Teaching a beginner how to fish

[Noel80]

Christ it's hard work!!! It's amazing what you take for granted, isn't it? I fished a bit as a kid, had a break but re-started again after college. I've been fishing ever since but still learning all the time.

I've taken a family friend out quite a few times recently but I find the whole thing quite stressful! He's older than me and has no real outdoors background. The key is to keep things simple but EVERYTHING he does seems to be 'wrong'! You want to correct him but you can't spend the whole day saying "don't do it like that" etc. From holding the rod, to putting in a bank stick, to positioning the chair. Everything!

I've mostly been on rivers because I prefer them but we've been on ponds too.

He's keen but I'm not sure he "gets it". Do you know what I mean? He knows you won't catch all the time... but he gets down if he doesn't catch all the time... He's bought all the magazines, watched hours of Sky's fishing programmes etc but once he's on the bank he's like a child without a clue.

He's caught some really nice fish too. He's been by himself a lot now but whenever we arrange to go together it's like we're back to square one. I've shown him so much and just when I think he's perfectly capable (which he is) he'll do something completely bizarre. I just can't take anymore of it! He's got to learn things for himself.

Anyone have any experience with this situation?


Sorry for the rant! Needed to get it off my chest.

 

[Avon Aquatics - Ryan]

Yep, i have some experience there, i once (With the boss and scout leaders) took a cub scout group fishing one evening at a local lake, and boy do i know it can be hard work, but it can be rewarding.

I have found it is easier to take a first timer or beginner to a commercial lake, as it allows them to catch, easy parking, toilets, some have cafes so it is a good introduction to fishing catching a few as well, my favorite method of teaching, a short pole whip (5m is perfect) and just let them have it , get them to watch you for 4-5 mins and then let them have it and have a go, barbless hooks with sweetcorn or soft pre-prepared hooker pellets is the way to go, unless they don't mind maggits in which case just let them have 1/4 of a pint.

Ryan

(Sometimes i still feel as if i am teaching a mate, how to coarse fish after he has just been fishing for carp the last few years.....)

 

[Keith M]

Why is it that when you teach the wife she always thinks you are nagging her but if someone else does the same they are just trying to help her???

 

[Nathan]

I taught the girlfriend how to fish down my local canal. It was really difficult for both of us, i got fustrated when she didn't understand or pick things up quickly enough plus i had to set up her rod, choose the float, set the depth etc etc. Once i'd done all that I'd try to et my gear up then she'd call me over every two seconds because she'd got into a tangle or cast into a tree!

She eventually got the hang of it (to some degree) but now when we go fishing together she always manages to go one better than me. Our last trip was to a commercial asI wanted her to catch something over the 1lb mark that would put up a decent scrap. She had a few nice carp out & was even thinking of little things by herself(ie: using the fat from the pan after making bacon sarnies on her pellets). She ended up with a nice tench from a venue i didn't even know contained them! Typical!!

<edit> And i still haven't had a tench this year aftera fewattempts!!

 

[Andy Fielder]

Teaching newcomers to fish can be very, very challenging. For some of us its also very rewarding, too, not only when things go well, but the actual 'teaching' process itself. As with many aspects of fishing, patience is a virtue.

Anybody who endeavours to get a newcomer into angling is to be applauded, but if it gets too much for you personally, rather than allowing it all to get on top of you, why not succinctly suggest a session with a qualified coach just to 'fine tune' a few things?

Many, many of us have the skillset and abilities to demonstrate various fishing methods to newcomers, but not all of us gain actual enjoyment from the process - as demonstrated by Noel80!! On the whole, angling coaches are individuals who derive a personal 'pleasure' from this challenge/process - I'd be very surprised to meet one who wasn't.

A coaching sessionmay well be the next step forward for Noel's budding pupil.

 

[BigRob]

I have been quite lucky only been back in the sport for a few months, didn't really remember a lot from when I was younger, the wife wanted to learn also.

at first I think you just have to be ready to not fish that much yourself. I have spent many a time, with her calling me over, I think to myself it's either going to be a fish on the end or she is in a tangle again lol.

it's not really been a problem showing her where she is going wrong and what to do right, as I just leave her for a bit, when she's not catching, I suggest she tried this or that, rather than saying she is wrong......

The good thing is a few weeks ago we took her Bro out who hasn't been before and the penny dropped to how much she had learned, watching a newbie struggling and needing help.

 

[Noel80]

<blockquote class=quoteheader>BigRob wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>

The good thing is a few weeks ago we took her Bro out who hasn't been before and the penny dropped to how much she had learned, watching a newbie struggling and needing help.</blockquote>


That's a very good point. I'm not sure he's aware of how much he's learnt. The thing about fishing is that it's impossible to know everything. That's the beauty of it, the unknown. So when he asks how much bait to put in I say, "I don't know"! You have to experiment. Different things work on different days. Different swims fish well on different days. I'm buggered if i know all the answers!

Also, yes you have to be prepared to sacrifice your fishing time. I haven't minded doing this. But you also have to take a step back after a while and let them learn for themselves, let them make mistakes. We all make mistakes, even the most experienced anglers. It's a fine line though between letting them work things out for themselves and abandoning them.

 

[Paul (Brummie) Williams]

I find a pool with fish close in and a small pole/whip is a good easy introduction for a total newcommer............

 

[trev (100M bronze)]

<blockquote class=quoteheader>Andy Fielder wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>

Teaching newcomers to fish can be very, very challenging. For some of us its also very rewarding, too, not only when things go well, but the actual 'teaching' process itself. As with many aspects of fishing, patience is a virtue.

Anybody who endeavours to get a newcomer into angling is to be applauded, but if it gets too much for you personally, rather than allowing it all to get on top of you, why not succinctly suggest a session with a qualified coach just to 'fine tune' a few things?

Many, many of us have the skillset and abilities to demonstrate various fishing methods to newcomers, but not all of us gain actual enjoyment from the process - as demonstrated by Noel80!! On the whole, angling coaches are individuals who derive a personal 'pleasure' from this challenge/process - I'd be very surprised to meet one who wasn't.

A coaching sessionmay well be the next step forward for Noel's budding pupil.</blockquote>

Never a truer word Andy but there appears to be a lack of angling coaches. There are a few people who want to become coaches but the colleges just wont run the courses because its not cost effective. Ive tried to get on two seperate courses and theve both been cancelled because there wasnt enough pupils for the teacher to bother turning up for and the college were not prepared to pay for a teacher to teach only three pupils.

Every angler has a degree of patience, and should be able to pass on the basics.Noel80If your really struggling to teach then give Ian Gemson a shout, hes one angler whos managed to get himself trained as a qualified coach and he's good at it too.

 

[Andy Fielder]

Trev -

agreed, there doesn't seem to be too many about - but there are a few in the pipeline! Yes, the in-house organisation/arranging of these ADB-backed schemessadly leaves something to be desired, but having attended the Level 1 course, I can assure you that it is worth it. I'm currently waiting to start my Level 2 course, and then I'll be able to (officially) put theory into practice, and hopefully get a few more people hooked on this fabulous sport of ours - including people like Noel's mate.

Stick with it Trev - at least there'll be two more available once we've passed!

 

[david bruce 1]

I know of ahighly qualified coarse angling coach who apart from giving his services freely, which he does for handicapped and disadvantaged children, cannot find any paid work. The only demand seems to be for fly fishing courses at local colleges.

 

[Noel80]

Thanks for all the feedback. I don't think I've done *too* badly but just needed to get a few things off my chest. I certainly don't think I'm cut out for teaching though! I never lost my temper or anything like that but it's not an easy thing to do.

Starting out with a whip is a very good idea. Shame I didn't think about that. Reels, clutches, anti-reverse, bail arms etc etc just get in the way. And then the line will get caught around the top rings leading to tangles. Eek!

Yes, go with the whip. Learn to bait a hook, watch a float and handle fish correctly.

 

[Andy Fielder]

David -

I have also found out that taking the time, effort and not insubstantial expense to qualify as an angling coach is definitely not going to be a money-earning 'banker' occupation. Only a few coaches, usually those with, shall we say, an element of celebrity status, areactually able to make a living from angling tuition and guiding.

For others, though, it is not about money - its all about giving a little something back to a sport which has given us such pleasure - and gaining a good level of self-satisfactionwhen our efforts result in a newcomer getting hooked on the sport - hopefully for life. Take a look atLes Webber and his Angling Projects/JCAUK, for example. I'm sure he never had 'income potential' at the top of his agenda when he started.

What Noel80 is doing, and countless others like him, is an invaluable way to get more people involved, and that cannot be a bad thing. I suppose taking things to the next level (the qualified angling coach) is but another way to achieve this - there would appear to be 'professionals' available to teach a multitude of sports skills nowadays, so its good to have angling included in that number.

For myself (on a purely personal basis), I am concerned aboutpotential issues which can arise in the litigious age in which we now live.Achieving a recognised qualification, (and being able to take out insurance against such issues!), is the way some of us want to proceed. I'm sure the potential to earn a small income from this is on everybody's mind who does the courses, but I would bet that very few of them have it in mind to actually be dependent onearning a living from it.