The Secret Is.....................

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Baz

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How many times do we advise each other about keeping quite on the bank?

During this period when some of my still waters have been closed as a precautionary measure. I have been walking around these lakes, and the fish that I see in the margins are unbelievable. And I?m not talking about fry either.

I have actually seen big fish in less than ten inches of crystal clear water; also fish that I or anybody else never knew were in there. But this is due to the lack of people walking about and shouting all over the place.
I can guarantee it, that when the waters re-open, the fish will bolt out into the middle never to be seen again.
I wouldn?t mind but most of the talk is needless and utter rubbish, such as, I Bet WE DON?T CATCH TODAY MATE, or, HAVE YOU BEEN HERE LONG MATE? at the tops of their voices.
If only people realised how difficult they were making things for themselves and others. Nice enough blokes, but I can picture the scene right now.
I'm getting frustrated just thinking about it.
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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Bankside stealth has been lost in the mists of time due to the obsession with fishing at long range. Now they don't even have to wear proper clothing that blends in with the countryside.

Have a look at Des Taylor's page in AT this week. There you will see a bloke dressed up in more colours than the SA flag.

Not only that but murky carp puddles don't demand all that much stealth anyway.

When I was down at with Richard Farrow we watched a TV programme presented by a very well known angler who admitted that his clothes were not the sort of thing to go clubbing in, yet they blended in with the background. What the heck fishing has to do with clubbing I cannot imagine. I'm hardly likely to turn up on the river bank in a business suit, or go to a board meeting in fishing gear.

And yet both he and his Brummie mate wore silly white baseball caps!!!

I don't think fish can hear much when we speak, however there is no doubt that they do feel vibrations.
 
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Laurie Harper

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Interesting one, this and something that could make for an intriguing discussion. The traditional view is that light/bright colours are a no-no for anglers to wear. And yet...

Match anglers fish at the worst time of day, many of them catch an awful lot of fish (by no means all small/naive specimens or commercial water carp) and a lot of them wear stuff in more colours than Ron's flag. Makes you wonder a bit, doesn't it? While drab colours may be better disguise against a dark background - foliage, etc - they will certainly stand out more against light/the sky (it's not always possible to keep off the skyline). So maybe ones dress should depend on where one is fishing.

Float colour is always something I've considered inportant. Most are dark - supposedly to be better "camouflaged" - we find them harder to see when looking down into the water. And yet, when a fish looks up, it is looking into the light and therefore, will spot dark colours much more easily beacuse they stand out. Years ago, I remeber reading an article by the great John Allerton, in which he made this point. And yet, few floats have light or bright coloured bases. If they did, I suspect they wouldn't sell.

Then there's bankside disturbance. At times, I've crept around as carefully as possible and still spooked fish. At other times, I've not been so careful and yet they've fed virtually at my feet. Again, good matchmen catch loads, despite the fact that, with so many of them on the bank at once, there is bound to be quite a lot of disturbance.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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One thing I can tell you is that I've done enough chub fishing on little rivers to know what the best colours to wear are.

One should never consider how many fish an angler in the wrong colours catches - more how many fish he didn't catch.

I've fished for example the River Leam on many occasions and caught plenty. One the few occasions we had the odd club match on there - virtually nothing was caught.

There is also something else.

I am a big believer in dressing to suit the occasion. To inflict primary colours on the English countryside is totally and unethically wrong. Shooters don't do it and neither do most game anglers.

Coarse anglers shouldn't do it either.

There are some lovely shirts, jackets, trousers, sweaters etc to be had in olive, russet and grey these days. Have a look at some of the game fishing catalogues. You don't have to go over the top by wearing realtree, which I consider to be naff.

Whenever I see anglers wearing blue or red, my few teeth are set on edge.
 
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Baz

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Forget the pictures you see on a chocolate box, most of the landscape is made up of blues ,greys, and greens.
Movement comes into play as well.
A fish could be really close in to the bank and not see you. Another fish could be further away and spot you right off.
I think it is something to do with light refraction or something.
I just think it's a great pity that when my waters re-open, the fish will be scared away almost imiediately, through some anglers stupidness.
 
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Ric Elwin

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Baz

Sounds like you've been walking round that water I used to fish :))

My view is that colours have little to do with the concealment of the angler. Fish are alarmed by movement. If you stand still long enough you become just another tree to the fish, whatever colour you are wearing.

Must admit I do wear greens, beiges and browns though. It's to do with fitting in with your environment I think, one of the joys of angling, to feel part of it.
 
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Ric Elwin

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Often used to see them around the edge Baz, don't think I've ever seen a clearer water. Best vantage point was to the right of the car park, near that weed bed.

Anyone got close to that 7.6 Tench I had? I think it was a bit of a freak as I never had another over 5
 
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Robbie H

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'needless and utter rubbish, such as, I Bet WE DON?T CATCH TODAY MATE, or, HAVE YOU BEEN HERE LONG MATE? at the tops of their voices': thats why i fish rivers now!
 
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jason fisher

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you come on my river shouting "I Bet WE DON?T CATCH TODAY MATE, or, HAVE YOU BEEN HERE LONG MATE?"
an ill set the dogs on you, believe me baz has got a terrible bite.
 
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Baz

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Same with me Robbie mate.

And things are in full gallop to do the same on the rivers.
 
Dicky (Angling Trust PAC)

Dicky (Angling Trust PAC)

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I was at an estate lake the other day, lying on my front behind reeds feeding carp bread by flicking it over the top of the stems, I would guess i had ten double figure carp competing after an hour on my belly...joy, at the moment i was thinking about lowering my bait onto the surface, some very cheerful and very loud brummies came marching up to see if i had caught yet. You gotta love them!
 
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alan

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im going fresh water fishing saturday(hopefully) reading through the posts, i take it i shouldnt wear my bright orange floatation suit?
what happens if i fall in - how will the coast guard find me if im dressed in green/brown clothes?
how strong is the current on a lake?
how big do the waves get?
need to know these things.





oh, and will a 6oz anchor weight be enough to hold bottom?
 
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Bully

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Surely its sight and vibration??

My son would regularly yell out "Dad, come and look at this one" when I first took him, but of course they had gone when I got there. I explained to him that fish can see and feel him so, bless him, he took me to my word, crept round out of sight and yeld "can you hear me fish" with a fish right under his nose.

Didn't budge an inch !!

Of course, I then had to explain that he should be quiet anyway for the other anglers.
 
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Paul Mallinson 2

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I cant remember who it was but I think it was on here that somebody when talking about this subject mentioned Herons. They are hardly 'real tree' are they yet fish come right up to their legs. The colour of a heron is almost definately to match the sky but they are not alway silloueted by the sky and the still catch fish.

As Baz has already said I think spooking fish has a lot more to do with movement than colour. I think you could stand in the water in a bright yellow suit and if you stood still for long enough the fish would soon be round your feet. I do however think that colours which match the background will make movement less detectable, and also as ron says, its more pleasing on the eye.
 
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The Monk

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I think if you are actually in the water you dont spook the fish, you often see cows in cow drinks sharing the same area with basking carp
 
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Baz

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Basking carp amongst cattle?
Is that where the term flat heads came from?
 
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Graham Elliott 1

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It's a good tip in winter when the fish are fairly dormant to jump about on the bank and make lots of splashes on the surface where you are going to fish.

Wakes them up sometimes.

Graham
 
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