OCD and fishing.

[Simon Archer]

Anyone suffer with OCD in their fishing ?? I'm not too bad, but things have to be right.

One of the reasons why I use a tripod rather than bankstick is so my rods are equal. If one tip is bent more than the other, I try my hardest to get them level. When I use banksticks, if they're not equal lengths out of the ground it drives me nuts. I set my bag and tackle box next to my chair in the same place every time I go. All my alarms, my receiver, bobbins and isotopes are Blue. The lights on my receiver are set for two and three rod set ups, not just random. All my terminal tackle has to be kept separate, even down the swivel size. My hook packets are in descending order starting with the smallest first. My flask rests on the back leg of my chair, never anywhere else. Landing net on my left side, just out of the water.

Like I said, not too bad,.......

 

[Joe Winstanley]

All my terminal tackle has to be kept separate, even down the swivel size. ️

My hook packets are in descending order starting with the smallest first. ️

My flask rests on the back leg of my chair, never anywhere else. ️

Landing net on my left side, just out of the water. ️

I draw the line at matching buzzers! They have to be, Blue (left), Green (middle) and Red (right) and colour settings on my receiver have to match...

Not fussed about about rod tips being level - I'm not a total lunatic!

 

[Richard Isaacs]

There’s form over function and function over form.
You appear to fall into both categories with your musts Simon I’d say.

Blue alarm leds and sky high level rod tips are certainly form over function and your well organized tackle box is definitely function oriented over form.

I also have certain musts in the way things are arranged but mine are pretty much all function over form.

For example I too level out my rod tips but they are level for 1 reason. They sit about half an inch off the water surface because we have boats coming up and down the river all day and I want to be extra sure my lines are well clear of them. Also back leading is incredibly difficult here so shallow angled lines give me advantages to minimize fish contact. Rod buts don’t need to be level at all but they need to be to hand as I’m fishing locked up.

everything I have stays in my bag baring my forceps a couple of bait stops and a needle that sit on my tray. Again a good couple of reasons why …. Dogs running riot all the time and if I want to move I’m packed and ready to go.

The thing I’m most ocd about is what’s in the water. My rigs are tied to perfection and hooks are kept like razors. The fish are not really bothered if my reel handles don’t line up properly

 

[David Craine]

Wow Simon, you would drive me round the bend
Equally, I would do the same to you .

One of my sea fishing companions would get on well with you, he has exactly the same OCD , I wet myself laughing at him every time we meet. His rods HAVE to match, His REELS have to match, his Tripod has to be a certain brand, as do all of his bags, holdalls, boxes , reel cases, bait buckets, cool box, they all have to be the same colour, gents toilet blue I call it.

It also follows on to his clothing , has to be a certain brand, nothing else is good enough, with a certain colour scheme .

I have pointed out that all this does not catch him any more fish, but it seems he is more obsessed with his appearance on the beach than he is about catching , so if thats what floats his boat and keeps him happy then why not.

What I do object to though is the fact that he is just throwing money at the various brands he supports so strongly, he MUST have the latest rod, reel or whatever .

What makes people like this ? I have no idea.

I am completely the opposite, especially with my coarse gear, rods god knows how many years old, a mismatched group of centrepins, fixed spools, a couple of closed face reels. I mostly use vintage tackle, which I do look after , my carbon gear is just what I have gathered over time as it was needed , most second hand tbh. It all does the job without me getting all peculiar over it not matching , or sitting straight on a tripod.on the bank, my rigs are pre tied and thats about as far as it goes, a mismatched box of feeders and a few weights , an old air rifle pellet tin contains a few swivels etc . Rod rests are what I have made myself, some more modern than others, ( modern being probably 30 years old plus)

One thing I am a bit OCD about is fishing bags… I am certain that whoever designs them has never actually used one themselves, I have a Korum bag which looked the biz on the advertising blurb, when it arrived it looked nice, but it became quickly apparent that the designer knew SWFA about weight distribution and stress points.
I have to adapt my bags and boxes to how I want them, which of course nobody else would know anyway.

David

 

[Haydn Clarke]

As another one who uses a mixture of vintage and modern gear, the only OCD trait I see in myself is that I can’t bear seeing the both mixed together at the same time. I recall seeing a picture of Peter Stone in Waterlog Magazine (I think) and he had a Shimano baitrunner paired up to MK IV and this very nearly sent me into an OCD meltdown. Similarly, I never use my Speedias or Alcock Aerial on any of my carbon rods, preferring to pair those up with my Okuma.
I try to maintain a sense of order in the tackle boxes only for practicality and if a size 8 swivel manages to fall into the quick change swivel compartment then I probably won’t lose to many hours sleep over it.

Moving slightly sideways from OCD to suspicion, my old mate Gary used to swear it was worth taking an empty flask fishing, as sure as eggs are eggs the minute you reach for it then your rod tip is likely to slam round. My own version is that I’ll sometimes get up and take a phantom squirt, even if I’m empty. The minute you pull that old zipper down you just know you’ll get a thumping great bite.

 

[Richard Isaacs]

Wow Simon, you would drive me round the bend
Equally, I would do the same to you .

One of my sea fishing companions would get on well with you, he has exactly the same OCD , I wet myself laughing at him every time we meet. His rods HAVE to match, His REELS have to match, his Tripod has to be a certain brand, as do all of his bags, holdalls, boxes , reel cases, bait buckets, cool box, they all have to be the same colour, gents toilet blue I call it.

It also follows on to his clothing , has to be a certain brand, nothing else is good enough, with a certain colour scheme .

I have pointed out that all this does not catch him any more fish, but it seems he is more obsessed with his appearance on the beach than he is about catching , so if thats what floats his boat and keeps him happy then why not.

What I do object to though is the fact that he is just throwing money at the various brands he supports so strongly, he MUST have the latest rod, reel or whatever .

What makes people like this ? I have no idea.

I am completely the opposite, especially with my coarse gear, rods god knows how many years old, a mismatched group of centrepins, fixed spools, a couple of closed face reels. I mostly use vintage tackle, which I do look after , my carbon gear is just what I have gathered over time as it was needed , most second hand tbh. It all does the job without me getting all peculiar over it not matching , or sitting straight on a tripod.on the bank, my rigs are pre tied and thats about as far as it goes, a mismatched box of feeders and a few weights , an old air rifle pellet tin contains a few swivels etc . Rod rests are what I have made myself, some more modern than others, ( modern being probably 30 years old plus)

One thing I am a bit OCD about is fishing bags… I am certain that whoever designs them has never actually used one themselves, I have a Korum bag which looked the biz on the advertising blurb, when it arrived it looked nice, but it became quickly apparent that the designer knew SWFA about weight distribution and stress points.
I have to adapt my bags and boxes to how I want them, which of course nobody else would know anyway.

David

If fishing a pair of rods, I think it’s quite important that they match. Cosmetics aside but having 2 or in some cases 3 identical set ups is a big advantage.
You get to know your rods and reels and you get to understand their quirks, action types and general behavior on a personal level over years of use.
I have afew rods that I could pick out in a line up blindfolded just from picking them up I know them so well.

If you are casting quite accurately you certainly familiarize yourself with a rod,reel,line set up and it would throw me right off my game to be playing fish and casting leads on 2 completely different set ups.

Regarding matching gear I’m not overly fussed really. My stuff has taken years to get what I like and the bulk of it is older era Korum stuff. I’m not fussed if it matches but I’m a huge huge fan of modular systems.

I really do love a clip and snap and things that fit properly and go together properly. I like to travel with my hands free. It’s a great advantage even if your well packed to be able to walk up to a swim, put the Polaroids on and not have to dump all your crap on the floor. Same thing walking to the car. Hands free pull out your keys and she’s open.

Carabiners ……. Rock!

 

[Simon Archer]

Back in my match fishing days I was a bit short on room in the fridge. So I put a small tub of white maggots inside a larger tub of reds. Needless to say they got mixed up. So I sat and picked the whites out.

 

[Richard Isaacs]

Back in my match fishing days I was a bit short on room in the fridge. So I put a small tub of white maggots inside a larger tub of reds. Needless to say they got mixed up. So I sat and picked the whites out.

Bet that took a while

 

[Haydn Clarke]

Surely There’s some sort of support group out there for you Simon.

 

[Joe Winstanley]

If fishing a pair of rods, I think it’s quite important that they match. Cosmetics aside but having 2 or in some cases 3 identical set ups is a big advantage.
You get to know your rods and reels and you get to understand their quirks, action types and general behavior on a personal level over years of use.
I have afew rods that I could pick out in a line up blindfolded just from picking them up I know them so well.

If you are casting quite accurately you certainly familiarize yourself with a rod,reel,line set up and it would throw me right off my game to be playing fish and casting leads on 2 completely different set ups.

100% agree with this.

Makes a big difference to accuracy in my experience.

 

[Simon Archer]

My match fishing gear is a miss match of different makes, but it's been gathered over the years and serves the correct purpose. I'm not bothered about that all matching. But I do have two Daiwa AWL 11/13 stillwater feeder rods. Both rods have extra tips than came supplied with the rod. Guess what ??

 

[Alexander Shepherd]

Surely There’s some sort of support group out there for you Simon.

I think this is his unofficial support group , a bunch of like minded individuals all wired slightly differently

 

[Chris Jones]

Right, now that I'm finished washing down a couple of rods and centrepins, I can answer. I don't know what you lunatics are on about!

 

[Terry Harman]

Rods and reels have to match and be level with each other
Reels have to be in line with bail roller at the top
Bank sticks have to be the same make
Luggage has to match (non negotiable)
And that’s scratching the surface
Mine,s half OCD half tackle tart

 

[Bob Watson]

I have a bit of it going on but nothing OTT.

 

[Derek Funcks]

I am at the complete opposite of the scale, only ever fish with 1 rod, so i don,t have to worry about getting the banksticks the same height on the second . Not arsed what way my reel handle/bale arm is, as long as i can reach the rod and reel. Tackle box looks like it was dropped off a cliff, but, i know everything that i need is in there. I,ll just get out the obvious bits, needle, bait stops etc. before i cast out. Simples

 

[Tim Marks]

My mates used to take the pi-s out if my set up when I carp fished because It was always wonky and untidy.

Now I do it deliberately if I fish 2 rods - un level rod rests, different line on each spool, bobbins all over the place etc etc. I just don’t care about that sort of ‘stuff’. Part of it is designed to make me look like a ‘noddy’ and maybe part of it is a reaction to the carp type anglers with their fancy set ups and rods so close together that they have to fold the handles…….etc etc.

 

[Ian Woods]

For the biggest part of my fishing I only use one rod and reel at a time, usually a centrepin reel and a float or avon rod. At the end of a session I always strip the line off my reel, I cut the line up and bin it or put it in the fire back at home. when I get back to the car, I wipe the reel down with a wet one and then a piece of tissue, same treatment for the rod. Once the car engine has got warmed up as i'm driving home I put the blower on and hold the reel infront of the blower and heat it up. That ensures any moisture in the nooks and crannies of the reel is evapourated. When I get home I might add a few spots of oil to the reel, if i'm not planning on using the reel for a while I might wipe it over with a small sponge full of oil.
Luckily i'm not so OCD with my other fishing gear, although I still try to look after it.

 

[Jon Young]

I generally have my bag and bait buckets in the same place next to my chair but it’s not a deal breaker. The main thing I’m anal about is always setting my net up before I set my rod up as one time years ago I got a fish on and went to grab my net and realised I hadn’t set it up. Not the easiest trying to screw the net on and extend the handle one handed whilst trying to play a fish with the other hand. As for my rig bits being tidy and in order then I’m the opposite. Everything is chucked in an old ice cream tub that started off as somewhere to keep my meat but find it easier to keep what I’m likely to need in there with it. Can be a pain at times trying to find what you need mind

 

[Neil Smart]

I have bought a variety of rig box's etc but like you I fnd it easier to put stuff in a bait box that lodges at the bottom of bucket. I admit to being over fussy regarding clean gear and a tidy peg is a nust. But I think because of what we do we have to have a degree of organisation and pre planning, which can be seen as obsessive behaviour.
Being ex military looking after your kit was a must bit I don't spit and polish my boots. ☺