When is a whip

The OH thought it would be nice to enter me in a low-key local fishing
competition with my 'pole' this weekend...any tips for a first timer (who's
still a complete fishing novice)?

In article , caroline
wrote:
The OH thought it would be nice to enter me in a low-key local fishing
competition with my 'pole' this weekend...any tips for a first timer (who's
still a complete fishing novice)?

Yes. Don't. :-)

If you -really- want to learn match fishing tactics then go along - but
don't fish. Keep well back so you don't scare anyone's fish (or give them
the excuse to grumble that you might have done) Take binoculars and just
watch, watch carefully and take notes - in particular try to work out
if/why/when baiting tactics work or not. Take photographs (with a decent
telephoto and tripod you can get lots of interesting details) to stay
'friends' you can offer the contestants pictures of themselves landing fish
- remarkably few anglers have really good pictures of themselves fishing.
Then at the end play journalist and interview a few of the characters who's
actions interest you. Oh, take names etc. both so you can send pictures to
the contestants and in case you can really write up the match and send an
article in to the angling press - you never know, there may be an
alternative career in this...

Next day - return to the venue and try out a few of the things you have
learned. Weigh your catch - would you have won?

However: If you want to catch plenty of fish then avoid matches like the
plague - the first thing any match angler does is to scare all the fish out
from under the near bank and all the put all the larger fish off the feed.
On your own you can creep in and catch those first.

Cheerio,

--

In message , Derek.Moody
writes

However: If you want to catch plenty of fish then avoid matches like the
plague - the first thing any match angler does is to scare all the fish out
from under the near bank and all the put all the larger fish off the feed.
On your own you can creep in and catch those first.

Although; I once turned up to fish a chub session on a small river, just
as the match was weighing in. There was a guy fishing one of my
favourite chub swims proudly weighing in a couple of pounds of gudgeon
and roach, caught on the stick float. He didn't mind if I started
fishing, so I dropped in at the bottom of his swim and lowered a big
chunk of bread flake into the roots of the tree.

He looked a little gutted at the first-cast result...

--
Steve Walker

In article , Steve Walker
wrote:
In message , Derek.Moody
writes

However: If you want to catch plenty of fish then avoid matches like the
plague - the first thing any match angler does is to scare all the fish out
from under the near bank and all the put all the larger fish off the feed.
On your own you can creep in and catch those first.

Although; I once turned up to fish a chub session on a small river, just
as the match was weighing in. There was a guy fishing one of my
favourite chub swims proudly weighing in a couple of pounds of gudgeon
and roach, caught on the stick float. He didn't mind if I started
fishing, so I dropped in at the bottom of his swim and lowered a big
chunk of bread flake into the roots of the tree.

He looked a little gutted at the first-cast result...

That's right. He'd just stopped repeatedly disturbing the water and had
thrown in all his remaining groundbait...

Cheerio,

--

"Derek.Moody" wrote in message
...
In article , caroline
wrote:
The OH thought it would be nice to enter me in a low-key local fishing
competition with my 'pole' this weekend...any tips for a first timer
(who's
still a complete fishing novice)?

Yes. Don't. :-)

If you -really- want to learn match fishing tactics then go along - but
don't fish. Keep well back so you don't scare anyone's fish (or give them
the excuse to grumble that you might have done) Take binoculars and just
watch, watch carefully and take notes - in particular try to work out
if/why/when baiting tactics work or not. Take photographs (with a decent
telephoto and tripod you can get lots of interesting details) to stay
'friends' you can offer the contestants pictures of themselves landing
fish
- remarkably few anglers have really good pictures of themselves fishing.
Then at the end play journalist and interview a few of the characters
who's
actions interest you. Oh, take names etc. both so you can send pictures to
the contestants and in case you can really write up the match and send an
article in to the angling press - you never know, there may be an
alternative career in this...

Next day - return to the venue and try out a few of the things you have
learned. Weigh your catch - would you have won?

However: If you want to catch plenty of fish then avoid matches like the
plague - the first thing any match angler does is to scare all the fish
out
from under the near bank and all the put all the larger fish off the feed.
On your own you can creep in and catch those first.

Thanks Derek

But I think you've overestimated the fishing comp I'm going in...its 10 guys
on a friend's lake, putting up a few quid for charity, to win a bottle of
whiskey...

I've no intention of disturbing anyone's swim....whilst *I* maybe a newbie
to fishing. I've had fishermen in my life since I was a child...(father,
brother etc)///I am quite capable of conducting myself properly at a quiet
fishing venue

This competition is a lark, and we have entered as such....and as such I
hope to have fun...

I'll let you know how I get on..still learning bout groundbaitng over my tea
this morning...and last night I had a lesson in the garden on using my
landing net... ;o)

"caroline" wrote in message
...

"Derek.Moody" wrote in message
...
In article , caroline
wrote:

snip
This competition is a lark, and we have entered as such....and as such I
hope to have fun...

I'll let you know how I get on..still learning bout groundbaitng over my
tea this morning...and last night I had a lesson in the garden on using my
landing net... ;o)
landed 2 grass carp and 4 slabs then ..... ;o)

Richard

In article , caroline
wrote:

But I think you've overestimated the fishing comp I'm going in...its 10 guys
on a friend's lake, putting up a few quid for charity, to win a bottle of
whiskey...

On the contrary, it sounds like there will be a wide range of skill and
tactics - you will learn faster when a fair few of your, er, 'subjects' are
making elementary errors. A high-powered match where everyone is highly
skilled will not deliver the same contrasts as many will adopt similar
tactics (whatever suits the day/water) and it will be harder to spot the
factors that give an advantage, or not.

This competition is a lark, and we have entered as such....and as such I
hope to have fun...

I hope you do...

I'll let you know how I get on..still learning bout groundbaitng over my tea
this morning...and last night I had a lesson in the garden on using my
landing net... ;o)

The delicate balance between attracting fish and feeding them..?
-IF- this water is stocked at a natural level then a large bucket of sloppy
bottom mud and the crumbs from a few slices of dry bread would be about
right, plus a few free samples of whatever is on the hook.
- Most maggots BTW sink at a rate of 8ft (2.6m) per minute.

As I rarely fish stillwaters I'm in the March doldrums atm. The coarse
river season finished in a flurry of medium sized roach, the (river) trout
are still ten days away and the sea is still between the winter and summer
fish - but the firstcomers will be along in a tide or two ;-)

So my next groundbaiting session may well start with a bucket full of scroff
(the 'garbage' out of the bottom of the net) blagged from a trawler before
it's shovelled over the side...

but that's OT here.

Cheerio,

--

"caroline" wrote

I'll let you know how I get on...

Well I'm not sure how much fun I had...but I wasn't disgraced (or at least I
wasn't alone in disgrace ;o)

10 seniors in the end, and 4 young lads who had their own junior section.

I was first to draw my peg being the only 'lady' there...

Remembering my brother and other fishing freaks always going on about the
direction of the wind it was apparently a good thing to get this peg, so I
sat for 5 hours with the wind very firmly in my face...gusting to gale force
at times...all good fun so I'm told ;o)

So, how did I get on? Well...I didn't catch a thing....but neither did 12 of
the other 'competitors'...the winner was the only guy to land anything, and
he won with a whopping bag of 6 or so tiny rudd.

Now seeing as the lake is stocked by persons close to me, we all know its
not a fact of having no fish...if anything its slightly overstocked, with
some good sized specimens too...who gave me a lovely show at times during
the day, one carp who rolled on the surface a few times near me was lovely
to see.
....as to why the fish all decided not to feed yesterday is anyone's guess
;o)

"caroline" wrote in message
...
"caroline" wrote

snip

Remembering my brother and other fishing freaks always going on about the
direction of the wind it was apparently a good thing to get this peg, so I
sat for 5 hours with the wind very firmly in my face...gusting to gale
force at times...all good fun so I'm told ;o)


Hmm ..... Imo that depends on the 'type/style' of fishing and the species
being targetted, the size/characteristics and local knowledge of the lake,
the time of year, the actual wind direction, how long it has been 'from'
that direction, if it recently changed how recently and from what direction
...... amongst a few other things like for example the temperature. Also, Ime
how all these factors impinge on a quite shallow small (1acre) lake is very
different to a larger (25acre) former quarry or gravel pit.

Richard

In article , caroline
wrote:

Remembering my brother and other fishing freaks always going on about the
direction of the wind it was apparently a good thing to get this peg, so I
sat for 5 hours with the wind very firmly in my face...gusting to gale force
at times...all good fun so I'm told ;o)

So you didn't need a pole and were able to sit well back from the edge and
fish the extreme margin..? Or the drop-off where the backflow tumbled food
washed from the margin into the depths?

So, how did I get on? Well...I didn't catch a thing....but neither did 12 of
the other 'competitors'...the winner was the only guy to land anything, and
he won with a whopping bag of 6 or so tiny rudd.

And did you notice how he did it?

Ah well. Matches are often like that ime.

Cheerio,

--