In praise of commercials.

[sam vimes]

As follow on from Skippy's comment in the HDYGO thread, so as not to upset Peter.

Say what you will about these commies but for someone like Jack they are ideal. I'd have cut me arm off for waters like this when I was doing my apprenticeship 50 odd years ago !

I can't say that I fish commies regularly these days, but I'm not a hater of them. The initial rise of the commie coincided with my late teens and early twenties. If I'm honest, I don't think that they taught me a huge amount that's relevant to the fishing I do now. However, I enjoyed them immensely at the time and they fitted nicely with a rather hectic lifestyle. I wanted to go fishing occasionally and catch fish, and I certainly did. I didn't have the time for many hours of fishing, let alone observation, that might be required on a big gravel pit or river.

One thing I will credit commies with is how to play decent sized fish. Yes, I'd caught reasonably decent fish elsewhere, but it was occasional enough for each occurrence to be a heart in the mouth, petrified of losing it, moment, or it was on gear that was a little heavier than a match rod. Commies gave a regular procession of fish that really pulled back in a way that no other local water could. I now have a teenage nephew that occasionally comes with me. I started him gently on farm ponds full of stunted roach and rudd. That was great for a while, but now he's progressed further, I'd not look beyond one of the local commies when he's in tow.

 

[thecrow]

I think that there are two branches of angling that are responsible for recruiting more followers of the sport than any others.

The first is the rise of commercial fisheries with clean toilets flat banks easy access and plenty of fish.

The second is carp angling whose ranks have possibly been swelled by anglers that started on a commercial and have moved on to another branch of angling.

Of course there are some that are overstocked some that are ugly and some with fish damage but overall the ones I have fished have been well looked after waters with some decent anglers on them........... they aint all easy

 

[S-Kippy]

There are times when all I want is to have my wire pulled and that's when a decent commie close by is a godsend.......or for occasions like yesterday when I can take a potential angler somewhere where he can start to learn the basics and ( most importantly) catch a few fish.

So...there is a place for them and I agree with Chris they do teach beginners how to play decent sized fish. Jack seems to have got that very quickly....he's a bit of a bully compared to me but I tend to play my fish gently . He lost a couple yesterday but it happens.

The beauty of a well kept and we'll run commie is that they are ideal for beginners and/or people who just can't or don't want to commit to long journeys & long sessions. I would not want to fish them week in week out but there will come a day when it might be all any of us can physically cope with and if that keeps me fishing for a bit longer then that's fine with me. The one we visited though predominantly carp also holds a good head of quality roach, a few chub and some big perch which I might have to have a go at while Jacko hauls carp.

He's got another day off on Monday. I have to go in to work for a communal suit pointing session but I should be done by lunchtime and I rather think I know where I'll be spending the afternoon !

 

[robtherake]

Commercials and commercial-like lakes attached to campsites have been my salvation in recent times, with my domestic situation having effectively put the kibosh on regular fishing on any venue. It's difficult to get a handle on a water when the freedom to fish often is so severely curtailed and it has a knock-on effect on fishing proficiency - I seem to be forever out of practice. Exploring and information gathering sessions are a thing of the past

Good observation by Chris there - these are also ideal places to learn the mechanics of playing weighty fish, which puts the angler in a far better position for later encounters in other circumstances.

I truly miss the carp-free days of yore, but have to acknowledge that without the relatively easy fishing that commercial waters have provided I might have thrown in the towel years ago.

 

[laguna]

Isn't it also true that a lot of club waters don't stock like they used to? It's certainly my experience.
Strangely enough we have a venue on our book where most anglers (both young and old), prefer the easy stocked 'noddy pond' consisting of small carp, tench, rudd, roach the lot, to the deeper lakes that hold few big carp.

 

[S-Kippy]

Isn't it also true that a lot of club waters don't stock like they used to? It's certainly my experience.
Strangely enough we have a venue on our book where most anglers (both young and old), prefer the easy stocked 'noddy pond' consisting of small carp, tench, rudd, roach the lot, to the deeper lakes that hold few big carp.

That's my experience too. The trouble is that when clubs dump a load of carp in their waters that doing so often ruins the " other" fishing and rarely results in the sort of place they thought they were creating. But once that road is embarked upon there is no way back.

But let's be honest about this. If not for the rise of the commie our sport would be slowly dying. There is so much more for kids to do nowadays that scratching around like I did when I first started wouldn't get a look in.

 

[108831]

I've enjoyed many good days fishing on commercials,not sure how much I learned as I used knowledge i'd already gleaned,but well run fisheries like Makins(when Bill himself ran it)were a pleasure,my fishing has moved on to natural fisheries again,but as I get older I expect to go back to them,for the facilities provided and short walks...

 

[no-one in particular]

There are commercials that offer diversity but you have to look round for them. One commie I fished a lot had a tench and bream lake only and it was a lovely setting, a few non carp lakes attached to some commies I found with plenty of roach, rudd etc. One that had a rudd and green lipped tench lake only although I never caught a green lipped tench from it; I think it had golden tench as well. Sometimes these lakes are devoid of anglers as they plump for the big carp lakes and very pleasant they can be.

 

[rayner]

I can't say they were my cup of tea when I was more able.
I spent most of my time on the Tidal Trent and avoided commercials like they had the plague.
Circumstance forced me down the route of commercials, without them I would find it far too difficult to fish unaided. For me they have been and still are a godsend. They are a saviour for me.
It wasn't easy for me because when I first started my ventures into commercials I really didn't enjoy my fishing because of my dislike of them, I soon decided it was to fish them or not fish. I've got used to fishing them now, to call them easy is not quite right because some days it can seem like they're devoid of life. On the whole I enjoy my fishing close to how I enjoyed it on the river. One things for sure I could never manage the amount of fish I now get. Even allowing for my condition.
Without commercials fishing would be doomed. When us older types stop it would be the beginning of the end without organised venues with tackle shops, toilets, cafés and manicured grass, plus less mud and staging's to sit on.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Many older anglers or those who are less than mobile have little choices other than a commercial pool.

There are some very good mixed fishery pools around and most of them boast decent and safe car parks, clean toilets and at café as well as a tackle shop.

I've fished a few good commercial fisheries over the last 2 or 3 years and know a good few older anglers who simply couldn't get a day out if not for these venues.

Many clubs these days simply cannot afford to stock to similar levels as a commercial fishery so very often they provide almost guaranteed sport.

Given the typical better than average stocking levels then where else better to try a new method or bait?

 

[Philip]

They have a place in angling for sure.

However I do wonder if I had started off on a commercial whether I would still be an angler today ? …instant or guaranteed success is great but does it help to create an angler for life ? Maybe. I don’t know.

 

[robcourt82]

18 months ago I would not have wanted to fish a commercial. I live half a mile from one and hadn't even gone for a look till one day in the closed season last year a few of us had a day out at Suffolk water park. It was a struggle but I enjoyed it and it pushed me to try my local. I ended up fishing it 2/3 times a week after work and had odd visits throughout the winter. It's now one of my favourite places to fish. I've learned so much fishing there about methods I had written off as easy or not proper.

I'm not saying they're all brilliant, there's another nearby that was awful, but they do have their place. I think we as anglers sometimes become a bit snobby and aren't always the first to admit we may be wrong.

At the end of the day though its just fishing, whatever it is you like doing, respect the fish, the fishery and the other water users and have fun.

 

[laguna]

At the end of the day though its just fishing, whatever it is you like doing, respect the fish, the fishery and the other water users and have fun.

Here here, well said that man! :w