With the lack of rain the water was still low, probably a foot down on normal level, which meant that margin fishing right in the margins, no more than a foot out, was in water no more than a foot deep. In fact, Jon and Eric were fishing about 9 inches deep. Sounds ridiculous I know, considering the carp we were fishing for average 7 - 10lb. The water barely covers their backs when they patrol round the margin and then start digging into the feed we've introduced.
We caught the odd fish nice and steadily for the first couple of hours or so and then the carp really got their bibs on as they found the food traps we'd put down for them. I spent some time taking photographs and helping Eric (who has yet to master the margin pole) but that's part of my enjoyment. Jon in particular was doing really well on his Shimano Beastmaster Extreme margin pole and Ed landed a barbel that he first thought was a bigger than average carp. How do these stillwater barbel manage to look so fit and fight so well considering they're essentially river fish and have no right to live in stillwater? Well, not according to some.
Jon managed to break the top section of his pole through leaning on it with his elbow and had to change to a waggler rod, both me and Ed managed to get broke off on a big fish and had the indignity of seeing the elastic twang back into the pole with a loud thwack! (No, we don't make a habit of getting broken, but it does happen very occasionally). And Eric had a carp so heavy it made him break wind as he lifted it from the water, causing a pair of pigeons to fly off from a nearby tree with a rapid flutter of wings. And I don't blame them, he frightens us at times.We had a great day and Ed and Jon were still catching as me and Eric left a little earlier.
It's not rocket science
Now this margin pole fishing on prolific fisheries like those down at Border Fisheries isn't rocket science. You don't need to be a master angler to work out how to catch them. But we weren't there to study for any degrees in angling and we vary our approach through a wide range of legering and float fishing methods just so we're not doing the same thing week in and week out. You know, like many specialist carp anglers who fish with two rods, bolt rigs, bite alarms and boilies, in the same swim on the same water week after week after week.
What's the essential difference? The specialist spends a lot more time at the waterside, catches fewer but bigger fish, and waits a lot longer between bites.Is that a knock at specialist carp anglers? Not on your life, for I'm one myself from time to time, but too many specialist anglers spend far too much time knocking commercial fishery anglers, or pleasure anglers who catch lots of smaller fish, from that aloof and lofty perch they've built that suggests, to them at least, that what they do is soooooooo superior to what anyone else does.
Get a life I say, and just enjoy how you fish, however it is, and leave the other guy to enjoy how he fishes. You're not doing each other any harm are you? In fact, if we all wanted to fish the same waters in the same way, there wouldn't be room for all of us. So draw your horns in and get on with enjoying how you like to fish, and accept the fact that one man's fish is another man's poisson chat.
The next time you get the urge to knock commercials or a club water with platforms and easy access, take a look at the picture of Eric to the left. He's aged 71 and has Parkinson's disease, and if it wasn't for commercial fisheries and waters like Border Fisheries, he would no longer be able to enjoy his life-long love of angling. And that applies to thousands of elderly or disabled anglers who are unable to fish anywhere that doesn't have easy access, easy fishing and comfortable swims.
Would you deny them that?
As you say -- Although not everyone's cup of tea PROPERLY RUN commercials serve a very useful purpose
ReplyDeleteThey certainly do, and not just for the elderly and disabled. I don't see anything wrong with any young and able-bodied person enjoying them. And thousands do.
ReplyDelete...including youngsters, where they are 'almost guaranteed' to catch something -- and what better way to get them interested. Kids soon get bored if they're not catching.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, if they catch on their first outing --they're 'hooked' for life