Define the meaning of 'Pressure'

In a forum thread on the close season and any other discussion on the same subject, passionate anglers always talk about "The pressure on fish".

What I would like to know from them is what do they mean by "pressure"?

Not what they think is the cause, as was offered "fishing all year round", that's pure speculation and is not, anyway, the effect. I want to know what they believe is the effect this so-called "pressure" has on fish. It's the psychological state or what changes it makes to its behaviour patterns that threatens it so.

Before I say anything I shall say this I have no hang ups about fishing for any fish pressured or otherwise ,as they are only fish.
To see the effect pressure has on lake fish is not hard, take a look at the carp for instance,when a lake is lined with anglers all the carp you see tend to be out in the middle away from most peoples casting ramge but go on the same lake when its quiet and they will be in the margins sunning themselves as they like to do.
I believe bream also behave in the same way ,thats why we got ourselves the bait boat to reach ever greater distances to which the fish retreat to.

Pressure is an anglers term for lots of anglers fishing in the same area but the fish don't feel pressure, they don't have a brain to feel anything least of all human emotions, what they experience is constant bankside disturbance.

Anyone like me who has experience of river fishing over the last 40 years will know that certain areas of a river have periods of producing exceptional catches, either in quantity or in size but like all things in nature it changes, the fish move for whatever reason certainly not pressure. People misuse the term to qualify their argument but they never stop to think that they are assuming that fish have the same emotions as humans, patently nonsense.

I can remember when the likes of the Severn, Trent and Warks Avon were lined lined with anglers for mile after mile every weekend and all week during holidays but the fishing was never affected in the long term. In the case of the Severn you couldn't get a peg from Bridgenorth to Worcester, it was solid with match anglers and pleasure fisherman but the fish were always there if conditions were right.

That would be termed excessive pressure these days by some but the fish are still there so it didn't do a lot of damage did it?

I appreciate what you're saying Gav, but the activity you outline is more down to an animals survival instincts than "pressure".

My fish in the pond will lounge on the surface sunbathing in hot weather, but should I go near them, they shoot off to the bottom, out of the way and they have never been fished for. Same if a car door slams 150 yards away down the street, they go down to where they believe they are safest. So moving away from the margins when there's bankside activity I wouldn't define as a symptom of "pressure".

I am not so sure about that Woody ,I used to have small koi in my tank ,they would come upto the surface whenever they saw my shadow as they thought it was meal time ,if I had started to put hooks in their food and catch them I reckon they might have started being a little more cautious when they fed.In fact that is it in a nut shell for me pressure makes them harder to catch as they don't feed in the same abundum as they would in an unfished venue,we all know how easy stockies are to catch.

Any bankside activorties could be considered as pressure whether it be from anglers dog walkers bird watchers or water sport such as waterskiing windsurfing etc survival instinct kicks in we as anglers make the mistake of attacting human emotions and feeling to fish

Why does pressure have to be psychological?If Bertie the Barbel is fished for 12 months of the year the surely the likelihood of him being caught more times in that period going to increase.However well he may be treated by his captors, the greater likelihood of capture has to logically mean the greater likelihood of mistreatment by poor handling etc.

The fish are in the margins when there are no anglers about. Line the bank with anglers and the fish are pressured out into the middle out of casting range. That is if the lake is big enough. Quite often it isn't.

Presure on fish does not have to be defined. If it does need to be defined then you are a poor excuse of an angler.

Baz, once again, don't turn this thread into one of your bitter arguments with comments like that last one in your post. I am seeking your interpretation of a word that is used or misused liberally, but one that few anglers may understand fully. Yourself included.

What both you and Gav define as pressure is no more than caution on the fish's part. Moving away from a likely danger zone in order to preserve its peace and solitude. Cows and sheep often do the same in fields, ie: move away when the public approaches, yet they will still continue feeding and enjoying themselves. So are they pressured? No!

I see what you mean too, Nigel, but is it fair to call it "pressure"? Tormented maybe, but even if the fish is caught more times, does it really suffer unless someone does mishandle it badly? A risk taken each time the fish is caught, but if looked after properly is it "pressured"?

I think that what has happened is that some time in the past, an angling columnist has used the word "pressure" for want of a better word, yet it seemed to catch on. Since then everyone has used it, but in the wrong sense attaching anthropomorphic feelings and emotions to fish, as Sweetcorn Kid says.

Baz, once again, don't turn this thread into one of your bitter arguments with
comments like that last one in your post.
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You just can't resist it Woody can you? Any excuse and in you jump with your wagging finger. What I wrote were my thoughts on your question. Did I point my post at anybody in particular? NO.

What you wrote starts to make it personal as usual.

Jethro it may not be that the fish feel 'pressure' in the context that we humans do, more a case of increased caution.

However that is not to say that we anglers do not exert 'pressure' on some waters and thus heighten their caution by our activities.

As to your reference to the grazing cows and sheep, YES it does make a difference.

Ask a cetain body that lost a stretch of the Dane through members not sticking to the bounderies and taking shortcuts amongst horses that were in foal. The mares aborted.

Baz
You said "If it does need to be defined then you are a poor excuse of an angler." (my bolding btw).

Ergo, I take it that you aimed the comment at me since I was the one who asked for a definition. Well, I suppose you'll want to wriggle out of that one too.

"You" meaning nobody in particular.
If I would have meant you personally, I would have said You Woody. is that defined enough for you?

From an ex matchmans perspective I regularly fished matches on stretches of the trent where I regularly pleasure fished, and the match weights were always up to 50% lower than pleasure fishing. However, this could have been down to 3 reasons, more bait going in & fish being spread out, more bankside disturbance, or the angler not knwing the swim. Paradoxically we used to have a stretch of the upper trent at Alrewas that got better the more that it was fished, probably with the fish being accustomed to anglers baits.

Fish are like most wild animals in that they are susceptable to disturbance, and unfortunately lots of anglers have forgotten about the simple basics of keeping quiet, and using caution. I believe that carp, being long lived, learn by assosciation, and it is obvious if there are only a limited number of fish in a water, and they are fished for all season long, 24 hrs a day, then they are going to become wary.

At least when there was a close season, and winter fishing was not the norm, then they had a period of time each year to lose that caution.

The term angling pressure can be directly be equated to the number of man hours fishing that a water is subjected to.

Any angler who fishes pools will tell you that far from swimming as far away from the bank as they can, as Baz and Gav say, they in fact do nothing of the sort. Even on match lakes which get constant so called pressure the fish are found usually within 11 metres and more often than not right under your feet.

I rarely find it necessary to cast more than 2 to 3 rod lengths out to contact the fish and I'm not just talking carp here, anything that is in the lake, the biggest fish are usually found within a metre of the bank or on the first shelf. I fished Larford specimen lake a fortnight ago and caught fish non stop including quality bream, roach, perch and the odd carp and there were 20 odd anglers right along the bank doing exactly the same, I never even opened the bale arm to cast just fished one rod length out.

I have match fished and pleasure fished loads of rivers in the past with anglers in every peg usually no more than 20 yards away and the most productive line was nearly always the stick either off your rod tip or a rod length out, and it is still the case today. Even barbel are to be found close to the bank you are fishing from in fact it is usually the best part of the river to find them sometimes within a few yards of where you are sitting.

Fish may be initially shy due to bankside disturbance but if you feed correctly and fish correctly it isn't long before they are back in front of you and food is the controlling factor where fish are concerned. Fish don't feel pressure they don't even understand what pressure is, they don't understand anything, what they do is respond to their instinct which is hunger and the need to find food, wherever it is.

My interpretation of pressure would be anything that caused the fish to ignore or over ride its natural instinct for survival. Causing a disturbance that stops the fish from feeding to the point it looses condition or creating conditions that force the fish to feed when in a natural environment it wouldn?t, i.e. over stocking. Here its not feeding on your bait because its more tempting than the natural food supply or of a high calorific value, but feeding on your bait because it?s the only food supply.
Human interference is not the only means by which fish are put under pressure,
drought being one that most readily comes to mind.

>The term angling pressure can be directly be equated to the number of man hours fishing that a water is subjected to.<

I can also understand the above statement but that would depend on the context in which it was used. I think that in most circumstances when the statement ?under pressure? is used it is another way of saying too many people fishing and the pressure may be more on the angler than the fish.

Graham Larford is a commercial ,totally different to a more natural venue they do need your food in there so have no choice but to come were you feed.

Complete rubbish Gav, its a lake of 20 acres so how do you work that out? Don't believe me? Look for yourself. Apart from that I fish plenty of lakes from 3 to 4 acres up to 40 acres and the same applies to them all, anyone who fishes pools will tell you the same.

Are you having a bubble bath Graham that is clearly a commercial if you think that is a natural venue I am shocked as I thought you knew your stuff.Graham you are telling the wrong person about catching under foot as I have done it for over 20 years but you will only do it regularly if you are quiet and can find a quiet spot .