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'Coarse fishing' is an angling method, mostly popular throughout the United Kingdom and mainland Europe.
The main target species for this type of angling include:

★ Carp: Wild Carp / King Carp / Common Carp / Crucian Carp

★ Pike / Northern Pike (Esox Lucius)

★ Zander

★ Barbel

★ Chub

★ Perch

★ bream

★ roach

★ Rudd

★ Tench

★ Dace

★ Orfe / Ide
Several lesser species are also covered by coarse fishing, such as gudgeon and bleak.

Contents

Equipment

Types of coarse fishing

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Equipment

Depending on the situation, different types of equipment can be used. The most common of these is the rod and reel, the rod being typically between 10 and 13 feet long, and manufactured of tubular carbon fibre. 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. Because the line cannot be cast, poles are often very long in order to increase the angler's range- up to 16 metres.
The techniques used can be broken down into two basic categories- float fishing and legering. In the former, 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. No float is used in legering, the bait instead being held on the bottom of the lake or river by a large weight. Bites are detected by watching the quiver tip of the rod for movement.
Groundbait is usually thrown into the water to attract fish to the area, and typical baits include nightcrawlers, maggots, bread and sweet corn. Lately, advancements in technology amd market competitiveness has 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 of coarse fishing

Coarse fishing can be sub-divided into 3 different types:
'Pleasure angling' - Going out to enjoy a relaxing day's fishing, trying to catch anything that comes by without putting too much effort in, with anything caught being a bonus.
'Match angling' - This is where anglers (either in clubs, or as individual entrants) gather together at a venue to catch as many fish as possible in an alloted period of time. Contests are held at local, regional, national and international levels. Some famous names from the past and present in this field of the sport include Bob Nudd, Kevin Ashurst, Alan Scotthorne.
'Specimen hunting' - The aim with this type of coarse fishing is to specifically target a chosen species of fish, in order to weigh and photograph it when you catch a personal best. The main target species for this branch of coarse fishing include carp, pike, zander, barbel, chub, perch and Wels catfish.
It is generally recommended that beginners leave this area of coarse fishing alone for a couple of years until they've mastered catching the smaller fish, as those who indulge in "specimen fishing" often go for days, weeks, months or longer without a bite. Some specimen anglers get so obsessed that they spend days or weeks at a time camping by the waterside waiting for that "fish of a lifetime".

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