Drones, Great Anglers, and a passing thought.

[no-one in particular]

I picked up on a thread by Scuba Chris in sea fishing this morning, he is exploring their use in bait placement. Since then, today I picked up a book "Great Anglers" by John Bailey in a junk shop. Firstly this may turn out to be a fascinating book although I am only a few pages in. Of course he starts by laying out his criteria for what makes a great angler and naturally he refers to Richard Walker but there are many names I have not heard of, of which I have yet to read.
Anyway, to get to the point, one of the things he points out about Walker among the many was his ability to innovate and use the latest technology of the time. Apart from the Arsely bomb he also invented an electronic bite alarm, stating how he would be the first to see the potential of the then technology which in part made him a great angler.
So, I got to thinking, are those that are seeing the potential of drones no less? We all, as many before us have recoiled at these ideas as I am sure many did when Walkers bait alarm came out. I am sure it has been the same for every innovation and invention that has ever come to being by the old guard of whatever generation they belonged to. Am I just not a great enough angler to see this; ditto many of us and is that one of the things that separates us from them?

 

[sam vimes]

If people have any sense, they'll fish in whatever manner makes them happy. If that means shunning bite alarms, bait boats or drones, so be it. If they are wrapped up in aesthetics or nostalgia and choose to use centrepins, expensive carbon or antique cane, good luck to them. If they want to pretend to be Victorians in Tweed, so be it. The only thing I find a litte sad is those that take the time and waste their energy slating the things that they don't like or don't wish to do.

I witnessed first hand what a responsibly used bait boat, GPS and fish finder could do for someone's angling. For a short while, I was sorely tempted to join them. I certainly couldn't beat them with more conventional tactics. I backed away from that path because the prospect of lugging even more expensive kit filled me with dread. It certainly wasn't due to any moral or ethical objections. I choose not to use such devices, but I'm not going to slate those that do, provided they do so responsibly and with due regard to other anglers.

I'm absolutely not whatever a "traditional angler" might be. I simply like float fishing and mucking about with as many different float rods, centrepins and fixed spool reels as I can lay my hands on without getting into debt. I'm past caring what anyone else thinks of my approach to fishing and tackle. I'm doing it for my own enjoyment, not the approval of others.

 

[markcw]

A lot of clubs have a ban on drones.
This is not only a safety aspect but also ethical,
Another reason would be what is in the lease when they rent a water, such as no bait boats, or night fishing .
I think it was the Heron bite alarm that had something to do with Richard Walker.

 

[no-one in particular]

That's the one mentioned in the book, the Heron Bite Alarm, I don't know but I imagine the horror that many might of showed when this was first shown but now it is accepted without any question, well, maybe some but you know what I mean, the complaints are mainly about disturbing others peace but as a concept, will it always be considered unethical in any way? None of this seemed to have bother Walker who just carried on catching many great fish.
Will drone users catch many great fish in the future and it not considered unethical putting aside the banning of them on safety grounds. Will those that do just be unable to grasp how the innovators in angling move forward and become great. The boat bait users, the fish finder users and the drone users, will these become an accepted modern innovation and those that use them become the great anglers of the future. And those that legislate against them have to give in to modernity one day, will the pressure to allow them and giving in to the modern angler and their "money" become a necessity? How much money would a commercial or a club lose if they had banned bite alarms, and those that had no qualms about using them just went elsewhere eventually.

 

[steve2]

Although **** Walker is seen has the inventer of the bite alarm Maurice Ingram actually develop it a few years before Walker.

 

[john step]

Not trying to be picky but the name of the bombs are almost always called wrongly. Dinsmores is one of the sellers who spell it correctly.
They were named after a deep lake at Arlesey in Bedfordshire. I seem to recollect he was targeting big perch and the shape allowed distance casting and the swivel was designed to prevent tangles on the descent to the bottom.

 

[Keith M]

I still have one of my old white Heron bite indicators which I painted over with a green camouflaged paint once.
It used to regularly go off on its own if I hadn’t set it up ok.

Walker used home made electronic bite indicators long before he developed the Heron bite indicator and one of his original bite alarm circuits appeared in the last few pages of BB’s (Denys Watkins-Pitchfords) book ‘Confessions of a Carp Fisherman’ together with Walkers account of catching his record Carp (Ravioli) which was later named Clarissa when given to London Zoo.
NB: I have BB’s book ‘Confessions of a Carp Fisherman’ in my bookcase.

Keith

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I almost always had a copy of BB's Confessions or the Bedside book in my rucksack for night trips in the bivvy.

As for using a drone, well, not for me I'm afraid. While I do have and use a bait boat where necessary I draw the line at a drone. I also drew the lone not opting for a GPS model boat, but mine does have an depth finder.

I cannot see drones becoming popular as many venues will simple not allow their use for aesthetic reasons.
I also have one of the early Heron bite indicators which was a present from Graham Marsden (first editor on FM) some years ago.

 

[flightliner]

i had Heron years back when I started carp fishing but didnt they fall short by not indicating a drop back bite?