The Ultimate Buzz

[Derek Gibson]

Catching fish at close quarters is what I'm referring to. Creeping and crawling around the banks wherever possible, ''looking for a particular fish to catch''. Not always possible I know, often water conditions ie:- extra water reducing visibility, then it's'' instinct fishing'', auto pilot if you will.

But when water conditions allow, close quarters has been my greatest joy in angling. Having discovered a long time ago that long distance/range fishing just didn't do it for me, even though I acknowledge for some time it's their preferred method.

Catching's great as we all know, but for me it's always been ''how I catch'' for the ultimate buzz.

 

[nicepix]

Totally agree. I love catching fish at close quarters. Can't do with that barrage of rods and siege mentality approach.

 

[rubio]

I regularly patrol the margins of both lake and river, identifying particular specimens I admire for their size or markings.
If I ever actually catch one I'll be sure to let you know.

 

[nicepix]

I regularly patrol the margins of both lake and river, identifying particular specimens I admire for their size or markings.
If I ever actually catch one I'll be sure to let you know.

I've been doing that this afternoon. Took the dog for a walk down a local river and did a bit of fish watching in the low water and high sun conditions. There is one swim I've fished about four times, once with a friend, and never had a touch. It was full of fish. The other thing was that in the whole river I've only ever caught one chub. But the river is full of them. I found a pair each around 2lb, quite big for the size of river, under some tree roots in a small eddy I have walked past a hundred times. And lower down, near where it joins the large river there must have been 30 small barbel in the shallows. It might be the nursery area for the larger river. An angler was fishing 50 metres upstream of the shoal and I heard him talking to a passer-by and saying that he hadn't had a touch. I dropped a handful of micro pellets in from the bridge and they were swarming all over them. A 3 metre whip and a banded pellet or pheasant tail nymph and I'd empty the swim

 

[Tee-Cee]

I couldn't agree more....Peering over reeds to se a decent chub or barbel over gravel or even a carp moving around under the pads and then trying to work out the best way of catching them really does it for me.
It's all about the approach and feel for the situation in front of you, and although it all goes belly up more often than not, nothing beats watching a fish move for your offering.....

If anyone has never tried fishing floating crust under the rod poked out between the reeds, well, give it a try sometime.................................

Sometimes you almost forget to breathe..

 

[Titus]

As kids, my cousins and I had the run of a couple of miles of an upland tributary of the Severn between Newtown and Welshpool.
We would make dams, and set traps by resting stones with gaps then lie and watch the little wild browns for hours. Now and then we would deliberately spook them and watch where they darted to, to hide. Once we knew the hiding places it was literally child's play to wade upstream and tickle a half dozen out for breakfast or supper.
All of this was done under the nose of the black country match anglers who rented caravans on my Grandparents site and who swore the river was empty and could not understand how us three snot-nosed kids always had half a dozen trout swinging from a hazel twig in one hand and a Woolworths starter kit in the other.
We, of course, were sworn to secrecy by our mentor, my uncle and my cousins father, the rod only being there to fool the yam yams into thinking we had caught them with rod and line.
If only he had been half as good a businessman as he was a poacher that little piece of heaven might still be in the family, but I can't stay angry with him for long because I learned so much about fish behaviour and the countryside in general in those few short years which has stood me in good stead for the rest of my life.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

''looking for a particular fish to catch''

That sums up my approach to my fly fishing, particularly with the dry fly.

To sit and watch the water, seeing the hatch, matching the hatch where possible and then casting that particulatr fly to a particular fish that you have seen rising . . . . . . . . . pure magic

 

[no-one in particular]

That sums up my approach to my fly fishing, particularly with the dry fly.

To sit and watch the water, seeing the hatch, matching the hatch where possible and then casting that particulatr fly to a particular fish that you have seen rising . . . . . . . . . pure magic

And don't you just remember those fish sometimes above all others.
I have only toyed with fly fishing on and off and once having just learned the basic cast I walked along a small shallow river and spotted a chub about 3lb laying in a little cut in the bank. The trouble was there was high vegetation all along the bank I was fishing so I had to walk down to where it stopped, about say 20/30 yards. It was at the limit of my newly learned casting distance. First cast landed just in front of that chub which was difficult as it lay in that little cut - gentle as a gnat and he took it. My first perfect and difficult cast and a nice fish to boot.
Many years ago now but, I could reproduce a perfect picture of it, its still so clear in my mind. As you say-pure magic.

 

[Bob Hornegold]

Creeping along the banks of the River Rib, Avon rod, centrepin and a loaf of bread in the landing net.

Quietly dropping a bait into every likely looking spot in the river hoping that a Chub would snaffle the bait.

Waiting for the tell tale sign of a rattle on the tip or a quick jagged pull around.

Never forgotten it and never bettered it !!

Bob

 

[Derek Gibson]

It's refreshing to know that in the age of high tech ''everything'', lurks a bit of the Huckleberry Fin. No doubt traces of our early days discovering the ''secrets'' of the waterside. From ditches to mere puddles, progressing to wider horizons and much bigger fish. Such is the foundation of this great hobby of ours, it's a long apprenticeship that never really ends.

 

[Keith M]

Only recently I watched a chub of around 2lb dive down to the gravel to pick up a cube of luncheonmeat that had come off the hook of someone in the swim above me; the Chub was followed closely by two other Chub and the chub picked up the meat and shot off across the swim away from the other Chub with the meat still held between its lips, just like a sparrow flying up to a branch away from the flock before swallowing its prize.

If I had had this meat on my hook I would have had one of the classic pull rounds resulting in no hooking as the meat was pulled from between its lips, especially if I had used a hair.

It's times like this that I love being able to watch fish in shallowish crystal clear waters, you can learn so much if you can stay concealed.

I love being able to fish these types of waters where you can see your prey and how they react; but you need to be spot on with your presentation and be aware that they can see and hear any clumsy movement you make on the bank at such close quarters.

Keith

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