Despite the west country nickname of Wurzel, Paul Hiom was born on the banks of the River Thames at Chiswick in West London, but now resides in Swindon, Wiltshire. 
The fact that the Fullers Brewery was no more than quaffing distance from his birthplace has nothing to do with the latter affliction, but the lead-choked atmosphere of the city has been blamed for the occasional bouts of madness. Paul considers himself a half-serious specialist who has dabbled in most things fishing-related with varying degrees of success, but is in the main a pike and barbel man with personal bests of 24lb 8oz and 11lb 10oz respectively.
This is the first of a regular column, ‘The World According to Wurzel’ that Paul, aka Wurzel, will be writing for FISHINGmagic.
Fishing tit-bits are a devastating need
You may find in my writings that I often tend to just bungle along following a subject or issue, not always concluding anything from it, but rather almost as if I’m offloading my thoughts onto an undeserving audience. So, I apologise in advance if this irritates you beyond your usual tolerances, however, I find that it is too late to change some of my ways and hopefully not all of what I write will be considered a waste of your time.
Like most habitual anglers from time to time, I currently find myself well and truly in the cack financially. I’m not looking for sympathy or hand-outs, it’s my own fault. I decided to take an expensive holiday abroad earlier in the year to visit my best mate in New Zealand and on top of that, Mrs Wurzel decided to alleviate my mate’s wife of her Fiat Punto, which of course would not fit into a Boeing 747 when they left Blighty last year. However, skint we are and if I manage to find that other penny, rub we shall until our temporary problems are over.
Now, what the hell has this got to do with fishing you may ask and you would be right to question it. Let me explain, as it is quite simple. No money equals no fishing tit-bits which are, of course, a devastating ‘need,’ rather than a more realistic ‘nice to have.’ We all know that without fishing tit-bits, we are not likely to catch anything as we don’t have the exact gear that the fish like and we will come home after a fishing blank, depressed and then blame everyone and everything for what amounts to a poor performance or plain old bad luck. Sound familiar? No? Then you are either a lucky bugger or an excellent angler who fails to be taken in by all the hype, mass marketing and fishing clap-trap that all of us are subjected to every time we pick up an angling newspaper or magazine. 
Probably more often than we care to admit, all of us fall into this trap, believing that certain items of tackle will help us become better anglers. It is not our fault as we are simple folk who like nothing more than to wander the banks of river or pond and take in our wonderful surroundings – oh, and catch a fish or two along the way. We are of course the victims of ever improving marketing tactics and packaging that by their very nature entrap the consumer into believing that not only is the product essential for catching those elusive specimens, it is a highly sought after and very popular product, it is endorsed by your favourite angling hero and in fact is a must if we are to keep abreast of changes in angling.
‘What a load of old cobblers.’
Newcomers wonder what the hell to fish for
All fish are catchable on very basic equipment and, deep down, I do not believe that fishing is any easier or harder now than it has ever been. Sure, there are different challenges and pressures that effect our fishing compared with years gone by, but by and large, all fish need to eat food, be it natural or not, and with a little thought, all can be caught by the simplest of methods that have been used by generations of anglers over the years. I am not advocating that it is not a pleasure to use all the latest gear and that some pieces of tackle do not give you an edge in certain circumstances or make life a little easier, I use some if not most of it myself, however, if you really analyse what it is that you do to catch your fish, it will come down to some very basic things that have changed little since the days of Walker or even Walton (Izaac that is, and not Ray, who is still relatively young, but obviously a lot older than me). You need a rod, some line, some split shot, some hooks, floats, leads and bait. Simple! (coughs).
One of the biggest problems for the newcomer must be knowing what the hell to fish for. When I was a youngster, nobody cared a snoot and you could catch almost anything on a 12ft float rod and 3lb line and, in fact, I usually did, including some very nice carp from Gunnersbury Park Lake in West London, close to where I was born. Mind you, more often than not I felt undergunned and had to play the fish for a ridiculous length of time before landing them in an inappropriate-sized net. Still it was good fun at the time. I think however that herein lies part of the problem. Depending upon what we really want to fish for, we are forced by our own inclinations into specialising as we clamber out of our initial fumblings and discover one or two very hard fighting fish that draw us further into the delights of angling. We are then consumed by the need for the right gear for each species and Bingo(!) Mr Fox, Drennan and friends are rubbing their hands together.
A natural species progression
There does seem to be a natural progression from catching roach, rudd, crucian, dace, or perch, onto bream, tench and chub and then barbel, pike and carp. A large number of anglers more often than not get stuck on carp a lot longer than is healthy for either the angler or the fish. I personally got stuck for around eight years before kick-starting the old engine again. I then moved onto pike and barbel. Who knows, over the course of the next 10 years I may revert back to roach again. Some anglers of course continue to target different species for every trip and I take my hat off to them. They keep their fishing varied and fresh, but being the stereotypical male that I am, I find it difficult to concentrate on more than a couple of species at the same time. Although, having said that, I have recently been sidetracked by one of our non-native additions to the fold. 
There is no doubt that carp have been at the forefront of angling for at least a decade, but healthy for angling I do not believe that it is, well at least not for the beginner who could be forgiven for thinking that carp are the only fish worth targeting. True, they are a magnificent fish and a worthy adversary, but so are other fish and we need to take a long look at how to reverse the effects of the sit and wait brigade. Too many anglers these days seem satisfied to sit behind their rods on a gravel pit and while away the hours. To them, I say ‘there are fish in them there rivers and they are a damn site easier to catch and a far more interesting proposition for the beginner,’ if there is anyone left to point them in the right direction.
The biggest plus in our favour (those of us that want to see an increase in the interest in angling) at the moment is the internet and it seems that this is an area where the angling press through advertising, can and will I believe re-dress the balance. In addition to the fishingmagic.com site, there are an increasing number of other very good fishing-related sites that are dedicated to all round coarse angling. With an increasing number of youngsters and indeed adults, getting connected, the amount of info available to them is on the increase and at the push of a button, info regarding local clubs, waters and the quality of local fishing can be obtained from various sources.
Of even more interest is the amount of free advice available from the average angler, who is prepared to share knowledge via forums, message boards and mailing lists. In fact there is every chance that a newcomer to fishing will find likeminded local anglers who are prepared to meet up, share travel costs to venues and help get the novice well on the way to some decent fishing. Lets hope that some of them find their way onto some of the best and most underfished water in the UK. The good old local river!
