The All-Round Angler!

dezza · Dec 21, 2009

Where is he these days?

Way back when it was quite normal for anglers throughout the year to fish for all species, including salt water fish, my season, beginning in June, started off with tench. Then I might have fished for bream or rudd. Autumn to me in the old days was barbel time and as October approached we would look forward to pike or roach fishing. Serious chub fishing never started until January and the back end was spent with roach or pike or even dace.

All this was interspersed with trips out at sea for cod or bass.

But there was something special about springtime. Time to be out after trout with the fly rod of course as the buds developed on the trees.

Angling was a magic year, always something to look forward to. And whilst I am able I will do it again; I will remain an all-round angler. Roach over the next couple of month, then it will be trout with the fly in ernest.

And I've just learned that I will be going to the antipodes again, this time in springtime, September and October.

And New Zealand ahoy.

But the way I see it, the great all round angler, as exemplified by Mr Crabtree is no more.

What do you think?

Graham Marsden · Dec 21, 2009

Most things like this are in the process of evolution - what goes around comes around - and whilst right now more anglers are specialising in a single discipline, or even a single species or two, I think in a few years time the majority will be fishing with more variety and so the process will start again.

geoffmaynard · Dec 21, 2009

I'll bet there are just as many on this forum as there are single discipline/species guys.

dezza · Dec 21, 2009

geoffmaynard said:
I'll bet there are just as many on this forum as there are single discipline/species guys.

Let's hear from them then.

Mark Wintle · Dec 21, 2009

In 2009:
Started the year chub and grayling fishing - cold low rivers, then moved on to roach when conditions improved.
Ended the coarse season with a nice tench (6lbs)
Then in the spring fished for bass, mullet, mackerel - also tench, crucians, roach and perch.
Mid summer - dace, chub then more mullet and roach.
Early Autumn fished for perch and pike, then grayling and roach.
Lately, more grayling, roach and dace.
Also had during year around 100 brown and seatrout, and fished for carp, barbel and bream.

Wobbly Face (As Per Ed) · Dec 21, 2009

I would consider myself as as an alrounder. Don't do much in the seafishing category but my year is always after the trout early spring, tench, crusians etc in summer months still with trips after trout then pack fly rods away end September then fish for roach and perch leading to pike, ending with chub fishing as the lakes and ponds freeze over.

Michael Townsend 3 · Dec 21, 2009

January to March

Had a few 2lb grayling, roach to 2.13, perch to 3.13, chub over 5lbs from river and canal

April to June

Caught roach to 2.14 on the float, rudd over 2lbs, bream over 11, tench over 8

June to September

Scored over 600 runs and took over 40 wickets ( injury prevented more )

August to October

Started golfing again after a 15 year break. My handicap is coming down fast at 7.8 and I can get round most courses in the mid to high 70s

I'm an all rounder at cricket!

The Scarlet Maggot · Dec 21, 2009

Spring: Id, Pike
Summer: Tench, Crucian Carp whilst avoiding bream
Autum: Bream, Rudd. Asp and Perch
Winter: Burbot, Pike, Perch and Zander

geoffmaynard · Dec 21, 2009

Last winter, zeds to 8lb, pike to 10, perch to 3.10 roach to 1.14, chub to 4lb on lures
Spring carp to 26 on bait and to 19 on fly, rainbows to 8lb.
I missed my annual trip black bream fishing and went to Florida: Redfish to 8lb and speckled seatrouts on the fly.
Summer: spanish catfish to 150, carp to 36, Crucians to 3.3, tench to 6.8
Autumn barbels to 8.1/2 and a ruffe! Oregon salmon to 18 and Columbia sturgeons to 465lb.

Philip · Dec 21, 2009

Outside Carp I would actually say that true single species anglers are in the minority and even the hardcore Carpers often turn their hand (sometimes very successfully) to other species in the slower months. Many anglers may have a favourtie species which they concentrate on but they will also try their hand at other disciplines…

I consider myself first and foremost a coarse fisherman but I have done a bit of sea and trout fishing, this was generally during the old close season as 3 months without fishing was, well, too much to bear. I have some very happy memories of fishing off Brighton Marina and Dungeness for Flatties and being tossed around on 36 foot boats in the middle of the channel after Cod …so sick I could not even reel in…but I kept going back and still do a bit of both today.

I think Graham is right, we are going to see a swing…people are going to start fishing for lots of thing again. At the same time I think we are also going to see some other species come under the intense spotlight as Carp and now Barbel have done. Which next ? ….I would say Pike could be a possible for next in line and judging by the interest in anything Roach on this forum I think they may not be far behind…

dezza · Dec 22, 2009

I would love to see roach returned back to where they rightly belong, at the top of the angling list of desirable fishes.

The problem with roach is that they are of a size that are easily predated on by cormorants. But quite honestly there is nothing in all angling as impressive as a large roach coming over the landing net caught deliberately with skill and fine appropriate tackle.

Peter Jacobs · Dec 22, 2009

Ron The Hat Clay said:
But quite honestly there is nothing in all angling as impressive as a large roach coming over the landing net caught deliberately with skill and fine appropriate tackle.

I couldn't agree more!

"Estimating importance by popularity we may say this red-finned, silver scaled fish is the most important we have in freshwater"

H.T. Sheringham
Coarse Fishing 1912.

dezza · Dec 22, 2009

Peter Jacobs said:
I couldn't agree more!

"Estimating importance by popularity we may say this red-finned, silver scaled fish is the most important we have in freshwater"

H.T. Sheringham
Coarse Fishing 1912.

And it doesn't have to be a 2 pounder either.

Ask yourself, just how many roach over ONE POUND do people catch regularly?

I am always pleased to catch a one pound roach make no mistake about that.

Graham Whatmore · Dec 22, 2009

The perfect "all round" angler I know is Deanos, it describes him to a tee

Sean Meeghan · Dec 22, 2009

Species in my log this year:

Perch, pike, barbel, bream, carp, roach, dace, crucian carp, rudd, chub, gudgeon, ruffe, brown trout, rainbow trout, blue trout, mackerel, whiting, gurnard (tub and red), dogfish, bull huss, dab, cod (plus a sardine that it coughed up).

Notable failures: tope, bass, smooth hound zander

I just like catching fish!

Colin North the one and only · Dec 22, 2009

I think I have tried everything over the years, apart from big game fishing. Because of my particular disability, I reckon I might struggle a bit with big game, but that would not stop me from trying, if the opportunity arose.

Keith M · Dec 22, 2009

I may not do much sea angling these days and I have 'Favourite species' and overall I would not class myself as being an all rounder but not far from it.

In May and June Tench are my main quarry with stalking Carp a close second.

July and August find me chasing Rudd or Crucians or stalking Carp on an estate lake, or Gravel-pit Tenching or Barbeling.

September to November and it's time for concentrating on my main love the Barbel on smaller streams & rivers or trotting for quality Roach on the pin.

December to February larger Roach, Chub and Perch are my quarry at this time of year with the odd Pike session thrown in and if I am really lucky the odd trip out after Grayling.

March and April? well the rivers are closed so at this time of year I am trying to get my tackle cleaned and sorted ready for the coming year; interspersed with the odd session after Carp or the odd day on the local Canal After Chub and Perch.

In a short while I will be being shown how to cast a fly so I might also be becoming a fluff chucker soon.

noknot · Dec 22, 2009

I've had a go at all aspects really over ny 38 years of trying to catch a fish, Ok I am a baby compared to the likes of Ron and ****, even so I have managed to catch what I targeted over the years, and even fluff chucking in the old colse season, I actually started sea fishing when I was 11 years old! This all changed for me in the early 80's, a guy said " you want to see a Carp"?

The rest is history for me, OK I would love to go after Roach and Chub, as I love them, Tench hold a special place in my heart also, stunning fish, and great fight on light gear, but for me the black backed scaley monsters do it every time! Please don't get me wrong, as I love to see a spiecis caught, and I respect the captors, but lovely old Carp rock my boat!

Go and do and catch what you enjoy for yourself, that is true angling to me.

Lord Paul of Sheffield · Dec 22, 2009

Ron The Hat Clay said:
I would love to see roach returned back to where they rightly belong, at the top of the angling list of desirable fishes.

The problem with roach is that they are of a size that are easily predated on by cormorants. But quite honestly there is nothing in all angling as impressive as a large roach coming over the landing net caught deliberately with skill and fine appropriate tackle.

Ron

Where raoch so popular because they are easy to catch?

dezza · Dec 22, 2009

No, not if we are referring to big roach.

Small roach, where they are in abundance, are one of the easiest of all species to catch. Once a roach has been around for a few few years it develops an intense sense of what is secure for it.

You do not catch big roach with crude tactics or by wearing bright clothes like the matchmen do.

You catch big roach by hiding in amongst the bankside herbage, using fine and correctly balanced tackle, and fishing up to food holding structure.

As I have said, forget what the matchmen tell you. Catching 250 roach for 20 lbs is NOT quality roach fishing. Catching 10 roach for 9 pounds IS!

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