What is specimen hunting all about?

 Specimen hunting is becoming an increasingly popular area of fishing particularly in Europe. Specimen hunters are the hard-core anglers that will fish for weeks on end in pursuit of that one special fish that they set out to catch. In Europe it would be fair to say that the vast majority of specimen hunters are after carp, these wiley old fish are very difficult to out wit and as a consequence provide a very good challenge for most people. Other popular types of fish for specimen hunters are catfish and barble.

Specimen hunting isn’t only about catching the biggest fish though, it cand also be about catching a particular fish that you know is in that particular water or about hunting out the perfect specimen of a fish were its fins and colouration are almost ideal. Many choose to take up the niche specialist angling as they find it much more relaxing than a high pressure type of fishing that match anglers do. Match fishing is really down to the weight of fish that you catch in a certain period of time and so can be quite stressful and not to mention competitive. Specimen anglers are most likely to be the sort of person that the appreciate the whole process fishing and take much more time to absorb the beautiful environment that they choose to spend time in.

Specimen hunters live for the thrill of catching that one special fish and it is the anticipation that keeps them at the water's edge night after night knowing that that one bite could bring them the fish that they've been dreaming of. It really is an exhilarating experience to be woken up in the middle of the night by the sound bite alarm and not knowing quite what you're going to find on the end of it.

 Specialist angling more often than not requires specialist kit and because people will camp out for weeks much this kit is similar to army or camping type equipment. A carp fishing bivvy for example really is nothing more than a high-tech tent but in olive drab colour that will fit in with the surroundings much better and not alarm any would-be caught fish. Fishing reels and fishing rods are also usually built to a much higher specification that are designed to cope with the strain that some of these massive fish can put on them. They are also designed to be out in bad weather because they will spend much of their time outside enduring any weather that is thrown at them.

So to answer the original question what is specimen hunting, it is the pursuit of a particular fish, and is being carried out by a growing number of angling enthusiasts.