Fishermen are not patient . Anticipation and concentration can make fishing an exhausting sport, and it is mainly a solitary , silent occupation . But even if you never catch anything , lazy starter kit – a rod , bait , a float , a lead weight and a hook – can be put together for a cheap price .
The classic fishing method is with a float . Maggots from Bluebottle or Greenbottle flies are spiked on a hook suspended from a float that bobs on the surface . Push the hook through the blunt end of the maggot , taking care not to burst it , as it dies faster . It tends to be necessary to place a couple of ball lead weights on the line to keep the float upright. Ask In the fishing shop if you’re not sure how . Cast carefully as a hook catching in your eyebrow is a deeply unpleasant experience . Watch out for overhead cables or tree braches . Your spool will have two setting – one for casting and one for retrieving the hook . Allow it to run loose and cast the hook and float upstream and allow the hook to come downstream towards you in the current. The first moment when that float dips is an experience to be treasured . Otherwise, wind back in slowly and try it again, replacing your maggots when they no longer move . If it’s a nice day , find a place to sit and enjoy the peace that lasts until someone comes along and says , ‘Any Luck ?’
The second classic method is know as ledgering . it involves a heavier lead weight that keeps the hook on the bottom . Fish taking the bait feel no resistance. This works well with carp . It should be clear that the method depends on the fish .
Roach : The ideal beginner’s fish . Roach feed in all conditions , at all levels summer and winter . Found in lakes , ponds , rivers and canals . 
Tench : A member of the carp family . Golden brown to olive green in colour , more likely to take the bait in warm weather . Usually found in deeper water – ponds , weirs and lakes . They can range in weight from couples of pounds to six or seven , though it would have to be deep water such a s a gravel-pit lake for them to grow as large as that .
Chub : Found in rivers fast and slow , under overhanging banks , rafts of waterweed and any other shelter . Omnivorous, chub will take almost any bait . They are common at around 5 lb in weight .
Gudgeon : A small bottom feeder found everywhere .
Minnows : The tiny fish whose name has actually come to mean ‘small and insigificant’. Catching a fish can be exciting – the real skill is not hooking one but in bringing it in without breaking the line or losing the fish .
Happy Fishing .
Corrigedum 