Complete Fisher Forum

[Chris]

Right, here is how it works. I will ask someone 10 questions on the thread about them (fishing related in general!) and will then send them a link to the thread and ask them to respond. That person should answer the questions, then pick someone else and send them the link, and so it continues! If the buck lands with you then please answer the questions and keep it moving!

Chris
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Species caught on fly to date - 46
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Saltwater Fly Shack - Coming Soon!

[Chris]

First set of questions to Anglersvoice:



Name?

How long have you been fishing?

What types of fishing do you do?

Have you fished abroad?

What species do you fish for?

Is there one fish that stands out in all the ones you have caught?

Is there one place you would like to fish in the future that you have not yet fished?

What is the future for our waters if we do not take notice of the conservation issues?

What's the heaviest fish you've caught (any species)?

Anything else you would like to share?
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Species caught on fly to date - 46
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Saltwater Fly Shack - Coming Soon!

[anglersvoice]

Name? Kevin

How long have you been fishing? 35 Years

What types of fishing do you do?

Anything where I can cast and move but tend to go stir crazy looking at a quiver tip or float. I travel light and do not own a fishing seat/basket, Flyfishing and Spinning/Plug/Jigs are my absolute passion. Most fishing in the UK for Trout.

Have you fished abroad?

Yep, Canada every year, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Malaysia, Israel, USA, France... think that's it so far. WOULD LOVE TO GO TO CUBA

What species do you fish for? Trout and LM Bass and SM Bass mostly

Is there one fish that stands out in all the ones you have caught?

As always, it's the one I lost. 2 years ago in Canada fishing with an Orange Minkie from a float tube. I watched the fly pulse and sink right on the edge of a weedbed and this 8" diameter mouth just came up from the deep and sucked it down.

I went Ballistic, literally, a Small-Mouth bass about 7/8lb about 24" long launched itself skywards, cleared the water by at least 2 feet and threw the hook with contempt.

Is there one place you would like to fish in the future that you have not yet fished? Cuba/Seychelles (Alphonse Island)

What is the future for our waters if we do not take notice of the conservation issues?. Short and Murky

What's the heaviest fish you've caught (any species)?
8lb Rainbow Trout in Scotland

Anything else you would like to share?

My biggest dislike is people spending 10 hours complaining about not spending 1 hour helping our rivers/fish.


Pass onto KevZim

[KevZim]

Name?
Kevin

How long have you been fishing?

Started when I was a laaitie (about 4) fishing in Dams with my Grandfather and used to fish the rivers in the wet season with my boet. Moved to England when I was a kid and cut my teeth on lakes in Kent preferring perch, tench and silver fish to carp (though one lake was stocked with pasties that grew quite big... Two Tone originated from the Wood Pool ). Had a long break through my teens into early twenties when I moved away from accessible fishing and subsequently girls, guns, motorbikes, and music captured my attention for a while. Got back into fishing "big time" during a year in Zim in the mid '90s, haven't looked back since.
So I guess about 30 years, with a gap of eight or nine in the midst...

What types of fishing do you do?

Allsorts.
Mostly fly fishing, with a marked preference for wild places and wild fish - SWFF and rivers are my first choices. I also enjoy a few trips to reservoirs each year, and have a tradition of tenching around the traditional coarse opening day. Dust off my pole once or twice a year for some humour with carp, and quite often go out with my nephew whip fishing for silverfish in the summer. This time of year my thoughts begin to turn to sitting by a bobbing beachcaster on freezing shingle with chattering teeth... that Clouser chap has a lot to answer for!

Have you fished abroad?
Yes. Zimbabwe (Tigerfish, Tilapia, Barbel, Trout); South Africa (Trout, Yellowfish, Bass, Leervis, Macks); Minnesota (Bass, Perch, Walleye).

What species do you fish for?

These days I tend to concentrate on Brown Trout and Bass. Don't catch many Bass though
Also Mackerel, Scad, Gar & Mullet ( )Grayling, Chub, and of course Rainbow Trout.

Is there one fish that stands out in all the ones you have caught?

A fair sized (45cm) Usk Brown that had been driving me nuts all week (this was two years or so back). I'd had a couple of decent fish, but this was a real "Wise George Onecast." Managed it on my last evening on a size 18 Kites Imperial, and felt as if I'd conquered the world

Is there one place you would like to fish in the future that you have not yet fished?

Just one? Cape Cod for Striped Bass and Bluefish - to see how a fishery should be managed.

What is the future for our waters if we do not take notice of the conservation issues?

Bloody Grim.
What are we up against? Abstraction reducing flow, which concentrates the pollutants from agricultural runoff and sewage overflows; poor managment of both freshwater and marine fisheries; and worst of all - Angler Apathy!

What's the heaviest fish you've caught (any species)?
Don't know - I don't tend to weigh fish. I sometimes measure length, but generally just briefly admire and release.

Heaviest would have to be a carp I caught with CN this summer I suppose, as it's the only fish I've weighed in ages. Think it was 14lb.
Wasn't as pretty as the smaller one though - which tells you where my priorities lie.

Anything else you would like to share?

Well, following from AV with a pet hate... I don't like the obsession with weighing fish - it turns a fish into a commodity rather than a thing of natural beauty; increases stress during C and R; is also largely irrelevant when catching overfed stockies of any species. Length is a more useful, and humane, measure - if one is really necessary at all...

I DO like... being out there... in amongst it... fishing. You know what it's like

and I pass the buck to...

Lakefisher
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http://www.runningsponsorme.org/kevinknight

[lakefisher]

Name? Tony

How long have you been fishing? 57 Years

What types of fishing do you do?

Have tried most methods in my fishing career, but now get the most enjoyment from fly fishing, mainly still waters. The occasional foray for carp still interests me.

Have you fished abroad?

Unless you count Eire (Southern Ireland) as "abroad" - No

What species do you fish for?

Trout, Pike and Carp - but then again - if it's got fins

Is there one fish that stands out in all the ones you have caught?

Yes. I was fishing for Pike with my late wife Carol, trolling plugs slowly around Castle Bay, Loch Awe. Suddenly, Carols rod was hit, tremendous bend in it and she commenced playing a hell of a fish. A life time later, probably 15 mins (but you know how it is) the fish jumped ! No Pike, but a bar of silver - a Salmon - her first ! Shortly afterward my net slid under what turned out to be an 18lb hen Salmon. Quickly weighed, she insisted it was returned - not even a photo, but a memory that will be with me forever. You see I netted it and saw the look on Carols face.

Is there one place you would like to fish in the future that you have not yet fished? One place - No, but lots I wouls like to try. From some thing like the Spey with a double hander to anywhere warm that is fly fishable

What is the future for our waters if we do not take notice of the conservation issues?. Short and Murky just about sums it up In my life time I have seen what can happen to a river the size of the Trent at Nottingham - and it still hasn't fully recovered.

What's the heaviest fish you've caught (any species)?

On fly ? A 26lb Rainbow from Loch Awe. Admired and returned.

Anything else you would like to share?

Fishing, in all its forms has given me immence pleasure over many years, and still does. But the best times for me are when I can put a little back - simple,small things such as helping out beginers or just signing a petition.

Over to you Allrounder

[Allrounder]

Name?
Alan

How long have you been fishing?
43 years

What types of fishing do you do?
The forum name is a clue! Game, sea and coarse but mostly fly fishing these days rather than baitfishing.

Have you fished abroad?
I've been to County Cavan in Eire after bream a few times and I confess to sneaking away from the swimming pool in Majorca last summer for a few hours fishing from the rocks with a cheap rod and reel kit that cost 10 euros and a loaf of bread. Great fun!

What species do you fish for?
Anything that swims really but my favourites are trout, bass, pike and mackerel.

Is there one fish that stands out in all the ones you have caught?
Around 25 years ago when I was heavily into beachcasting I caught a 10lb 8oz pollack from the shore at Seatown, near Bridport in Dorset. The fish took a tiny sliver of herring on a #4 hook fished as a 'flyer' (dropper) above a larger mackerel bait on the bottom hook. The initial bite was a series of tiny taps just as the lead settled on the bottom and I assumed it was a small Pouting before the rod was almost ripped out of my hands. I was fishing with a ABU Atlantic 484 beachcasting rod which really was a beefy bit of kit but the fish literally had it bent in two It tore off to my right, swung around in an arc as I was giving it no line at all ( I was hanging on to my rod for dear life!) and beached itself about 50 yards away. I can still remember to this day running down the beach towards it, frantically reeling in loose line with its silver flanks reflecting in a combination of moon and tilly lamp light, desperatedly hoping to get there before the surf reclaimed its own again. It was weighed by the landlord of the pub on the beach (good choice of venue!). At the time I though the fish had taken the tiny herring bait, but in later years I realised that the initial bite probably was from a small pouting and the Pollack then took the pouting, hence the arm wrenching take.

Is there one place you would like to fish in the future that you have not yet fished?
No, there are loads! I've always wanted to fish in really wild places like Canada and Alaska but at the same time I'd really like to try bonefishing in Cuba.

What is the future for our waters if we do not take notice of the conservation issues?
It depends. Waters like reservoirs that provide public drinking water will remain relatively safe as there will be the political will to take appropriate action to secure them and so those fisheries based on them will also be relatively safe at least in terms of water quality. Other waters have a much less certain future because they are either seen as low priority in the scheme of things by government (rivers) or rely on cross government co-operation (the sea).

What's the heaviest fish you've caught (any species)?
A 16lb 8oz Mirror Carp in a coarse fishing match at Shearwater Lake in Wiltshire

Anything else you would like to share?
Just my concern that one of the biggest threats to angling comes not from the indifference of government or campaigns by anti's but from ourselves. To me angling is as much an art as it is a sport and by that I mean that there is much more to it than just achievements -ie catching 'more' and 'bigger' fish. It is also that feeling you get on a still summers morning by the lake, the expectancy as you crunch across the shingle to meet the early morning tide and when parting the bushes on a river to watch a fish hovering in the current.
However today I am told by my coarse fishing friends that they have had a 'crap' days fishing if they 'only' had 30lb when they expected 80lb -100lb and in trout fishing it seems that a limit is expected - and on a small water an absolute right - rather than the occasional red letter day it once was.
It's the loss of anglings soul that I fear more than the anti's because once that's gone what is left isn't worth bothering about.

OK - the end of the ramblings this old man so I'll pass the buck to an even older one!

Over to you CB
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Nymphs work best with plastazote eyes ...

[C.B]

Name?
Mike Hordern

How long have you been fishing?

48 years!! I started when I was 8 years old on the Bristol Avon catching Roach

What types of fishing do you do?
Over the years I have swung between Coarse and Fly and at the moment share them equally.
Even after the disastrous 2006 season at Bristol waters I still really enjoy fly fishing for Trout.

For the last 15 years I've fishing on and off for specimen Carp but have not really dared to get to involved as I've seen what it can do to anglers

I still very much enjoy fishing for Carp and silvers fish on the pole and am quite happy to fish commercial waters.

Whilst I know that river fishing can be even more rewarding, mild Arthritis in one of my knees has started to throw up concerns over access and mobility.


Have you fished abroad?

No, unfortunately. I am not a well travelled Man!!

What species do you fish for?


Although I fish for mainly Trout and Carp, my favourite species is Chubb.


Is there one fish that stands out in all the ones you have caught?

Yes, A Barbel of 9lb 9oz caught on the Bristol Avon at Claverton. Although by todays standards a 9+lb Barbel is not huge, twenty years ago it was!!

Is there one place you would like to fish in the future that you have not yet fished?

It would have to be The Kenai River in Alaska for King Salmon.

What is the future for our waters if we do not take notice of the conservation issues?

I think the future for Anglers and especially our rivers is looking quite good. In fact I've just read an article that reports fish stocks in our rivers are at their highest for 20 years

What's the heaviest fish you've caught (any species)?

Common Carp 22lb 12 oz

Anything else you would like to share?

As this was passed to an 'even older one' by Allrounder, I'm gonna pass it to a very much younger one.................................

Over to you Trout
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" Have a nice day"

[C.B]

Bumped..........
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" Have a nice day"

[trout]

name? Laurence

How long have you been fishing? 11 years coarse fishing, about 2 years fly fishing (had my 1st blagdon trout august 05)

What types of fishing do you do? I only coarse fished up until two years ago, and this 06 season has been my first full one. I have fished in coarse matches and been a member of a club for 5 or 6 years. im 17 on thursday so its the end of my junior days. So, it mostly fly fishing now, but when i can drive ill definatly be spending more time coarse fishing. I do some sea fishing on holiday in STives at easter after the small eels and plaice.

Have you fished abroad? Yes, ive fished in france and had carp from lakes there, and had my first fish in scotland from the beach. had a few roach, chub, bleak from a river in france before.

What species do you fish for? Any coarse fish, carp are very welcome though. and i fly fish for brown and rainbows. although i have caught perch and pike.....

Is there one fish that stands out in all the ones you have caught? not really. ummmmm, a perch of 2lb 6oz at hunstrete. My pb pike of 3.5lb fom blagdon, 3lb 7oz rainbow from rugmoor this year. Chub i caught in france.....

Is there one place you would like to fish in the future that you have not yet fished? All the big waters in the UK! and some rivers around england.

What is the future for our waters if we do not take notice of the conservation issues? Well, im no river conservationist, but i suport it all. Um, i know lots of rivers are drying up because of extraction of water from aquifers i can see it carry on the way it is for a long time, althought i think we have to be carfull about stoking, over fishing of natural rivers.

What's the heaviest fish you've caught (any species)? 12.5lb common (im not a big fish fisherman)

Anything else you would like to share? sorry it took me so long to reply... o yeh, and i live 30 secs away from Blagdon lake Coare fishing and respect for fish i going DOWN hill. people now stuff keepnets with 100lb of fish in them, and are disapointed if they dont fill thier nets. why not half the stock of fish in a stillwater and have people catch half as much and have better quality fish..........just what i think.

Im going to pass this on to CHEF, as im sure he has nothing better to do only joking ill enjoy reading it!
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Trout

[Chef]

name? Tim


how long have you been fishing? 30 years on and off

what types of fishing do you do ? Mainly fly now but still get out the pike rods at this time of year

have you fished abroad? Only If you count Eire , hoping to have a week or two over there next year

what species do you fish for? as many as i can
but I must try SWFF this year,
is there one fish that stands out from the ones you have caught ?
the first rainbow i took on a dry fly ,water was really clear watched the trout rising ,covered it and saw it change direction and take fly not the biggest trout i've caught but one that sticks in my mind
Is there one place you would like to fish in the future that you have not fished yet? so many but I really want to go to New Zealand,Canada and Cuba
whats the heaviest fish you,ve caught (any species) not huge but a 19lb pike from a little backwater off the severn

what is the future of our waters if we do not take notice of conservation issues? Poor

anything else you would like to share only remember Its supposed to be fun when fishing

Pass it to .......DanC
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It's the mark of a very,very young soul to try and fix the world
chuck palahniuk

[DanC]

Name Dan, funnily enough

How long have you been fishing roughly about 32 years and I'm still crap !!

What types of fishing do you do Maily fly fishing this past year and it's got me bad - I'm lucky enough to be a member of a couple of nice carp syndicates but have not fished them much this year.


Have you fished abroad Yep, fished in France , Germany , Austria and Wales

What species do you fish for Anything that I can manage to stick a hook into . I like fishing for Trout but have never caught a grayling - this is next on my list .

Is there one fish that stands out from the ones you have caught This is tough. It could be my first ever brown trout from the Wye whilst fishing with Rad at the Talybont social or a 20lb+ leather carp that I caught from an old estate lake - not the size of the fish but the fact that Id fished this water over a period of 20 years and always wanted a 20 pounder from there .

Is there one place you would like to fish in the future you have not fished yet not thqat I can honestly think of but anwhere with Pitsford and his good lady as they always have plenty of fags' beer and flies !!!

Whats the heaviest fish you have caught not big by national standards but 24.12 of mirror carp. This took place after quite a heavy social evening and i had to take a leak whilst playing the damn thing

What is the future of our waters if we do not take notice of conservation issues LOL the future will be vey short indeed .
We need more people like Anglers Voice ( is that enough arse licking Kev ?? ) to make us aware of enviromental issues etc .

Anything else you would like to share loads - mostly about Wrecked Train but as it's an open forum it's probably best not aired on here .

I'd like to pass this burden on to the forum's fashion expert and all round good egg - step up to the plate West Country Boy


Dan
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I've had plenty of practice !!!!!!!

[westcountryboy]

NAME? Toby Merigan (Irish name so that explains alot)

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN FISHING? Started when i was four fishing with my uncle. My family never thought i would be patient enough as i was a hyperactive child. I am a lazy slob now

WHAT TYPE OF FISHING DO YOU DO? If the water has fish in it i will stick my rod in it
Mainly fly now but love my sea fishing and dabble at coarse fishing.

HAVE YOU FISHED ABROAD?
Not alot have fished on holiday in Greece France Spain and the canary islands and also a few times in Eire.

WHAT SPECIES DO YOU FISH FOR? Any fish that is dumb enough to take my badly presented fly/bait.
Mainly wild brownies and grayling with the odd chub and rainbow thrown in.
Would like to hook a Bass on the fly next year.

IS THERE ONE FISH THAT STANDS OUT FROM THE ONES YOU HAVE CAUGHT.

My first 2lb roach caught on the local canal when i was 10 was good.
Hooking and landing four 15lb +pollack on a 15-25gram spinning rod and a tiny abu multiplier while wrecking 20 miles out to sea.
The first fish my son caught The look on his face will stay with me forever.

IS THERE A PLACE YOU WOULD LIKE TO FISH IN THE FUTURE THAT YOU HAVE NOT YET FISHED?

I always get butterflies in my tummy when i fish new waters so i love to try new places.
I hope in years to come to enjoy fishing with my son in this country that's if we don't fu** up all our waters.

WHATS THE HEAVIEST FISH YOU HAVE CAUGHT?

That would be a conger eel of between 50-60 lb great fun on 30lb tackle
Tope to 40lb plus

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF OUR WATERS IF WE DO NOT TAKE NOTICE OF CONSERVATION ISSUES?

There will be no rivers or lakes to fish only crappy commercial pond full of carp

ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE

Respect the environment the fish and the people around you and have fun.

Even when times are tough we are blessed to be alive

PASS IT ON .......Royvs please take the stage



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He who laughs last laughs longest

http://devonschoolofflyfishing.com The BEST Fly fishing tuition guiding and lessons in Devon

http://funkyflytying.co.uk

[royvs]

NAME? Roy

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN FISHING? About three years now on the fly but did sea fishing mainly in the Pentland Firth out of Scrabster for many years.

WHAT TYPE OF FISHING DO YOU DO? Fly fishing, initially still water but have now developed a passion for rivers.

HAVE YOU FISHED ABROAD?
Yes, Pennsylvania where I was introduced to river fishing. Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

WHAT SPECIES DO YOU FISH FOR? Trout and now Grayling.

IS THERE ONE FISH THAT STANDS OUT FROM THE ONES YOU HAVE CAUGHT.

A conger eel that nearly had me overboard in the Firth of Clyde.

IS THERE A PLACE YOU WOULD LIKE TO FISH IN THE FUTURE THAT YOU HAVE NOT YET FISHED?

Montana and Montana and Montana...and Patagonia.

WHATS THE HEAVIEST FISH YOU HAVE CAUGHT?
40lb Conger...the one referred to above.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF OUR WATERS IF WE DO NOT TAKE NOTICE OF CONSERVATION ISSUES?

I think we are beginning to take notice of conservation issues. The bigger problem will be the antis.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE
Whilst I will never regret a moment of my mountaineering in Scotland, the Himalayas and the Karakoram I dearly wish I had discovered fishing sooner.

Also this is a chance to thank members of this forum and my good friend Mark in America, who have done their best to make me a better fisherman.

I'll come up with someone when I've checked who's been "done"
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Roy

[royvs]

Andrew Moray...this is your life
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Roy

[KevZim]

Bump... Oh Anthony.... where are youooooo?
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http://www.runningsponsorme.org/kevinknight