Is carp fishing boring?

[S-Kippy]

There is carp fishing and there is carp fishing. I've spent years trying to avoid the things and I've no desire to haul out hundreds of pounds of 5-6-7-8 lb carp week after week. I've done it....but the novelty soon wore off. Likewise I've no desire to sit spend days waiting for 1/2 runs from great big lumps.

I'm currently having a bit of a carp dabble on a fairly easy "runs" water where the fish average mid to upper double figures with a good chance of a 20+. In a short 5 hour evening I can reasonably expect 4-6 fish so something is happening fairly regularly. That ( currently) i don't find boring because it's new to me but I suspect the novelty will soon wear off.

I certainly couldn't do it to the exclusion of everything else but I am beginning to at least understand why some people do. For the moment it's presenting me with a different challenge and that I do like as I can easily get stuck in a rut fishing wise. A couple more trips and I'll have had enough I think....then I will want to try something else and for the first time ever I now have the time to do that.

Carp ( or any other sort of fishing) is only boring if you let it be .

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

Myself and a couple of mates were musing on this very question, and a point was raised by one of the party who'd recently got an invite from his next door neighbour to go and fish a big water in france for big fish.

So, what his eyes were really opened to was the preparation of the swim. On arrival, they spent a couple of hours going round the lake before any swims were selected. And then once they had been selected, the marker rods were out and each swim was mapped (and at that stage, a couple of the group decided they didn't fancy what was in front of them and moved). After that, bait was applied, in varying amounts and types dependent on the lake bed... and after that (4 or 5 hours after arrival) the rods were cast.

Then there was a race against the light to get the bivvies up and the evening meal done. First fish came in a spell at first light, most of the rods had a bite though only a couple were landed. Most of them then brought their lines in and started thinking about swim preparation and getting traps set late afternoon.

The point he made was that there never seemed to be enough time in the day to get everything done! They weren't getting loads of bites, but enough so that it kept everyone on their toes.... also, the group of 4 of them were fishing close enough so that they could help each other out with landing, weighing and photos. He came back from it saying he'd never been so knackered! And also had a totally different perspective on what was involved in that kind of fishing session. He also had at least one 30lb fish and some really stunning photos to accompany it.

I'm also pleased to say that we took said next door neighbour down to the Wye this June, which he really seemed to enjoy, he found the lack of kit required novel to say the least! But what was also interesting was that he got stuck right in to it, roving banks and moving to get on to fish, and also being the first up in the morning and last back to the digs in the evening.

That I suppose is a long way of saying don't judge a book by it's cover. Let's not forget, most of the general public who spend 3 minutes walking past a fisherman (without seeing him move) will likely say "I don't know how he can just sit there all day doing nothing".... without realising that the angler in question has shaking hands and a pounding heart because his float or tip just moved a fraction.

 

[nottskev]

Hi Jim, that's a great description of the side of carp-angling we don't always see as lookers-on. It's true that the uninvolved often can't imagine the experience of the involved – I've been told chess must be really boring “because you just sit there”. Confusing action with interest isn't uncommon, and I've had to sit through hyperactive films based around car-chases, fights and shoot-outs that left me cold.

That said, the guys you describe were on an all-out mission on a strange water. I do wonder a bit how guys pass the time on more mundane waters. I sometimes pole-fish or feeder a local carp water for other species, and while I and others like me are poised for the flicker of a float or tip, some of the anglers mooching around their bivvies do look as though they're waiting for a bus. Maybe they are playing chess with their quarry.

Still, the two kinds of fishing obviously have different rhythms, and I guess for participants each provides the absorption that takes us out of everyday life. I first noticed years ago how fishing takes you out of time, in some ways. You look down the bank or towpath and see a walker a long way off. You turn back to your float, and in no time flat the walker is going past you. Fishing for me is one of only a few things in life where you're so absorbed you don't notice time pass, and I suppose that must be happening even for chess-players and carp-anglers.

 

[sam vimes]

Jim's post is spot on. I'd also add an additional aspect that many onlookers disregard. There's a chance that the daysleeping bivvy dweller, that you might scorn for sleeping all day, may just have been up half the night landing a fish or two.

There are undoubtedly carpers out there that just pitch up, plonk down, "pub" chuck and hope for the best. Others arrive at a venue, even a familiar one, spend hours wandering round trying to find fish and then spend hours preparing to actually fish. Even the former may not be quite the "chuck and chance" types that they may seem. There's a chance that they've done their preparation well in advance and don't need to do the leg work on the day(s) of fishing.

 

[fishplate42]

Thanks for all the replies. I did not mean to imply that carp fishing is boring. Maybe my clumsy heading should have read:

"What do you do while waiting for a bite when carp fishing?"

As I said, I have never done it myself and I was curious. From a casual glance it looked to me as if it was just sitting around waiting for something to happen, or not. I realise now there is much more to it. I now see why carp guys like to use multiple rods. For me, this type of fishing would be much more fun if done as part of a group. I don't think I would want to sit on the bank for hours on end without someone to pass the time with, but that is just me.

It is true that someone's (my) analysis of a situation from outside can be very different from the reality and that is really why I was asking the question in the first place. I think I could have phrased it a little better.

Ralph.

 

[brookesey]

By nature I like to be catching fish all the time and find it difficult to just wait for a bite. On my first barbel fishing trip to the Severn this year I had nothing for a couple of hours fishing feeder/straight lead for them so set up a stick float rod and proceeded to catch a dace a chuck on maggot. Good quality fish and good fun. But I couldn't resist the call of the barbel because that was what I was really there for. It took another couple of hours of waiting but I finally got one (and then a couple of very nice chub). Getting what I went there for easily made up for the waiting so I can see why the carp lads do it.

The fishing that I did find boring was my one and only trip to a commercial fishery. I came away thinking that was too easy because there are too many fish. I'd much rather catch 5lb of roach and perch in the canal than 50+ lb of starving commercial fish.

 

[terry m]

Yes, echo the praise for Jim's insightful post.

 

[iain t]

I do like fishing for wild river Carp but stillwaters i try to avoid them. Sitting behind a pair of alarms, looking lifeless into the distance for hours is not my cup of tea. How can you get enjoyment from this ?. In the closed season, i have no choice as most clubs seem to think Carp is the end all or nothing. One thing i praise the club i belong to is there is no overfed obese Carp. All look like how nature made them. All the fish are left to grow naturally.
But saying all i have about my love and hate about Carp, catching one is still better than blanking.

 

[dicky123]

It's not just big carp waters that get the long term treatment either.

Just this week I came upon a site that caused me to halt, and Daisy to bark. It was an ariel the type used for TVs on a pole 10 feet in the air. As I turned the corner I came upon a carp angler complete with the TV plus a boat for baiting up and all the essentials you need to camp out for days on end.

Normally I'd be friendly and stop to speak (not all carp guys are *******:wh) But I knew the answer I'd get. Its worth mentioning this lake does have carp in it, but a 30s never been taken from it. I feel somewhat sorry for guys like this in truth.

They have all the gear and no place to fish with any decent carp in, unless they pay a fortune in membership. Not everyone can afford such fee's. Kids and a mortgage it must be difficult, hence why they fish these second class type waters with a few nice fish in them, but nothing special?

 

[Philip]

Myself and a couple of mates were musing on this very question, and a point was raised by one of the party who'd recently got an invite from his next door neighbour to go and fish a big water in france for big fish.

So, what his eyes were really opened to was the preparation of the swim. On arrival, they spent a couple of hours going round the lake before any swims were selected. And then once they had been selected, the marker rods were out and each swim was mapped (and at that stage, a couple of the group decided they didn't fancy what was in front of them and moved). After that, bait was applied, in varying amounts and types dependent on the lake bed... and after that (4 or 5 hours after arrival) the rods were cast.

Then there was a race against the light to get the bivvies up and the evening meal done. First fish came in a spell at first light, most of the rods had a bite though only a couple were landed. Most of them then brought their lines in and started thinking about swim preparation and getting traps set late afternoon.

The point he made was that there never seemed to be enough time in the day to get everything done! They weren't getting loads of bites, but enough so that it kept everyone on their toes.... also, the group of 4 of them were fishing close enough so that they could help each other out with landing, weighing and photos. He came back from it saying he'd never been so knackered! And also had a totally different perspective on what was involved in that kind of fishing session. He also had at least one 30lb fish and some really stunning photos to accompany it.

I'm also pleased to say that we took said next door neighbour down to the Wye this June, which he really seemed to enjoy, he found the lack of kit required novel to say the least! But what was also interesting was that he got stuck right in to it, roving banks and moving to get on to fish, and also being the first up in the morning and last back to the digs in the evening.

That I suppose is a long way of saying don't judge a book by it's cover. Let's not forget, most of the general public who spend 3 minutes walking past a fisherman (without seeing him move) will likely say "I don't know how he can just sit there all day doing nothing".... without realising that the angler in question has shaking hands and a pounding heart because his float or tip just moved a fraction.

Great post. Fishing is whatever you want it to be but the anglers who put in the effort will genereally catch the most fish.

I will make a bold statement : If your sitting around doing nothing or twiddling your thumbs then your probably not fishing very well. there is always something you can be doing to improve your chances.

Even the former may not be quite the "chuck and chance" types that they may seem. There's a chance that they've done their preparation well in advance and don't need to do the leg work on the day(s) of fishing. __________________

Indeed, and if the preparation is done well the actual fishing can be made to look ridiculously easy. Thats also the moment when people often start to talk about it just being down to luck...

 

[mikench]

I must admit to enjoying the carp fishing i am currently doing ie the carp rod with a large baitrunner reel , a buzzer and my camera tripod conversion. I can set it up and forget it while I set up a feeder or float rod for other species . The technical aspects of carping ie the different rigs and set ups are lost on me and I will just stick with my "plonker" rig which seems to work! I do have respect for those dedicated carpers who put my efforts to shame and who spend their spare hours( which they have plenty of) making up different rigs and hook lengths! I am just not that dedicated!

I find it amusing and ironic in equal measure that the species specific rod and associated tackle catches one carp whereas the feeder rod targeting roach and perch gets 5 on prawn!

The most frustrating aspect of fishing is remembering it all ie the tips, techniques and even where you have put the b****y tackle you know you have bought but cannot find! I bought some avid corn stops but just cannot find them! I saw a tip in the AT this week about using Pva stringers . I located my bag containing the tape, string and bags and discovered several pre- prepared weeks ago by me and completely forgotten.

The time spent"messing" is however very enjoyable and I suspect very therapeutic! Mindfulness they call it!!

So in short carp fishing is not boring!:wh

 

[rayner]

I wouldn't call any fishing boring. mind you there are quite a few types I don't like or can't attempt now.