Shore Fishing: Luck, Skill or Science???

[chris elliott]

valuable lessons

i was lucky enough to fish with a famous north east matchman some 20 years ago(hes still one of the best in the country)it was for a sell thru video some of you may have seen many years ago,we fished newton on one of the scenes,like a pillock i cast straight out using ragworm onto the sandy bits,got nowt and never lost a lead,however the gent in question actually cast behind himself from the skeer back towards the shore to where he knew there was a small hole,two casts two cod,and he said he wasnt fishing the hole anymore,so i tried it,nowt,he knew after many years of expeience that the hole couldnt hold more than three cod at atime and moved on,so i learnt this from him
1)dont cast over the fishes heed
2)only use the best possible bait(he treat his peelers like a long lost freind)
3)sit down for fifteen minutes before you do anything and just look at whats going on(the way the kelp is moving,the wind,the waves,if other anglers are about ask what the crack is)
so for me its bait 50% knowledge 50% ive had the occasional lucky one like having an ovverrun and getting a fish,but would try and learn from it,if i could be 10%as good as the top rock anglers and matchmen id be happy

[Mogthemackem]

Something I forgot to mention about catching fish. If you are targetting a certain species using a certain method and bait and its not working, you can either persevere or you can totally change tactics and catch fish. Some anglers are either too stubborn or obsessed about catching cod but when they're not there you can either blank trying or change and catch fish. Knowing when and how to change these tactics is also a skill and none of it is luck as you won't accidently put a different rig on, a different bait and cast in a different place.

[codseeker]

never 2 days alike in this game depends if the fish are there ya will only catch whats infront of ya and what bait they fancy on the day

[paulthespark]

luck is for me the main factor here, for instance fishing for different spieces of fish ie mackerel you don't need skill or science to catch them all you need is to be there at the right time when a shoal come close inshore luck, on the other hand when winter fishing for cod is a different matter, skill really does come into play, yet no matter how skillful you are you still need a certain amout of luck, if you are fishing with a group of anglers who are quite skillful and you catch the only fish of the day then you are the lucky one and everbody else will call you a lucky ba###rd and rightly so, luck,me and my son where fishing the heugh loads of lads on all seasoned anglers no fish catching except for my 9 yearold son,catching loads of small coalies down the side some skill, then he hooked and landed a 5lbs cod on a 0 1 hook with a snot end of a ragworm luck.

[Lowrider]

As someone once said "The more i practise the luckier i get",

[Davey-m]

Its all about doing your homework research the weather, venues and species.

Makes some phone calls check the forums target the species that are being caught.

Prepare your tackle, bait equipment and clothing for the conditions then head to the venue when you have all the elements correct as they can be ready to catch your target species and be ready to switch your tackle to different species should a shoal come by.

Most important enjoy your fishing and stay lucky

[CHUKKA]

Some people even think all peelers are the same. Believe you me they ate certainly not. On some days some crabs will outfish others. There are times when I have fished next to someone casting in exactly the same areas and outfishing or being outfished. Difficult to put your finger on it. There are also some anglers who will never ever make the grade, they have all the gear, bait, years of knowledge, fish all the time then still catch nowt. I think its important to fish with the right people and to have fished when fish are about. A confident angler will always have the edge.!

[Bushwhacker]

Matterless how good an angler you are there,s one thing that always remains the same.

If there,s no fish in front of you,you can,t catch them....

[phill_itofish]

luck is for me the main factor here, for instance fishing for different spieces of fish ie mackerel you don't need skill or science to catch them all you need is to be there at the right time when a shoal come close inshore .

Ah but is that luck? The skill and the science here is knowing when to fish for them, for instance, i probably wouldn't head down the pier on a flat calm sunny June morning and fish for cod, likewise I wouldnt head down with a strong easterly in the middle of winter and fish for mackerel, is this not using the skills and science I ask you ?? lol

[phill_itofish]

Just to mix it up a bit

Last year I headed out to a local mark where I lure fish for bass, the conditions were perfect, tide was right, water temp was good and I had the right lure for the job, I was rewarded with a nice plump bass that I swiftly returned. I didn't think id been lucky I thought I had applied the skills I've learned.

A few weeks later conditions were much the same, I did everything the same and, well I blanked, now I didn't doubt my skills I just thought I was unlucky. Does this say more about the man than the fish lol

[Darnc]

That's knowledge and experience of when to fish and what for

[Deans]

a familiar subject which regulary crops up

anglers all have their opinions provided from years of experience.

if i where to look at 'luck' , 'skill' , and 'science' and wondered which was to be most significant in my domain, which, is cod chasing,


thats easy - science

[wavy davy]

Just a couple of things i've learned in 40 years of fishing, sometimes it doesnt matter if you catch or not so long as your out away from the misses and kids, i've used the best crab baits for hours then switched to worm and caught the very next cast, you can fish when everything says its looking good (tide, wind, weather etc) only to blank and then when it looks like crap, flat calm brilliant sunshine and catch none stop, i think its definately luck. As metioned before how many times have you been macky bashing and everyone around you is catching and your not despite using the same lures, and casting as far as the next bloke, then the next time you go its you catching and no one else. Just my thoughts on it!

[billynobaits]

i was lucky enough to fish with a famous north east matchman some 20 years ago(hes still one of the best in the country)it was for a sell thru video some of you may have seen many years ago,we fished newton on one of the scenes,like a pillock i cast straight out using ragworm onto the sandy bits,got nowt and never lost a lead,however the gent in question actually cast behind himself from the skeer back towards the shore to where he knew there was a small hole,two casts two cod,and he said he wasnt fishing the hole anymore,so i tried it,nowt,he knew after many years of expeience that the hole couldnt hold more than three cod at atime and moved on,so i learnt this from him
1)dont cast over the fishes heed
2)only use the best possible bait(he treat his peelers like a long lost freind)
3)sit down for fifteen minutes before you do anything and just look at whats going on(the way the kelp is moving,the wind,the waves,if other anglers are about ask what the crack is)
so for me its bait 50% knowledge 50% ive had the occasional lucky one like having an ovverrun and getting a fish,but would try and learn from it,if i could be 10%as good as the top rock anglers and matchmen id be happy

Treats his peelers like a long lost friend does he?
Last time i met someone i had'nt seen for ages,i did'nt pull their arms off

[Wreckingball76]

Some excellent responses so far.....

I'll tell you where I'm at... I struggle with the concept of Luck in general. I'm a firm believer that you create your own Luck. I can understand how situations can be perceived as Lucky... Taking the example earlier that a first time angler catching a large Cod on a snot end of Ragworm 10 yards out. But for me that wasn't lucky, that was the right thing to do in that particular situation to catch that fish. Whether the angler is aware of that or not is a different matter.

I believe that there is a reasonable scientific explanation for everything. Therefore for me I believe it's down to a balance of skill and science only (and every sub-catergory)
Science must be the cornerstone on which to hone your skills.

For a very crude example : Cod love to eat peeler crab (amongst many other things), that's a scientific fact because *it can be proven by examining the contents of Cod stomachs. The skill comes from knowing this, plus knowing how to present it correctly and effectively put it in the right place at the right time using the right equipment.

I would class myself as a very average angler with a hell of a lot to learn, and as its been mentioned already, it's a lifetime learning curve with a of a lot of variables.

Very interesting responses so far there definitely seems to be a divide on the luck factor.

Keep it coming

Regards
Si