Fishing Frenzy

Everywhere you look, today?s society is consumer mad, everything is there to make our lives easier. Because in today?s fast paced world we need all the help we can get, we can?t survive without all our consumer goods! What a load of rubbish, the ad-men have conditioned us to believe we can?t survive. Just stop and think, when did you buy your last mobile phone, was your previous phone broken, or did the ad-men convince you that you had to have a newer version.

As you are taking the time to reads this article I know you are interested in fishing, and you probably read fishing papers and magazines too, it also possible you watch fishing videos. The ad-men love people like us, most magazine articles on how to catch more fish, using this tactic and that product, are endorsed by a manufacturer.

I know, I?ve done it; I?ve bought new carp rods, bought bait runner reels, and the must have electronic bite alarms. Yes I?ve fished at a distant feature on a lake, baited the swim with the must have boilies and sat for long hours on my bed chair waiting for the elusive bite.

But even with a comfy chair, this type of fishing can be quite boring, so I would bring in one of the carp rods and change it for much lighter rod with a float set up, then fish close in for bream, tench or roach. All the time I would listen out for my electronic bite alarm, and wonder if the inevitable silence was due to a flat battery.

I?m not a specimen hunter, but had delusions of grandeur, so all this equipment was rather lost on me; I?ve met others who say the same. I prefer catching fish little and often, I didn?t need all the exotic flavoured boilies, hair rigs, bolt rigs, helicopter rigs, or all the PVA bags, tubes and string, and all the other paraphernalia the ad-men told me I had to have to catch more fish.

I now make my own ground bait from bread, sweet- corn, and chick peas, and flavour the mix (although it doesn?t really need it) with any natural herbs or spice that takes my fancy. For my hook bait I use sweet corn, par boiled potatoes or bread, if I want a hook bait off the bottom, I use a small strip of banana skin. I fish in my local river, or the local reservoir,

I don?t spend any money going to fisheries, all too often you read in fishing magazine about youngsters catching carp of ten to fifteen pounds, a great experience for the youngster, but how much is due to their ability, and how much was due to the fishery being well stocked?

To get the most out of a fishing experience it?s important to know your watercraft, to know the basics, from which species to target, the tackle set up you should employ, and what changes to make if the conditions change.

Without the basics, you will probably be spending your money on those well stocked fisheries for years to come, throwing in copious amounts of boilies, using your expensive carp rods with bait runner reels, with the latest electronic alarms, and the new must have wonder bait from your local tackle shop. Follow me and get back to basics.