Yet another moan about commies (sorry)

[peterjg]

I totally agree with Keith M on this - his post was spot on.

Of course there is a place in fishing for commercials but some of them are awful! You sit around a hole in the ground hauling out damaged over stocked carp! Luckily they are not all like this but most are!

Instead find a nice quiet stretch of canal or river. There are still even some lakes around which are overgrown and forgotten about. Yes, it's not easy fishing, some days you will blank but you'll find swims where the fish feel comfortable, they will feed if you are quiet, you will catch unknown, unnamed fish. You won't see another angler, you'll be just surrounded by nature not cretins!

 

[thecrow]

I don't understand why threads of this type always descend into exaggeration about what commercials are like, they are all overstocked, the fish are damaged and those that fish them are cretins.

There are some very well looked after commercials that contain a variety of fish species mostly in good condition and any damage on the fish has been caused by poor angling practises, plenty of very good anglers fish them be they match or speci type anglers.

My first post on this thread asked why anglers were so bothered about how other anglers fished, I haven't seen an answer and I have to wonder if the anglers that decry commercials have ever fished any?

Perhaps there should be another thread started about targeting river fish that have shoaled up prior or post spawning as they are so easy to catch, no locating them no worries about there not being enough fish just take plenty of bait, lets not worry about the damage done to the fish eh?

 

[mikench]

I am unconcerned how other anglers fish provided they care for the fish they catch and remain polite and aware of their fellow anglers when casting etc!

I dislike the term " commie" and only use the term "day ticket water" without which many would be anglers, young and old , would be unable to fish! I mentioned 2 on my card and I have visited others and had a most enjoyable time in nice surroundings! I do steer clear of those which host matches most days though! One of my clubs own their own 5 or 6 lake complex which is available to non members who wish to hire one lake for the day! I haven't been as the journey involves the dreaded M6 from j20 to j18!!!!!

 

[rayner]

I get the idea reading some posts on this thread that anglers who fish commercials are one trick ponies, most of the anglers I meet now on fisheries were all brought up on rivers and drains. Coaches and trains were loaded with anglers spreading out to all points from Sheffield every weekend.
Of course the anglers I speak of are all around my age.
We all have fished a lifetime before commercials were ever thought about.

The younger anglers on commercials are excellent fish catching machines, now plenty of anglers who have a hatred of organised venues will I'm sure decry their talents.
I'm convinced that a very large percentage of natural water anglers would not stand a chance against even the mediocre commercial angler.
OK the mediocre angler would struggle on their natural waters but those who served their time learning how to fish natural waters wouldn't be so lost. They may be a tad rusty but knowledge and skills they built up over years is still there.

Now I think it's time to climb out of the hole I've been digging.

 

[mikench]

You make very valid points Rayner and are not in a hole! I sometimes speculate, usually when staring at a stationary float or tip, whether I would have been a more competent and confident angler if I hadn't been distracted by the fairer sex and football and rugby and beer! My experiences in the early sixties did not mean a great deal in 2015 when I saw the light!

I really enjoy the waters I can fish both dayticket and club and the other anglers I meet and chat with! I often wonder how Mr Ringer and his ilk would fare on my waters! Considerably better than me but then that wouldn't be difficult!

We waste a wealth of knowledge which disappears when old anglers give up or pop their
clogs! Mind you that self same riposte applies to policemen , teachers, engineers, lawyers, doctors and so on! Arguably it was ever thus!

 

[markcw]

I get the idea reading some posts on this thread that anglers who fish commercials are one trick ponies, most of the anglers I meet now on fisheries were all brought up on rivers and drains. Coaches and trains were loaded with anglers spreading out to all points from Sheffield every weekend.
Of course the anglers I speak of are all around my age.
We all have fished a lifetime before commercials were ever thought about.

The younger anglers on commercials are excellent fish catching machines, now plenty of anglers who have a hatred of organised venues will I'm sure decry their talents.
I'm convinced that a very large percentage of natural water anglers would not stand a chance against even the mediocre commercial angler.
OK the mediocre angler would struggle on their natural waters but those who served their time learning how to fish natural waters wouldn't be so lost. They may be a tad rusty but knowledge and skills they built up over years is still there.

Now I think it's time to climb out of the hole I've been digging.

Some natural water anglers more than hold their own on commercials, John Allerton, Denis White, Stu Conroy to name a few. These anglers still revert back to natural venues and catch well. I was brought up on the canals in the north west,and learned my watercraft on there, I don't mind fishing commercials but I wish people would do away with the notion that they are all stocked to the brim with suicidal F1's and carp, There are some big roach and perch in them that if targeted can provide good catches, I fish with a club that just has matches on them and sometimes if the suicidal F1's go off the feed for a while I have had to go for the silvers,while baiting a swim for the F1's. I have asked for a couple of matches to be held on the canals, but no one wants to scratch round for a few pound of fish in cold weather by fishing half a squatt on a 24/26 hook. To me fishing is about using different methods to try and catch fish whatever the venue, I am not a catch at all costs angler, I just like pitting my wits against something that may not want to feed, I was watching a catching machine today on a club water when I was bailiffing…. A kingfisher was darting around the pool, taking small fry off the surface, That is another part of angling for me.. watching the wildlife, what other sport/pastime that you enjoy doing can give you that opportunity. ?

Make room in that hole for me Rayner

 

[mikench]

It could be a big hole methinks! When we move on let's fill it with water and roach and tench!!!

 

[bracket]

I have no problem with commercials and include them in the all embracing spectrum of venues I fish. They are comfortable, save and convenient. Somewhere you can go when you don't want too much hassle. Easy? well nowhere is easy, but some place are less demanding as others and on occasion that fits the bill. Could be that people fixated with commercials do miss out on a complete dimension of angling by not trying, but that's their business and nobody else's. Pete.

 

[bracket]

It could be a big hole methinks! When we move on let's fill it with water and roach and tench!!!

When I lived in the Midlands I use to have my own "Big hole" it was stuffed with roach, dace,bream, chub and barbel and ran from Biddulph Moor to the Humber. Pete.

 

[daniel121]

I don't understand why threads of this type always descend into exaggeration about what commercials are like, they are all overstocked, the fish are damaged and those that fish them are cretins.

in one word - snobbery

 

[nottskev]

I don't say commercials are all etc etc. I don't avoid them out of snobbery - places I fish include little suburban brooks, urban canals, ditches, farm ponds, park lakes......

I've fished at at a couple I've enjoyed. But I don't like the way, at many commercials, the experience is so packaged and regulated, the surroundings so bland and predictable, and the fish stocks so heavy that catching a decent fish or bag of fish is devalued by being so utterly commonplace.

 

[markcw]

I don't say commercials are all etc etc. I don't avoid them out of snobbery - places I fish include little suburban brooks, urban canals, ditches, farm ponds, park lakes......

I've fished at at a couple I've enjoyed. But I don't like the way, at many commercials, the experience is so packaged and regulated, the surroundings so bland and predictable, and the fish stocks so heavy that catching a decent fish or bag of fish is devalued by being so utterly commonplace.

Kev, Ive taken Mike and Gordon to one at Frodsham that is not bland, some such as Blundells near me could be considered that, The Frodsham one has a balanced stock of both silvers and carp. Another one at Dunham has a pool where on some pegs you think you have the place to yourself. The best one I have fished is Ian Heaps place near Tenby, manicured lawns rushes discreetly placed around the waters, I am thinking of taking Mike and Gordon to Fir Tree fishery, that is a mixyure of natural looking pools and one engineered do-nut style pool that is available for matches but is also used to teach kids. I know what you mean about regulated, some have to many rules, my pet hate is fishery pellets only, The fisheries near here all use the same brand, Coppens or Skrettings, same as a tackle shop I use. So its a bag from the tackle shop decanted into an empty fishery bag when I go to them.

 

[sam vimes]

I have no issue with commies. I tend not to fish them because, due to the amount of fishing I do, I can't afford to fish them. The strange thing is that, despite perceptions, a couple of syndicates are far better value for money than any commie. Throw a club ticket or two in and I'm still better off than chucking £8-10 a pop at it on a commie. The happy bonus is that I largely get to fish on my own, should I wish to. Being hemmed in by other anglers, even if they are all perfectly considerate, is not really my idea of fun. My rare forays to commies tend to be in the depths of winter when they are likely to be close to empty.

No doubt the time will come when the convenience of a commie will become paramount, but I'm not there yet. Much like the prospect of false teeth, I may welcome them at some point, but I'm in no rush. However, I loved the arrival of the whole commie scene when I was in my late teens. They taught me more about playing decent sized fish than I'd managed to learn through my youth. Scratching around for bits as a kid was great fun, but it taught me nothing about playing proper fish as I rarely encountered much over a pound or two.

 

[mikench]

Just to confirm that my club membership of £80 pa gives me 10 visits ( £6 a day normally) a year to one day ticket water. and unlimited visits to another( my favourite) which saves me £5 a time! As you can see my membership thus costs me nothing in effect! The other 15 or so waters are effectively free! A few syndicates around here are carp only in reality and not for me! Variety is the spice of life!

 

[flightliner]

Why, it's now possible to save thousands of pounds going to Thailand for some exotic fish or other.
Last week at a commercial a guy landed a 54 lb Sturgeon !

 

[sam vimes]

Just to confirm that my club membership of £80 pa gives me 10 visits ( £6 a day normally) a year and unlimited visits to another( my favourite) which saves me £5 a time! As you can see my membership thus costs me nothing in effect! The other 15 or so waters are effectively free! A few syndicates around here are carp only in reality and not for me! Variety is the spice of life!

I'm in two syndicates, one is on the river, the other is a mixed fishery. However, that doesn't stop people assuming that the latter is carp only. We also find that the majority that are prepared to join a stillwater syndicate are carpers. Reality doesn't seem to matter, perceptions rule. For some reason, most general coarse anglers hear the word syndicate and make assumptions. Don't get me wrong, there are full on carp syndicates out there. They don't welcome fish other than carp and may not allow members to fish for anything but carp. However, there are carp syndicates out there that have no objections of general coarse anglers and are sitting on waters stuffed to the gunnells with roach, bream, tench, rudd, perch etc that get almost zero people fishing for them.

 

[mikench]

Wise words Sam! The one syndicate I looked at was carp only! I will continue to look!