| MARK WINTLE |
| Mark Wintle, an angler for thirty-five years, is on a quest to discover and bring to you the magic of fishing. Previously heavily involved with match fishing he now fishes for the sheer fun of it. With an open and enquiring mind, each week Mark will bring to you articles on fishing different rivers, different methods and what makes rivers, and occasionally stillwaters, tick. Add to this a mixed bag of articles on catching big fish, tackle design, angling politics and a few surprises. Are you stuck in a rut fishing the same swim every week? Do you dare to try something different and see a whole new world of angling open up? Yes? Then read Mark Wintle’s regular weekly column. |
| THE SPECTRUM OF ANGLING Over the last few months I have had discussions with Graham Marsden and John Bailey concerning attitudes to our sport. Professor Barrie Rickards has also written about his concerns about some of John Bailey’s articles (‘Barrie Rickards’ Angling’), claiming that John’s writing, at times, borders on anti-angling propaganda, and that John is arrogant to dictate to the rest of us how we conduct our sport. In fairness to both John and Barrie, Barrie was taking one particular article as the case in point, but this is far from the only article that John has written that appears to be anti angling. In this article, I’m going to look at how many differing views come to be encompassed within the compass of angling, and gain an understanding of how these views can be reconciled. Graham has challenged me to try and explain all this, and it’s been like trying to nail jelly to a wall, but hell, I relish a challenge. The sport of angling encompasses many different varieties, with just about the only common factor being that a rod, line, hook and fish is involved somewhere. To me, it’s like a spectrum; one end of that spectrum might be barely recognisable from the other yet the commonality remains. One could take a similar view of many other wide ranging aspects of society to get a broad spectrum; newspapers, books, politics, religion, even football. The light spectrum runs from the invisible infra-red through the visible red, orange, yellow, green, blue, mauve, violet and into the invisible ultra violet at the other end, and I’m going to try to place differing attitudes to our sport on that spectrum. Legal angling as we know it is the visible spectrum. Below that in the infrared, and therefore defined as outside angling, is commercial sea fishing like long lining and netting. At the other end, into the ultraviolet, you eventually leave the actual fishing out completely and become I don’t know quite what; a birdwatcher, naturalist, anti-angler? Catching fish – the Red end of the Spectrum To start the analogy, fish catching, regardless of method, is equivalent to the red band. Angling at this level is purely concerned with catching fish. Method is largely based on efficiency rather than aesthetic pleasure. There is some respect for the fish but restrictions on using keepnets, use of certain baits and methods or seasonal restrictions are more likely to be viewed as hindrances that ought to be removed rather than enforced. The effects of over fishing, too much bait, uncontrolled fish stocking, or the attractiveness of the surroundings are most likely be ignored. A lot of angling comes within this category; much of match fishing and plenty of specimen fishing, not forgetting pleasure angling. When you read a letter in Angling Times from someone asking why they are prevented from using their keepnet on the local day ticket lake, or wondering why catches are falling on their local river after three matches a week for years, you are experiencing angling at the red end. If you see articles that state “Catch more fish – Try the Baggin’ waggler”, you are most definitely at the red end. I’m sure you have little difficulty in recognising anglers in this category, and you will find plenty on day ticket waters and commercial carp lakes. Think about a few of these activities, taken at random; handlining in pole-caught carp in matches, stuffing three nets with post-spawning chub, trapping livebaits from private waters and transferring them all over the country. All of these are bordering on the infrared. Somewhere in the middle – the Yellow-Greens Of course, many, many anglers mature from the pure catching of fish all of the time. They change from needing to use what might be the most effective method of catching fish to ones that give them more pleasure. Although using a swimfeeder might be a better method, the extra skill and enjoyment involved in trotting a float or free lining more than compensates for reduced catches. Some may take up a different branch of the sport altogether such as flyfishing, or find the competitiveness and hard work of match fishing no longer worth the bother. The angler may choose venues based on ease of access, pleasant surroundings, lack of crowds, and quality of sport. Fish catching has not been removed from the equation but it is no longer the sole purpose. And many anglers that do fit into this category have plenty of experience of the pure fish catching at the red end of the spectrum, and from time to time will see no obstacle to fishing in a match, using a keepnet, or a serious attack on a specimen water. But in this middle ground, there is likely to be a much greater environmental awareness. Fish mean more than pounds and ounces on the match scales, or specimens to be tallied up; instead, there is a delight in their beauty. Into the purple As we move to the opposite end of the spectrum, the importance of the fish catching diminishes further. There is much greater emphasis on surroundings and method. Anglers in this category don’t even own a keepnet, never mind use one, and tend to fish private waters. These anglers choose their tackle for aesthetic reasons; hence, the continuing demand for built cane rods and beautifully crafted centrepins. They may have an acute environmental awareness, and this may manifest itself as demonstrating a caring attitude, perhaps to the extreme. They use the finest tackle that money can buy, not that that is their sole prerogative, and have access to waters that many can only dream of access to, though there are plenty that don’t want to fish such waters. By now, we’re talking about a tiny proportion of all anglers. And yet is their fish catching impulse really diminished? The Conflict It is easy to see where conflict could come in. Those at the purple end of the scale may look down on the masses at the other end of the scale, at the sometimes blas  When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community.
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