whilst wandering through the leafless footpaths of bolsover with the dog today i started thinking..when we go fishing and we use the latest alarms/technology are we fishing or are we waiting? what i mean is are we "skillfully"hunting the prey or (as i have done so many times)are we casting in, setting the alarms, zipping up the bivvy and watching telly and waiting "to be told" by the latest technology "excuse me ..sorry to interupt..there's a fish waiting for you"?or are we using whats new to our fullest advantage ?are we doing what we should do to increase our chances?how do you feel about how you fish..would you for instance use a candle in a jam jar and sit it out all night never taking your eyes of your tip? .....discuss..... :)

I was about to write a descent sized reply to this Bowser but the missus has just brought the tea in :D

I can say that even though in recent years I've bought into the whole 3 rods,buzzers and bivvy angling this summer I took a step back to how I fished in the 80s with just one rod (a cane MKIV this summer) , a net , and a bag of bits. There was a roll up unhooking mat and a low chair as well but we didn't have mats in the 80s and I'm older now :lol:

Got to say I found it far more enjoyable actually "fishing" for carp that I'd found than adopting the "bait and wait" approach in the bivvy.

It did feel more like "real" angling B)

After years of "Bait and wait" I've begun the slide back to actually going after the fish.
It started with a guy from the local area catching a certain big Carp from Knotford, whilst all the regulars were sat behind immobile indicators, totally oblivious to the feeding carp only a few yards away. He walked round the place, found his fish, caught it, and was away home again in a couple of hours or so.
I thought, I'll have some of that Sunshine!
Soon I found I was avoiding my club fishery which was almost entirely "B&W" (as it was so busy), and taking one rod and a few floaters to a quiet water.
The fun factor increased greatly, so I tried the rivers now and then, (with some modest success).
Now its moving waters, more often than not, and with just the single rod, in a "fish and move", "fish and move" tactic. Much as we used to when Pike fishing, or going after Big Chub.
I have enjoyed the active fishing so much, that I have completely dropped the second rod licence this season, and havent missed fishing the third rod at all, even when going for a "social" Carp session.
I am not saying that its the "be all, and end all," as on really busy venues you dont have the option of moving much. But where I have a choice, I'll take going after the fish, rather than waiting for the fish to come to me.

BOF ;)

Using bite alarms is just another means of bite detection as is the float,swing tip ,quiver tip etc etc. The only real difference i can see is one is audiable and the other isn`t. I think available fishing styles almost certainly depend on the venue and how busy the banks gets but if you have a quiet water stalking is well worth a go and will no doubt produce more fish. As with all angling its knowing when to adopt a particular style to situation to gain results because each will have its day.

what got me thinking was "when i were a lad" we used to fish opposite staythorpe power station and it was a night session with a candle in a jam jar with screw on quivers size 14 directly tied, no rigs and an aresley bomb with one swan shot about a foot up from the hook..we regularly had 10 chub a night and only occasionally had carp so is it there's less fish? or are the methods so different we dont catch as we used to? if its the last thing i do i'm goin to fish the power stretch again next year and use the old method and see..(although the power station has now gone so now there's no warm water) and..and ..we only used lobworm and bread! :lol:

I'm all for new latest technology for fishing I think that bite alarms just do a job same as a float or new line and when you fish for specimen monsters its a long old wait(well it is when i go).As for having 3/4 rods out well just means you have a bit more chance to catch the skill factor is bait and casting(NOT BAIT BOAT)just casting into fish hot spots.Now i do think that the day a electronic fish caller is used as bait i'll draw a line at that?(lucky fish dances are ok tho)

As for 10 chub a night i think the ecology of most rivers have changed a bit and the chub still live somewhere but not in the same rivers as they used too 10/20 years ago not saying your old bowser.lol..but most rivers natural environment has changed a lot .Hope your chub have moved under the bridge near me :big: . :) ..

The Trent is now pretty much a big fish river. The small fish are still there but just due to the sheer amount of Barbel present it must have a knock on effect. In 1995 the Barbel started to show at about 1-3 pounds and the skimmers just started to decline in numbers on the local Tidal. Within a year or so instead of the 20-30 pound bag of smaller fish it was now being replaced with similar weights of Barbel to 5/6 pound. The smaller fish are still there although not in the numbers you became accustomed to. All the different species you once caught are still in the river they are now just are a little harder to locate. I would personally start with where you would not expect to catch a Barbel as they certainly dominate the Trent. There are loads of inlets/outlets, drainage channels and the like and with a little homework you will find those Chub you speak of. Never being fished for and in fair numbers too.

I'd also go for the wider, shallower areas and float fish, using a very short stubby float called a Trent Trotter. Developed just for the areas mentioned, it's fished bottom end only(waggler style), sometimes with a back shot up the reel line dragging behind the float, and continuous loose feeding of maggots or casters. You may catch the odd Barbel if the fish are so thick on the ground that they bully the Chub out of the way, but usually the combination of the shallow water and the moving bait are more to the Chubs liking.

BOF ;)