How can you define a 'Carp fishing expert'

[BRAD]

Originally Posted by Blue

I don't see how anyone can judge another person without really knowing them as an angler and in person.

To judge someones angling ability purely based on their PB is pure ignorance IMO, it's almost as shallow as a child in school who see's the school bully as his/her role model because he's/she's 'the hardest in the school' so to speak. There's a lot more to an angler than their PB.

im with blue on this 1 took the words out of my mouth

[scotty]

pbs its all irrelivent.consistency is the key. sixth sense for finding em is the biggest edge.

[Smurph]

well leave the poor lad alone he's only trying to show the newcommers the way to go in the correct manner nowt wrong with that?? and as his pb being only 20 odd lb's, he's probably too busy with the mag to get out and spend time on the bank.

[Stig]

Originally Posted by Smurph

well leave the poor lad alone he's only trying to show the newcommers the way to go in the correct manner nowt wrong with that?? and as his pb being only 20 odd lb's, he's probably too busy with the mag to get out and spend time on the bank.

My PB is 2 ounces short of 30 and ive been at this game for 22 years i dont see myself as an expert i can hold my own , put my fair share of kippers on the bank and thats good enough for me .

There is more to fishing than catching fish

[davidg]

I was of the understanding that the definition of a "expert" was

1 Ex - as in "has been"
2 spirt - as in "drip under pressure"

Seriously though its all opinion, as has been said before there are so many variations in our sport that surely it is best to be an "all rounder". If the guy is doing his best to instruct newcomers to our sport then better he does not have the high pb that makes instant carper = expert. At least he is not a named angler that is only known for big fish/living on the bank etc - give the guy a break he is only doing a job after all

[incognito]

don`t think marc would ever confess to being an expert but he`s obviously a knowledgeable angler and someone who most readers can relate to in his articles as he fishes short day sessions and the odd overnighter,and who`s pb is more in common with the readership of the magazine as probably most have never had fish as big themselves.
how do you define an expert?
don`t think it matters whether or not you`ve had numerous 30`s and 40`s its whether you can adapt to fishing all different types of lakes and situations and be a consistent catcher.surely being consistent is what we all strive for regardless of the size.

[Deano]

Originally Posted by Smurph

does he actually say he is a carp expert??

Well theres been quite a few responses, but people seem to have maybe taken the initial post out of context. The idea of the thread is whether or not you think a guys PB may influence how people regard his written advice. No he doesnt say hes an expert(but features in the 'ask the experts' panel I believe) but I was taking the thread from another forum to basically gauge peoples opinions on here, as theres a vast cross section of opinion on the other forum.

Originally Posted by davidg

give the guy a break he is only doing a job after all

The initial post neither affirmed or dismissed whether or not the mystery man was an expert davidg...so theres no need to give the guy a break really.For the record I think PB has nothing to do with angling ability its mainly down to 2 factors I think

1)choice of waters fished
2) amount of time at your disposal

I think the guy that can fish a cross section of waters and bank a few carp of any decent weight on a pretty consistent basis is worth listening to. In carp fishing I think everyone can learn off each other.It might be a 'noddy' who develops the winning tactic on your water this year...

I think theres too much 'oh hes never had owt decent or fished anywhere' sort of attitude often by people that have no experience of the waters people have fished and caught from I think, which is a bit short sighted

Time is a big factor in carp fishing the more you do the more you'll catch, unless you really are a noddy...lol...

[Bl4cky]

i wise old pike angler said to me once, "fishing is 10% skill, 10% luck and 80% being there" as stig said i wouldn't think that anyone would profess to be an expert at it, if you've been succesful for a number of years and on a varying degree of different and difficult waters i think people will sit up and listen to what your going to say if you wanted to tell them. I personally feel that figureing things out is one of the most enjoyable parts of the sport but if people do have tips and can help other anglers if they ask for advice then i don't belive there's anything wrong in helping them as long as you aren't bulling and not making it up as you go along just to sound like you do know what your talking about. after all, isn't all knowledge second hand?

[oliver reed]

Judging someones experience as an angler by their personal best is just ridiculous-I could introduce some golfer to our sport,don him out in thousands of pounds worth of latest carp goodies,pop him on the banks of some turkey shoot with a modicum of advice or just give him a few back issues of the numerous carp comics and with a slice of pie known as luck he/she could within the next few hours be sat with a 30 or 40 pounder in the net...

As mentioned doing it consistently is the key,be it 20's or 50's.

Its like judging someones driving skills by looking at their chosen motor,any spoilt little blart can pass their test and get 'daddy' to go out and treat them to the latest boys fantasy but it requires no discipline to achieve such a 'trophy'...and normally ends in tears in the result of said sporty hatch in a much smaller version,wrapped around a tree....

I wouldn't nail the bloke to a cross for showing other newcomers the 'rights n wrongs' of carp fishing,if anything it needs blokes like this showing some of these new folk the error of their ways,just so long as he doesn't resort to brainwashing people that they 'need' this or that latest piece of kit in a weak attempt at plugging freebies donated by companies in exchange for some free publicity...

[matt]

I admire the guy for having the balls to be honest about his PB. In his position and with all the hype around carp fishing these days Its refreshing to see.

But if he hasn't progresed to harder waters, bigger fish and long sesions. Then he can't comment from experience on all aspects of carp fishing.

[oliver reed]

Originally Posted by matt

I admire the guy for having the balls to be honest about his PB. In his position and with all the hype around carp fishing these days Its refreshing to see.

But if he hasn't progresed to harder waters, bigger fish and long sesions. Then he can't comment from experience on all aspects of carp fishing.

Agreed,in todays carp world its akin to shouting aloud in the pub, "my mouse is very small ladies!" and many will guffaw at such a PB.

As for progressing to 'harder waters' though,its not the law to better your PB-if the guys happy fishing 'easy' waters for 20's then who are we to call him.
Fair point though if he's larging it up in print about aspects he knows nothing of,something I will never find out however as I would rather read my palm than some of these publications...not for me...but good for others.

[grubby pants]

There is no such thing as a fishing expert it's a daft concept.

We never stop learning and the longer we are at it we acquire more questions than answers. The only people who think they are experts are deluded noddies the mentally ill and those with an ego bigger than their IQ.

There are thousands of genuine experts in this game all of them Carp.

[Stig]

Originally Posted by grubby pants

There are thousands of genuine experts in this game all of them Carp.

Nuff said you have my total agreement Grubby

[thicky]

Theres no such thing as a Carp expert imho.

[Iain Macmillan]

This point has been raised before about Marc's pb, now i've known Marc for a number of years now and he's one of the nicest guys you could ever wish to meet. His pb really doesnt matter, neither does anyone's come to think of it, imo Marc is qualified to hand out tips and helpfull hints, dont forget he goes out on features with some of the best anglers in the country, so he's bound to pick up all of their little edges and secrets along the way. What Marc does is to add these to his own angling ability, and bingo, you have on your hands one superb, and knowledgable carp angler.
He doesnt get a lot of time to long sessions due to his work and family commitments, and he also doesnt specifically target waters with equally large fish in them, he just loves to go fishing.
I suppose the message i'm trying to get across is that pb's really dont matter, not to me anyway, and judging by most of the replies, not to you guys either. Fishing is much more than that, and just to be there is more than enough. Ok, we all love to catch fish, but some are more fortunate than others to fish waters that contain a lot of big fish, so if you do manage to catch a few, then the odds are that they will be big 'uns!! That doesnt make you a better angler than somebody who catches doubles with the odd 20 thrown in, consistency is far better than just pub chucking a big fish out imo.
There is a phrase i use, adapting and executing, sounds easy, but it rarely works like that.....lol
I also reckon that everybody can learn from everybody else, know matter how long you've been carp fishing and know matter how big the persons pb is, surely the pb thing is just like saying my dogs harder than your dog, i.e. an egotistic penis extension!!
The day i stop listening and learning will be the day i take up golf!!