Fishing – Solitary Or Social?

Right from the outset I must admit that I have always preferred tofish with a pal or two rather than on my own. The main reason Iprefer company is simply because I like to have someone to chat towhile I’m fishing, rather than talk to myself or become totally lostin my own thoughts. This need to fish with company grows stronger asI get older and there are many times when I don’t bother to fish ifit means going on my own. Maybe this growing desire for company isalso a sign that my priorities in fishing have changed in that I amnowhere near as deperate as I used to be to catch fish.

To me, fishing has become bigger than just what ends up on myhook. I have now reached the point where many times I sacrifice anincreased chance of success through fishing a swim on my own inpreference to sharing a swim with a pal.

But there are many anglers who much prefer their own company, andpursue an angling career for the very reason that it does lend itselfto solitude if one chooses that route. For those who can’t decidebetween social or solitary angling, let’s discuss the finerpoints.

The Advantages of Fishing With a Pal

Apart from the social aspect of fishing with a friend there arepositive advantages as far as successful fishing is concerned. Theold adage that says two heads are better than one holds good in thisinstance as much as any other. Right from the planning andpreparation stage of a fishing campaign the advantages stack up,beginning with being able to bounce all the ideas off each other thateach comes up with – it’s known as brainstorming in business. It’ssurprising how often you come up with what is thought at first to bea brilliant idea, only for your mate to slip a spanner in the workswhen he spots some snag that you had missed. Conversely, you may bestruggling with an idea, and your mate will spot that littlesomething that turns it into a viable proposition.

When the time arrives to put the plan into operation the advantageof two or more anglers working together really comes into its own.Prebaiting can be taken in turns, which means time and cost are atleast halved. This is true if you’re fishing the same swim or nearbyswims. If you are mates then you don’t have secrets from each other,and each can be trusted to bait the other’s swim with the sameenthusiasm as his own. If the two of you prefer to fish the same swim(the same baited area) then that is another saving on bait too, foryou don’t need as much bait in one large swim as you do in twosmaller ones. Not a minor consideration in these inflationarytimes.

When the actual fishing begins the experience of two rods (orhowever many rods each angler fishes) becomes the experience of fourrods, and a choice of two baits becomes a choice of four baits, untilyou find exactly which bait they have a decided preference for. Thesame applies to methods; you learn what is the best method in halfthe time it normally takes. In fact the whole learning curve ishalved when there are two of you pooling knowledge and experience.It’s the specimen group concept, except that you don’t have to be ina formal group for it to work for you.

Many times you have to fish difficult swims, difficult in thesense that they are awkward to fish from and from which to land fish.This is where a pal is invaluable, for another pair of hands on thelanding net can make all the difference. And if a fish has to bepersuaded to leave a weedbed in which it may have become well dug in,then it is a lot easier if you have help at hand.

But all that is the mechanics of it all, the real reason many ofus prefer to fish with friends is because we are gregarious, atendency more pronounced in the match angler who loves the company ofmany of his fellow anglers. Ask any matchman what he likes most aboutmatch fishing and (apart from winning!) he will tell you he enjoysthe camaraderie, the company and friendly banter going to the match,waiting for the draw, and afterwards when discussing what went right,and what went wrong, who caught what, who had a dry net, and why thewinner was a lucky so-and-so!

Most of us, whether we fish in pairs, groups, or in match fishingnumbers, do so because we want to share the experience with someoneof like mind. We want someone to see our rod bend into a good fish,and to show a good catch to at the time we catch it. We enjoy havingsomeone net a fish for us; to watch the weighing of a big fish, or abig catch, and to take a photograph of it. And we almost equallyenjoy sharing the successes of our mates. So even the pleasure ismultiplied when there are two or more of you.

Yet that isn’t all of it. Fishing with a pal means you havesomeone to talk to when sport is on the slow side, to while away thehours when the indicator or float isn’t moving. There is someonethere to whinge at, and to take the Mickey out of just to pass thetime away. You can have light-hearted discussions about fishing andsex and ….. sex. Then it is possible to have deep and meaningfuldebates about the meaning of life and other profound issues of theday. Although if you have mates like mine even the most serious,philosophical deliberations end up as lecherous asides about……….. yes, you’ve guessed it!

Fishing Alone

Right, let’s have a look at the other side of the coin. The mainadvantage of fishing on your own is that you make all the decisions.You decide when you’re going fishing, at what time, and how longyou’re going to stay for, without any influence from anyone else (notcounting wives, girlfriends, etc). You alone decide the swims, baitsand methods, and you can change the plan at the drop of a hat withoutupsetting anyone. If you think there could be an advantage in doingsomething unconventional, or want to try something unconventionaljust for the hell of it, then you can go ahead and do it without fearof treading on your pal’s toes. When you catch something you take allthe credit; it is not shared with anyone. The planning, preparing,prebaiting, method choice, bait choice, netting and everything elseare all yours. Everything that goes right, as well as everything thatgoes wrong, is all down to you, and you alone.

Many anglers enjoy their own company. Perhaps they spend all theirworking hours dealing with clients or customers, or at least have ajob that brings them into contact with lots of people in one way oranother. That being so, fishing is the best way of getting away fromit all, giving them time to reflect, and simply enjoy sitting quietlywithout ringing phones (difficult in this cell phone age), thechatter of computer keys, and voices everywhere complaining, moaning,or just simply being there, the dreaded drone in the background. Theonly background noise they want is the sound of singing birds, thebreeze rustling through reedmace, and the frequent whine of aslipping clutch.

Lone anglers are happy enough to admire a fish without any helpfrom anyone. Those that want to have equipped themselves with all thegear necessary (tripod, remote control, etc) to photograph themselvesholding trophy fish. They don’t have the need or the inclination tochat while they’re fishing, being perfectly content to enjoy theirsurroundings, and become lost in their own thoughts. It is thesolitary nature of angling, for those that want it, that attractedthem to the sport in the first place, and if they couldn’t find aspot where they could immerse themselves in attempting to catch fishwithout the constant attention or interference from other people,they would pack it in forthwith.

Where do you belong in all that? Of course, you don’t have to becategorised. Although I’ve said that I prefer to fish in the companyof friends, I still occasionally enjoy fishing alone, which Isometimes do by choice, not just when I have to. Generally, however,given the choice, I choose to fish with one or more pals.

But isn’t that one of the great things about fishing, that you canchoose between solitary or social fishing; that you can match thecompany you keep when fishing (your own or otherwise) to your mood atthe time?