Coarse fishing

An angler's catch of coarse fish—painting by Dean Wolstenholme, circa 1850

Coarse fishing is a term used in the United Kingdom and Ireland for angling for coarse fish. Coarse fish are freshwater fish that are distinguished from game fish. Freshwater game fish are all salmonids – most particularly salmon, trout and char – so generally coarse fish are freshwater fish that are not salmonids. There is disagreement over whether grayling should be classified as a game fish or a coarse fish.^[1] Fly fishing is the technique usually used for freshwater game fishing, while other angling techniques are usually used for coarse fishing. The sport of coarse fishing and the techniques it uses are particularly popular in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, and as well as in some former British Commonwealth countries and among British expatriates.

The distinction between coarse fish and game fish has no taxonomic basis.^[2] It originated in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century. Prior to that time, recreational fishing was a sport of the gentry, who angled for salmon and trout and called them game fish. There was a view that other fish did not make as good eating, and they were disdained as coarse fish.^[3][4] Coarse fish have scales that are generally larger than the scales of game fish,^[2] and they tend to inhabit warmer and stiller waters.

Bait

Coarse fish usually have coarser scales than game fish

Common carp, a typical coarse fish

Ferox trout, a typical game fish

A huge array of baits can be used for a huge variety of fish, baits used will vary on many factors. Some of these deciding factors will relate to the venue being fished, the species of fish targeted, time of year and water colour. Also moving or still water plays a part in the size, colour or style of bait being used.

When fishing on rivers, for game fish. I.e Brown, Rainbow, Brook & Sea Trout, Salmon and in some cases Grayling (coarse/game) artificial flies, small spinners and lures are a popular choice for many game anglers due to the way they intentionally mimic a fly or small fish on the surface and the top layers of the water, enticing the fish into feeding as it sits among actual live flies and fish fry. Both floating and sinking flies and lures can be used to fish either on the surface or in the upper layers of the water. Usually, in summer months, a spinner or fly manoeuvred across the surface will bring about a take from a fish, due to fish moving into the warmest part of the water being the surface and first 18" of water below. When fishing a river for coarse fish species such as Chub, Barbel, Roach, Dace and Bream. The favourite hook baits tend to be maggot (white,red, bronze) caster (maggot chrysalis), Worm, cheese, Pellet (halibut, trout and Carp), boilies (round balls made with fish meal, milk, soya) and Luncheon Meat (pork roll, Tinned chopped pork).

Loose-feed can be any of the above with a particle bait fed by hand, in a feeder or by catapult, sometimes in the form of hemp seed, Manufactured fishmeal ground-bait.

Stillwater and Commercial fisheries:

A huge array of baits for still waters angling are available. Many of the old favourites are still as potent today as they ever have been.

For most species, hook baits such as, Luncheon meat, Sweetcorn, Maggot, Worm and Pellets will work. When targeting more specific species such as specimen carp. Boilies, large pellets, large bunch of maggots, large Lobworm, tiger nuts and meat chunks from Cat food can work very well, micro pellets softened along with groundbait can be fed alongside all hook baits mentioned. In the summer months fish such as carp can be seen feeding off the surface, in this case a floating dog biscuit or piece of bread floated on the surface can be deadly.

Predator baits:

For predatory fish, usually either dead or live bait is used, in the form of small fish, such as a live roach, although many venues do not allow this practice, dead baiting is usually used for larger predators such as Pike, Zander, Perch and Eels. A piece of mackerel bought from the fishmongers can be used for example.

Spinning: The use of an artificial lure is also widely used for predators. These can come in all shapes, sizes and colours, to mimic injured fish and small fast fish, used at all depths, these can be an extremely fun way to catch Pike and Perch.

Rod licences and fishery fees

Coarse fishing lake

For all anglers in England and Wales, anybody aged 12 and over must purchase a valid rod licence before fishing. This will enable anglers to legally fish in England and Wales for non migratory Trout and Coarse fish.

A single rod licence will enable an angler to fish with up to two rods at any one time. Many specimen Carp Anglers fish with 3 or 4 rods at once on large lakes to maximise lake coverage and give greater chance of catching. Fishing with 3 or 4 rods requires the purchase a second rod licence.

Most commercial fisheries, and some rivers are operated on a day ticket basis. In the UK, these can range in price depending on the venue. They are usually paid on the bank with a representative of the venue collecting the fees from anglers from the peg (fishing spot) at some time during the day. In some cases, season tickets can be purchased.

Some lakes are operated as a syndicate. In this case one can not merely arrive and fish, as they are usually on an invitational basis. They can sometimes be joined by contacting a senior member of the syndicate.

Some lakes and river stretches are operated by Angling Clubs. These are available for anyone to join, and can be done so usually by obtaining an application form from a local tackle shop. Application forms can often be downloaded from the Angling Club's website. In some cases, location depending, there can be a waiting list to join a club. This is usually a sign that the waters operated by the club are sought after by many anglers and are usually worth waiting for. A yearly fee is usually paid to the club for one's membership.

Tackle and technique

Depending on the situation, different types of fishing tackle can be used. Most common is the rod and reel, the rod being typically between 8 and 13 feet (4.0 m) long, and manufactured of tubular carbon fibre or splits of Tonkin bamboo. A reel is then attached near the base of the rod to hold a long length of line, which is run to the tip of the rod through eyelets. Once cast out, the line can be retrieved by winding a handle on the reel.

However, the use of "poles" is also now widespread. Here, the line is fixed to the very tip of the rod, with no reel used: in order to retrieve the line, the pole itself is taken apart until the line can be swung to hand. Poles are often very long in order to increase the angler's range—up to 16 metres.

The main techniques used are float fishing, legering and spinning.

• In float fishing, the bait is suspended beneath a float made of hollow plastic, wood or quill. The top of the float is usually painted a bright colour and bites are indicated by the top of the float dipping under the surface of the water, or moving up in the water.
• Legering does not use floats. Instead the bait is held on the bottom of the lake or river by a sinker or large weight. Bites are detected by watching the quiver tip of the rod for movement, or with the use of electronic bite alarms, and more advanced tackle such as polyvinyl alcohol bags, or mesh.
• Spinning. Either a brightly coloured lure or a small fish attached to a hook is towed through the water to attract carnivorous fish such as pike, zander and perch.

Fly fishing techniques may also be used for certain species, such as grayling or chub.

For float and leger fishing, groundbait is usually thrown into the water to attract fish to the area. Typical baits include nightcrawlers, maggots, bread and sweet corn. Lately, advancements in technology and market competitiveness have led to many types of other ingredients being introduced, including chemicals, such as betaine, that stimulate the feeding response in fish. Boilies are popular baits for carp fishing.

Types

The nature of coarse fishing varies with the dedication and attitude of the angler:

• Pleasure angling: describes anglers who go out to enjoy a relaxing day's fishing, and are content to catch whatever fish they can.
• Match angling: anglers, in teams or as individual entrants, gather together at a venue to catch either as many fish as possible in an allotted period of time, or the greatest total weight of fish. Contests are held at local, regional, national and international levels.
• Specimen hunting: the aim is to catch a large fish of a specific species. Some specimen hunters will fish only for one particular species, with large carp or pike being popular targets in the UK.

Target species

The main target species for this type of angling include:

Name	Image	Variants
Barbel
Bream
Carp		Grass, Common, Crucian, Leather, Mirror
Chub
Dace
Ide
Perch
Pike
Roach
Rudd
Tench
Wels catfish
Zander

Less often targeted species include:

• Bullhead
• Eel
• Gudgeon
• Minnow
• Powan
• Ruffe
• Stickleback

A full list of the heaviest fish weights by species, caught on rod and line in the UK can be found at Rod Caught Fish Records UK.

See also

• Rough fish

Notes

References

• Cholmondeley-Pennell, Henry (1893) Fishing: Pike and other coarse fish 5th edition, revised. Longmans, Green.
• Cooper, Dave (2004). "First Class Fishing". Fishing Magic.
• Lowerson, John (1993). Sport and the English middle classes, 1870–1914. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-3777-8.
• Tranter, Neil (1998). Sport, Economy and Society in Britain 1750–1914. Page 101. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-57217-7.

Further reading

• Bailey, John (2008). Where to Coarse Fish in Britain and Ireland. New Holland Publishers Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84537-934-6.
• Marston, Robert Bright (1883) Coarse Fish Culture Clowes and Sons, Limited.
• Partner, Steve (2007). Coarse Fishing Basics. ISBN 978-0-7537-1586-4.

External links

• Coarse fishing at DMOZ
• Coarse fishing: The sport of gentlemen
• Fishing for fun
• Henfold Lakes: Coarse Fishery Pictures from Surrey, England
• Anglers net: Coarse fishing articles
• Coarse fishing venues on google maps. Angling Social Networking
• Some basic information on choosing coarse fishing tackle a.k.a. carp fishing tackle
• Have questions about coarse fishing Coarse fishing questions
• Beginners guide to coarse fishing

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