Carping without coarse fishing...?

[crusian]

14 hours ago, muftyboy said:

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.

 

 

I hear them before I see them , just as well really as they move so fast it gives you time to look , but knowing their flightpath is a huge advantage in spotting them .

I just wish they would stand still close enough and long enough for me to focus my binoculars on them ! .

[bluelabel]

Whilst Barbel fishing at Bewdley I had a Kingfisher land on my rod with a tiny fish whose head it bashed in on my rod then flew off... I took a photo of it.. been looking for it for ages.. if I ever find it I'll scan it and post it

[yonny]

21 minutes ago, bluelabel said:

I had a Kingfisher land on my rod

I captured a Kingfisher on my rods this year, finally, a really good pic too, only took me 20+ years lol

[oscsha]

2 hours ago, bluelabel said:

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....

Couldn't agree more , I believe the demise in anglers has been happening for years now and I can't see it hitting the numbers of yesteryear ,  just a slow decline.

[crusian]

2 hours ago, bluelabel said:

Whilst Barbel fishing at Bewdley I had a Kingfisher land on my rod with a tiny fish whose head it bashed in on my rod then flew off... I took a photo of it.. been looking for it for ages.. if I ever find it I'll scan it and post it

I'll look forward to that .

😀

 

[chillfactor]

4 hours ago, bluelabel said:

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....

Do you think the rolls have reversed these days ? Should carp fishing be seen as the pinnacle . 

If we all stop thinking carp fishing is the pinnacle , you won't see the same issues with people starting out carping over other species. 

Has the pinnacle for carp become more about certain fish from certain waters ? Over just managing to land one of those elusive carp . 

You really have to look at it as a complete beginner to fishing in this day & age of course your your going to end up carpin it's what's readily available. when I was young it was the rivers & the odd visit to a park lake .

 

[bluelabel]

I think a lot of it is down to the amount of commercials that have sprung up over the years.... the guys of yesteryear like Walker Hutchinson Yates all caught big fish and a lot of anglers wanted a taste.... so commercials sprang up and instead of doing the... "Rite of Passage" shall we call it...?  Folks jumped in at the deep end and started with carp... problem is you cant go gudgeon bashing with 3lb rods and Basias (well... you can I suppose) but its hard to go backwards... so they either choose a new species or a new hobby... hence the amount of second hand carp gear on the bay...

[salokcinnodrog]

4 hours ago, yonny said:

I captured a Kingfisher on my rods this year, finally, a really good pic too, only took me 20+ years lol

 

4 hours ago, bluelabel said:

Whilst Barbel fishing at Bewdley I had a Kingfisher land on my rod with a tiny fish whose head it bashed in on my rod then flew off... I took a photo of it.. been looking for it for ages.. if I ever find it I'll scan it and post it

I wish I could manage a pic of a kingfisher!

On the river last week I had a kingfisher perched in the tree above my rods, reach for camera and it was gone.

 

 

I think carp fishing was the top of fishing when they were few and far between. Now they are 'just another'.

 

I think we have had the discussion before about what tackle is available, it is mostly carp gear. It is often harder and more expensive to buy other coarse gear, and at the same time from clubs, to day tickets, most waters are stocked with carp.

Obviously because of that people will start carp fishing.

[bluelabel]

I love carp fishing... so do lots of other anglers... the problem is carping is a victim of its own success... every commercial that I know locally is stocked with carp even clib waters have had an influx of them... but there are times when I don't want to catch them... I have lost count of the times when I got a shoal of Perch on the go and the carp have moved in... bit of a bind on a float rod and 3lb line with a low double carp on the end

[muftyboy]

2 hours ago, bluelabel said:

I love carp fishing... so do lots of other anglers... the problem is carping is a victim of its own success... every commercial that I know locally is stocked with carp even clib waters have had an influx of them... but there are times when I don't want to catch them... I have lost count of the times when I got a shoal of Perch on the go and the carp have moved in... bit of a bind on a float rod and 3lb line with a low double carp on the end

I'm going to a commy for this weekend for 36 hours.

The plan is to fish for the perch in the daytime and stick the carp rods out before bed.

Wouldn't be surprised if the carp make an appearance on the float rod.

Had one of my biggest carp this year on the same method and a 4lb hooklink, while all the carpers were blanking away.

 

[bluelabel]

My young Padawan texted me yesterday and asked if I was fishing this weekend... I said "yup... got a club Fur and Feather" "oh" he said... "I dunno why you bother with all that small stuff" So I called him and tried to explain the "rite of passage, or ascension through the ranks" way us old boys did things... his response was "Bags to that, I want bigguns" some folks don't understand that Carping is not the be all and end all of fishing and there's sooooo much more to enjoy, including the wildlife on the banks as well as the fish..

Such is the attitude of the yoof o' t'day... 

(Frighteningly his father fishes, but he never went out with his dad till after I started coaching him...  and his old man is younger than I am, he also is a "carp only" man... Go figure )