FS Digest

Why do i always get bad advice from local anglers? What's the worst advice you have ever been given?


So I'm UK based and only fish freshwater for trout,pike,perch and grayling (despite catching other species too) when first starting out a few years back I took every bit of advice that local anglers I would encounter would give me and form my strategies and tactics around that info however after doing my own research and learning more on my own and getting better through a lot of dedication I'm now in a position where I can see how much b.s they were talking , these guys have like top of the line gear and big brand tackle yet they clearly have no clue what they are talking about.

Let me be clear these arent just causual casters they are all long term senior members of the local fishing clubs ,people just by looking at them you can tell they consider themselves "experts" or "in the know" and It started out with little things like "you won't catch nothing here today waters to cold/high" and then I would catch immediately, and the excuses and misinformation just skyrocketed from then on, the more anglers who stopped me to talk the more b.s I would get "the _____ are just not in feeding yet" then I would catch "_____ don't swim upriver this far" . Now I just smile and walk away I don't listen to any of them as they clearly have no clue what they are saying so got me thinking

I'm curious to know what the worse fishing advice or excuse you guys have heard from another angler ?

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by RustyArrows

FS Digest

I get this often.

Guy leaving with all his gear- “nah nothings happening today/tonight”

This just tells me they’re not doing something thats getting bites.

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by ronnie_rochelle

FS Digest

That's one I hear a lot too, why do they say anything ?is it an ego thing? Maybe makes them feel like it wasn't their fault it was everything else

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by RustyArrows

FS Digest

We do this.

"Catch anything?"

"Nope"

Don't want spots totally burned. The second word gets out, there will be 50 people there the next day if they hear a big striper gets pulled in.

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by EmbracedByLeaves

FS Digest

I actively seek out information from locals & 'old timers' - there's no substitute for decades of experience and time on the water. They may be set in their ways, but they've seen better and worse fishing days than most here.

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by HookedAZ

FS Digest

And ordinarily I would agree with you which is why I initially started asking for info from locals and older anglers but honestly it may just be where I live but I never got a good bit of advice from any of them and I've spoken to heaps of them , always making excuses or giving you bad advice and in the end I would have never have got better at fishing if I would have listened to them

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by RustyArrows

FS Digest

I think sometimes they do it on purpose to protect their favorite spots, or keep their best bait/techniques top secret.

It's not always like that with fellow anglers though. When I go to an unfamiliar area I usually hit the local tackle store and have gotten lots of good tips.

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by cam0gal

FS Digest

I thought that too but they seem to stop and talk to me on there way back to their vehicle so not much point in purposely steering me away as there's no guarantee I would go to "their spot" anyway, they seem to try having a conversation with me but laced in their "knowledge" is absolute nonsense, I'm convinced it's just where I live but they kind of look down their nose at me as if I'm a novice yet they don't even know what they are talking about (I'm in no way saying I'm an expert but you don't need much experience to tell they are clearly talking bullcrap)

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by RustyArrows

FS Digest

That seems kind of strange oh, maybe it is just your area I'm not sure. Hopefully you will meet someone who is knowledgeable and actually doesn't mind helping someone else out. Personally I like helping other Anglers out especially if they're beside me and immediately catch a fish afterwards LOL.

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by cam0gal

FS Digest

Yeah it think it's my area but in a good way it made me do my own research and learn from my own mistakes , I recently helped a kid catch some trout as he was a bit lost but I explained what I was doing as I had been successful that day so all i did was tell him what I was doing and even gave him a couple of baits I had luck on , its just the old guys that literally are dressed/geared up like they have just walked off a fishing magazine shoot who consider themselves good anglers who just have a crappy attitude and even worse knowledge, they think their age and ability to afford top of the range gear makes them a professional . Again not all but every one I have encountered in my area

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by RustyArrows

Catfish hunter Loc: Riggins idaho (Paradise)

Hi FG. The one I like best is. “That’s not a good place” then I see THAT guy fishing there consistently, day after day and bragging at the local bait shop about all the steelhead he’s caught so far, “3 miles” down river from where I see him.

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

A line from a song from the band, "Kansas"........
"if I claim to be a wise man, means I surely do not know"....
Or the band, "the Eagles".......
"I'm an expert... because I SAY I'm an expert.....

It is truly rampant, how many folks feel empowered and self-righteous, once they acquire the proper look and gear. I recall a fly guy in spendy waders and jacket, holding a combo that cost more than my whole collection of fly rods..... can't cast for s*#t, scaring the entire hole by his inept movements, throwing topwater trout flies(!&?), come sloshing out towards me, sayin'... "I don't think the Steelhead have made it up this far, yet".... get in his Landrover and leave.....DAMN GOOD RIDDANCE !, we cheer....and proceeded to pull two nice Steelies from the hole... neither a fin-clipped keeper, but a good day, anyway.
An awful lot like the guys with complete sports team fan outfit, hat, shirt, jacket, maybe even shoes..... can't name more than three players on the team !
We outwardly chuckle, we privately scorn....and we keep at it... it's okay to be wise within, and wait for others to notice our successes....they will come.

Catfish hunter Loc: Riggins idaho (Paradise)

And they learned from somebody right?

Pickle Loc: Duplin co, NC

If everything the guy has looks brand new and top of the line he's paid to look the part. A true fisherman doesn't replace all of his gear at once. I'd much rather take advice from someone who has well worn equipment that someone who looks like they just stepped out of a magazine add.

Pickle Loc: Duplin co, NC

If everything the guy has looks brand new and top of the line he has paid to look the part. A true fisherman doesn't replace all of his gear at once. I'd much rather take advice from someone who has well worn equipment that someone who looks like they just stepped out of a magazine add.