Angling psychology

[Aknib]

Ok…


You wanted a new thread to debate so here we go.


How much of Angling is in the mind, as opposed to factually proven beyond any doubt?


We long ago entered the commercial era and Angling is a commercial target as is anything else, variations on variations adorn the shelves of tackle shops as everyone tries to get a foot in the door.


But…


How much credibility do you offer it?


Do you subscribe wholeheartedly, do you view with suspicion or do you reject out of hand?


I recently watched a video clip of an ex-world champion casting to the foot of a landing stage of another peg and wondered…


Why the **** is he doing that instead of adopting a stealthy approach and just lowering a rig in to the peg itself?


It makes no sense.

Or maybe it does from a commercial (business not fishery) sense of view, could he have crept onto that landing stage adorned with the humungous seat box, in turn accompanied by numerous side trays and extending arms which all have to be bought?

Of course it doesn't.

Given the fact that it was on a ‘commercial’ match venue during a practice session and that during a match itself I could only envisage two anglers overcasting to each other’s feet it made it even the more unfathomable!

We see the YouTube clips and comic publications hailing the latest method and tackle to use but I suspect we see a heavily edited final product which emits the numerous struggles along the way and which really wouldn’t be good for the brand if actually shown.

That’s showbiz!

So, reality versus marketing… Where do you throw your money?

 

[markcw]

Steve, I will not buy a product due to a revue in a magazine,
What suits one person will not suit another, whether it's supposed to be the best rod ,reel,pole,seatbox,rucksack etc according to magazines or social media.If I am buying an Item of tackle,i will look at the one that i am thinking of but will compare it with a couple of others, irrespective of price or tackle review.
I would rather trust the opinions of friends who have same item i was thinking of looking at.
As for your comment about casting to next peg on commercial, a lot of matches on commercials are double pegged, meaning every other peg is left out. So that is why
fishing into an empty peg viable,because a lot of fish will be residing there.

Even if they are not double pegged you can only fish halfway either side of your peg, this applies to both stillwater and running water matches.

I would think a lot of carp anglers could learn from this instead of casting to the horizon. More fish can be caught close in than 100 yards out.

 

[mikench]

Behaviourism, psychoanalysis, and humanistic psychology are 3 facets of psychology. They could equally apply to fish. Why do fish accept one bait one day and not the next? Why do certain tactics work one day and not the next? Why does the weather, atmospheric pressure and temperature make such a difference? These rhetorical questions affect us as much as the fish. Maybe one day they fancy a pellet and on others not just as we want a curry, a chip butty or a cold beer.

We don't understand ourselves let alone fish and whilst I have no doubt that certain anglers possess a gift, mindset and aptitude honed by years of experience, some are products of marketing and are good at certain types of Angling. We and I mean me, are influenced by the blurb about a certain range of pellets, hooks or lines or whatever but eventually we see the articles, videos and other forms of marketing for what they are. I remain convinced that the sponsored anglers have Tackle and venues prepared for them in advance of filming. That is not to say that they are not very skilful. I watched a vid by Des Shipp which was proliferated by Tackle from Preston Innovations and bait by Sonubaits. Hardly independent and partisan. He was fishing a commercial lake and was sat looking at an opposite bank at least a hundred yards long and forty yards across. He cast unerringly to a spot about a yard wide. Why that spot and not the other ninety nine? Was it because it was prebaited the night before and prepared for his expander pellets? Of course not heaven forbid.

There is far more to fishing than just catching fish. It's behaviorism, psychoanalysis, and humanistic psychology from beginning to end. The studying and buying of Tackle, the anticipation of the day, the preparation of your gear, setting up ,changing bait and tactics, meeting up with a mate, discussing tackles, sharing and swapping baits and ideas, chatting to other anglers, thinking about events, what's for dinner, the results of the day, what to do tomorrow and so on. We all approach things differently and I like fishing alone on occasion, surrounded by pleasant countryside, wildlife and flora and fauna. I like my flask of coffee and butty and catching fish is just a part albeit an exciting and important one.

I find that sat on the bank I can think about life, my life, my kids, events, the world, where I went wrong, what I did wrong, what the future holds and what I plan to do. Mostly I feel content after such contemplating but sometimes not. What I have learned along the way is that nobody is continually happy, the constant recipient of happy events and outcomes as s*** happens to us all in varying degrees. I remain humbled and thankful however that I am better off than many( not materially),that I have done my best, will never be a top class angler but remain a half decent human being , father and son. That is psychology in all its forms.

 

[Steve Arnold]

Life....is just a state of mind!

That's why we all see things differently. For the life of me I cannot understand why people voted they way they have done in the UK - but clearly the majority "see" things quite differently to me!

As for examples in fishing, the list is endless. I have something of a fishing rod fetish, many on this forum are similarly afflicted. But we will have quite different views on rods for the same situations. I have just chopped a 13' rod to 9'10", and have no doubt a short rod would be hated by most barbel fishermen, but I have found 10' is ample for most swims. To my mind it just feels "right" - not worth trying to explain and certainly not worth arguing with others about. What goes on in my mind is very personal!!!!

 

[mikench]

That's why we all see things differently. For the life of me I cannot understand why people voted they way they have done in the UK - but clearly the majority "see" things quite differently to me!

One of life's true conundrums and as baffling to me as rocket science and why I can no longer catch many fish on corn. What did I say about marketing. That of Tackle is merely hyperbole but that associated with the leave campaign was pure lies more lies hyperbole and fiction. I'll say no more. Psychology eh!

 

[rayner]

The opening post to me sounds a little tongue in cheek on how Steve really thinks if I have this wrong I apologise before we go any further.
My take on it is angling is all about the mind, there's no way I can fish bait I have no confidence with. One typically for me is corn I fish it through colder months but warmer weather it's the kiss of death to fish. In a similar vein certain pegs, I will not fish.
How other anglers fish is of no use to me I have had to develop my own way of coping, I couldn't care less about cycles of the moon or high and low pressure. I fish when I can if conditions are not right I'll cope or go home.
Even so, why would anyone query how any angler does what they do so long as they are breaking no rules for me they can cast where they like and how they like so long as they give me room with a modicum of peace.
Casting to opposite banks or platforms is something out of my range unless it's a snake venue where the other bank is within reach, us that fish pegs across know the virtues in doing so I suspect others who don't fish commercials are well aware of why.
I doubt there's not much involving fish that can be a proven fact when it comes down to catching them, far too many variables with the temperatures, wind, rain not to mention the anglers ability to feed correctly and use the correct tackle. Fish are also very fickle
All that's left is angling is mostly in the mind.

 

[markcw]

That's why we all see things differently. For the life of me I cannot understand why people voted they way they have done in the UK - but clearly the majority "see" things quite differently to me!

One of life's true conundrums and as baffling to me as rocket science and why I can no longer catch many fish on corn. What did I say about marketing. That of Tackle is merely hyperbole but that associated with the leave campaign was pure lies more lies hyperbole and fiction. I'll say no more. Psychology eh!

Mike fish wise up to a bait they have been caught on many times before , That is why the "in bait" in matches only lasts so long before another "in bait" is used. The angler who thinks outside the box and realises the bait is not working as it once did will try something new at the next match, for example everyone is fishing pellets over micros, he turns up with 5 pints of maggots and lashes the bait in as he fishes the match, and wins it with 40lb to spare.
That is a true example of what happened at Brookside last year,
As for sponsored anglers doing videos the will be mentioning the tackle and bait they use by their sponsored company.
Not all fishing videos are staged by pre baiting, The water Des Shipp was fishing sounds similar to the one I fish with length of island and distance across. You need accurate casting to drop just short of it.

Going back to your lack of catches on corn, You can still catch by colouring it , black or red is a good choice, and flavouring it.

 

[mikench]

Mike fish wise up to a bait they have been caught on many times before , That is why the "in bait" in matches only lasts so long before another "in bait" is used. The angler who thinks outside the box and realises the bait is not working as it once did will try something new at the next match, for example everyone is fishing pellets over micros, he turns up with 5 pints of maggots and lashes the bait in as he fishes the match, and wins it with 40lb to spare.
That is a true example of what happened at Brookside last year,
As for sponsored anglers doing videos the will be mentioning the tackle and bait they use by their sponsored company.
Not all fishing videos are staged by pre baiting, The water Des Shipp was fishing sounds similar to the one I fish with length of island and distance across. You need accurate casting to drop just short of it.

Going back to your lack of catches on corn, You can still catch by colouring it , black or red is a good choice, and flavouring it.

I do that but with little or no effect. I will persist but chick peas are my favourite at the moment.

 

[Golden Eagle]

There are several good logical reasons for fishing to an adjacent pallet on a commercial:-

Fish feed where food is regularly deposited. Bait gets dropped in during a session and sometimes dumped in at the end. Fish know there are rich pickings to be had.

Stealth. It’s actually a stealthy way to fish as you are putting distance between yourself and your sounds and particularly vibrations that are impossible not to make. Fishing at a distance laterally enables the fish to feed confidently. In both the above cases watch the ducks when someone packs up, as their behaviour is similar to the fish.

Shallow water. In Summer in particular, fish feed in shallow areas. I agree with Mark’s comment above about carp anglers casting so far. If you watch Terry Hearn videos, (I’m not a carper but highly recommend the amount of fish he catches in shallow areas tells you all you need to know.

A flat spot. Where keepnets go in the bottom tends to be free of debris and snags, this creates a nice bottom to fish on. Also fish feed around keepnets as they know they rarely get caught there.

The pallet. I’ll often fish tight to a pallet leg as the fish can’t get behind the bait ( closer to the bank), which can be a real issue in margin fishing. Also a pallet leg is a nice easy target for fishing and feeding to be as accurate as possible.

To answer the original question, I think a MASSIVE proportion of good angling is in the mind. There are few areas where physical ability is key and relatively cheap equipment can be decent quality. The thing that sets apart the better anglers is their thought processes.