Best piece of advice you have ever recieved about fishing.

[Kirk]

Keep it simple and keep it tight

[nobbynofish]

if the wife is on her left side , fish out the left side of the boat
if she is on her right side , fish out the right hand side of the boat.
If she on her back dont go fishing

[boloa]

PMA
Positive Mental Attitude
If you think you won't catch,you won't !!!!

[Baz T]

1. Ensure you remove all pollack and cod caught from the boot of your hatchback on your return home, in case one smaller 5lb pollack has slid out the bag by accident, and you dont find out till you use the car again 4 days later (in the middle of summer too) - Had to drive with windows open for 2 weeks. Missus refused to get in it for a month!
2. Trying to explain the joy of fishing to a non angler is like trying to stuff butter up a porcupines ass with a red hot poker - virtually impossible!
3. Keep it simple
4. Never ignore the margins
5. Dont skimp on bait (some anglers spend hundreds on tackle etc, but moan about cost of decent bait)
6. There is no number 6
7. Enjoy each trip regardless of the result

[BoldBear]

The three most important things to bear in mind when after quality fish are 'location', 'location' and 'location'.

A mundane bait presented in the right location is far better than a brilliant bait presented in the wrong location.

You can use the best bait possible but if there are no decent fish there to take your bait then you will be struggling which is why I think that Location is the key factor.

[scottish_and_mental]

im torn between the location and bait argument being a sea angler - unfortunaltely we dont have fish stocked in 20 foot ponds

I must admit bait and its presentation are ranked high for me - as for location , as long as it isnt the living room i'm not bothered

[BoldBear]

Originally Posted by scottish_and_mental

im torn between the location and bait argument being a sea angler - unfortunaltely we dont have fish stocked in 20 foot ponds

I must admit bait and its presentation are ranked high for me - as for location , as long as it isnt the living room i'm not bothered

I have always found that 'Location' still holds true even when I go sea fishing.
eg. Casting a bait near to a weedy rock outcrop or a submerged wreck will be a lot more productive than casting in an open featureless area when you are fishing for Conger, Wrasse, or Pollack etc.

Bass, Skate, and Wrasse all have their own different preferences but will usually be found in the places where their chosen food is more abundant (or for some fish species; places where they might feel safer feeding).

If you put a brilliant well presented bait in the wrong place then you'll possibly catch nothing at all, but using a well presented acceptable bait will catch you far more fish when cast into the right place; therefore 'Location' is surely the most important thing to bear in mind, even when sea fishing isn't it?.

[scottish_and_mental]

When i fish later tonight - anywhere along the Solent - i can almost Guarantee there will be Smoothounds about ....
If i use anything but decent crab bait i will be lucky to even get a snaffle..
Similarly if i fish anywhere along the entire 18 miles of Chesil and use naff bait i will catch nothing - even though the fish are there - I throw out some fresh rag or a sandeel and i would put money on catching either a dog or pout ..
I can see where location can give you an advantage - near a groyne / in a gulley etc but i cant see fish being unable to chase their quarry and being too lazy to hunt down food which would require them moving around .
I've seen it when wrecking on numerous occassions - the pollack are thick on the wreck - only i am catching them, one after the other - we are all in the same location but my choice of bait / lure is outfishing everyone else ..

When deciding where to fish tonight i look at either a. targeting a specific species ie the smoothies on crab or Ray on sandeel ..
b.seeing what top quality bait i can gather - i know i can dig decent worms later so why not target Bass and Bream ?
c.Looking at catch reports - i know from experience that you tell someone you caught a decent fish and the first question is " what bait were you using ? " . I wont go to a specific area just because someones had a good bag - the old " it was great here yesterday " normally comes into play !
I've also seen in match fishing when its a rover - the top anglers wont concentrate on moving around but will instead make sure they have the best bait available and use things like white rag that can make a massive difference purely because they have the advantage over someone using last nights ragworm..

I can see what you are saying - i know if i want Wrasse , to fish Portland where they live in huge numbers , but i also know unless i use fresh crab or lively rag i ain't getting one

This is the thing ..is location important when species hunting or when going for a lazy session down your local beach ? I will fish anywhere along the south coast tonight , BUT only if i know i have the best bait i can get

In conclusion lol , i will give it BAIT 65% - location 35% and would be interested to see what other people think - even if im totally wrong
Steve

[NICK R]

I was always told , Never fish near a noddy

In conclusion lol , i will give it BAIT 65% - location 35% and would be interested to see what other people think - even if im totally wrong

i would say bait is only 10/15%

Location is the most inportant ,
it aint no good putting bait out if there are no fish there

[Maddison_Twatter]

Originally Posted by Baz T

1. Ensure you remove all pollack and cod caught from the boot of your hatchback on your return home, in case one smaller 5lb pollack has slid out the bag by accident, and you dont find out till you use the car again 4 days later (in the middle of summer too) - Had to drive with windows open for 2 weeks. Missus refused to get in it for a month!
2. Trying to explain the joy of fishing to a non angler is like trying to stuff butter up a porcupines ass with a red hot poker - virtually impossible!
3. Keep it simple
4. Never ignore the margins
5. Dont skimp on bait (some anglers spend hundreds on tackle etc, but moan about cost of decent bait)
6. There is no number 6
7. Enjoy each trip regardless of the result

Brilliant , I took some dead baits out of the freezer last year and a pack fell down the side, it took a few days to notice the smell but I thought the dog had crapped somewhere. took another few days to find the rancid remains of some mackerel yuk !!