Sttttrrrreeettttcccchhhiiiinnng It

According to Mark some anglers seem to have lost count of the number of big fish they've caught over the years, citing examples of some 2lb-plus roach catches that have grown over time.

But before we condemn any of the anglers mentioned let's bear in mind that some of them may have suffered from an over-enthusiastic editor's pen, or may genuinely have forgotten what they've caught.

Certainly it's true that as you get older the big fish tally becomes less important and different values get priority.

From my own point of view there was a time when I counted the number of double figure bream I'd caught, but when it topped well over 100 I did genuinely lose count and today I don't know, or care, what that figure is.

Very interesting. As I am in the Chub Study Group I keep a record of all of my decent chub. As I had caught three weighing over 5lb before I joined I know exactly how many 'fives' I have caught. If I was not in the CSG I would have stopped weighing 'fives' years ago and only weighed chub which were potential 'sixes'. If this were the case I wonder how many 'fives' my guess would be and how accurate? I have no idea how many 2lb roach I have caught, even though it is far less than the number of 5lb chub. I think this would be the case with most anglers and most species. There is no need to keep such records unless you specialise in a certain species or are a member of a group specialising in a species. Even then you would need to know how many you had caught before you joined. The numbers are not important to most of us. On the other hand p.b.'s are very important to specialist anglers as they give a target to aim for. I know all of mine and try to beat at least one each season, although the enjoyment of catching the fish is far more important than the weight. This gets harder as time goes by and the p.b.'s get bigger. If I did not have these 'targets' I would still enjoy fishing just for the enjoyment of it. I agree with Graham that the anglers mentioned should not be condemned as I doubt if the totals mentioned were that important to them.

Great article (as usual) very true comments.I stopped recording double figure bream at fifty and treble figure cats at around the same mark as well.The reason as Mark says is that I no longer can be bothered! it just dont matter to me any more.
With the cats i much prefer to unhook them in the water saving both my self and them a lot of grief.Dont get me wrong if I think it is something special (to me,and that is all that really matters)I endevour to weigh and record it as accurately as possible.

The one thing I dont do and disagree with others doing who also have stopped recording is claiming numbers of certain size fish caught.Guessing is wrong when stated as fact.

I've also stopped counting big roach. If you find the right water you can catch a lot of them!
I fish a water where there used to be a massive amount of big roach. Sadly it is history, as many of the big pike were killed and the roach-population exploded.
I one morning, myself and a friend had 40 (yes, forty!), roach between 1,0 and 1,4 kilos (around 2,2 lbs to 3,1 lbs)...and that was only a little more than average when fishing the lake.

Budgie,
I agree that guessing is wrong. You can be way out even if you have caught a lot of fish over a certain weight. I caught two roach that I would have sworn were both 'two's' a few weeks ago. They were both caught on double lobworm on a size 4 hook and weighed 1lb 12oz and 1lb 14oz. They looked just as big as the 2lb plus roach I was catching last season.

I think you do lose count of larger fish, I used to record all the carp I caught, particularly doubles and twenties, since fishing abroad however I have genuinly lost count of the twenties, I still photograph most of them though, but don`t always weigh them. I still record 30s and above though. I have plenty of slides of larger fish but couldnt always say what size they are?

I must admit to not knowing how many Roach over 2, Perch over 3, Tench over 8 and bream over 10 I've had. But that doesn't mean I'm not happy to see fish of that size grace my net.

A couple of weeks ago a well know angler told me he had had a couple of small chub the night before. I asked how big and he said 5-5 and 5-14. "That not small" I said to which he replied "but they weren't sixes"
Said anglers pb is 6-9 whilst mine is 7-13 but I am still pleased to catch 5's and every chub gets treated with respect. When fishing becomes completely about numbers then it's time to take up darts or snooker !!

I must confess that I know exactly how many Roach over 2lb, Perch over 3, Tench over 8 and Bream over 10 I've has - NONE!!!

I look forward to the days when I can start to fill in those blanks but in the meantime any fish that puts a bend in my rod is a delight and any fish that puts a large bend in it is a bonus.

Wish I'd caught enough 20s to lose count.

try France and Canada Chris, three of us took 17 thirties one week mate, crazy fishing!

If I land a decent size fish I would weigh them but I can't see the point after time after time. I would rather make a guess to let the fish suffer long enough out of the water. Sometime use a tape measure to measure the fish and when I get home, I look in the old Anglers Mail "the Monas scale" which roughly give the size of the weight.

At my age I tend to remember not the biggest fish, but the fish that gave me most pleasure.

I'll never forget my first tench, it weighed 1 3/4 lbs at the age of 11.

I remeber the old guy who weighed it for me one a spring balance that must have cost him a lot of money then.

I remember my first rudd, taken from a small private lake near Worksop. I will never forget those colours. It weighed I guess 1 1/2 lbs.

I rember so clearly catching a wild brown trout of 4lb 3oz in a Southern Freestate on a nymph. The best trout I have ever taken in my life.

My first Yorkshire barbel weighed just over 31/2 lbs, taken on trotted lob on the Ure.

All the rest seem to pale into insignificance compared with these captures.

All good posts here,nice to see so many out there have got a grip on their fishing.The merits of all captures are relative.

My first ever double figure carp meant far more to me than my 5th or 6th 30,do you see what I mean?

I doubt that even when(if?)I ever catch a 200lb Catfish it will have the same effect on me as my first one from Spain.

Just two of many examples.

Ron says it all in his post.Is it an age thing or just that when you get to a certain stage in your fishing brought about by achievment that you start thinking like this?

Even though angling achievments are no doubt "quantified"/measured(?)by our peers and history their only real value is to us our selves.

Well summed up by most of you.

I always say that I fish for my pleasure, not for other peoples.
The only reason I started photographing and weighing fish again, was for piccies to accompany my articles, otherwise I still wouldn't be bothering.
Only one other person knows my carp PB and that is my ex-wife and she probably wasn't listening when I told her anyway.

I no longer bother photographing my fish, just can't be arsed carrying the extra weight of a camera in my bag. And I’ve got hundreds of photos/slides of trophy shots of the species I fish for anyway. I really don't need any more. Do I regret not taking a picture of personal beasts that I catch these days? Not really! Over the last 12 months I've had some good chub that have raise my PB, but never once have I thought about not having a print to show myself or anybody else for that matter.
I'm now happy in my own knowledge that I caught, weighed the fish correctly and returned safely to where it came from. Do I give a crap about whether anybody throws doubt on what I say I've caught? Again not really!

I fish to please me and no one else, and deluding yourself that a fish was 1 ounce bigger than it was really, doesn't work, does it? Because you know that fish was XXXX .15 not Ylbs.

It’s funny this thread has come up, as I was talking to a guy 2 weeks ago on the Ribble about the same thing regarding Chub. We got round to chub over 5 lbs and the way some anglers guess the weight at 5+ without weighing them. I said to him the amount of upper 4 I’ve had run into the 30s. Like 4.12,13,14,15. Sod me, the one fish I had that session after talking to him, looked like it might just scrap 5, but went 4.14. when weighed.

As I passed on my way back to the car, he asked how I’d done? I said another 5 by sight but the scale reality said 4.14. He laughed and said well another one of those fish for that nearly list then?

Anybody know how to stop fish farting as they come in?

Andy,
I can't understand people like the guy you describle. Like you I have caught bigger fish than him but still get a lot of pleasure from catching smaller ones. I will be popping out for a few hours tomorrow afternoon/evening. Although I am always hopeful of catching a 'biggie' I will be more than happy if I catch a couple of four pound chub. You mention taking up darts or snooker when numbers become too important. Good point. I fish for pleasure and play darts for my competitive streak. Fishing should always be enjoyable.

Eventually you will get to a point in your anging career where it's not a question of what is caught, but HOW it was caught.

**** Walker, who probably started the whole idea of specimen hunting, sent me a letter, when I lived in South Africa, many years ago about how he had a great day fishing for dace on a little river in Hertfordshire. He went down there with a match rod and no bait at all.

He turned over some stones and caught a few caddis grubs. He baited a hook with a single grub and weighted it with a swan shot.

By dropping the caddis grub into runs between the streamer weed, he caught 6 dace up to about 10 oz at a guess. He enjoyed the experience immensely because in winter, with the river up and coloured you can catch 30 dace or so by long trotting.

When I first fished Walker's stretch of the upper Ouse I caught several good chub one evening by fishing into the night.

Walker came down the next day. I told him what I had caught. He told me that anyone can catch chub on the shallows at night.

However try catching them in daylight by stalking them and crawling on your stomach and sweating and being bitten by clegs.

Catch one like that and you can really congratulate yourself. You have done it the hard way but in doing so will will have probably learned more about chub behavior than chucking out a bait blind.

I have never forgotten Walker's teachings. The size of the fish does not matter. What does matter is the pleasure you get in overcoming the problems in catching the fish; and the more difficult the problems, the greater the pleasure you experience when you do.

This is why I do not have to fish "going waters" to get the maximum amount of pleasure from my fishing.

Ron,

my attitude is that the size of the fish is one factor in enjoying your fishing rather than being all important or of no importance. I tend to fish only for big fish but at the same time I do not like fishing in crowds, I hate commercial fisheries prefering to fish for "wild" fish and I tend to fish within 40 miles of home.

However, I do not see any "merit" in deliberately making life difficult for yourself like say trying to catch big bream only in daylight.

Fishing should be about doing what you enjoy doing as long as it doesn't lead to harm to the fish. Goodness help us if we we end up subject to the political correctness that already pervades some aspects of fishing.

When I get out the float rod and pin I do so because I want to, usually because in the circumstances it will be the best method, not because I ought to use such erstwhile methods.

Many of those I see fishing these days seem to have lost sight of what it is that the love about fishing. The man you should be envious of is not the one who catches the most or the biggest but the one who is content with his lot.

I am still pondering the dichotomy... if Walker really thought size unimportant then why did he fish Arlesley and Redmire ?

For my part i'll continue to enjoy catching any fish but what really gets me exited is the ever present chance of catching large fish like the brace of six pound chub I had in the early hours of yesterday morning

Congratulations Andy!

Ron
I think I like the great man's comments. I love doing the creepy crawly stuff during the day but can't seem to get the hang of fishing in the dark.