Helping any new comers?
- Thread starter iannate
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Derek Gibson
Well-known member
Yes I have on a number of occasions since joining the site. And in quite a few cases it has been a pleasure. But there is also a downside, when you discover that there are those who will, given the opportunity ''suck you dry''. Culminating in ''what venue, what swims, what bait'' etc. In short, instant success merchants, often without an acknowledgment or a thankyou.
Leaves a bad taste, make no mistake.
And in case anyone reading this should jump to the conclusion that I am a miserable old git, let me say, I have supplied many lures, traces, and braid on a number of occasions, at no charge, thinking I was helping. Then, as quick as they appeared, they disappeared. I'm far more cautious these days.
Leaves a bad taste, make no mistake.
And in case anyone reading this should jump to the conclusion that I am a miserable old git, let me say, I have supplied many lures, traces, and braid on a number of occasions, at no charge, thinking I was helping. Then, as quick as they appeared, they disappeared. I'm far more cautious these days.
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Like Derek - helpful but now careful, in public at least. Particularly after a memorable hitting-on in the gamefishing world by a father & son team several years ago, who, after seeing some pretty good (private messages to me from some really great sea-trout fishers about what I had posted - "Wow, Paul, that's one I hadn't thought of...") freely and publicly given info from me on flies and tactics, had asked me to take them sea-trout fishing in Wales. I declined, with the result that they spent the next three or four years personally pooing all over me on two sea-trout sites and a couple of general ones, pulling others into the kicking circle.
This said, if I meet an Angler on the water who is in need of help and who is not some Camo Clone on the make and on the take and wanting, say, exact locations and baits for big barbel, I am very helpful.
This said, if I meet an Angler on the water who is in need of help and who is not some Camo Clone on the make and on the take and wanting, say, exact locations and baits for big barbel, I am very helpful.
Give generously! Perhaps karma will repay you with the specimen of a lifetime.
I'm a Scouser, I couldn't be any karma!
C
chefster
Guest
I have always tried to help others-but i,m the one being helped at the moment-i,m fishing on a new circuit with new venues and some match anglers,one in particular is taking me to venues,which are on the callander and talking me through the pegs and helping me make the correct choices and decisions
brummiephil
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i'm a newbie and chefster has been a great font of knowlegde !
C
chefster
Guest
I,m glad i,ve been able to help you Phil,its good to ask lots of questions Phil ,its the only way to learn
iannate
The fish made me do it!
An un-fortunate side effect of modern living, for me the best part of fishing is learning and constantly changing but I do hear where you are coming from load and clear.
This must really sting, but life is full of [insert suitable word(s)] like these.
I often give loads of tackle away, but I am like you in that if someone tries to scrounge, I generally and politely say no; I used to make excuses but there is no point since they will probably go and bug someone else, by saying no I hope they will get the hint.
You do try to help others though, we all get help in one way or another.
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I've always maintained that the best anglers are always keen to help others improve their angling, that doesn't mean tell them everything (meaning that we can't take everything in in one go) but they will answer direct questions with direct answers and broad questions with broad answers, I think this is the way it should be.
At the end of the day , knowledge is free - tackle costs money, so each should be treated as such.
The bad one
Well-known member
As a club bailiff it kinda goes with the job to help fellow members new to the waters, but some do get on your t*ts. These I call "Demanders" you know the type, Which are the best swims? You're the bailiff you're supposed to help members, so which are they? What's the going bait? Where in the swim do I cast.....and so on
These, I usually put in the cr*p swims and tell them it's full of doubles
Then when they inevitably blank, say "What you blanked in that swim mate?" You must have been doing something wrong, no one blanks in that swim!
Those that are genuine and need help, I help and put them in a going swim that I know they'll catch in. Even been known to sit with them while and give them instruction on where to cast and how to feed to get the fish going.
Moral of this tail is don't be a tw*t with the bailiffs because they'll always have the last laugh on you! And you are likely to become a tail of a legend repeated often when the subject of Tw*ts come up.
These, I usually put in the cr*p swims and tell them it's full of doubles
Then when they inevitably blank, say "What you blanked in that swim mate?"
You must have been doing something wrong, no one blanks in that swim! Those that are genuine and need help, I help and put them in a going swim that I know they'll catch in. Even been known to sit with them while and give them instruction on where to cast and how to feed to get the fish going.
Moral of this tail is don't be a tw*t with the bailiffs because they'll always have the last laugh on you! And you are likely to become a tail of a legend repeated often when the subject of Tw*ts come up.
chav professor
Well-known member
My nephew gets his rod license today!!!! The seeds have been sown in my son in terms of introducing him to fishing - its wait and see - he's a bit too scatty to sit in one place for too long. He would make a great stalker of summer chub! I ain't given up, just don't push the issue.
If I see anyone who needs a bit of help, it reminds me of my formative fishing years. A float, hook to nylon and a bit of guidance..... costs pennies really. Its like repaying a debt.
When they pack up offering my float back, I always say no... keep it... one day you may be in the position to return the favour and help someone else out in need of a bit of tackle.
Perhaps its like what Rubio says.... its Karma.... maybe fortune will smile down on those who make good life choices.
If I see anyone who needs a bit of help, it reminds me of my formative fishing years. A float, hook to nylon and a bit of guidance..... costs pennies really. Its like repaying a debt.
When they pack up offering my float back, I always say no... keep it... one day you may be in the position to return the favour and help someone else out in need of a bit of tackle.
Perhaps its like what Rubio says.... its Karma.... maybe fortune will smile down on those who make good life choices.
I have taken kids fishing and offered tons of help, over the years, with fly fishing and fly-tying.
However if my response to kids seems curmudgeonly there is the experience of kids who go fishing, particularly on the park lakes, without hooks and maggots and think it's a right to go and scavenge said items from other anglers. I once had one ask me for some maggots and on agreeing to give him some he then asked for a bait box to put them in!
If I am catching on corn and kids only have maggots I will give them some. If a kid only has a size 10 hook I will tie on an 18 for him, but its the attitude of going fishing without the basics and expecting to scrounge them on the bank, that annoys me.
sam vimes
Well-known member
I'll help pretty much anyone that wants help, but there are limits. I'm not inclined to help anyone that is doing things, or has done things, I find unacceptable. The shouters, drinkers and tokers need not apply.
Since a bad experience of the internet information farmers, I don't do catch reports or pictures too often any more. I certainly don't divulge specific locations, particularly of club waters, to anyone outside of my closest fishing friends. I'm not so fussed when it comes to the more commercial day ticket waters.
I don't have much time for the out and out secret squirrells, but I do now understand them better. When it comes to my syndicate water, I'll tell any member every detail of what, where and when, even if I know I may not get the same level of detail back.
Since a bad experience of the internet information farmers, I don't do catch reports or pictures too often any more. I certainly don't divulge specific locations, particularly of club waters, to anyone outside of my closest fishing friends. I'm not so fussed when it comes to the more commercial day ticket waters.
I don't have much time for the out and out secret squirrells, but I do now understand them better. When it comes to my syndicate water, I'll tell any member every detail of what, where and when, even if I know I may not get the same level of detail back.
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My angling is about enjoyment rather than PB’s or photo journals, I don’t really care too much about what I say about tactics and locations and I don't have anything to sell. The theory here is by the time I’ve fished, I’m unlikely to return in the near future and the fishing will have changed significantly, so any catch info is actually quite worthless. E.g. ‘I caught a Barbel in the Severn’ or ‘I caught a Roach’. I also like float fishing and rarely see other anglers adopting the same tactics that I enjoy.
On our club ‘forum’ I have spent time and effort detailing catches and tactics with photos just so other ‘normal’ members could see what’s on offer if they travelled to ‘xyz’ venue, given that diesel is £1.40/litre I thought that I was doing the membership a service in saying – park here, there’s a decent café here etc.
The nature of many anglers whether novices or experienced, means that they are often looking for free info without offering anything back in return, (NB I'm not talking about catches, tactics or baits just baseline info). and they can ‘do one’.
I now know a good number of members who are on the same wavelength who share trivial but useful venue information via PM and these days rarely bother with the main site.
On our club ‘forum’ I have spent time and effort detailing catches and tactics with photos just so other ‘normal’ members could see what’s on offer if they travelled to ‘xyz’ venue, given that diesel is £1.40/litre I thought that I was doing the membership a service in saying – park here, there’s a decent café here etc.
The nature of many anglers whether novices or experienced, means that they are often looking for free info without offering anything back in return, (NB I'm not talking about catches, tactics or baits just baseline info). and they can ‘do one’.
I now know a good number of members who are on the same wavelength who share trivial but useful venue information via PM and these days rarely bother with the main site.
sam vimes
Well-known member
You don't have to have anything to sell, be a blogger or an aspiring photo journalist, to need to be circumspect. I'm certainly none of those things.
My harsh lesson on forum posting came from posting a picture of a double figure barbel from the Swale. The information trawlers picked up on it and, based on the presumption that I was fishing in an area that I was known to fish, that stretch was jam packed for weeks after. A few days later I actually went there, asked one of the horde why it was so busy, his response was that someone had a double out a couple of days earlier and posted it on a forum. I knew that the only double out and posted about had been mine. Inadvertantly, I'd screwed up my own fishing and that of the handful of other regulars on that stretch. The sad fact was that the fish had come from a stretch the best part of twenty miles upstream. That's why I'm distinctly reticent about posting catch reports.
I have a similar tale tell about the same species - it was a bit like the scene from Jaws when the bounty is put on the Shark, but without boats.
I made the error of telling a club committee member about a fish that I'd caught, next weeks update / newsletter featured its weight, the location plus some flowery stuff that never happened to improve the story - I changed clubs.
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