DES TAYLOR “Life’s too short for snobbery”
To me, it doesn’t matter what you catch, or how, as long as you enjoy yourself
THE other day I’m walking along the riverbank looking for a likely barbel swim when I come across this chap sitting by his bivvy, making a brew on his gas stove. Two rods are pointed skywards.
He’s a nice chap, aged about 40, I’d guess, and he asks me if I fancied a brew.
There I am, looking out over the river, supping my tea and thinking: “Life’s good.” Then the angler pipes up with something I’ve heard before – but still it takes me aback.
“I love my barbel fishing, but I don’t know how anyone could sit for days with a couple of rods over buzzers for mud pigs (carp), do you?” he says.
Well, he’s doing just that, isn’t he, only for barbel, not carp? I can only put his attitude down to angling snobbery.
I’ve never been able to understand how this oneupmanship has any place in our sport. Fishing is fishing, end of… yet people are always keen to have a pop.
I hear fly anglers sound off that fishing nymphs and buzzers is the only way to catch trout. They look down their noses at anyone who dares to put on a feathered lure. But the other day I caught on all three imitations and enjoyed them equally as much.
I’ve heard predator anglers who fish jigs running down dropshotting because it’s too easy. I carry rods set up for both methods, and why not?
Species snobbery is just as daft. I hate it when an angler catches a specimen bream or tench when he’s after carp and moans about his bad luck, even if it is a specimen of its kind. To me, all species are equal. I love big carp, but I’m just as happy catching a huge bream.
So let’s stop this in-fighting and get on with catching fish – no matter what the bait, method or species.