Is there too much of the wrong type of fishing in the media?

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

By that I mean too much catching big fish, big weight of fish or named fish

When I started it was 1 rod 1 reel and you caught was you could

These day are young anglers expecting to catch 20lb carp
5 lb chub or 100lb bags of fish after a few weeks fishing

I think it need grass root fishing in the media people catching small fish or low weights and an expert explain how to SLOWLY improve to be featured now and again

 

[mol]

The media has created the impression that catching huge fish happens everytime you go fishing. I would hate to start fishing today as I think this is a very false impression.

 

[BarryC]

To most of todays youngsters with all the fun things available to them catching smaller fish would probably seem pretty dull.
So in order to keep them interested and spending money magazines tackle companies etc need to sex it up with big fish.
A couple of years ago a guy at my club water brought a few youngsters down to get them into fishing. They started out catching a few roach and perch with the occasional crucian and tench.
Then one of them caught a little carp.
I have only seen them a couple of times since and they spend all day sitting behind alarms with hair rigged boi;ies. Thats all they do. They now only go to venues stuffed with carp.

 

[peter crabtree]

being an expert yourself why don't you switch on your spellcheck and write some articles and submit them to the media?
every little helps..............

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

This is what I mean

Not enough learning - straight from novice to expert in 6 months - no grounding in water craft, bait ideas ect

 

[peter crabtree]

This is what I mean

Not enough learning - straight from novice to expert in 6 months - no grounding in water craft, bait ideas ect

not really an expert then......

 

[Philip]

The media has created the impression that catching huge fish happens everytime you go fishing. I would hate to start fishing today as I think this is a very false impression.

Thats an interesting point I have never considered before. I am a life long angler but would I have been one if I started angling today ?

Interesting concept...I think I'll start a thread on it...

 

[Windy]

Yes.
.............

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

being an expert yourself why don't you switch on your spellcheck and write some articles and submit them to the media?
every little helps..............

Well to get i nthe media you need to catch big or loads of fish - it's Catch22

I'm thinking of the odd article showing someone struggling and maybe an expert (such as what I is) showing them a few tips

 

[matthew barter]

I understand what you are saying, however I can only remember stories of big french catfish, giant carp, huge pike (that were nearly as big as sharks). I can't ever remember reading reports or articles of people who caught small fish or went out sprat bashing and blanked.
They might have been published but even Mr Crabtree never said "sorry Peter naff all again, never mind, that's fishing.".

 

[irfonminnow]

It's just the way it is today.

When I was a kid in Sunderland it was normal to fish for sticklebacks in Barnes Park with ordinary cotton thread, a couple of matchsticks for a float, and no hook, just a small worm tied directly to the thread. The "rod" was a small length of garden cane if you were lucky, or a straightish twig if you were not.
This "tackle" also worked well for newts.

As I remember, all the excitement of fishing was there, even though the fish were titchy and the gear basic.

 

[Tee-Cee]

I agree that it is different for young anglers today.They are born into a world of fantastic tackle and(mostly)the money to buy it,and are led by various publications and weeklies who have a circulation to think about,into 'instant big fish' and very little else...

But if you think about it,how much watercraft did we have as kids-not a great deal as I recall!We have learnt this craft(some have anyway!)over many,many years of fishing and maybe,just maybe some of the current crop of yuong fishermen will do the same...

I suppose I learnt a great deal from match fishing and being out on a club coach every weekend where some of the older fishermen were happy to offer advice and hard earned knowledge.It was also necessary to 'fish the bit of water in front of you' as the draw for walk-off didn't take age into account!
Whan I look back I think this was a the time I learnt the most about my sport and all the little tricks picked up then are still in use today..............

(Like yesterday;I've had some trouble over the last weeks trying to get carp to move off with the bait once picked up but they continually dropped it.I thought about indication and decided to use a float(5/6' of water) but in a tight swim I could only get a decent cast with an underarm cast so I used the old method of 'laying-on' with a small arlesley bomb stopped 6" from the hook and fished over depth by 2/3'..........
It worked beautifully(every tremble of the float clearly seen) and I had several nice fish up to 8'5lbs or so having reduced the meat bait size by half as well.

Would todays young fishermen have done the same?...probably not,as this method is rarely used these days from what I see and I only remember it from watching the 'oldies' on club outings many moons ago.
It is a pity(in some ways)to see young guys turn up with wheel barrows etc and lob dozens of boilies into the middle,sit for 3/4 hours and then disappear.............BUT that is what THEY call fishing and who's to disagree???)

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

There are no apprenticeships needed these days.

You don't have to learn from someone showing you how to tie knots, rigs, fishing methods and only teaching you something new when you'd mastered one

Today you just buy a dvd watch it for an hour and think you have all the knowledge you need to catch 30lb carp.

 

[cb]

For most of us, I think, it goes in a series of stages, perhaps:

Stage 1: Anything would be good - please! (Desperate)

Stage 2: The most

Stage 3: The biggest

Stage 4: The most challenging

Stage 5: Anything is just fine - thanks! (Grateful/Content)


I'm at stage 5 in flyfishing and 1 for the rest!

Colin.

 

[quickcedo]

an expert

My definition of an "expert"
An "Ex" is a "has been"
and a "Spert" is a drip under pressure.
This definition applies to EVERY expert I've ever met.

 

[richiekelly]

i dont think there can ever be an expert in angling because things are always changing and are never the same sometimes 2 days running,there are anglers that are better than others but that is the case in all sports,there may be anglers that are an expert at some methods of fishing but you sometimes dont have to be one to catch a lot of fish or indeed a big fish,anyone with a bait in the water has the chance to catch a big fish,when you cant see the fish that you are after the size of fish you catch is sometimes down to being lucky enough to have the big fish to pick up your bait,i have been lucky on some occasions during my 50 odd years of angling when i have caught some big fish but why i caught the big fish instead of a smaller one i have no idea,does the catching of a big fish make me an expert, i dont think so. angling conditions are in a constant state of flux we are always trying to figure out why we are not catching and so always learning,if i ever go fishing without thinking what i can change next time i go i think i will pack it in.

 

[theartist]

Some experts are are called experts as they court the media. We all know the ones who have their picture on every website or in all the magazines. Some are doing it to make a living so good luck to them but for every one of them theres at least three times as many who catch the same fish from the same venues that don't have their photos published at all.

At the end of the day the publications need to sell so they give what the public want which is predominently specimen or commercial fishing articles and big fish reports.

Plenty of good diverse articles on here though which make good reading.

 

[quickcedo]

Last year I fished along side a very famous Barbel fisherman on several occasions, he told me this of a "fishing expert"
There is a well known spot on the bristol avon known to hold a potential river record Barbel, the expert in question set about feeding this fish with a new bait (free to him and not in the shops at that time) for nearly a year in order to get it's weight up and super confident. All this so as to get another picture in the papers to say "How good am I, look what I've caught"
An expert or sad g1t, you decide.
Sorry the story was a bit vague, but no names for obvious reasons.

 

[MarkTheSpark]

Last year, I took one of my mate's lads fishing - he was desperate to catch a carp so I took him to a local bathtub and lent him a float rod.

He caught a couple of little carp, went again with his dad and caught one, then at Christmas his dad told me he'd bought the lad a 'fishing kit.'

When it arrived at the office he opened it to show me - AAAAAARRRRRGGGHHH! A two-rod carp set-up with floppy rods, cheap reels, rubbish bivvy, etc. I'd advised him against it, but what could I do? The lad's just 12. I doubt he'll be fishing when he's 13.

I did take him piking with his carp kit and he caught a little jack, which he was well pleased with. I hope it helps cure his obsession with carp. But I fear for the worst. Kids should have float rods or poles and catch plenty of silvers before ever thinking they can conquer the carp world.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Well I'm jealous anyway...............I suppose as long as someone takes him fishing and burns all the weeklies before he sees them he should survive..............I hope so as we need as many 13 year old's as possible!!

They are the future of our sport..........