Hunter or Trapper?

[steve2]

How often do you change swims in a day? Are you one of those anglers that never move from their chosen swim no matter what? Is it just because you carry too much gear and can’t be bothered to move elsewhere?
Being mainly a lure fishermen I am constantly on the move. Before then I was mainly a small stream fisherman always moving to find the fish. No two days on these streams were the same. Even on still waters if I haven’t caught in a couple of hours I am up and moving.
So I suppose I am more hunter than trapper, what type of angler are you?

 

[john step]

A serial blanker at the moment on rivers.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

When coarse fishing I do tend to not swap around swims too often, usually only because I pick my swims carefully and knowing my local river pretty well avoid the less productive areas.

I'd say that some methods are more or less prone to hunting style whereas others more akin to trapping.

When fly fishing I do tend to cover a lot of ground by casting to rising fish rather than flogging any one spot . . . . . but then I prefer to fish a dry fly than a wet whenever possible.

 

[rich66]

Good question, I like to given the chance to wander choose a swim I like the feel of. Once there I’ll settle and wait. But if then I feel it’s wrong I’ll move. A lot of my choosing is done on intuition. If I’m with my brothers we tend just to find 2/3 swims together that we like the look of and that’s usually it. So I suppose I’m a trapper on Stillwater.
The odd times I fish a river I do like to wander between swims

 

[rayner]

On the whole, I chose my swim before I leave home. I'm far from capable to move around, of course, times are my chosen swim has been taken.
then I have second and third choices.
there are swims I just can't get comfortable in if swims are not to my choice I just go home, there's always other days.
Even when I was fit I'd never move in fact I'd roll my eyes whenever I'd see anglers flitting around to venue. I had the idea they knew nothing of watercraft.
Why would anyone prime a swim to abandon it? that would be more to the point than the thread title.
Lure fishing is a more mobile sport than using baits.

 

[xenon]

roving approach on small rivers for me-walk upstream chucking in freebies then work downstream fishing each swim in turn. Cannot buy a bite at the moment-worst start to a season I can remember.

 

[Clodhopper]

Good thread.

I am more of a rover (don't really qualify for the epithet 'hunter'). Being by the river is, luckily for me, about more than catching fish and, generally speaking, I want to see more than one swim and more than one perspective. Staying in one place can have its attractions but I don't have the confidence in my watercraft to sit tight if there's no sign of a bite. I also enjoy winter fishing as much as summer and it pays to keep moving in the colder months, for both fishing and comfort reasons, although trotting, obviously, requires a measure of commitment to one spot.

I am also conscious that I ought to enjoy being mobile whilst I still have the capability..........

 

[markcw]

When I lived in Lymm and was fishing the Bridgewater canal four or five times a week,
I knew if one swim didnt produce in half an hour another one a couple of pegs away would, sometimes I would try and "force" my chosen swim to produce.
On a couple of club still waters if there were more than 8 anglers on a 16 to 20 peg water I knew I would struggle and go elsewhere.
Commercials I would say again it's down to knowing the venue, a couple of times I have been wrong on choosing peg that had been good before, such as when I went with mike and gordon to Lloyd's Meadow, they got there before me and fished at the end of the pool and more or less point of the island, I said the pegs in the middle are better, on that day I was wrong, I would say I am a trapper, sit and wait and hope something comes along

 

[Keith M]

I’m mainly a hunter as I enjoy searching for my fish whenever possible, both on the river when I’m roving from swim to swim either trotting or trundling a bait, or searching out likely spots with a lure; and also when I’m surface fishing for Carp and following the fish around a lake; however I do occasionally become a trapper when I lay my traps on the bottom in a likely place hoping for some big Carp to trip my trap, but not for too long these days.

I couldn’t spend all of my time just waiting for one certain big fish to trip my trap as it would bore me stiff and send me potty, (I’ve tried doing that back in my Carp days)

Keith

 

[dorsetsteve]

Both. Not only am I lure angler but an Barbel fanatic. With Lures obviously I’m searching and I will return for a fish I see but don’t catch.

Primarily my Barbel fishing follows a pattern, find fish in daylight (the water is gin clear) then set the trap for dark. I can walk miles in the day hunting, I may and often don’t wet a line in that process. Then I revisit on the turn of the light to strike.

I don’t have the time to sit it out etc so I try to stack my deck. This year the inability to hunt in daylight has meant my trap is based of a hunch, isn’t going well tbh.

 

[wetthrough]

Trapper. I like to get set up with everything I might need in comfort and I don't like standing up for long periods neither of which is compatible with the hunter approach. I did try moving about once and failed to catch after trying 6 locations but it was on a stillwater in the winter.

 

[Philip]

Ideally hunt the fish to find it then set the trap to catch it.
Allot of my fishing is now short sessions of 1 to 3 hours..i dont often have time to find them so try and stack the odds in my favour with bait...they will then find me. The preparation is everything. Do it right and the actual fishing becomes easy.

 

[108831]

I dont class myself as either,as I do not kill any fish,but out of preference I like to fish a swim for the day,though will move if it's necessary,I find I enjoy the challenge of 'sorting' a swim and if I don't,it usually means I go back to the think tank and try to work a different method,I think it comes from my match fishing background...

 

[rayner]

I never thought about being a hunter or a trapper, thinking about it casting a feeder is nothing more than a trap. Even so, I agree with witty I'm neither.
I just fish. My idea is to pick a swim trying to use watercraft then sort it out.

 

[Molehill]

Hunter, if I am not catching I always tend to move and search, the thought of sitting for hours on end catching nothing bores me senseless.
But the topic should also include methods of fishing, a friend who runs a fishery ( with specimen lake) is always bemoaning that anglers (mainly carp on his fishery) are trappers "They set a trap with baits and rigs, plug in the alarm and go to sleep, that isn't fishing, that's trapping".
I do think that much angling now is simply an opportunity to go camping for the weekend, set a trap and hope you catch something to photo and post on FB.
I blame Richard Walker for starting the trend

 

[Steve Arnold]

Hunter or Trapper......that will depend on the river or the swim. The fish might require either technique during the course of your days fishing.

On one short stretch of the river Lot I have swims that you might spend all day working out, baiting and maybe eventually catch some barbel, then there is several hundred metres of this.....

Working your way down this stretch is a bit of "jungle warfare", you hunt your way down casting under the cliff face. The current (and snags!) are a 40 metre cast from the shingle.

The shallows were full of baby barbel of all sizes this day. But I was out for a walk with my wife, will be back later this week with a rod!

There is a barrage and power station upstream, water levels can change rapidly. Travel light and keep on the move!

 

[Philip]

That looks allot like a bit of river I fished a few years ago. Wading in and shuffling your feet in the gravel can get Barbel literally swimming round your legs...trot a float down the silt cloud you create with your feet.

....like traditional Gudgeon fishing on a grand scale

 

[no-one in particular]

My sessions are fairly short these days but if I don't catch in a swim after an hour or so I move swims. If I catch in a swim I stay and then move if the swim goes off. Sometimes I will wait to see if they come back so that is a judgement I have to make at the time so a bit of instinct goes into it. I travel as light as possible so moving swims can be done in a few minutes plus whatever walking I have to do. I often feel I should stick it out on one swim but I lose confidence in it if I have not had some sort of tickle after about an hour. Sometimes the whole river is just dead so it makes no difference but starting a new swim gives me a bit of hope each time. On some stretches I have a banker swim where I usually catch something and I might leave them for the last hour or so. I suppose hunter really but it is a thin line I think between what is hunting or trapping.

 

[mikench]

I’m utterly hopeless at moving swims once set up. I’m often tempted to move to Gordon’s but he’s in occupation.

I am the perennial optimist believing that any minute the tip will swing round or the float disappear . It rarely does.

 

[markcw]

I’m utterly hopeless at moving swims once set up. I’m often tempted to move to Gordon’s but he’s in occupation.

I am the perennial optimist believing that any minute the tip will swing round or the float disappear . It rarely does.

I know, I have watched you fish ??