“You wouldn’t use a machine gun for rabbits. Why use power rods?”
ONE OF the greatest delights of my summer so far has been a return to simple, close-quarters fishing with light tackle.
Whether it’s doublefigure carp on an Avon rod, or runaway bass on a featherweight lure outfit, little beats that giddy sensation of a kicking rod and line fizzing off the reel.
So why do I often feel like I’m in a minority when it comes to using sensible, balanced tackle? I don’t wish to castigate anyone, especially with the welcome groundswell of new anglers this summer. But regardless of where I fish, I see so much crazily over-gunned tackle!
Whether it’s match-sized carp on 3lb test carp rods, or mackerel on gear that could stop a bus, there’s a lot of brutally uncompromising kit about. You wouldn’t use an AK47 to hunt rabbits, so why do anglers use such heavy gear for averagesized fish?
Sometimes, as in the case of sea fishing, old habits die hard. Previous generations had more and bigger fish to chase. With coarse angling, though, it’s alarming just how many newcomers gravitate straight to carp and specimen fishing, without first enjoying the fun of smaller fish on light gear.
It’s understandable, perhaps, when social media is littered with so many images of huge fish, but it’s to our own cost that we forget how different things once were. Pleasure anglers of past generations had little chance of catching huge fish, to the point where monsters like carp were viewed as almost impossible to land. And yet the less advanced tackle of these times provided a greater appreciation of the bread and butter fish and the venues right under our noses.
If you think I’m merely being provocative here, just step into any tackle shop and look at the range of basic coarse fishing rods. Sometimes it’s hard to find a model that isn’t power this, or carp that. Good luck finding a match or feeder rod that is specifically designed for catching silverfish! Meanwhile, the carp section takes up half the shop and anything under 3lb test curve is considered light.
In other areas, though, sensitive, balanced tackle has never been better. Lure fishing is a shining example here – for under £100 anyone can get a beautifully crisp rod, an excellent reel and super-strong braid of a finer diameter than 5lb mono.
We all make our own choices, then, but we must always remind ourselves that angling must be about the joy of the process as well as what the scales register. Perhaps rather than trying to smash out a PB every trip, a better aim would be to enjoy every fish we hook?
Right, I’m off to get hold of a tactical nuclear missile to take out the moles on my lawn. See you next week.
“It’s hard to find a model that isn’t power this, or carp that”
Across: 1 Pellets 5 Grange 8/10 Twin tail 9 Balsa 11 Anchored 13/26/27D Hinged stiff rig 14 Clarke 16 Comedian 18 Unleaded 20 Alerts 21 Browne 23 Pear lead 25 Knot 27 Reek 28 Ferris 29 Monaghan.
Down: 1 Powan 2 Lyn 3 Enborne 4 Solid 5/22 Grafham Water 6 Anton 7 Glide bait 12 Horse 15 Long-range 16 Cod 17 Dwell 19 Dresses 20 Anal fin 23 Prism 24 Arena.