What do you contemplate whilst fishing

[108831]

I'm glad someone enjoys fishing with a pole,I cannot see any enjoyment hanging on to more than 8m of carbon on a icy cold,wet day,not for me thank you and yes i've done it many times,not any more however,thank god(if there is one)!

 

[rubio]

Sitting here not fishing I'm thinking of going fishing.
Once there I will hope to allow myself to settle in, listen and watch the water. Especially on the river. Getting busy feeding is the cue to start forgetting.
It might on occasion take an hour to feel ready. I too would feel misplaced in a match. It's a good feeling to linger a little before returning a nice fish. Rushing to catch the next would feel like pressure rather than reward.
In my head I believe that I'm singularly focused on fishing but when asked how it went I tell of the creatures I saw or the bit of scrub I found sloes in.
It's a testament to our shared pastime so many can get so much from it. Good mental and physical health benefits are certainly there. Sometimes as elusive as my 2lbs roach. For some even a spiritual engagement with natural phenomena.
The only downside surely is the possibility that sudden realisation of the Eureka moment would be lost as the float seemed to do something....other. How many great inventions and ideas have been erased by a casual hobby that is a paradox; consciously and rationally selecting to focus only on a distraction?
It's also possible Mike has prompted a new thread ideal for blank days . Maybe.,...
"What did you not think about today?"

 

[mikench]

They are fearless little birds.

 

[markcw]

I'm glad someone enjoys fishing with a pole,I cannot see any enjoyment hanging on to more than 8m of carbon on a icy cold,wet day,not for me thank you and yes i've done it many times,not any more however,thank god(if there is one)!

Only 8 metres ? Try 16 or 17.5 just to tempt a few fish from far side cover in a match. ?

 

[rayner]

My only thoughts when fishing is just fishing, far too many variables in angling to have any other thoughts or distractions for me.
I dislike any distractions like noise from other fishers. The worse by far is fishery lurkers, they are a real pain sticking there beak where it's not wanted. It always surprises me how they respond to my objections to them interrupting my concentration.
Even wildlife is better if it doesn't come too close to me.
Fishing I suppose makes me a grumpy sod.

 

[markcw]

I remember when I first moved down to oxford, I went fishing on a club water, nice sunny day , I had caught a few from the margins and on the feeder,
I had fed the usual robin and a few ducks that swaddled past, saw a couple of squirrels running along the branches in a nearby tree, I heard a noise, sort of between a soft screech and whistle above me, I looked up and saw 3 red kites majestically flying around and soaring down then back up.
I put the margin pole on the rollers and topkit on the roost and got of my seatbox grabbed my coffee mug and lay on my side on the grass watching them. Fantastic sight. I think I was more entranced because it was more or less the first time I had seen them.

 

[108831]

Do you know,I used to travel to the Thames at Culham every week,in the warmer weather when days are longer,I used to count the red kites I saw,thats driving down,fishing and driving back,the most I counted was 47 and back then we didn't see any until after Aylesbury,now I have them flying over my garden,four on Monday watching me riddle my bait...

Also,on poles,8m and beyond is the length where I find it tedious when struggling for bites(when cold and wet)...

 

[seth49]

I just fish, don’t do multitasking .

 

[108831]

Ohhhh Seth,you had me giggling there,women always titter about men not being able to multi task,well my missus must be a lady boy then,she can't do anything else when you talk to her,unbeievable really...

 

[no-one in particular]

There is a thread on another forum called "What did you see today while fishing", it is quite popular.

 

[john step]

Usually like Gordon,i'm puzzling out why i'm not catching better and how to improve it,when I'm not catching at all I contemplate my extra large navel....
On the subject of robins,why do they land next to you,on a branch,the bank,or on your rod or rod rest,look at the maggots you've put down for him,then look back at you as if asking for permission to dine,more often than not you have to tell em to 'go on then',please don't tell me they know what your saying???

I think its a defensive thing. They sit watching just to make sure there are no predators hiding. Blackbirds do a similar thing in Spring just before diving down to their nest to feed their young.

 

[Aknib]

Quite literally...

The price of fish!

Joking apart I have in the past tried to go fishing with the particular aim of putting to rest something that is on my mind but I invariably find myself too absorbed in the fishing itself and the mental agenda is largely ignored, funnily enough whatever was on my mind always seems to take much less sorting out when I return and finally give it some consideration.

I've always thought that many problems sort themselves out in the subconscious, often too many considerations to lay to rest so take them all in and then find a bit of distraction time which allows everything to quietly slip into its respective box and eventually deliver a solution, as if on a cerebral conveyor belt

Outside of that the thoughts that fill my head are infinite but very closely related to what I'm doing and where I am... The wildlife, the fishing itself, the next session, the previous session etc. etc.

The only two things that I've ever found to provide welcome distraction and mental relief no matter what are fishing and gardening, they completely preoccupy me and long may they continue to do so.

 

[steve2]

When I was a long stay angler we had a lot of spare time, some times days of inaction, this time was spent planning our next trips, tying rigs but mostly spent wondering where the fish were. We always took a great interest on what was going on around us. I think that where my knowledge of british birds,animals and nature came from, there was always some thing happening.

 

[tommos16]

For me, I genuinely don’t have any conscious thoughts. I think a lot about whether my bait is on the deck right, whether I could move, looking for signs on how to change things etc. All the usual stuff.

However I consistently have the same annoying issue and that is whilst watching/waiting, I get the same song stuck in my head and often it’s the same single line of a song. Just over and over and over. Only ever happens to me when fishing, doesn’t for instance happen when driving with the radio off which is a similar level of concentration.

It’s gotten to the stage where I’ve got to take earphones to listen to an audiobook otherwise it gets annoying. A weird one for sure.


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[Philip]

It depends on the type of fishing. If its something active like trotting or lure fishing then I’ll be concentrating on the act of fishing and little else. Even for more static types of fishing there is usually something around the fishing I’ll be thinking about & it always amazes me how the time passes so quickly.

That said for allot of my recent fishing although I’d like to say I sit there with heron like concentration scannng the water & thinking of subtle changes to bait, feed or presentation to winkle out an elusive bite, the reality is that the preparation has already been done in advance and I am basically just putting a pre-prepared game plan into action so I don’t need to do much other than cast out and wait for a bite. Plus its usually pitch dark so in the quiet bits in between I’ll probably be just looking at my Phone. I hold the rod in one hand touch ledgering and I am looking at the phone with the other.

Exciting eh !

 

[no-one in particular]

Usually like Gordon,i'm puzzling out why i'm not catching better and how to improve it,when I'm not catching at all I contemplate my extra large navel....
On the subject of robins,why do they land next to you,on a branch,the bank,or on your rod or rod rest,look at the maggots you've put down for him,then look back at you as if asking for permission to dine,more often than not you have to tell em to 'go on then',please don't tell me they know what your saying???

There may be more to it than you realize, you could be being eyed up quantumly-

European robins may maintain quantum entanglement in their eyes a full 20 microseconds longer than the best laboratory systems, say physicists investigating how birds may use quantum effects to “see” Earth's magnetic field. ... It's been proposed that birds' eyes contain entanglement-based compasses.

I will elaborate on that because it is quite fascinating, I read about it in the Geographic Mag, they found that Robins use the ability of quantums to be in two different places at the same time which takes place in their eyes and brain to help them navigate. never been known in nature before I believe and to think it is the humble Robin; makes me admire them even more.

 

[theartist]

They also like the Quantum of solace and not just because they are huge Bond fans and licensed to trill.

Aside from their partner they are extremely territorial so much so that when the young fly the nest they have a 1 in 4 chance of survival. The red breast is more of a war banner which provokes any robins to attack each other. I read somewhere if you stick a toy robin out in the garden the resident robin will attack it.

So it clearly turns out that all we contemplate when we are fishing are robins, love it ?

 

[David Rogers 3]

When my attention wanders, it's usually to the same subject (and has been for the last 40 years). Jenny Agutter.

 

[mikench]

They are territorial and it's estimated there are about 4.5 million territories in the UK. They are good company on the bank. I love seeing the heron even though he eats our fish. It stems from a love of the books by BB. A kingfisher makes the day as does a little grebe.

I reckon more of us contemplate matters more than we are willing to admit.

 

[steve2]

I would say that anglers see far more birds and animals than many of the bird watchers and naturalists. Wildlife seems to accept anglers and know they are a source of food and mean them no harm.