| Matt Brown | |
Matt started fishing at the age of 11 and for years fished for bites, match style, and would often catch more than the adults on the same venues. Influenced by the England squad fishing the world champs he bought his first pole. The resurrection of the River Don was a dream come true and from 1986 he fished regularly for the roach using the stick float. In 1988 Matt moved to Basingstoke and for a couple of years fished the Kennet and Thames. Although he caught decent barbel and good chub, his light line approach would often result in lost fish. Back in Doncaster in 1991 he continued to fish for the River Don’s roach and when the EA stocked barbel in ’92 they became a regular feature in his catches. In 1995 he targeted the carp in Cusworth Lake and caught the biggest two in the lake on the same day. Although Matt enjoys travelling and fishing venues that offer a better chance of big fish, such as the Trent, he still craves that elusive River Don double figure barbel. |
Many great anglers cite confidence as being a major factor towards success in angling. In fact almost every angler seems to think this is true. I’d have to be stupid to go against this theory wouldn’t I? Well just hear me out.
It is true that many anglers gain confidence using methods they have had success with. Likewise the more they fail with a certain method, the more they lose confidence in that method. That’s perfectly normal. Anglers that claim that confidence in fishing is critical reckon that by sticking to tactics that they are confident with, will give them the best chance of catching a few.
To me they’re getting confidence and experience mixed up. Throughout our angling life we learn by experience – What bait? Which rig? Where to fish? When to fish? And so on. The more we fish, the more experience we have to draw from. For example, imagine if we’d fished a local lake for roach and every time we’ve tried hemp we hadn’t caught much, but when we’d used casters we’d done well, logic would suggest that next time we’d be better off taking casters and leaving the hemp at home. It is true that we would be more confident in using casters on this water, but my point is that confidence comes as a by-product of experience.
I believe that confidence can sometimes affect your chances of catching in a negative way too. Imagine you’re in your favourite swim fishing for carp. You’ve caught plenty from there before and you’re using your favourite boilies that have produced for you in the past. Great – or so you’d think. Now imagine that there are a few carp topping on the other side of the lake. Confidence might lead you to decide to stay where you are; after all you know it’s a good swim – surely the fish will turn up? Well, not always. Confidence can easily become stubbornness and opportunities can be missed. The way I approach my angling is use logic or probability. I choose what I think will work best based on my experience. It sounds pretty simple but there is more to it.
I like to have a dabble with different techniques or approaches. For example, instead of turning up to my local lake with maggots and pellets and catching a nice mixed bag as usual I will deliberately try something else. I might try large pieces of bread flake over liquidized bread, or paste. Most of the time I end up catching less and can discount that method, while sometimes I stumble on a better approach. But the important point is that by trying many different approaches I am acquiring more experience. The more experience I gain the more knowledge I have to aid my decisions.
I reckon the angler who has a broader range of skill and experience will catch more consistently than the angler who only sticks to tactics they are confident with. |
