What is a 'true' angler?

[Peter Waller]

mpbdsnu:

Hey Peter!

 

That's just a pond mate - amazin ain't it, the illusion created by the use of a wide-angled lens?

Might have been a 24mm. Can't remember for sure. The Broad is 130 acres and that is about 1/3rd of it.

[The Flying Tench]

Maybe we should ask who is NOT a true angler - IMHO a friend of mine who is planning to catch the neighbour's goldfish secretly over the garden fence!

[fenboy]

Only ever fished the Trent for pike once. It was the hard winter of (I think) 1987-ish. I was living in Rugby at the time and very frustrated that all my waters were frozen. The Trent in those days was warm from all the power stations, so I went down to the stretch I had access to (through membership of Coventry DAA), struggled for half a mile of snowdrifts along the bank and fished a nice bay where I could trot livebaits (I still used lives in those days) and float-leger deads. Had a stack of pike to around 12 lb, that fought like tigers.

Soon afterwards there was a thaw, so I never returned.

However, these days 95 per cent of my piking is on rivers. In fact 95 per cent of my fishing is on rivers. That's because so few other pike anglers fish rivers... because you can't fish carp-style piking on rivers (well, not without difficulty, anyway).

So I'm not surprised you don't see many Trent pikers, Lee. They sure are missing out.

 

Changing the subject, how can Mr Crabtree be the complete angler? In fact how can a cartoon character be anything other than ink on a page? Surreal stuff.

[Peter Waller]

Mr Crabtree is the spirit of a true angler! Surreal it might be, but the legend lives on.

[fenboy]

But he's fictional! Surely there's a real one out there?

[Peter Waller]

There was, he's dead now! Hence the legand.

[fenboy]

Mr Crabtree is politically incorrect and therefore unacceptable. He smoked a pipe. And he took young Peter fishing in winter wearing just short trousers. They'd call the social services in for that sort of stuff these days.

[chesters1]

no life jacket in the boat ,1/3rd party insurance i think not and what was his first name? not much for social services to go on for his C.R.B.

[beezer]

My Idea of what makes a true aqngler is someone who realy enjoy's catching his fish and then realy enjoys eating what he catches. Wouldn't eat chub though. Only ever ate one, like cotton wool with needles in

[The Flying Tench]

fenboy:

Mr Crabtree is politically incorrect and therefore unacceptable. He smoked a pipe. And he took young Peter fishing in winter wearing just short trousers. They'd call the social services in for that sort of stuff these days.

Mr Crabtree not only smoked a pipe, he could catch a pike, talk and smoke simultaneously! That's why he is THE complete angler. I bet you can't do that Fenboy. Mind you, even I am surprised that he always wore a tie to go fishing - just shows how society has changed.

 

But what about his son, Peter, who had the advantage of being taught to angle by the maestro. Does he live? Does he fish? It so happens he does! I looked up my local telephone directory, and he lives in Thatcham, near me, in the same road as one of the angling shops! I nearly rang him up to ask if he was THE P Crabtree, but decided the poor man must get fed up with angling nutters like me taking the ****...............