Carping without coarse fishing...?

[bluelabel]

Over the years I have fished many styles and codes... Hell I've been fishing since I was three and a half years old and I'm 60 now... But I see loads of anglers coming into the carp angling world without any idea of any other methods bar a lead clip or floater rig....

Do you think that bypassing the methods that catch other species detracts from their skillsets wether from a technical aspect or from a watercraft/angling knowledge viewpoint....?

 

[chillfactor]

It's got to help fishing from a young age,  but saying that I know enough carpers that haven't & good ones at that & you also see old boys who have fished all there lives with shocking fish care & zero watercraft  so it's more down to individual habbits & what lessons you've learnt be it over 5 years or 50 years . 

I remember my uncle taking me fishing as a kid & tieing hooks on with granny knots,  he was still doing it some 10 years later until as as a teenager  I showed him a few different knots. 

Think watercraft maybe the only thing that's hard to catch up on , as you spend so much time as a kid fishing that's  got to be hard to replace , but even that over time comes .

[yonny]

Agree.

I think growing up having fished for carp and carp alone can lead to a blinkered approach. Those that have fished for different species in a variety of waterways will be more adaptable.

That said, you also see certain skills amplified. I've seen young guys on day ticket waters that have grown up using zigs as they couldn't afford bait as nippers. Their zig skills are something else. Honed to perfection.

[kevtaylor]

Personally I think you miss out on a massive amount of knowledge, skills, experience and more importantly enjoyment if you go straight into carping without progressing towards it in some way.

I loved my time match and pleasure fishing, pike fishing etc  Every species and situation meant learning and practising skills that in some cases I still use to this day.

 

[bluelabel]

There is also the lack of appreciation of the surroundings... I took a coaching commission a few months ago with a total novice and his shock at seeing a pheasant for the first time was surprising... so when I go out with him I point out flora and fauna...  He's amazed that there is sooooo much that he'd never really bothered looking at.... the loss is entirely down to keeping their nose glued to a phone or a tablet or laptop and not looking at the world around them...

[yonny]

34 minutes ago, bluelabel said:

There is also the lack of appreciation of the surroundings... 

I don't think they don't appreciate it, I just don't think they realise it's there. That's not just the younger generation either. Those moments that us anglers take for granted, the sunrise and the awakening of nature that comes with it..... most people never see that. And they think we're the weirdos lol.

Edited November 26, 2018 by yonny

[bluelabel]

If there's one thing I never tire of... and I hope I never do.... it's that electric blue bolt of a Kingfisher rocketing across the water, be it still or flowing... I tried to point it out to my young protégé a few weeks back... he'd missed it as he didn't know what to look for.... afterwards he quipped that "it's like a David Attenborough commentary" some folks don't know what they are missing... there seems to be no love of the land anymore

[yonny]

Absolutely @bluelabel. Most people think fishing is just about catching fish. It's not. Catching is obviously a big part of it, but what you're talking about is just as important imo.

With a baby on the way my fishing time will be severely limited this next few years. I can handle not catching fish but I really do worry about how I'll cope without the sunrises and the mist crawling across the surface. It's what keeps me sane!

[bluelabel]

Who'd want to miss a sunset like this....?

[oscsha]

Love seeing my son's reaction to nature and sunsets while fishing , he's only six but loves it already . 

[bluelabel]

2 minutes ago, oscsha said:

Love seeing my son's reaction to nature and sunsets while fishing , he's only six but loves it already . 

Then he'll grow up richer for it...👍

[kevtaylor]

20 minutes ago, yonny said:

Absolutely @bluelabel. Most people think fishing is just about catching fish. It's not. Catching is obviously a big part of it, but what you're talking about is just as important imo.

With a baby on the way my fishing time will be severely limited this next few years. I can handle not catching fish but I really do worry about how I'll cope without the sunrises and the mist crawling across the surface. It's what keeps me sane!

Huge congrats!

[crusian]

39 minutes ago, yonny said:

Absolutely @bluelabel. Most people think fishing is just about catching fish. It's not. Catching is obviously a big part of it, but what you're talking about is just as important imo.

With a baby on the way my fishing time will be severely limited this next few years. I can handle not catching fish but I really do worry about how I'll cope without the sunrises and the mist crawling across the surface. It's what keeps me sane!

Well Yonny if you're going to be helping with baby say goodbye to sleep for a few years and you'll see quite a few sunrises ! .

😀

[bluelabel]

42 minutes ago, yonny said:

Absolutely @bluelabel. Most people think fishing is just about catching fish. It's not. Catching is obviously a big part of it, but what you're talking about is just as important imo.

With a baby on the way my fishing time will be severely limited this next few years. I can handle not catching fish but I really do worry about how I'll cope without the sunrises and the mist crawling across the surface. It's what keeps me sane!

as soon as he/she is able take them out and share it with your nippers.... many congrats... I'm about to be a great uncle (again)

[salokcinnodrog]

I must admit I think that an 'apprenticeship' in other species is useful before moving into carp. I fished (and fish for) for silver fish, chub, bream, tench, roach and pike as well as carp.

As Kev says, some of what I learnt about feeding for other species is relevant to carp fishing, even if it helps me avoid other species! If you can feed effectively then you are likely to catch more. 

 

@Dannygooner, my local rivers have also been empty, although I think there are additional reasons, otters, EE's and the ability to get to them. The access for the spots I have been fishing is a mile away from the villages, yet the EE's have been there, least I think that from the beer cans that have been left...

 

I absolutely love a lot of being outside, sunrises, sunsets, the kingfishers, which I often see, even though apparently there aren't many around according to Countryfile after they tried spotting them in the Lea Valley.

Today was this, no more than an arms length away. I reached for my camera and he came closer.

[levigsp]

I too have fished a long time and for all types of fish.

I agree with Chill, I have met anglers that have recently took up carp fishing, who are better anglers than some who have fished sixty years and I met those opposite way round.

What I have noticed is that the anglers who have done it all their lives, generally have a better understanding of nature and the countryside.

[muftyboy]

1 hour ago, salokcinnodrog said:

I must admit I think that an 'apprenticeship' in other species is useful before moving into carp. I fished (and fish for) for silver fish, chub, bream, tench, roach and pike as well as carp.

As Kev says, some of what I learnt about feeding for other species is relevant to carp fishing, even if it helps me avoid other species! If you can feed effectively then you are likely to catch more. 

 

@Dannygooner, my local rivers have also been empty, although I think there are additional reasons, otters, EE's and the ability to get to them. The access for the spots I have been fishing is a mile away from the villages, yet the EE's have been there, least I think that from the beer cans that have been left...

 

I absolutely love a lot of being outside, sunrises, sunsets, the kingfishers, which I often see, even though apparently there aren't many around according to Countryfile after they tried spotting them in the Lea Valley.

Today was this, no more than an arms length away. I reached for my camera and he came closer.

I'm pretty sure I see a kingfisher nearly every time I go fishing, whether it's my local lakes in London or further out.

 

[...]

1 hour ago, levigsp said:

I too have fished a long time and for all types of fish.

I agree with Chill, I have met anglers that have recently took up carp fishing, who are better anglers than some who have fished sixty years and I met those opposite way round.

What I have noticed is that the anglers who have done it all their lives, generally have a better understanding of nature and the countryside.

I have fished as long as i can remember...started with 1 rod on local canal for anything for a few years...took up pole fishing (after son was born)  leading into matches for about 5/6 years..then my fishing buddy passed away (father in maw) then a mate at work wanted to start up coarse fishing so sold him all my gear then started at basic carp fishing...then progressed from there.

It is all about the outdoors and my MAIN knowledge is all Course Fishing but Carp Fishing is VERY different if fishing for "Biguns"

[muftyboy]

I personally don't think you can teach somebody Watercraft. 

It's all about the individuals perception and awareness of what's going on around them. 

Some people have it and some people  don't.

 

[bluelabel]

Some aspects of it you can... you can tell folk what to look for,  where you can find it... telltale signs etc but the majority of it comes from experience

[bluelabel]

I have a little friend on my club lake... always comes to see me... nicks maggots out of my bait box if I have them, or micro pellets if I don't.. this is the sort of thing you miss with your nose stuck in a bit 'o tech

 

[muftyboy]

14 minutes ago, bluelabel said:

Some aspects of it you can... you can tell folk what to look for,  where you can find it... telltale signs etc but the majority of it comes from experience

But you can't teach them how to react to it.

 

[bluelabel]

2 minutes ago, muftyboy said:

But you can't teach them how to react to it.

 

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the reply I gave above😛😎😉

[muftyboy]

Going back to the kingfishers.

My mate who fishes the same lake as me never sees them.

He also doesn't catch many fish lol.

 

 

[bluelabel]

The worry with carp anglers having spent most of their lives targetting the one species there is always the danger that if the novelty wears off and they disappear from the angling world.... let me try and explain my reasoning...

As a novice I never fished for carp as the gear was specialised and the knowledge wasn't there... carping was seen as an ascension to the highest level... now lads (and lasses)   come into the sport and they are at what I thought used to be the pinnacle of the angling tree... the downside of arriving at the top of the tree means theres nowhere to go to get that big fish buzz... I suppose it follows why disillusioned/bored carpers turn to barbel and cats.... whereas old gimmers like me, started out with minnows and worked my way up through the ranks trying different codes and species... if I get bored with carp I'll toddle off to a river for some chub or perch, or fish a club match or two... rather than picking up a tablet or take up golf....