My angling's evolution

There's a fair chance that this might get a bit heavy? I recently watched a Nash TV offering, by Samir Arebi and Henry Lennon, on Youtube (click this link) and, as entertaining as it certainly is, found myself drawn to the conversation about the willingness to accept/utilize modern technological advances within an angling context. In this particular situation they were questioning the use of a drone for fish finding, but the sentiment could have equally been applied to bait boats, or even bite alarms, at some time in the past?

With my own roots firmly planted in an era before Carp fishing dominated UK freshwater angling, I still remain devoted to the ethos contained within the pages of "Still-water Angling" by a certain Richard Walker. My own copy is a 1962 Macgibbon & Kee addition, the vast majority of advice contained within these hallo'ed pages being as relevant, today, as when first penned. What has happened over the intervening period is way beyond anything Dick Walker could have envisaged, yet nothing which he wouldn't have fully embraced. He was the inventor of the electronic bite alarm, compound taper Carp rods and the "Arsley Bomb", an engineering genius who liked to go fishing!

February 16th 1985
14 lbs 5 oz from The Thames at Mapledurham.
Link legered Sardine on a Duncan Kay with an ABU Cardinal 66X

So where do I stand on these issues? It's pretty simple really. As an individual I have a decision to make, nothing is compulsory thus, am at liberty to pick and choose what suits my own situation. If a bait boat isn't what you perceive as "fair angling" then you don't have to use one. If, however, the fish location abilities of flying a drone above a venue will aid your decision making why not utilize the technology to assist your swim choice? A drone won't help a piss poor rig become more effective, or cause a fish to pick up a bait which has no attraction - just the angler will know that they'd failed because of what this additional knowledge has provided. As Henry says in the Youtube offering, quite where technology will be in ten years time is a mind numbing prospect? To ignore the benefits is insane if consistently catching fish is why you're at the water side in the first place. 

I don't require a drone to find the fish I target, purely because my current venues are very intimate and watercraft skills learned, over the previous fifty years, stand me in good stead. A bait boat, however, was the major reason why my Loch Awe "twenty" visited the unhooking mat and my current Carp folly is fully reliant upon the use of a baiting pole for accuracy and stealth. Fair angling? Isn't that for me to decide?

The fact that my bait had been positioned using a baitboat,
complete with sonar recording technology, detracts absolutely
nothing from the memories of happiness at the capture of
this magnificent Pike.

The "Old School" label still plays a role as my pursuit of enjoyment remains a fundamental piece of the angling experience. That my rods and reels are from an era when Hemel Hempstead was my base and Tring Reservoirs the  hub of UK speccy hunting doesn't change a thing. I'm not in the least embarrassed to place a couple of Duncan Kay's, complete with ABU Cardinal 66X's, on a rod pod with Nash Siren R3's and those £16 butt grips. It's not about what I look like, when viewed by others, but is my kit capable of doing the job I require? One thing which can never be up for discussion is the vital importance of using the best line and various rig components that you are able to afford. I'm totally confident that every aspect of my tackle choices, which will connect my rod and reel to the fish, are the best quality items available to me. 

April 20th 2023 and I'm still using the same old Duncan Kay rods in
combination with ABU Cardinal 66X reels. Why fix what isn't broken?

Modern manufacturing techniques ensure that consistency of product quality is at the very top level hence hooks, line, swivels and umpteen other accessories are now better than at any time in the past. With no brand allegiance, personal preference is how my kit is assembled. If I should see something being used by another angler, be that on the bank or on Youtube, which might be an improvement on what I'm currently using then I will often explore the potential, usually via a visit to Camo's shop in Ramsgate. Once I am happy with a set-up, or product, I rarely seek to change it in order to comply with current fads and fashions. I leave it up to the fish, not market forces, to decide when it's time for a re-think of tackle and/or tactics.

It's the desire to get to grips with some more Carp of this type which is driving 
my current angling forays. What tweaks I devise whilst fishing on the club fisheries will,
hopefully, pay dividends later in the year when I return to the Flatlands.