Strip right back you tarts...

As I sit fishless on my box, I realise that my mind tends to wonder into the murky depths and I become the very fish I am trying to catch.
If its a well stocked commercial fishery I am virtually guaranteed to catch and in for a (hopefully) "busy" day so I am confident enough to continue fishing without such daydreaming. But on occasion when they are (in the words of jacksharp); "just not 'avin it!" what am I to do?

I could sit in hope
change the hair length, hook size/pattern, hooklink length or material
try baiting a different swim (the one the angler next to me has been steadily baiting all morning)
try a different area (its no good trying to catch what isnt there)
fish another method
change the bait
something else

I have had my fair share of bad days like everyone but to divert disaster, I often find myself considering; what it would take to entice a bite?
What is it that's so important to a fish if not the bait?

It does not matter to me nor the fish what rod I am using, what seatbox and attachments, bite alarms, landing net, what clothing I wear what day shelter/bivvy brand I have or what other paraphernalia I might be in possession of or that my socks have holes in.

Fear not all you; "cant afford the latest this and that types!"
All the fish will care about is what you offer them to eat. Your bait and terminal tackle, properly presented (and a little watercraft) is all you will ever need to save the day!

Enjoy.


PS I was not sat on my seatbox fishless, but I am not infallible
pps sorry to offend any tarts..., I will do anything to get a bite!

Excellent post, sometimes we forget.

markv said:

Excellent post, sometimes we forget.

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It's the last 6 inches that are the most important, as in most things, Vicar!



.

Definitely. I was famed among some of the Scene Spessie Boys of the 1970s and 1980s for turning up to fish with them with a rod and reel to die for, but with the rest of my gear in supermarket carrierbags. Same with fly fishing - £500 rod, rather cheaper reel, all the right lines, enough flies to set up in competition with Fulling Mill or something equally major in the States, but with a pair of 1987-vintage multiply patched Redball flyweight chest waders, a highly porous fishing jacket and the same old carrierbags...

I find that you only have to balance a cup on your knee and start to pour from a flask to guarantee a bite.

But what about the tarts...are we talking gypsy, those Kentish delights which are the queens of the tart race....or are we talking more furtive tartdom???

I also find losing concentration for the first time in a couple of hours and moving your eyes away from float or tip for a nano-second...they know, those piscatorial b**t***s...how do they know? How can they perceive that slight lapse in concentration.....or the deviation of tea/coffee....how do they know...why are they so clever......

I think it's simpler than that. If you have fish in front of you you'll catch them. If they're not you can use all the baits and flavours you like but you won't innnit.

peter crabtree said:

I think it's simpler than that. If you have fish in front of you you'll catch them. If they're not you can use all the baits and flavours you like but you won't innnit.

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I was fishing in a swim where I'd done well a few days previously and this time I never had a bite despite ringing the changes regards bait, presentation, etc. Not a touch. As the sun got to a certain angle I could see the whole swim lit up like an aquarium and it was full of fish. Some days they just won't 'ave it!

Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC) said:

But what about the tarts...are we talking gypsy, those Kentish delights which are the queens of the tart race....or are we talking more furtive tartdom???

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More a tart of Kent (avin it and eatin it types), not the commoner Kentish who merely drools at the sight of posh confection from over the river.

I also find losing concentration for the first time in a couple of hours and moving your eyes away from float or tip for a nano-second...they know, those piscatorial b**t***s...how do they know? How can they perceive that slight lapse in concentration.....or the deviation of tea/coffee....how do they know...why are they so clever......

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They have a lookout tiddler (that nobody bothers to target) watching in the nearside margins... fin up signal to the shoal = coffee in lap!