ALWAYS CARP ! !

tinca steve · Feb 2, 2008

I have been looking through a few sites and when having a gander at their fish handling and safety sections i have noticed that the authors seem to always select the word CARP when they write their notice. So if i was a new angler i would take it that any species can be put on the floor, gravel or path etc. but if its acarp then you must use a mat . As can been seen on this site a photo of a nice tench laid on the gravel with no thought of its care ( i wonder if it was caught by a carp angler ?)
Should all clubs check their own sites /forumsand if it states carp should they change it to " FISH "or something similar, i think so . What about you ?????

Les Clark ( not too proud to nick a good idea fro · Feb 2, 2008

Tinca ,as a carp / pike angler who sometimes catchs tench and bream , I allways use a unhooking matand to say ( I wonder if it was caught by a carp angler ?) is rather a silly statement .

Common sense is the key word ,if you can`t unhook a fish while holding it , then use a unhooking mat regardless of species ..

tinca steve · Feb 2, 2008

Thats not what i'm getting at. What i'm trying to say is that there seems to be carp referenced when clubs and forums speak of fish care, and not of species or standard fish care.
I carry a mat with me all the time (when angling ) and have done for many years ,but what i'm trying to put over is that a huge amount of reading material ,mags,weeklies and the net seem to reference carp-mats and carp care with NO reference to other species. I am thinking of the new anglers of the future who will take over in time the care of FISH in general , when we are all dead and gone to the great lake/river in the sky.
As for the (remark ) I have retrieved from the bushes a near double bream thrown there by a carp angler and returned it alive when i was fishing at kingsmead one.

Baz (Angel of the North) · Feb 2, 2008

I tend to agree with Steve on this one.

This may sound daft, but I can deffinately see a time when bailiffs or anybody who aproach another angler for not useing an unhooking mat to unhook a Tench or Bream, where the angler will say: Where does it say I need an unhooking mat for fish other than Carp,? I've never seen it anywhere. Just the same way as sleeping in a bivvy while supposedly fishing has become the accepted.

Baz (Angel of the North) · Feb 2, 2008

How many times have you seen the lads on Carp Crew lie a Tench down in the grass? With loving care of course. But Why?? So there you go Les not so silly at all is it?

I dispair that what Steve and myself are saying has already become the norm with a lot of people.

tinca steve · Feb 2, 2008

As can be seen my altered mat is a little bit different from the norm in that when a photo is being taken from directly above the length is automatically registered.The small line by its nose is 12 inches from the measure markings ,big enough for roach / rudd and all subsequent markings are 2 inches apart, so making this ghostie 23 inches long.

Ian Waugh · Feb 2, 2008

I like that idea.

Stealph Viper · Feb 2, 2008

Hello Everyone,

Common sense must be seen to prevail in all matters Fishing, whether it be Unhooking Fish, Returning Fish, Taking your Litter Home With you (or disposing of it in a Waste Bin) and to Generally making Sure that you Fish Safely.

If you are confident enough to Handle Fish and unhook them in your Landing Net without the fish touching the ground then so be it. However if you are in anyway unsure of the Fishes Safety you should always use an unhooking Mat. Please, Please, Please make sure that you wet the unhooking mat before placing the Fish on it Especially on Very Hot days and keep the fish out of the water for the least time needed to unhook it, takes some pics and if you feel you will need more time to weigh it and maybe have some more pics, put the fish in a weigh sling or back into the Landing Net and put it back into the water to let it regain some of it's strength before doing so.

For you Fishermen who want to take a little extra care of your fish, get some of that Klinik Spray to put onto any cuts from scales lifting or for where the hook has Dug in the fishes mouth, myself i used to use Bonjela as it does a similar job and is relatively cheap and lasts quite a long time.

To many youngsters these days can go fishing with out being taught the rudimentary's of preserving the fish, it's all about money. /forum/smilies/devil_smiley.gif

Graham Marsden (ACA) · Feb 2, 2008

Klin-ik and Bonjela

Geoff Cowen · Feb 2, 2008

I once saw the son of a French Carp angler who was catching fish on float tackle throw some 4lb Bream +into a lock some fifteen feet bellow him without reprimand. If my wife had not been with me I would have thrown him and his farther in after them. So I think British angler has a long way to go before they get that bad. Most angler do the right thing in this country so stop moaning!

Mithrandir · Feb 3, 2008

It was my belief that the unhooking mat was mainly for Carp as they tend to be heavier fish, so the weight of the fish could cause stones and twigs etc ti penetrate the fish.

I cannot see that a 6 oz roach is going to impale its self on a twig, but a 20lb carp might.

I think common sense comes into it, an unhooking mat is a very good idea for heavy fish or rough ground.

I always carry an unhooking mat, and use it when I need to, but I will still unhook a fish in the wet net laid onto soft ground without panicing about it not being on a mat.

I think general fish care is very important, I often fish for Grayling, and I have had the chance to educate some anglers on the safe return of this fish to the water, having watched them "chuck" it back and go belly up.

Maybe it is time we had to take a test in fish care before we are allowed to fish without the company of an experienced angler!!

tinca steve · Feb 3, 2008

I think we are getting away from the point i'm trying to make and that is the reference to CARP when using fish protection mats/safety mats or even "antiseptic for <u>CARP</u>" (re. post by chris bishop 21-04-06 @20.52) when such items should be used on all species of fish . What i'm saying is that when a new angler young or old tries to better themselves and goes looking in such places they should see that these items should be used on all species.

But then it could be just me being pedagogue(pedantic).I was told that you learn from your elders but maybe not in this case. Again it maybe the case of the different sections of the sport not being able to be seen dead under ONE name "ANGLING/ANGLERS"

Carpless · Feb 3, 2008

Like mithrandir says steve, a carp is a commonly heavier fish and more likely to damage itself on twigs/stones and usually they are designed to be big for carp primarily. If you can be confident that the area you are unhooking the fish on won't pose a threat to the fish then do so, but yes i think that an unhooking mat should be used for any fish that warrents it and seeing as you don't know you won't catch a larger fish, your species or not, one must always be carried.

tinca steve · Feb 3, 2008

Still missing the point:- That sites, papers,magazines etc. should change their write ups to say that mats should be used for all larger specimens of all species. NOT specify carp as NEW COMERS to our wonderful sport would not know the difference. As i said before the reference to carp is used all to often.A 8lb tench or a 8lb bream weighs just as much as a 8lb carp.As BAZ said in an earlier post if the carp crew can put a fish other than carp on the grass on telly then it must be O/K.

Graham Marsden (ACA) · Feb 3, 2008

Sorry for the wrong link to the Klin-ik article above. It's OK now.

Bill Cox · Feb 3, 2008

No problem Graham even legends make mistakes sometimes./forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

Carpless · Feb 4, 2008

<blockquote class=quoteheader>tinca steve wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>Still missing the point:- That sites, papers,magazines etc. should change their write ups to say that mats should be used for all larger specimens of all species. NOT specify carp as NEW COMERS to our wonderful sport would not know the difference. As i said before the reference to carp is used all to often.A 8lb tench or a 8lb bream weighs just as much as a 8lb carp.As BAZ said in an earlier post if the carp crew can put a fish other than carp on the grass on telly then it must be O/K.</blockquote>

We've all said that they should be used for most fish so why u saying we're missing the point. We agree that sites should provide that information so instead of telling us they should, take it up with the sites.

Graham Marsden (ACA) · Feb 4, 2008

<blockquote class=quoteheader>tinca steve wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>Still missing the point:- That sites, papers,magazines etc. should change their write ups to say that mats should be used for all larger specimens of all species. </blockquote>

I've just done aquick search on this site for mentions or photographs of unhooking mats forspecies other than carp and gave up listing and linking them after five minutes:

Pike

Barbel

Tench

Tench

Zander

Eels

Graham Whatmore · Feb 4, 2008

I can see quite plainly what Steve is pointing out and he is partlyright though fish care is not the preserve of carp anglers alone could it be that they were responsible for initiating the care of fish system we acknowledge today? It isn't all that long ago that photographing fish lined up in the grass (or worse) or stood up with a single fish was the norm rather than the exception and it is still very evident today.

As for making it compulsory to carry an unhooking mat at all times then that I find unnecessary, I myself rarely photograph a fish and if I do it is with a mobile and always in the landing net if it is on the large size or over it if it is handling size. I rarely if ever take a fish out of the landing net preferring to unhook and release it whilst in the net but that is just me I am not saying everyone should do thatbut it does make an unhooking mat unnecessary.

Cakey · Feb 4, 2008

look at the size of the matHEREat the bottom of the article

he is a good angler...................................................../forum/smilies/big_smile_smiley.gif

ALWAYS CARP ! !

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