Top fishing tackle doesn't always mean lots of fish
Anglers and fishermen are a funny breed of people. Being a keen angler, I will frequently walk around a lake or up a stretch of river, if I am unable to fish myself, and have a chat to other anglers to see how they are getting on, what’s been caught over the last few days, what’s happening around a particular fishery etc. There are times when I eat, breathe and live fishing.
When talking to other anglers the subject of fishing tackle crops up all the time, and it seems that many anglers prefer to talk about the fishing tackle they use rather than the actual fish, which surprises me somewhat. Many anglers seem to be more proud of the amount of fishing tackle they own than their actual catch rate which is astounding. Whilst it is essential to take some spare gear with you on a fishing trip some anglers take this to the extreme and carry enough tackle to open a small fishing tackle store, and most of this won’t even be used. Tackle to catch large pike, carp tackle, lure fishing tackle. Float tackle and ledger tackle, it seems some anglers like to take it all. I have heard of being prepared, but this is simply ridiculous and there really is no need for it.
As well as the quantity of tackle it seems that anglers are obsessed by fishing equipment brands. The brand of rod you have, the brand of reel you use, the brand of brolly you have, the brand of clothing you wear and everything else even down to a packet of fish hooks really does make a difference and if you do not own the “fashionable” brands you are looked down on and not taken as a serious angler. There is now a lot of snobbery in fishing and it is starting to divide many anglers. Historically, a popular angler was one who was knowledgeable and caught the most, or the biggest fish. However, times have changed and the popular anglers are those with the highest number of branded tackle items, i.e. the angler with the most money.
If you want to be a successful angler it is not about the amount of tackle you have, or the brand of tackle you have. In order to be a successful angler you need to research the fish and identify where they can be found, how they behave, what their feeding patterns are like etc. Knowledge is power, and the more you earn the more power you have and the more fish you will catch. You don’t need to be rich to learn about fish you just need to have the motivation and will power to do so. So, before you go and spend a small fortune on fishing tackle, on the assumption it will improve your catch rate, take a trip to the library or surf the internet and swot up on the species of fish you want to catch.