Some of my Youtube friends were asked this Question; "Whats your One top tip to catch more or better fish " of-course there is not One Top tip either one of these can work out for you on a different day. If you haven't seen the video i made in collaboration with all these You-tubers then it really is worth a watch They have put in a lot of thought to this question and i have personally already started taking action on the points they mention.
There were so many talking points that came out of these exchanges and the comments i wanted to talk through them here with my thoughts with you all.
Jansen Gambling Angler -
"Fish the same venue, get to know it".
Ive really given a lot of thought to this. You find somewhere you think might produce fish and you give up too early ! I liked how Jansen talked in detail about fish being caught else where can distract you from your prize of a bigger, better specimen. I know i am guilty of this, my head gets turned by facebook pictures from people fishing to the East and West and i wont fish somewhere that gave me a blank. This is despite knowing my original venue can produce. Just think how much you could learn about a particular venue when you get to know it well. In time you refine your techniques for consistent fishing. Choose well and you could well be the person who knows that mark better than ANY other angler.I know specifically of one such venue. Another friend Rob. (yes i have more than one) fished this exclusively for a Year and on BIG baits. Yes he had his fair share of blanks but wow what a return after that year...
5 Separate species over 5lb,. Bass, Conger, Codling, Smoothound and skate ! This was from a venue noted only for its dabs and flounder and even well known anglers that would fish this mark didn't believe him. Photos are a great tool ! he knew during the lean periods fish were elsewhere but he kept going and he really knows that mark better than anyone. you get to learn all its idiosyncrasies things like how it fishes after a storm. what you get on the flood or the ebb and how that effects the bait you use. Interestingly he never uses lugworm and by doing so has discovered species not thought possible from that particular mark. So a really interesting point that one, do you do this or are you a fish chaser ?Jansen runs his own Guiding service in the Bristol channel and you can contact him
Nathan From Slippy Limpets
"Watercraft gives your fishing a purpose"
(Slippy Limpets what a great youtube name that is !) Nathan kindly took the time to tell us about watercraft being the number 1 Tip to Improving your catch. The subject matter its self is complex. It's a mixture of that science from Geography lessons i should've paid more attention to and something more intuitive and subconscious. Almost like a sixth sense. Thankfully Nathans description is a little more Practical than my esoteric ramblings ! He says -Watercraft gives us a purpose to our fishing. I interpreted this to something akin to being a hunter a lost primeval urge thats missing in modern society. I for one will embrace this. If something looks unusual in the water that could well be an ambush point for the hunting fish or a shallow reef near a deep run off. Again you could write a book on the subject. In fact i do recommend
this book as a great starter on the watercraft journey.
Nathan often refers to Watercraft on his youtube Videos too. This is something very few youtubers do by the way.
I was asked what my top tip would be and its watercraft for me. Gulls, currents yes but also features that enable water to speed up or slow down. Those Ambush points where water and prawns and small fish funnel out from a reef are key for me. I think this is Very Bass specific though.
John Locker and Wayne Morgan -
"Enjoy what you do never give up and learn from mistakes".
Almost all the Youtubers on this list mentioned Not giving up but John and Wayne really levelled up on this one. Wayne down in Portsmouth made a really passionate plea for us all to never give up listing all the things we could try if we weren't catching.
I think we have all been there. Ive had two such occasions this year . One where Nothing was happening for two hours not even a sniff of fish, Then i landed a decent Bass out of the blue. Id stayed watching other Anglers leave as the rain started pouring down. Lessons learnt. I can also attest to learning from my mistakes because there have been a Lot of them! These range from how to play a fish but also for me its got a lot to do with tackle i've forgotten and regretted.
So enjoying what you do is so Important and fits well with the Never giving up Mantra. Its the Enjoyment of keeping fishing that will see you through the Blanks. I like that John said everyone blanks- Yes even the great John Locker Blanks so the rest of us are in good company. I think we learned a bit about what makes a great Angler too and that will be the Subject of a blog in the future. You have to enjoy the putting together of the Sea Fishing Pieces , the process of learning i think.
You can catch these two Youtubers Here;
While your here.. Im really pleased with the Merch (get me down with the kids) The tackle box stickers are Brilliant and mines survived a few saltwater trips, you can support me at the channel by buying one below. How about a Mug- Tea not included. Its a great way to support the channel and a change from those boring ones in Tesco.
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