Should People Learn Before Diving In

[Boilie Stop]

Just wondered what the general opinion is about people throwing themselves onto big fish waters and not spending time learning there trade so to speak.!!

I know of people new and old to carping giving up on easier waters to go on to the harder big fish waters as they believe there’s bigger fish to fry…I scratch my head as most of the time 'they hadn’t caught' or 'caught very little' over several trips and when the pressures on they’ve bolted so to speak.
It seems to be a current trend that is increasing and I wonder if the prize is effecting there judgments.

How do people feel when some of these inexperienced fishermen turn up on your big fish water?

[kermit]

I'm all for it - I think it is brilliant. It keeps my usual kind of waters nice and quiet

To be honest it is hardly surprising in the current carp fishing climate. Bigger is better, size is everything, all the gear and no idea etc. One wonders when the bubble will burst and all the instant carpers will get bored of not catching and jack it in? I struggle to see the current explosion in carp fishing's popularity being sustainable and surely it is only a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' it collapses?

Mike.

[Deano]

Theres a lot of decent sized fish about these days so really its hard to say.Ideally people should learn to fish in general before carp fishing IMO but many now buy all the gear and want to catch a big fish, theres plenty of waters to cater for them.

I am not a big fish angler dont really have the waters at my disposal BUT I have caught enough decent sized fish from a variety of waters to say that I think I could comfortably move up a level and fish for some real giants.Carp are carp learn to catch them from a variety of waters and you can take on anything but dont rush it IMO.You need at least a few seasons of consistently catching decent fish(lets say 20's) from various waters before leaping onto a big low stocked water fishing for 40's.Low stock waters are a total different ball game than your average day ticket/club water(and I've only fished small ones) and people that think otherwise wont have studied their quarry enough.People do learn at different rates though and it might only take some 2yrs to learn the fundamentals of carp fishing.If they think they are ready(realisitically) then have a go!

So really you need to be realistic about it.However its not unknown for a complete novice to go and bag a big fish from a difficult water first go!

[Dj13]

I'm with Deano theres plenty of 'pay as you go fisheries' to keep the noddies at bay for the time.

The question is tho what actually makes a good angler?? Because you fish for big fish??
What makes a bad angler??? Whos to say these guys haven't actually done there homework?
The fact that they've dropped on a big fish venue near autumn. Does that not suggest these guys may no what there doing??
I'm not having a go just exploring all routes?

[Deano]

Originally Posted by Dj13

I'm with Deano theres plenty of 'pay as you go fisheries' to keep the noddies at bay for the time.

The question is tho what actually makes a good angler?? Because you fish for big fish?

Its a learning curve mate as far as I can see.Each and every water is different some from one year to the next.Learn the basics be consistent and I dont see why you cant up the stakes a little bit.You would have to learn no matter what the size of the fish when you go onto a new water anyway. IMO a good angler is one that can catch fish from a variety of waters, the better they are the quicker they catch the fish(size not always important).Its just like match fishing on a different timescale

[Dj13]

How do people feel when some of these inexperienced fishermen turn up on your big fish water?[/quote]

Any way don't you think you're been a tad greedy it was only last week you had the place to yourself!lol

[darkside]

prob not easy to sit on a water with no monsters when every mag is plastered with people holding huge fish, makes it look easy. they all want a bit of the action.

[HAWTHORN]

How do people feel when some of these inexperienced fishermen turn up on your big fish water?

I don`t care, being quiet and well behaved are more important to me. If they are lucky enough to catch, I would be there to help them handle the fish if required.

I struggle to see the current explosion in carp fishing's popularity being sustainable and surely it is only a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' it collapses?

I seem to remember saying exactly that, Fifteen Years Ago!!!!

[Hotshot]

I think the anglers no matter how young or old they should stay off the big fish waters until they are fairly experienced in all aspects of carp fishing, from carefull observation of their quary , handling largish fish, right up to extreme range fishing. By then they should no how to behave and approach other anglers, how to handle fish and how to angle safely.
It can take only minutes to find a new member for a club or syndicate but many years to replace a 30 or 40lb carp, so why put our big carp at risk, not like the NW is full of them is it.
On my regular haunt recently, we have had to endure a lad who thought he knew it all, he wanted a rep as the biggest caster on the pond and to be known as a regular catcher of the lakes carp (not easy in both cases), he has only aquired the name of Coco (the clown), due to not listenening to the lads trying to help him, cracking off regularly (3 in the day other week) and laughing at the fact he's peeing us off, due to the number of "live rigs" he's leaving out in the lake, each a potential dead/injured carp. Unfortunatly he isnt breaking any rules but after 3 crack offs in a day, he got a right bollocking and now hopefully has gone else where until he IS up to the standard needed to fish at distance effectively and more importantly, safely. Hopefully he will get an attitude transplant too.
They should work their way through the ranks and not try to run when they can only crawl !

[richk]

I am with Hotshot on this one. Anglers need to build up to Big Fish waters at least that way when they arrive they have built up their experience.

If I was Fishing the Waters I do now say 15 years ago then I definatley would not have had enough experience or Knowledge to give it my best.

I agree that some of them dont break the rules but can cause problems and thats where in my opinion other anglers and Bailiffs on the water need to befriend them and put them right I have seen this happen on a few lakes and the lads concerned have taken the advice and done very well out of it. I think this approach gets you a lot further than alienating them completely.

[carp junkie]

as long as a person can handle a fish in a competant manner and acts in a sensible way on the bank then i dont see a problem fishing is only fishing at the end of the day we sometimes look at it more than it is

[ChrisKnapper]

Originally Posted by Hotshot

I think the anglers no matter how young or old they should stay off the big fish waters until they are fairly experienced in all aspects of carp fishing, from carefull observation of their quary , handling largish fish, right up to extreme range fishing. By then they should no how to behave and approach other anglers, how to handle fish and how to angle safely.

That for me has summed this thread up perfectly - this point is without doubt bang on and is something that we have gone over in many threads in the past.

Chris

[drynetter]

Originally Posted by Boilie Stop

Just wondered what the general opinion is about people throwing themselves onto big fish waters and not spending time learning there trade so to speak.!!

I know of people new and old to carping giving up on easier waters to go on to the harder big fish waters as they believe there’s bigger fish to fry…I scratch my head as most of the time 'they hadn’t caught' or 'caught very little' over several trips and when the pressures on they’ve bolted so to speak.
It seems to be a current trend that is increasing and I wonder if the prize is effecting there judgments.

How do people feel when some of these inexperienced fishermen turn up on your big fish water?

What scale are you rating an inexperienced angler on?

There are some anglers out there that may not have 20 years experience but are more than capable, there's also people who have the experience but it doesn't mean they are any better?

Anglers who are younger tend to be like sponges and absorb a wider spectrum of information. Older ones tend to stick to things that work for them.

A good angler is someone who really thinks about what they are doing to put fish on the bank, regardless of age or experience. Just my point of view though and probably meaningless.

[ChrisKnapper]

Originally Posted by drynetter

Just my point of view though and probably meaningless.

Not at all mate, what you are saying makes sense.

How i have always seen it - i wouldnt of wanted to go onto a lake where i wouldnt of known how to handle bigger fish - dont get me wrong, i know you treat fish of all sizes with equal respect, but its a lot easier to control a 5lber than a 30lber.

For me, i have started from the very bottom and worked my way up - i have been carping for 6 years now and i would never say that im an expert - far from it! Every time i go fishing i will experiance something that will widen my knowledge on different aspects of carp fishing - i would say that i will continue learning about everything around carp fishing untill the day i die.

But the whole 'work your way up' came natural for me, i started on smaller pools learning about everything, i.e, repsect for my quarry/other anglers, learning about watercraft, using safe and effective equipment... so on and so on. I carried on learning this as i moved on to 'bigger and better' waters. I suppose its fair to say that i learnt the trade fishing alongside carp anglers that had gone through these stages that i was going through many years ago...

What i think the point is here, is the way that carp fishing is sending youngsters nowa days.... start at the bottom, learn all the finer aspects of catching and handling smaller fish, go through the stages of what i have mentioned and enjoy your fishing.

In no way is this a rant, like hotshot mentioned with the 'mr i am' on his lake... sounds to me like he has never practiced fishing at long range... e.g, cracking off loads of rigs into the lake... he is only putting the fish we work so hard and put so much time and effort in for in danger....

Start at the bottom and work your way up. Thats the motto of the day.

Chris

[carp junkie]

experience sometimes means nothing i have met lots of anglers who try and make out there superb anglers (especially on forums)then when you meet them you immediately know there not ! angling is about effort and how much an individual wants to put into it whether they have been fishing 6 months or 60 years . so as i said above if they can competantly land and handle a fish and dont cause hassle to other anglers thats all that matters
but if you take the original question as it is asked then yes you should learn 1st but the biggest issue is who decides when your ready but thats the same in everything we do