The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

PerchBasher wrote:Little wonder that anglers have forgotten how to fish rivers. Why would today’s anglers bother learning?

For a start there doesn’t seem to be any carp. The fishing itself is difficult with the float constantly moving. There is no parking so who, in this day and age can be expected to walk perhaps hundreds of yards to their swim? The banks are disgrace, no platforms, uneven, with long grass, trees and bushes and nowhere to pitch your bivvy. Whoever manages these places deserves sacking. The facilities are non-existent, no café, no on site tackle shop, no burger van and if you need to answer a call of nature, watch out for the stinging nettles.

Well it leaves more room for those who do want to fish the rivers.

There are plenty of anglers on the river, its just that they are heavily concentrated on relatively short streches fishing in the main for Barbel, in a few weeks time the numbers will increase with anglers seeking out good swims to fish with the float as roach and such come into their own.
Even then it will be possible to walk entire lengths of river and see no one.
Back in the sixties you could reverse that situation and walk all day on a weekend and not find a swim to fish.

Flightliner wrote:There are plenty of anglers on the river, its just that they are heavily concentrated on relatively short streches fishing in the main for Barbel, in a few weeks time the numbers will increase with anglers seeking out good swims to fish with the float as roach and such come into their own.
Even then it will be possible to walk entire lengths of river and see no one.
Back in the sixties you could reverse that situation and walk all day on a weekend and not find a swim to fish.

Too true Flight.

walked my local river a few days ago, and only found three true anglers fishing a float and a pin,all the other so called anglers fishing a feeder,flooding the river bed with sweetcorn and meat searching for a barbel or carp,unaware roach and chub in abundence just waiting for a piece of breadflake to be presented in a more skillfull manner,is this the way of the modern angler,i hope not,ive manage to convert a few of them to the more traditional ways and will keep trying to convince more of them the joys of trotting home made floats ,wallace casting,ect ,ill never give up making them better anglers,and when i go to that great river in heaven i hope they remember me. and say he was right you know .ever hopefull chubman.

Spent Sunday afternoon on the Upper Wey and it did indeed feel like a trek through the Amazon. My company that day a Kingfisher and a Tree Creeper who seemed to work the alders all the bank as In walked. I personally dislike being pinned down too much and so fish just one cane rod and use ground bait very sparingly if at all. Lunch can be an issue if you like a bottle of Claret and canapés....but seriously I do try to carry water in the summer, otherwise dehydration can make the fishing less pleasurable and perhaps even less effective.

I harbour this theory that by instinct anglers lean either to stalking or trapping. I'm a stalker and perhaps in part because part of my youth was spent wet fly fishing. There's no ground bait with a fly!

BigFish wrote:PerchBasher, I'm wondering if you have a very dry sense of humour like myself. You've just described paradise!

Yes BF I do have a rather dry sense of humour! But there is a serious point here that with fewer anglers fishing the rivers, they fall further down the EA’s radar and issues like abstraction by the water companies, public access and competing demands from canoeists and other leisure uses don’t get the attention they should.

I agree, and it also makes them more prey to poaching with bank lines etc., and illegal netting!

PerchBasher wrote:Little wonder that anglers have forgotten how to fish rivers. Why would today’s anglers bother learning?

For a start there doesn’t seem to be any carp. The fishing itself is difficult with the float constantly moving. There is no parking so who, in this day and age can be expected to walk perhaps hundreds of yards to their swim? The banks are disgrace, no platforms, uneven, with long grass, trees and bushes and nowhere to pitch your bivvy. Whoever manages these places deserves sacking. The facilities are non-existent, no café, no on site tackle shop, no burger van and if you need to answer a call of nature, watch out for the stinging nettles.

That is sooooo perceptive!!

I seriously think anglers have forgotten "how" to fish rivers. The last time I was on the Trent, about four years ago, everyone had "beachcasters" propped up on tripods lobbing 5oz leads to the far bank, bite alarms constantly blaring out with the currents. Walking a little further to a quiet area we completely out fished them for barbel touch ledgering under the rod end. I think the venue was Farndon, all the anglers were crammed into the first field, shoulder to shoulder, arguments over crossed lines - it was an absolute circus.

So right John. if many of the guys thought things out they could fish from the opposite bank where the deep water runs, that way they could use much lighter feeders-- and even better use float gear to get their baiting more accurate and catch more fish instead of throwing those big weights across the river. Ok on a flood maybe but ott in most instances.
Still-- its easier to put the bivvie up on the far bank than on the rocky slopes on the other side.