DES TAYLOR
“No place for species snobs”
I’M OFTEN asked if I’d rather fish a river than a stillwater. That’s a hard one to answer with a straight ‘yes’ or ‘no’. You see, as far as the surroundings go the river wins hands down for me. The sound of running water and the richness of nature hold sway whatever the time of year.
Then again, stillwaters are home to some of my favourite fish – tench, carp and eels – and I love catching all these, especially in summer.
I find it strange and a bit depressing that a rift seems to have opened up between river and stillwater anglers. It’s the worst kind of snobbery when a river devotee who doesn’t want to catch carp calls them mud pigs! That’s just awful, because carp are attractive fish that fight well and grow to a good size in still and running waters alike.
I love seeing the rod buckle over to the pull of a big barbel, but it’s even more exciting when a big carp comes to the surface and sucks down your floating bait. The moment the fish realises its mistake the water explodes and a bow wave surges up the lake.
Even the river angling diehards can’t say they wouldn’t enjoy that, I certainly do.
Then again, it’s hard to beat sitting beneath a riverside tree with just a quivertip rod and bread as bait. First off, there’s a small knock on the rod just to let you know the fish are there, and soon after that a big chub hauls the rod round to its full test curve as it takes the bait.
In total contrast there’s the peace you experience on a summer’s dawn with the lake cloaked in morning mist, watching a float surrounded by needle bubbles that tells you that tench are mopping up the bait you have thrown into the swim.
The anticipation of the bite is almost painful – first the float lifts a little, then it slowly glides away. The tench ploughs through the silt in a vain attempt to free itself, sending up bubbles that look as if someone has opened a bottle of fizzy pop. Two very different scenarios, two very different species – who could possibly separate them in the pleasure stakes?
Come to that, what could be better than trotting a livebait down the river for zander? There’s something very special when you feel that tell-tale ‘thump-thump’ as the fish shakes its head, and almost straight away you know this is no pike.
I actually find zander the more attractive and interesting of the two species – there, I’ve said it! But these are not our only predatory fish. I cannot think of anything much more exciting than being asleep in my bivvy beside a stillwater, only to be awakened by the sound of a buzzer that tells me my bottomfished deadbait has been picked up by a giant eel. Watching the line peel off the reel as I prepare to set the hook is enough to give anyone a heart attack!
What I’m saying in my roundabout way is this – forget the snobbery in angling.
Whether you prefer fishing stillwaters or rivers, you’re out there to enjoy it, otherwise what the hell’s the point?
Email us your child’s details, including their name, the weight of the fish, where and how they caught it, along with a photograph, to kingfisherclub@ anglingtimes.co.uk
Open to children up to the age of 16.