CARP ANGLERS

[Agent no.9 - 1st division,2nd section, 4th Floor,]

Why do carp anglers get a bad name for themselves, the reason i ask is one ofmy local clubs may ban direct fishing for carp on one of there waters because of the tactics they use ??.

I am a angler who fishes for many species in the uk waters carp being one of them, yet when i tried to introduce amendments in my local club to safe guard the welfare ofcarp i was labeled a carp angler and a trouble maker, at the AGM every rule put forward to help those in the club who fish for carp was thrown out.

I was trying to be helpfulfor others then.... ,i knowsome anglers can be very narrow minded i wasn't asking too much i thought. Yet i have first hand seen litter left behind by irresponsible carp anglers,i havecaught fish with carp rigs still tethered to them andwitnessed abuse on the bank from carp angler to carp angler.

Surley this finger could be pointed at all anglers though not just those that fish for carp.

 

[EC]

Which club?

 

[Agent no.9]

No comment on club i dont wish to go down that road, the aim of this is to see the veiws of anglers in general not just speciemen but general coarse fishermen. I have been labelled a carp angler because i fish for carp on a local water using methods that carp fishermen use, those that see me on there who fishin general with other types offishing equipment have labelled me this yet they do not see me fish for barbel on nearby rivers or pike in nearby mere'si could go on.

My point is Why do carp anglers get a bad name ???.

 

[EC]

Be specific mate, what has actually happened that you are unhappy about? Is there some sort of ban in place oris it that there arerules you just aren't you happy with?

 

[Specihunter]

it's not the general carp anglers but the narrow minded ones who spoil it for the rest.

eg met one who wanted all bream and tench removed from a lovely fishery. Or those who think they own the lake club or day ticket and rules don't apply to them.

 

[Frothey]

i hate the narrow minded pleasure/match orientated commitee members

 

[Cakey]

come on name the club...................................surely you didnt sign up as Agent no9 blah blah so they wont know who you are

 

[Grumpy Git @]

Talking purely as a 'newbie' (30 years away from the bank) of two years.

My initial view of carp anglers was that here is a guy (or girl) who has decided to go camping for the weekend and has decided to catch a fish or two at the same time. Unfortunately they haven't got the patience to sit watching their rod all day so they use bite alarms which annoy anyone within earshot (half a mile away in some circumstances). They bombard their swim with enough bait to feed the whole water to ensure that they get more than their fair share of the available fish, so ensuring that everyone else has a bad day. They use bolt rigs with MASSIVE hooks, again because they can't be bothered to watch their rods for those little rattling bites. They appeared to be secretive, solitary souls who hate the idea that anyone else would want to catch their 'named' target. They appeared to be the thugish types, far removed from the contemplative angler who wanders the banks breathing in mother natures mysteries.

Thanks to numerous articles and threads on this site and the fact that I have taken the time to read numerous books and magazines on fishing in general, my views have changed. Although it's not for me to hunt down and catch these huge beasts, I can understand why some people would want to. As with the recent complaint on the Barbel fishing world site of a hooligan element see here it's not any one specific aspect of the sport afflicted by a thugish element.

Perhaps you should recommend that your club committee also take up reading /forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

 

[Cakey]

nice one Grumpy

 

[BigRob]

good job Grumpy

My thoughts are.

I mostly carp fish, and really enjoy it. a little bait in a pva bag, hair rig and a lot of time waiting..... you do see poeple who have their bit indicators loud enough so everyone knows they have a fish on, and some of the younger ones and groups can be loud and anoying, but these people pop up all over the place fishing for all sorts not just carp.....

I hear a lot about carping poeple being the bad elliment, but in day ticket and club waters around Northants, I have met people of all ages and gender who are really helpful and do take care of the fish and the waters.

You can compare this to anything, i.e. driving a car, most poeple have a licence, some don't. (same as fishing) most poeple take care and consider others, some don't (same as fishing. etc etc. if there wasn't a holes in the world, you wouldn't noticenice poeple.

 

[Graham Whatmore]

It used to be coarse anglers versus game anglers who thought for some reason they were a bitabove the ordinary anglerinfact somesalmon anglers still feel they are a cut above other anglers. Coarse anglers versus carp anglers reared its ugly head in the early 90's when it became the in thing for young anglers to do and coarse anglers couldnt get their heads round the new phenomena of guys fishing with 2, 3 or even 4 rods spreading their lines over a large area of the lake. Lakes that were once the stamping ground of coarse anglers were suddenly taken over by the carp boys and the inevitable arguments and accusations started to sprout wings, you even get derisory remarkshere on FM by anglers who you might thinkshould know better.

It is a them and us attitude and any club that is mainly populated by match and non carp anglers (and most of them are) take a stance against them because it is thought to be the right thing to do, it is fashionable to dislike/distrust carp anglers. It sounds to me like your club are mainly non carp anglers and as such feel they have to take a stance against them. Misguided, selfish, inconsiderate call it what you like but anglers are easily swayed by misinformation and ignorance and if I were in your position I think I would seriously consider relinquishing my card and doing your own thing.

 

[EC]

Am still waiting to hear what the actual specific complaint is from both parties?

Have the club actually stated anything, or is it just 'You carp anglers are all blah blah......' etc etc, and one or two carp anglers have become a little sensitive or is it something more sinister, and the club are seriously tarring every carp anglerwith the same brush?

 

[Ray Roberts]

Where is Baz when you need him.

Seriously, If the membership of the club is so polarised, then it may be better to find another/better club to join. For me fishing is about fun. Dealing with intolerant fools and their petty politics is not fun that's for sure.

 

[mike Gibson]

I fish for carp myself but because of the nature of carping (multiple rods, long casts, two ounce leads, buzzers, bivvies, barrows and kit taking up twoswims on the bank), it has more potential to annoy other anglers than someonepole fishing, or using a match rod. A further problems lies in what I call the ‘instant carper’ with the £99.99 starter kit. These guys may not have served an apprenticeship on silvers, have little idea of watercraft or fish welfare and have little understanding of the need to show basic courtesy to the bloke in the next swim. I’m not tarring all carpers with the same brush. My comments apply to a minority, but as with anything else, it’s the minority who give the majority a bad name

 

[Sean Meeghan]

I've got some sympathy with the club involved (if indeed there is one and this isn't a windup). I fish a few still waters near where I live and I've become increasingly irritated by carp anglers. On one large gravel pit the controlling club introduced a night ticket a few years ago. Since then it has become increasingly difficult to find a swim worth fishing as long stay anglers ensure that most of the better areas are in almost permanent occupation. The arrogance of some of them is unbelievable and I've been talked down to on several occasions. The other fishery is a small free still water and the long stay brigade have now decided to occupy this water too, though quite what they expect to catch I don't know. This last water now has a severe litter problem and I wouldn't be surprised to find fishing banned on it once the council cottons on to the problem.

It seems that the only method that most carp anglers know is to set up a bivvy, put 2 or 3 rods on a large scaffolding contraption, drink beer and go to sleep.

Not that I've got anything against carp anglers ......

 

[Rickrod]

sounds like bierley ponds

 

[Blunderer]

And Knotford Lagoon?

 

[The Monk]

the problem could be based on the fact that carp anglers are far more superior to other anglers

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only kidding guys/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

I`ll get me boilies

 

[Blunderer]

Graham makes the point articulately that a lot of match and general coarse anglers don't like the fact that carp anglers take up a lot of bank space, use a lot of water and a lot of bait. They used to be hated because it was percieved that fish like bream and tench became preoccupied by boilies. And whilst the coarse anglers were struggling to catch, the carp lads were winching in the bream and tench, barely knowing they were on. These days the match/coarse anglers have nicked a lot of the carp angler's armoury so this complaint is less valid.

However, carp fishing is now increasingly attracting men who see it as a chance to camp,get pissed and have a laugh. Often to the detriment of everyone else's fishing.

I fish for many species but do a fair bit of carping in the spring. The onyl big bust up I had on the bank was with a couple ofmatch-type geezers feeder fishing near me. They made so much noise shouting to each other that I lost my rag and told them where to get off.

So there are idiots in all elements of fishing, ultimately.

However, you can usually predict the sort of water the carp yobs will frequent. Day ticket, in cities, easy access, slack bailiffs. I just avoid them and part of my criteria when choosing a fishery is thenumber of idiots it will attract. As an example, the part of the Trent I fish for barbel contains far fewer big fish than Collingham, but I usually have the place to myself overnight.

 

[Sean Meeghan]

Shh lads don't tell everyone where all the big carp are in Yorkshire /forum/smilies/big_smile_smiley.gif