Are the Brits the best anglers in the world ?

Philip · Mar 14, 2013

Having traveled round a bit and seen a fair few anglers from different countries I have reached the conclusion that on average the British are the best anglers in the world.

Sure the Americans can probably beat us hands down when it comes to lures, and the Australians know a thing or two about Big game.. Not many can hold a candle to the Italians when it comes to speed fishing & the Canadians know how to catch a Salmon. Even for Carp angling there are some that say we could learn a thing or two off the the South Africans... and so the list goes on.

However, all things considered, if I go to a day ticket UK lake on a weekend I recon the average angler I will find there will be higher than what you are likely to see anywhere else in the world. Elsewhere you will still see monstrous stocky 6 foot fibre glass rods being used to cast crow quills and coffee grinder reels under filled with thick twisted line in common use. You will see Fish left to flap about on hard banks as standard and leads the size of a house brick being cast into tiny streams with no flow, not to mention crude tether setups and rusty hooks tied to the ends of lines.

For me the British really are the angling worlds leaders. For their Innovative thinking, specialist tackle, tactics, baits, fish safety and so many other things ...I recon the Brits lead the way by a country mile !

But what do you think ?

Paul Boote · Mar 14, 2013

In a word: nope.

Okay, we are pretty good at catching stuff that many in the rest of the world term "trash fish", the stuff that other Anglers wouldn't touch with somebody else's even if heavily paid, with sometimes highly innovative and clever methods but often extremely coarse motives, but try fishing with a few of the world's Anglers on their home turf, with fly and lure particularly, and you will learn that: a) we're blinkered, b) still have much to learn, and c) we're Little England arrogant.

Mere boilies and rigs maketh not Angler nor Man.

maverick 7 · Mar 15, 2013

I would probably generally agree with that Phillip but hasten to add that I don't include myself in that assessment.

Certainly in match fishing the Brits often seem to wipe the floor with the rest of Europe on a fairly regular basis.

I am not sure about fly or carp fishing though.

Maverick

mark brailsford 2 · Mar 15, 2013

We might be good at the old match fishing but watch the Aussies and South Africans game fishing or the Americans casting to trout in a wild freestone river...sorry, for not being very patriotic

mg:

nicepix · Mar 15, 2013

Since 1987 England have won the World Fly Fishing Championships five times and been in the top five a further eight times, and they have dominated the World Coarse Fishing Championships for many years now.

When you consider the breadth of techniques involved in catching coarse fish including using the pole, trotting, waggler fishing in rivers, ledgering upstream and down, feeder fishing, etc. there is no other country that has such a high level of general specialism. You will find better anglers elsewhere, but only in specialised techniques, not in overall ability.

Paul Boote · Mar 15, 2013

It should be noted, however, that for many flyfishers in the some of the world's best flyfishing nations - New Zealand and the United States, for example - fishing competitively for numbers and points scored is complete anathema. I have met and fished with a number of them in places like Argentina, Chile, Iceland and Sweden, and let's just say that when competition fishing was mentioned - even the "One Fly" events held in the American West - they fell silent, or rolled their eyes, or - well, a couple did - pithily turned the air blue then got on with their fishing.

flightliner · Mar 15, 2013

nicepix said:
Since 1987 England have won the World Fly Fishing Championships five times and been in the top five a further eight times, and they have dominated the World Coarse Fishing Championships for many years now.

When you consider the breadth of techniques involved in catching coarse fish including using the pole, trotting, waggler fishing in rivers, ledgering upstream and down, feeder fishing, etc. there is no other country that has such a high level of general specialism. You will find better anglers elsewhere, but only in specialised techniques, not in overall ability.

Got to go with that, what I,ve seen of anglers on the continant they are generally rather wanting compared to us brits.Crude just about sums up what I,ve seen, that said the best they have are good ,no doubt but take the top whatever % out of the picture and the gap is massive.
PB --- SORRY friend but have you done much angling in the UK ?

Paul Boote · Mar 15, 2013

flightliner said:
PB --- SORRY friend but have you done much angling in the UK ?

More than most of you.

flightliner · Mar 15, 2013

Paul Boote said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by flightliner View Post
PB --- SORRY friend but have you done much angling in the UK ?

More than most of you.

OK Paul-- fine, but just so I can rationalise things ,as a % how much of your fishing have you done on the continant/s as compared to the uk.?

Paul Boote · Mar 15, 2013

Oh God, an online Q&A session, I might as well as be chatting with Keef Larfter (interview approach via a third party years ago politely declined).

geoffmaynard · Mar 15, 2013

I agree with PB on this. The old adage of Local knowledge pays on those difficult days comes to mind, and Brit jingoism does the rest. Whenever I'm on someone else's turf they are almost always going to be the most productive - if this is what 'better' means in this context.

nicepix · Mar 15, 2013

Paul Boote said:
It should be noted, however, that for many flyfishers in the some of the world's best flyfishing nations - New Zealand and the United States, for example - fishing competitively for numbers and points scored is complete anathema. I have met and fished with a number of them in places like Argentina, Chile, Iceland and Sweden, and let's just say that when competition fishing was mentioned - even the "One Fly" events held in the American West - they fell silent, or rolled their eyes, or - well, a couple did - pithily turned the air blue then got on with their fishing.

So are we lead to believe that a race of people, the Americans who hold 'world' competitions for everything from skateboarding to rodeo usually only competed by five Yanks and a token foreigner choose not to compete at fly fishing?

No, they didn't roll their eyes and carry on fishing. They send a team and last year that team finished 18th, five behind New Zealand and ten behind England. Knowing how ultra competitive that country is I doubt if they would send anyone but their best.

I've fished in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Slovenia, Ireland and Cyprus and from what I have seen of the local anglers they have nothing to touch the average UK angler at fishing in its broadest sense.

Once the British match anglers learned to fish the pole methods in the late 1960's they began to dominate coarse fishing championships and there is no greater test of fishing skill than the varied arena of the coarse fishing world.

Paul Boote · Mar 15, 2013

You appear to fail to realise that very significant numbers of very accomplished flyfishers in a number of the nations competing in such fly comps would rather have all their teeth drawn without anaesthetic than participate in them. Each to his own. That's all from me in this early-onset silly season thread.

flightliner · Mar 15, 2013

So, were all agreed then, were simply the best.?

nicepix · Mar 15, 2013

Paul Boote said:
You appear to fail to realise that very significant numbers of very accomplished flyfishers in a number of the nations competing in such fly comps would rather have all their teeth drawn without anaesthetic than participate in them. Each to his own. That's all from me in this early-onset silly season thread.

Are you saying that only anglers from the lesser skilled nations or only lesser skilled anglers from all nations take part in competitions?

mg:

tiinker · Mar 15, 2013

Every nation in the world that has water with fish in it to be caught will produce people with a extra talent for catching them . for a small island we produce more than our fair share of top anglers as the competition results show whether it be game coarse or sea what is there to argue about.

mg:

plaadug · Mar 15, 2013

I am from Germany and as a collector of angling literature able to read English I can tell that England is probably home to most coarse fishing methods used throughout the world. So regarding species like roach, bream, chub, rudd, and especially barbel Brits have certainly the highest skills. Whether this makes the the best anglers - what ever this is supposed to mean - is another question. I totally rely on British knowledge to imoprove my coarse fishing skills and I appreciate the respect they pay to a species like roach, which is mostly considered an unwanted bycatch in Germany.

---------- Post added at 09:13 ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 ----------

Also you have to keep in mind that England is one of the few countries in Europe where angling is a kind of national sport.

flightliner · Mar 15, 2013

plaadug said:
I am from Germany and as a collector of angling literature able to read English I can tell that England is probably home to most coarse fishing methods used throughout the world. So regarding species like roach, bream, chub, rudd, and especially barbel Brits have certainly the highest skills. Whether this makes the the best anglers - what ever this is supposed to mean - is another question. I totally rely on British knowledge to imoprove my coarse fishing skills and I appreciate the respect they pay to a species like roach, which is mostly considered an unwanted bycatch in Germany.

---------- Post added at 09:13 ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 ----------

Also you have to keep in mind that England is one of the few countries in Europe where angling is a kind of national sport.

Plaadug.
Its nice to get a fellow angler on this site from the continant to give their opinion on this particular subject, thanks for your input.

mick b · Mar 16, 2013

Over the past 50 or so years Ive been lucky to have fished around the world and the UK quite a bit.
My experience has taught me that 'on their home waters' local anglers are often overly confident in their abilities but can easily be out fished by a more open minded and competent, visiting angler.
You've even experienced this on your home waters where a first time visitor has made a better catch than the hardened regulars.
Whatever the reason 'home' anglers can become blinkered no matter what country they live in.

Because we live on an island, albeit a vastly overcrowded one, we have a tendency to look inward with the naturally independent mindset of islanders. This attitude is less prevalent on continents where the presence of nearby neighbours seems to force an acceptance of alternative ideas, even if they come from the 'enemies/rivals' camp!

We certainly have a lot to learn of that there is no doubt.

Sadly the concentration by many anglers on fishing 'commercials' is damaging to the development of our angling future, highly profitable to tackle companies and the operators of these fisheries they may be, but where is the development when everything has been is made so easy you could almost teach a monkey to do it?

Go anywhere in the world and get to know the locals and they will all say we are arrogant, usually adding that the Germans are only more so!

So....
" a) we're blinkered, b) still have much to learn, and c) we're Little England arrogant."

Sadly....Yes, in bucketloads!

Philip · Mar 17, 2013

nicepix said:
When you consider the breadth of techniques involved in catching coarse fish including using the pole, trotting, waggler fishing in rivers, ledgering upstream and down, feeder fishing, etc. there is no other country that has such a high level of general specialism. You will find better anglers elsewhere, but only in specialised techniques, not in overall ability.

Thats pretty much my view too...of course there will be nations and anglers who will be experts in certain techniques but its the overall level of general specialism that British anglers have that I think sets them apart.

---------- Post added at 21:23 ---------- Previous post was at 21:19 ----------

plaadug said:
I totally rely on British knowledge to imoprove my coarse fishing skills

And that is something else I think it quite a common comment or outlook outside the UK. Make no mistake...many foreign anglers will look to the British for advances in tackle baits and tactics.

Are the Brits the best anglers in the world ?

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