With the walk around Himley Hall coinciding with a bright and sunny day, there were plenty of fish showing in the shallows and upper layers of the Great Pool.
Predominantly carp, they were very obliging in terms of viewing opportunity. Although I only had my iPhone, nevertheless the footage was reasonable.
Fish-spotting is an important ingredient in the make-up of the successful angler. Although I was there just for a walk, I enjoyed watching the carp.
What you have to do though is observe and take note of behaviour. That’s what thinking anglers do. They go beyond just watching and learn.
Otherwise it’s no more than visiting a garden centre and looking at the koi carp. People do that but it’s mostly entertainment rather than gathering behavioural information.
This is a great time of the year for fish-watching. The knowledge and understanding you can gather from observing is essential if you are to move from being a ‘Chuck-it-and-chance-it’ fisherman to becoming a thinking angler.