Why do some people despise French fishing

[Wooly]

I get the impression that lots of people seem to despise French fishing and look down at those of us who enjoy it, or, is it just my paranoid imagination getting the better of me.
It never ceases to amaze me how many peolple have stated that they would never fish in France, am I missing something?

[kevw]

As long as you enjoy it why worry what others think

[mt-ed]

A lot of people say they hate catching Tench/Bream too.
Does it matter what people think, you are the one that matters most.
If I was you I would go, enjoy yourself and hopefully catch a French whacker.
Ive caught Carp on three different continants now, does that make them any different to British Carp? No, didn't think so.
Keith

[kopite]

english fish are no doubt better looking, maybe that has something to do with it... im yet to find out what this french fishing is like as i`ve got me first trip booked in july!

[blankmaster]

think its more dodgy imports and the likes that people get all stroppy about ,
fair do,s with them bring nasty virus etc etc

of course a french thirty isnt as precious as a home grown uk thirty but thats only because there more numerous over there thats the reason people go over to france to fish. to catch big carp .

as for do they count ?? course they count if your fishing for them !!!

blankmaster

[Julian Grattidge]

I think there are many factors.

First is the effort to skill ratio required to catch a mahoosive fish over here, and one over there. When the mass exodus of carpers to France started all those years ago, you would get many anglers coming back with astonishing catches, which, in all likelihood would never be beaten over here, which then started the whole French fish can’t be as good as Brits thing, and Brit fish are worth more, etc, etc.

From a personal viewpoint I would say there is an element of truth in such statements, but as is always the case, it’s very subjective. If we are talking purely about home grown fish in lakes either here or in France which have received equal pressure, then there’s an argument that the skill required to bank them would be the same – although the fish in the French lake would likely have a bigger average weight. However, if you stock a lake to bursting point with big fish, no matter if it’s here or abroad, they are going to pick up an anglers bait because of the need to survive – and that to me is the key.

I want to fish waters with a balanced stock of fish, so that I have to use my skill and experience to try and outwit them. I don’t just want to turn up, chuck out a rod and have a sixty within the hour. There has been an explosion of such waters both home and abroad in recent years, simply to satisfy the thirst of anglers with limited ability wanting to bank the fish of a lifetime. It’s no longer just a French thing – it’s now a UK thing too!

And maybe that’s the point. There are some, and yes, I guess I’m one, who don’t like the way the sport has evolved in this country; this ever increasing blood lust for bigger and bigger fish, irrespective of how the lakes that hold them are stocked, maintained and cared for, and what skills the angler has to be equipped with in order to catch them. Many blame the fad of French fishing over the last decade for this, but again, it’s not that easy – it’s the anglers themselves who have made this happen. The venue owners here and abroad would not be doing it if it’s not what the consumer wanted.

And that’s what (or who) I have the problem with - the angler who wants the easy option. The person who can’t be bothered to learn the art and just wants the end result now. And as much as I’d like to blame the French for it, it’s the anglers themselves who perpetuate the problem.

And it’s all too easy to tar all French waters with the same brush ‘easy’. There are hundreds of venues throughout France that are lightly stocked, well maintained, with stock cared for at all costs, which provide the thinking angler with a real challenge – and given the opportunity I would love to go over and fish any of these waters!

Add to that the waters you never hear of, those that the French and continental anglers fish themselves – there are waters out there so challenging and vast that they would make many of our own pressured waters look like commercial puddles! When I looked after the catch reports from European Field Testers on the Nash site, there were some truly unbelievable feats of angling on French, Spanish and Italian waters that would blow your socks off, on waters so vast they looked like the English channel – and I would challenge any angler who says all foreign fishing is ‘easy’ to try and bag one on some of these waters – they’d brick it!

For me it’s about balance.

I love fishing. If it’s challenging fishing then so much the better. But if it’s a hole in the ground with fifties a chuck, thanks…. but no thanks.

J

[silverbirch]

Just do your own thing Wooly or everyone...whatever the country, venue, or strain/size of fish.

Angling sometimes calls for a single minded and steadfast approach, I have a style which apparently ticks very few boxes for most carp anglers and to some barely even resembles it. I always go to the fish and very rarely wait for them to find me.

I spend an hour looking over the venue to see if a particular, bank or area has more activety, put some floaters out to see if they are in the mood to come up, prime 3 chosen spots, which i then visit in rotation 20 mins at a time...just looking for signs..if I spot fish in the swim, I creep into position and drop a bait on them......except for dusk when I will cast and sit for an hour watching the float...I can happily leave the venue with out having whet a line...

Sorry, got a bit side tracked but the point I'm making is that we all need to satisfy our own requirements and not bother what others think...

I know most look at me on the bank and laugh..look at the state of him creeping around all day, up trees, then on his hands and knees with his one rod, basic reel and double rubbered pith...what a wally....

In MY head I am carp stalker supreme plying my trade, totally focused and having a great time..thats when I'm not cringing as the next guy arrives, doors slamming, crunching down the gravel, dumping a hundred weight of tackle on the bank, launching 3 stringers, PVA bag, stick mixes or whatever as near to the centre of the lake as possible..then tuning the walkman to radio 1!! then it's my turn for a snigger or a tut as I head for the quietest part of the lake left.

You know the rewards you get out of the French trips and thats all that you need to worry about.

[HAWTHORN]

First is the effort to skill ratio required to catch a mahoosive fish over here, and one over there. When the mass exodus of carpers to France started all those years ago, you would get many anglers coming back with astonishing catches, which, in all likelihood would never be beaten over here, which then started the whole French fish can’t be as good as Brits thing, and Brit fish are worth more, etc, etc.

Just to put things into perspective, the fish, fished for now "in holes in the ground" may or may not be easier to catch, bearing in mind how much pressure these fish see, 10-15 English anglers a week, using English tacticks, for most of the year. Your rewards of a big fish are increased by the very nature of the stocking but there is no skill what so ever involved in catching a big fish in France or England! Just more [u]chance[u] in France because there are more of them. With the exception of stalking in clear water, or surface fishing, where in both instances you can see the fish you are fishing for and therefore chose whether to cach it or not. All other pick up`s are left to chance!

As for effort, well it depends on what type of water you are fishing on, the same as it does here. Faced with a water of anywhere up to 6500 acres and above the only thing that is going to give you any chance of catching any carp, large or small is your watercraft!

Unfortunatly commercial waters home and abroad seem more and more geared to instant anglers. The French anglers by the way are over the moon with the explosion of these type of waters as it keeps other nationalitys off their very cheap (by comparrison) "Public Waters" which you can fish for the price of a carte de peche, for a whole year!

Basically when the English started to fish in France it was the large public waters that they fished. The French had very little interest in fishing for carp and if they caught a good one they did not photograph it, they killed it and took it down the bar that night to show their mates, then it went in the bin!
So very little local knowledge, to be of help to the first English anglers to go over there.

I think what started it all (do they count or not), was the fact that, nobodys (unknown anglers) were catching fish well above the then British record still held by Richard Walker, this did not go down well.

To those who have never been, the commercial waters are just that, with a higher stocking of large fish, where your chances of catching a large fish are high. The public waters are an adventure and are the real drive and survive.

Wooly, only you know the amount of effort you have put into your captures both home and abroad, so only you can say whether they count or not.

[LeAtHeR CaRp]

i would not fish in France for carp. but i do not stand in the way of people who want to. enjoy what ever fishing excites you. my reasons are some of the points Julian made, i also think there are ten lifetimes worth of targets over here just on a handful of waters so.. i also love english carp

[kopite]

at the end of the day it`s just a holiday with some fish thrown in, enjoy it like any other holiday

[blankmaster]

Originally Posted by kopite

at the end of the day it`s just a holiday with some fish thrown in, enjoy it like any other holiday

thats the one alan

anyways its not about what "others" think. its down to personal choice , ive never fished france before but im going this year .whatever i catch (if any) i wont let that affect my fishing here .

i once said i wouldnt bother fishing france ,but years later.................... (a bold statement indeed)

i also think there are ten lifetimes worth of targets over here just on a handful of waters so.. i also love english carp

only problem with that is mate you only get one life .and when you have kids ,bills,jobs, etc,etc, you bankside activities are limited .
then theres actually getting in the clubs that run decent waters with good fishing..

and therein lies the attraction of french carp ..
show me a water in the north west i can join where i can get on fish in the thirty -forty pound bracket and ill join tomorrow.......................................... ....

there shouldnt even be a arguement as to wether french fish count or not if your fishing for them they count to you and thats all that matters ...

of course a french thirty will never be the same as a true english thirty .but as quoted above you only get one life.

best to make the most of it innit ?????

blankmaster

[Callum91]

because they have not tried it, im sure if you took someone tho "hated" french fishing to france fishing they would come back and would have enjoyed it.

[Tricky]

It all comes down to what you want out of your trip i go to france 2 to 3 times a year somtimes just for the break sometimes for the crack but allways for the fishing french, english whatever a fish is a fish werever you are and when it all gos right what can i say

[kevw]

I've only been 3 times, all were good trips with varied results, it's what you make of it while you're there.

When I first went I had only caught one twenty in the UK, the third time I went I had never caught a UK 30. On the 3rd trip had a few 30's and a 40 and the only problem that I had was motivating myself to fish local waters again back home.

Can't say that I am an expert on French fishing and you need to have a go before you make an opinion, for me looking back it was "notches on the bed post", meaning my chances of getting a 30 and possibly a 40 would greatly increase by going.

Would I go back? At the moment no, because I caught what I felt that I needed to catch. In the future perhaps, but the venue would be more important than the fish stock and size.

[The Sir]

Don't listen to them mate, go if you want, you'll enjoy it, aslong as you keep a uk pb and a french pb