what makes a good angler

[chazyboi]

Recently i was reading a few quotes on here and after a few heated discussions thought ok lets put this to the forum ,,what makes a good angler or the "best" and do you think you are the best and why? just curiouse on what replies i will get on this . I came up with a few evaluations one being the majority who can fish every day and who live next to lakes, sea, rivers take center stage over the ones who cannot go every day (sort of pulling rank) due to family work illness and other commitments, does this make the later any less versed in the piscatorial art or a know nothing? ,,i used to take an old friend fishing once a month 72 he was died 6 years ago i learned more from him on those once a month outings than from any other "specialist" and i use the word loosely than i ever fished with because he was humble and was never big headed even when he out fished me lol, but boy could he catch carp and tench and with a wallis wizard rod and dough bobbin to boot ,... another thought was.... is it your knowledge of tackle be it the latest bling or the good old vintage reel under the stairs ,,my house has in the past had 6 or 7 anglers discussing tackle and who is the best educated on the stuff fact is we are all the same when it comes to that as its personal choice ,,,then there is the theory of the internet trawler who will only take whats written as gosple ive seen ppl on forums dismiss gear as rubbish that they have never tried is it a mysticle greatness or do they know something us mere mortals dont surely the only way you can dismiss a product is by trying it not in the fishing world obviously there is a direct line to the fishing gods i havnt got lol, sometimes new companies can throw up a rare gem at a cheap price and thats a fact and yes there is junk i have brought enough in the past .
personally i think what makes a good angler is knowledge of the fish and habitats ect not a thing to do with the tackle and bling and how often you go ,,i catch most my sea fish on an old daiwa supreme (re rung with fujis) with a nityx 400 attached occasionaly a daiwa 4500 emcast and catch just as many fish as ppl who i fish with who have all the big boy gear very rarely i blank but thats down to fishing west and north welsh beaches best in britain but thats my oppinion so obviously the fish dont care so why should my opinions on gear upset others ? my life my cash i buy what suits regardless and if it works i will be honest if it dont it gets donated to some kid who hasnt got gear ive never owned an abu 6500 never had the need to or a zipplex but i catch pleanty of bass and rays on my day and occasional big huss ...
as i say if we on the forum were that good at out foxing the fish we would be in the glossy mags every week making millions endorsing some big company ect fact is i cant say i recognize anyone on here from anything other than on here (lovely bunch you are not ment to offend ) so in my eye that makes us all the same but on slightly different levels and that is only due to acces to close venues understanding family ect ,,because i havnt been out sea fishing since september dosent make my passion or knowledge any less than any one elses or the fact im land locked ,,the fact ive not broke my 32lb pb carp in 8 years dosent make me a rubbish carper or my 28lb pike in 7,,but the knowledge i have amassed over 40 years of fishing and passed on does and the knowledge ppl will pass on to me , one thing i do prize is my catch and release badge though i earned from sea angler cos i owe that to my old mate and his knowledge that was passed to me making me a better angler by far not the best though as i learn every time i go out ,,so come on lets hear what you think dont be shy are you the best

[fishypaul]

i don't have any interest in who is the best angler,many anglers regard themselves as the best and cannot back up their claims,
i feel an experienced angler is usually a good angler because they have learned from their failures and honed their skills over the years,
there are a great many good anglers on this forum and their knowledge is valuable to those who need help

[cuckoo]

Originally Posted by fishypaul

i don't have any interest in who is the best angler,many anglers regard themselves as the best and cannot back up their claims,
i feel an experienced angler is usually a good angler because they have learned from their failures and honed their skills over the years,
there are a great many good anglers on this forum and their knowledge is valuable to those who need help

Spot on paul a good angler dosent know everything and is always learning

[MRG2000]

Originally Posted by fishypaul

i don't have any interest in who is the best angler,many anglers regard themselves as the best and cannot back up their claims,
i feel an experienced angler is usually a good angler because they have learned from their failures and honed their skills over the years,
there are a great many good anglers on this forum and their knowledge is valuable to those who need help

Couldn`t have put it better myself Paul..

[Ish The Fish]

Originally Posted by chazyboi

....that makes us all the same......

I have to admit to scanning through a lot of that, but the above line sums it all up for me!

I eat, I sh.., I sleep, I fish.
You eat, you sh.., you sleep, you fish!

Pretty much my rule on most people in life, maybe not always with the 'fishing' bit.

As for tackle....
I bought a cheapy starter beach caster combo, had a nice Rod dontated to me by another forum member which is used with my mates 'spare' reel...
Apart from my Rod Holdall (more need/praticality than bling) and my sparkly new Beach Buddy I have real basic gear.

I catch fish....
Tackle Tart catches fish....

They may 'look' better in some opinions, other may view with jealousy, some with contempt....
But that's a big part of what makes this forum such a great place.
We are all different, with our own opinions, a few quite often more than happy to share theirs.
Some may have more experience than others, which more often than not can be faithfully relied on, but it does not mean it is always right.
The important part is that we all respect each others opinions no matter how different our own maybe.


As for being the best....

[scottish_and_mental]

I dont know anyone who makes thousands , let alone millions from angling ..
Names like Paul Kerry and Alan Yates are a few of these ' household' names you mention but i dont think myself or quite a few others on here to be lesser anglers - just not ones who fish competitions every other day .
Mike Ladle is a good example of a good angler - Henry Gilbey a good example of a not so clever one - but BOTH are household names in angling circles ....
the joy of this forum and fishing with the guys i do , is that we all learn from each other all the time - even after 20 years or so of dangling.

[Rob M]

Originally Posted by fishypaul

i don't have any interest in who is the best angler,many anglers regard themselves as the best and cannot back up their claims,
i feel an experienced angler is usually a good angler because they have learned from their failures and honed their skills over the years,
there are a great many good anglers on this forum and their knowledge is valuable to those who need help

Well said mate I consider myself an average all round angler who gets lucky from time to time but recently I passed on some advice to a mate who has recently returned to angling, it was a nice feeling. I've learnt LOADS from guys on this forum over the years and in particular Paul who I've had the best times fishing with.

[Bluesbro]

Well said guys, there are so many factors to take into consideration when judging anyone`s fishing ability. I don`t think it`s a fair fight, ever, thats why I dont fish competitions, tried one once and hated it! Couldn`t talk to anyone, get told where and when to fish, not my idea of fishing or even in the spirit of fishing IMO.

Some people only get to go fishing once a month or less so are bound to not catch as much as someone who goes every other day.Some people have only just started fishing so the chances of catching a 20lb cod and matching an older anglers PB has been greatly reduced. How do you judge who is better than who fairly?

I think it comes down to who is more experienced, some people have a wealth of knowlage and these people I would suggest do better than others but this alone does not make them any better. I would say I have limited experience, I can hold my own and converse with you good fellows, I know about knots, rigs and safety and I am starting to understand weather patterns-moon phazes and yet I have so much more to learn and experience for myself (20lb cod would be nice lol). If anyone wants to know anything they only need ask, I do often enough!

Thats the beauty of these sites because everyone has experience and knowlage and that information shared is helping others out to gain experience themselves, in return we may even learn something we didn`t know. Anyone who is ignorant enough to think they need not learn is a fool

Joe

[Spinner64]

I dont want to be a good angler Chaz i want to be a jammy git like my mate thats much easier lol or is he really a good angler as he does spend silly amounts of money on gear.
I love fishing, making new friends,looking for new marks to fish and helping out anyone if i can.
Oh and chatting to all the inmates on here lol

[chazyboi]

Originally Posted by fishypaul

i don't have any interest in who is the best angler,many anglers regard themselves as the best and cannot back up their claims,
i feel an experienced angler is usually a good angler because they have learned from their failures and honed their skills over the years,
there are a great many good anglers on this forum and their knowledge is valuable to those who need help

fishy paul (always the voice of reason) thats exactly the answer i was looking for though my thread had nothing to do with this forum i was asking for ppls views on what made a good angler , you all have your own views and controversial though the post may be it got you thinking ,i will say though if you did think it was an attack on the forum it was not in any way , read all my posts and threads i have never been disrespectful or big headed or rude and when wrong have took it on the chin and laughed , if i have got the wrong end of the stick (2 occasions) i always apologized , have a good new year and plenty of fish