2lber, but never got over 1lb 13oz.

There were times when 2lbers were coming out of a local lake quite often, I got plenty up to 1lb 12oz. (Although some of the '2lbers' did shrink significantly on the scales ).

I now can't think of a place where I stand a decent chance of catching one. As I now don't have the time or inclination to launch a 'specific' effort, I've accepted that it's unlikely to happen.

Unless I get a 'fluke'. Which I will gladly accept.

 

John.

[poledark]

You never know Gozzer, you might just get the urge and the opportunity again You are dead right about how those "two's" shrink when the scales are produced. I am often amazed when I overhear conversations just how rarely big roach actually do get weighed.

 

To be quite honest, it is one of the few things in angling which really pees me off. I don't care if someone "lies" about a 30+ carp, "double figure Bream" or whatever, but when they are obviously telling porkies about big Roach I tend to show my annoyance

 

Den

[gozzer]

You never know Gozzer, you might just get the urge and the opportunity again You are dead right about how those "two's" shrink when the scales are produced. I am often amazed when I overhear conversations just how rarely big roach actually do get weighed.

 

To be quite honest, it is one of the few things in angling which really pees me off. I don't care if someone "lies" about a 30+ carp, "double figure Bream" or whatever, but when they are obviously telling porkies about big Roach I tend to show my annoyance

 

Den

 

I think I might get "the urge" Den, but "the opportunity"?... I don't know.

 

The whole weighing thing can be funny at times. I don't weigh many fish, If I 'know' a chub is around 4-5lb or so, that's enough for me. An obvious 'monster' I would regret not weighing.

I sometimes carry scales just to 'pee' some people off. It's amazing just how far off some people are when guessing the weight of fish. I've weighed fish for people and their guess has been double the actual weight!

 

John.

[tiddlertamer]

2ib grayling would be very niice, Ive never even seen one let alone caught one.

 

 

I once didn't catch but did lose a 3lb + grayling!

 

I was with a river keeper trotting a stretch of the Hampshire Avon.

We were having a good laugh about my luck or lack of it, fishing ability too, come to think of if. He borrowed my rod, set the float trotting down the river and lo and behold, the float disappeared. He struck and something evidently quite big was at the end of the line.

A touch embarassed, he insisted I played and landed the fish whilst he took over the netting duties.

 

A minute or so later, he let out roar as he saw the sight of the grayling a few yards from the net. 3lb plus and the biggest he'd ever seem.

All it would take was for me to keep calm and the fish was ours...

 

Then, with the fish at the net, istead of calmly bringing it over the net, I tried to reel it in further, and the hook spring free...

The record fish was off...

 

And since? My biggest grayling is a mighty six ounces!

Edited October 31, 2008 by tiddlertamer

[Armarnold]

it would have to be the perch, but ive got a bit of a fascination with them at the moment