The most skillful form of angling

dezza · Aug 28, 2009

Think carefully about this one.

Which do you say is the single most skillful form of freshwater angling?

I list three methods which are in my opinion equal to each other.

1: Lure fishing for pike using slow sinking lures or artificials where one has to fish at a certain speed, depth and location.

2: Long trotting a stick float or a waggler for roach on a largish river where depth is vital and the rate of feeding paramount to success.

3: Fly fishing in still water using a floating line with sunken flies where accurate casting and fishing at the right depth is vital, especially to fish that are taking midge pupa rising to eclode on the surface.

In all the above methods you will notice that you are not fishing in 2 dimensions you are fishing in three. You are also on the move, actively hunting
the fish.

Trapping using a static bait doesn't come into it.

OK those are my three methods, what about you?

Stealph Viper · Aug 28, 2009

Stalking Fish in the Margins, baiting the swims, watching your intended quarry, deciding when to put your Static bait in to the swim and then waiting patiently as you see the fish take in your bait.

Floater Fishing for Carp off the top of the water, finding your intended quarry, firing bait out to them and having the patience to wait until they are really on the feed, casting your bait out over there heads and then slowly bringing it back in amongst the feeding fish without spooking them and waiting till they slurp your bait in to there wide open mouths and not striking until the line has tensioned.

Sean Meeghan · Aug 28, 2009

Personally Ron I find all 3 of the techniques you listed a bit samey and boring after a while (and I'd claim some competence at all 3 of them).

The most skillful method is as Stealph implies, presenting a bait to a visible fish and catching it. This is a totally free-form style of angling and is hunting in its purest form. The problem with your '3 techniques' is that you can pretend you know what you're doing once you've mastered the technicalities.

Chris Season32 · Aug 28, 2009

Stalking individual fish by any method also for me represents the biggest challenge and reward, but I feel catching fish 'on the drop' in stillwater should also get a mention.

slime monster · Aug 28, 2009

Match fishing ,getting consistant good results On a spectrum of methods from any water at a peg picked from a hat.

Fly Fishing for Sea Trout at night

dezza · Aug 28, 2009

Sean Meeghan said:
Personally Ron I find all 3 of the techniques you listed a bit samey and boring after a while (and I'd claim some competence at all 3 of them).

The most skillful method is as Stealph implies, presenting a bait to a visible fish and catching it. This is a totally free-form style of angling and is hunting in its purest form. The problem with your '3 techniques' is that you can pretend you know what you're doing once you've mastered the technicalities.

And I've done plenty of that in my life, especially after chub in small streams.

So let's take it one stage further, instead of a bait, we use an artificial of some kind or another. I have certainly caught trout, including some big ones by stalking and in some cases just lowering a nymph into the water.

---------- Post added at 13:26 ---------- Previous post was at 13:24 ----------

slime monster said:
Match fishing ,getting consistant good results On a spectrum of methods from any water at a peg picked from a hat.

Fly Fishing for Sea Trout at night

Slimey, we are looking for one specific method. Match fishing incorporates a whole host of methods.

Stealph Viper · Aug 28, 2009

Plastic Floating Dog Biscuits = Floater Fishing

Plastic Fake Corn = Stalking

Still doesn't distract from the skill of locating the fish and presenting them with a bait.

slime monster · Aug 28, 2009

Point taken Ron,..then inching an overdepth over shotted stick float down a river would be my choice

Ray Daywalker Clarke · Aug 28, 2009

At the moment, getting time to go fishing has to be the most difficult,,,,,

.

Think about it Ron said, well, the method you are using at any given time. Catching fish on any method can be difficult, but if you get it right, then that method becomes easy.

dezza · Aug 28, 2009

Ray Daywalker Clarke said:
At the moment, getting time to go fishing has to be the most difficult,,,,,.

Think about it Ron said, well, the method you are using at any given time. Catching fish on any method can be difficult, but if you get it right, then that method becomes easy.

Yes but Ray there is a whole lot of difference between casting a bait to a visual fish and casting out a bolt rig and waiting until a fish hooks itself, which if you wait long enough, will inevitably happen.

But basically we are getting somewhere.

Ray Daywalker Clarke · Aug 28, 2009

Ron,

I agree with you to a point.

But how often do we have any two days fishing them same???

Stick float fishing one day, you may have a good day, a few days later you don't get a thing, so what is the most difficult between them??.

You can apply the same to all methods of fishing, all method's are hard going when your not catching fish, but easy when you are. There is no doubt that some methods need more work than others, sitting behind alarms isn't one of them.

Now seeing a fish on the surface and catching it is great, but is that more difficult than baiting a swim at 60 yards and catching Tench on a bolt rig ??

slime monster · Aug 28, 2009

Ray Daywalker Clarke said:
But how often do we have any two days fishing them same???

And that Ron is why I put down Match fishing,Adapting ones skills to get results

Derek Gibson · Aug 28, 2009

It cannot be denied that stalking carp is a most exciting way to fish. Although it's over twenty years since I last did any it's still vivid in my memory. In fact I spent eight years during the summer period doing just that. Stalking and catching carp, interspersed with chub and barbel fishing, so I am no stranger to the method.

Nowadays I concentrate on lure fishing for pike. And as Sean puts it ''presenting a bait to a visible fish and catching it'' which is the name of my game whenever possible. And I claim some competance also, and don't find it ''samey and boring''.

As regards mastering technicalities, then pretending you know what you're doing can be applied to almost any method of angling.

Sorry Sean, but I think you're full of it mate, (in the nicest possible way of course).

Philip · Aug 28, 2009

This question has come up a few times...usually from Ron and he gets on his fishing in 3 dimensions hobby horse and slags off anything and everything to do with fishing the lead for Carp...Personally I discount any form of fly fishing as its generally for Trout which are amongst the stupidest fish and require little skill to catch.

To be fair he has a point on the 3 dimensions thing...but with regards to something like stalking or were you can visually see the quarry this got me thinking as its often suggested as the most skillful and I also regard it as a skilful technique, however...

..surely when you can actually see the fish you are at an advantage as you can adjust your approach based on what you physically see. On the other hand when you are casting out your 4oz lead into the depths and you cant see whats going on but you still catch then the fact your fishing blind could suggest your actually fishing MORE skillfully in order to be successful. Plus you could argue that fishing a bolt rigged pop up is also fishing in 3 dimensions.

For the record my 3 would be trotting over depth as slime monster suggets, freelining in a current and targeting a specific fish in a water which although not a technique requires skill(s) in its own right.

Lord Paul of Sheffield · Aug 29, 2009

Most skillfull form of fishing - getting Ron to bite

I've spent hours carefully baiting swims I know Ron is in to have him turn is nose up at the best bait .

but I ahve landed him on 2 occassions on the old FM - still awaiting for my 1st bite on the New FM

klik2change · Aug 29, 2009

Lord Paul of Sheffield said:
Most skillfull form of fishing - getting Ron to bite I've spent hours carefully baiting swims I know Ron is in to have him turn is nose up at the best bait . but I ahve landed him on 2 occassions on the old FM - still awaiting for my 1st bite on the New FM __________________ I've touched it, I've felt it and it felt a bit like velvet, PaSC;,

It only counts if he realised he was caught!

Rickrod · Aug 29, 2009

For me it would be lure fishing, casting your lures under overhanging trees ,next to snags,not getting your lure caught on the bottom not getting overruns ,which lure to use ,what colour lure,how deep ,how big a lure and also when you get a pike that keeps on following your lure but wont take your lure you have to try and squeeze that bit more skill out of yourself to find a trick that will put the fish on the bank

dezza · Aug 29, 2009

Philip said:
This question has come up a few times...usually from Ron and he gets on his fishing in 3 dimensions hobby horse and slags off anything and everything to do with fishing the lead for Carp...Personally I discount any form of fly fishing as its generally for Trout which are amongst the stupidest fish and require little skill to catch.

To be fair he has a point on the 3 dimensions thing...but with regards to something like stalking or were you can visually see the quarry this got me thinking as its often suggested as the most skillful and I also regard it as a skilful technique, however...

..surely when you can actually see the fish you are at an advantage as you can adjust your approach based on what you physically see. On the other hand when you are casting out your 4oz lead into the depths and you cant see whats going on but you still catch then the fact your fishing blind could suggest your actually fishing MORE skillfully in order to be successful. Plus you could argue that fishing a bolt rigged pop up is also fishing in 3 dimensions.

For the record my 3 would be trotting over depth as slime monster suggets, freelining in a current and targeting a specific fish in a water which although not a technique requires skill(s) in its own right.

One thing I have learned in over 60 years of angling is that people who make pronouncements like "Trout are amongst the stupidest fish and require little skill to catch", must have done very little trout fishing!

Personally I would never make such a statement on any species of fish, well maybe with the exception of gudgeon.

Stealph Viper · Aug 29, 2009

Ron The Hat Clay said:
Personally I would never make such a statement on any species of fish, well maybe with the exception of gudgeon.

See my way of thinking is, Gudgeon are less stupid than Trout or Pike.
Why? Let me explain.
When flicking your fly across a water or casting your Lure into the water, how many times does it come back with a Gudgeon on it? I should imagine very very very rarely, now compare that with how many times you catch a Trout or a Pike :wh

Derek Gibson · Aug 29, 2009

Stealph Viper said:
See my way of thinking is, Gudgeon are less stupid than Trout or Pike.
Why? Let me explain.
When flicking your fly across a water or casting your Lure into the water, how many times does it come back with a Gudgeon on it? I should imagine very very very rarely, now compare that with how many times you catch a Trout or a Pike :wh

Ah, the wisdom of Solomon. In over fifty years of fishing I'd never considered that, and neither had Ron.

Stealph, you raging plonker, made me laugh though.........................

The most skillful form of angling

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