Controlled impatience

From another thread:
"I tend to be patient when I ought to be trying something different, and ringing the changes when I ought to sit it out."

How do the ten per cent of anglers who catch ninety per cent of the fish work out when to change tactics/location, without the nagging thought that they're about to snatch the bait from the lips of an advancing monster?

Especially at this time of year, when "very little and not very often" seems to be the key to feeding?

I fall into both camps but rarely at the right times. I tend to be the patient type sticking with the plan i started with which was probably decided upon the day before. At this time of year when it is cold i can barely summon the enthusiasm and dexterity to ring the changes!

Good question Alan

I think for me it's when I'm not getting the response that I would normally get on a particular method, on a particular water and given the variables such as low temperature and additional length of time that might be required for it to work.

There's no black or white answer though.

I will often return to an earlier method especially if plan b doesn't work and/or I've put some feed in a different area.

I think this is where the really top matchman excel, some seem to have a sixth sense but I've little doubt that it comes down to some combination of experience and a strategy gleaned from it over the years.

I have just added my pennyworth to a Mr Crabtree thread...'Think about what you're going to do' etc etc.

As far as I'm concerned I never go out without some sort of plan in my head, having give thought to prevailing conditions and suchlike before leave the house. All other things being equal, I set out to fish one of 2/3 swims ( depending on said factors) in a certain fashion, BUT this may need adjusting on arrival. I will take a choice of bait to suit..
My OWN opinion is I see little point in doing otherwise, unless you are one of the 'chuck it and chance it' brigade. I TRY to give myself the best chance..

On Saturday last I went out and found the still water frozen; Choice: break ice and fish or go home. Not what I expected on this water and unusual, but in my head I thought " Is it possible to break the ice and catch fish"? and this is what I did. If I managed to catch even one small roach in a very low water temperature, it would improve my knowledge of the water, give me another option at other times (AND prove to myself it could be done!). I knew it was probably a lost cause from the off..

As it happens I didn't catch, but I didn't see it as a waste of time; I was able to take water temperatures etc. but more importantly I had the 'controlled patience' to sit it out trying every tactic I know, even if it did turn into a blank session. I did try all sorts of approaches and changed hook size etc. and because it was a day of poor fishing conditions I did this more that I might normally do. One of trying anything which might produce a fish, something unusual, a bit different - much like a matchman might do in searching for a single fish. I did not sit on my hands!!

I'm bound to day I did think of a warm house from time to time!


ps Whoever came up with 'patience is a virtue' had it about right, I think.............

I fall into the camp of the impatient angler more hunting, stalking than sit and wait. I never really set out with a plan apart from the swim I will be starting in. Even that will change when I get there and find the weather as changed.
An hour or less in one spot with out a bite is normally enough for me before I will move on.

Alan Tyler said:

....How do the ten per cent of anglers who catch ninety per cent of the fish work out when to change tactics/location, without the nagging thought that they're about to snatch the bait from the lips of an advancing monster?....

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From earlier experience - go fishing with a mate!

When he's catching - and you are not! - then a helpful word or two from him may confirm that you are doing the right thing - or give a hint that you may need to improve your presentation/technique! e.g. "Hold back a bit more - just THERE! "

OR the look you give each other that says "this is useless - it's time to change swim!" - then it's not just my fault when we blank - there is after all - something far more satisfying when both of you blank! mg:

Alan Tyler said:

From another thread:

How do the ten per cent of anglers who catch ninety per cent of the fish work out when to change tactics/location, without the nagging thought that they're about to snatch the bait from the lips of an advancing monster?

Especially at this time of year, when "very little and not very often" seems to be the key to feeding?

Click to expand...

I think those ten percent have got a system that works well for them and the others could well be sitting out a session where they may have well stayed at home. That's the danger of patience.

Yesterday I had a session on a small club river which was very busy due to the warm weather and the recent rains. The chap below me was running a centrepin through well but was rarely feeding so was not getting the chub a cast that I would expect from his swim in those conditions. Worse was the guy above who was legering and feeding well except he was in summer mode as the regular plop of donkey choker pellets entering the water indicated, he caught nothing by the time I left my swim whereas I had plenty of roach, dace and a good chub to keep me busy.

Heading up river to one of the good chub swims I am greeted by two bailiffs who had packed up having caught nothing, settling in the first vacated swim they were well out of sight by the time my first run through bought a good chub followed by a fish a cast - the last thing you want to see in a swim you've just vacated. I ended having a great day so I packed up after getting a nice barbel but all the time I was asking myself what the heck those guys were doing to blank in this swim???? On the way back some of the guys I saw earlier were still sitting there fishless.

I think you're better off changing tactics or relocating as the odds of you actually moving your bait away from a feeding fish are very slim. After all you have been sitting there without a touch all day. Mind you i've got the patience of a four year old so am always on the go

Used to be a mover but now I am definitely a stick it outer but not for angling reasons on rivers my approach depended on whether it was a large or a small river large would normally see me looking for boils or creases on the surface indicating underwater features but if none of those produced I often changed where I was fishing the swim only going back to the original area to see if anything had moved in.

Small rivers were completely different with a much quieter approach looking around settling in to the swim feed and wait as I knew the fish in that stretch were movers themselves and would more often than not come across my feed.

I suppose that for me moving is not a choice I have now which forces me to try other things/places in the swim I am in but that doesn't stop me eyeing up other bits but I often found the grass wasn't always greener.

theartist said:

all the time I was asking myself what the heck those guys were doing to blank in this swim???? On the way back some of the guys I saw earlier were still sitting there fishless.

I)

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Probably standing up above the skyline or bombarding with those donkey chokers you mention.

What is controlled impotence? Oh I see now, must get some new specs

I think I suffer from uncontrolled impatience.

If I'm not catching I tend to go into a kind of overdrive where I want to try everything else at once, and end up catching nowt. mg:

thecrow said:

What is controlled impotence? Oh I see now, must get some new specs

Click to expand...

Controlled impotence is the the reason for all the blanks

What a good thread.

It's not easy to move when it's cold, particularly when it may mean trying another river, or lake. Also the days are short at this time of year.

When I have more time (several days in the week available) I'll be more adventurous and move. But if time is short I'll stick to the original plan, stay put and try a different method, or approach.

Controlled impatience is a good thing in any angler, in my humble view.