fish first cast

How many times does it happen
you have a fish first cast then nothing for an hour or more
I caught a carp first cast 3 minutes into fishing then had to wait two hours for the next bite

Oooh... The curse of the first cast.

Always, but always, cast for the first time and then retrieve and re-cast before anything can grab your bait

I often forget to do this mg:

I have told this before but I will tell it again,

When I was about 13 I went with my dad to a tidal stretch we often fished and never caught much. This day a shoal of big bream were rolling right in front of us. The old man was in straight away with his float and maggot and the float disappeared. He hooked a bream and got it to the surface and it was huge, well the biggest fish either of us had ever seen.
He shouted to me get the landing net made up but as the water was at high tide and right up to the concrete slipway I said I can hand it out. No he shouted get the bloody net made up. I insisted and got down and got the Bream in my arms and just lifted it out above the surface with a struggle; then I dropped it and it slipped the hook and was gone.
He did not speak to me for a month, forever glowered at me if it was ever mentioned for the rest of his life; never forgave me but I would have been the same.
That was a cursed first fish fish for sure. A lesson learned though, I always put the landing up before I wet a line since that day.

I've only made the mistake of casting out without putting up the landing net once

Set up for carp I cast out then put the rod on the rest and was just reaching for the landing net pole when the reel screamed off

Landing a carp in just the net head is no fun

I've learnt over time that when it happens to never ever pile loose feed in thinking there's a shedfull in front of you.

markg said:

I always put the landing up before I wet a line since that day.

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Absolutely.....its almost a superstition with me to do that.
The times I see normally sensible anglers start to fish and then remember afterwards to make the net up.... mg:

I generally have quite a few last casts when they are productive - possibly you should do the same with first casts...............

john step said:

Absolutely.....its almost a superstition with me to do that.
The times I see normally sensible anglers start to fish and then remember afterwards to make the net up.... mg:

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I put it up before doing anything else at all, John. Ever since I fell in, attempting a feat of prestidigitation with an unassembled net. mg:

I always use a click counter so I know exactly how many fish I have, superstition tells me to catch 5 before clicking.
I only pleasure fish these days and have no limitations on when I can feed, I feed as soon as I sit down and all the time I spend getting ready I constantly trickle bait in, caster or pellet. Feeding allows the fish to settle and I rarely suffer the one cast anomaly.