Manual extracts taken from Basic Compleat Angler Tackle

Casting

Casting in Compleat Angler will take practice and a bit of patience to perfect, but once mastered is a useful skill that will definitely give an edge. Apart from when fly fishing it is necessary to reel in your tackle before recasting. There are two types of cast in CA; Over-head ( for distance casting) The over-head cast will be the one you use most and involves pointing the rod in the direction you want to cast, then pressing and holding the right mouse button until the desired power is achieved. The cast power is displayed in the bottom right hand corner : When the desired power is reached, release the right mouse button and the tackle should fly off into the sunset. Depending on the rod being used the power can increase quite rapidly. Be careful not to over-cast and give it too much because once the power reaches 100% it will start to decrease resulting in a significantly weaker cast. Under-arm ( for close fishing ) The under-arm cast is useful when you need to drop the bait close to the angler in a control fashion, examples of this would be when trotting a stream or even boat fishing in the sea where you want to drop the bait vertically down. The action is very similar to the over-head cast above, apart from you start the rod tip high above the water and press the middle mouse button, keeping it pressed until the desired power is reached. With all types of casting it is important to get the right tackle combinations. When using a very light ledger weight and bait a light ledger rod is perfect. Selecting a heavy ledger rod which isn't flexible won't cast light weights far. The same applies in reverse, fishing with a light rod with heavy tackle on, will not cast far. When casting you may also get "cracked off" and you will hear your line snap instantly on cast. If this is happing you are probably using too weak main line for the weight you are fishing. It is possible to fish with heavy wieghts and weak line, but only if you cast gently, certainly not with full power. The other big factor when casting can be the wind, behind it can be really helpful to you, but when it's in to you then casting becomes difficult. The only way to combat this is to try heavier tackle. You will need to take account of side-winds when aiming, if the wind is strong the direction can be easily established from the dangling line before the cast. The strength of the wind is also displayed above the cast power bar.

 

Default control summary

Below is a list of the default controls whilst fishing, these can be altered and configured; Rod movement Mouse Reel in Left mouse button Over-head cast Right mouse button Under-arm cast Middle mouse button Walk back Cursor DOWN or mouse wheel Walk forward Cursor UP or mouse wheel Toggle balearm B Pull line off reel Pg Down Change rod holding SPACE Use rod Key 1 or Key 2 Main menu ESCAPE Change tackle T Change Bait C Auto-reel A Increase reel speed ] Decrease reel speed [ Tighten drag + Slacken drag - Minimise game M Put rod on rest Left CTRL Landing net control A W D X S Loosefeed L Pole ship in / out Left and right mouse buttons Join online server F7 ( All numpad keys are reserved for utility devices )

 

Anglers profiles

Compleat Angler allows you to have as many anglers ( players ) as you need with the same installation. Often different members of the family or friends will want to play the game and each can have there own profile so that personal record catches, tackle set-up's and catch information can be stored for them. To access this information press the ESCAPE key while fishing and select the Anglers tab, you will see a screen similar to below : At the bottom of the screen there are 5 sub options; Selection This allows you to select which anglers profile to use as well as add new anglers. When selected you will see a list of all anglers you have stored currently. The list will include the anglers name, date the profile was created, amount of time spent fishing, total number of fish caught and the average size of fish caught. To change angler select the name in the list, CA will then automatically load the last tackle set-ups and location fished for the angler. You can also add new anglers here by typing in the name of the new player and clicking the Add angler button. The new anglers name will then appear in the list ready to be selected. Career Each time you create a new angler you are given very basic tackle and options, only by progressing your anglers career do you earn extras. Not only is this fun and challenging but it also gives a great way to learn Compleat Angler gradually. The career tab option will show you the current selected anglers career progression task : The first few career tasks are closely related to Izzak Waltons Compleat Angler book and will each define a task which must be completed before progressing on to the next task. As you progress, you will earn extra tackle, bait, locations even game features. Eventually, on completing all the career tasks, you'll have gone from bamboo whips to modern ledger rods, bite alarms and fish finders ! Records Each time your angler catches a fish, it is stored and compared to see if it is the biggest of that species you have caught. If so, this is recorded as a record and all anglers have there own individual personal records. As well as personal records, there are location records and global internet records, these are all similar and explained in detail later in this manual. Catches Very similar to records above, information on every fish capture is recorded for each angler profile. Catch information is incredibly detailed and here you'll be able to find out, for example, how many roach you've caught ledgering in October. Catch information is also stored for each location you have installed and is described in a lot more detail later in this manual. Interactive [Currently under construction] - used to register anglers profiles to www.jcspooner.co.uk so that anglers can participate in online matches and challenges.

 

Changing tackle

Often you will need to change your tackle set-up for a rod whilst fishing, whether it be slightly altering the depth of the float or a complete change to a different style of fishing. To change tackle for the rod you are holding, reel the tackle in so that the bait is out of the water and press the T key on the keyboard. You will see a screen appear similar to what is shown below : The four tabs across the top allow you to review your current tackle set-up as well as alter it; Summary The information displayed on this tab gives you a detailed list of all the tackle for the current set-up. From this tab also, you can save and load your favourite set-ups for fast access at a later time. To save a setup, type a meaningful name using the keyboard and click the Save button, the current set-up will then appear in the list of saved set-ups where it can be loaded by highlighting it and clicking the Load button. Rods The rods tab is used to select a new rod from the list of available rod, the selected rod also determines the style of fishing you will be using. Reels The reels tab lets you change the reel and mainline on your set-up. Poles and whips do not have a reel, so this tab isn't used with these styles. Tackle The tackle tab option is used to select and alter the current tackle. The contents that are displayed are dependant on the current fishing style and change accordingly. The tackle set-up for each fishing style is described in detail later in this manual. After you have finished setting up the tackle for your rod, you can either click the Close button or press the ESCAPE key on the keyboard to return back to the peg. Sometimes, when you are fishing with more than one rod, you may get a bite on a rod other than the one you are setting up at the time. The game doesn't stop, just because you are setting up. When you return back to your peg, you will have to press the number key on the keyboard to use the rod again.

 

Quick start guide

This manual is long and CA itself is full of many options and advancements of which some are detailed in this manual however no one wants to read when they get a new game, especially a fishing game, what they want to do is catch FISH ! - this section will get you doing that as quickly as possible. You can either print this page or press ALT+TAB at any time in the game to minimise CA to the taskbar while you read. When you first start CA, you will be asked to create an angler : Use the keyboard to type in your anglers name ( only use letters A-Z and characters 0 - 9 ). After you have done this press the Continue button. You will then be asked to confirm this, click Yes if the name entered is correct. You have now created your anglers profile and every tackle change and catch will be recorded and remembered by CA. Without any messing you will be taken straight away to the bankside of the River Lea, where you can either relax and take in the scenery or catch some fish. The latter is probably the better option given this is a quick start guide. To catch a fish you'll need a rod to fish with, so press the 1 key on the top number row of the keyboard, this will bring out rod 1. You can fish with 2 or more rods in CA as you anglers career progresses, to use other rods, you press the corresponding rod number key. For now though, we'll concentrate on fishing with a single rod. You now have a single length of bamboo with some horsehair attached to the end of it, a float and a grasshopper on the end of a hook - very basic tackle, but enough to catch a fish for now. You can move this rod about with your mouse and also walk backwards and forwards with the forward and back arrow keys ( or mouse wheel if you have one ). Take a while to get used to moving the rod, notice also that in the top-left corner of the screen, there is an enlarged version of your float. This can be very helpful for detecting bites. When you are happy with the controls, position your float and bait into the water by lowering it. With the River Lea being flowing water, you may need to either hold the float in the current or pull it back and let it drift down stream a bit more. This pullback and release motion can sometimes induce a bite. When a fish takes the grasshopper, you will notice the float pull under ( also a red border around the enlarged view will appear ). When you think the fish has the bait fully in its mouth, you need to strike, to do this, simply raise the rod with the mouse and hopefully you have hooked it. If not raise the bait out of the water and lower it in again to re-bait. With the fish hooked, use the mouse to move the rod to guide the fish into the landing net below your feet. Try not to exert too much pressure on the fish, or it may come off the hook or snap the line. The audible sounds will guide you to how much pressure you are applying at the time, a fast high pitch indicates there is a danger of snapping or losing the fish. Also try to keep the fish in open water away from possible snags. You can move the landing net forwards and backwards by pressing the W and X keys on the keyboard and pivot it right and left using the A and D keys, when the fish is over the net, press the S key to scoop the net up and catch the fish. Hopefully by now you've just landed your first fish, however, fishing being fishing, this may not be the case. When you start Compleat Angler, by default, it will set you up fishing realtime. So if it's now nightime in December when you are trying this, fish on the River Lea aren't that easy to catch. If this is the case, it's time to introduce the options, so press the ESCAPE key on the keyboard. From here you can exit the game by pressing the Exit game option or click the Weather tab at the top and change the date and time you are fishing. To return back to the fishing, press the ESCAPE key or click the Continue fishing option from the Summary tab. This should have given you a feel for fishing with Compleat Angler, there are plenty more options available and fish to catch - tight lines.

 

 

Selecting a rod / fishing style

There are 7 types of rod in Compleat Angler : Float Fishing with a float ( or bobber ), is one of the most pleasurable forms of fishing. Float fishing enables the angler to present bait at different depths in the water easily. Ledger Ledgering ( can be spelled with or without the 'd' ), allows an effective way to present a bait on the bottom, where probably most fish feed naturally. It involves attaching a weight which sinks and anchors the bait. A sensitive rod tip or a ledger detector can then be used to detect bites. Ledgering in CA also can be used to "freeline" a floating bait on the surface. Lure Spinning rods are used to cast and retrieve lures which in most cases behave like fish in the water. This proves an effective way to catch predatory fish. Fly Fly rods are used normally when targetting game fish and really aid presenting an artificial fly in a light and natural way. They have a connetion for a centerpin reel which is normally loaded with fly line and a leader. Whip These are simplest of all rods, and the first types of rods invented. They are simply long lengths with a line tied to the end with a float and hook attached. Pole Pole fishing is a relatively new phenomenan and an extension on the principles of whip fishing. When pole fishing, a length of elastic is attached at the tip of the pole, and the pole is made from sections which can be added to extend it huge lengths out into the water. Utility The final type of rods in CA are utility rods. These aren't used to catch fish but instead attach tackle accessories to the line. For example, marker floats, spods and even fish finder devices. Selecting a rod also determines what style of fishing you will fish. You choose your rod by selecting the Rods option from the tackle screen. You will then be presented with all the rods you have available to you at that time, as your anglers career advances more rods will be become available for you to use and subsequently more styles of fishing. To scroll through the list, there is a scroll bar on the right hand side of the list or you can place the mouse cursor over the list and use the mouse-wheel if you have one. You can also sort the list in either alphabetical name order or list all rods by type, to do this click on the list headers. The Rod name column displays the name of the rod, whereas the Type column shows what style of fishing it relates to. The Length column displays the length of the rod, and the Longest cast column will display your longest cast with each rod so far. The highlighted entry in the list shows which rod you have currently selected. Information on this rod is also displayed above the list. To select a different rod simply click on the rod name you wish to fish with in the list, but in doing so, make sure you check the rules of the location you are fishing as there may be rules forbidding certain styles of fishing.

 

Early tackle

Early cane rods These early rods are basically long sticks with just a line and a hook attached to the end. The length of each rod can go upto 20 ft to allow the angler to reach fish that are away from the near bank. Casting of these rods is not possible, nor required as the bait can be placed very accurately on the desired spot. With the longer rods the angler may need to walk back on the bank to drop the bait on the correct spot, this can be achieved by using the up and down arrows on the keyboard or a mouse wheel if available. These rods aren't suited to big fish because they are stiff and easily snap under a lot of pressure.

Horse-hair Older fishing line was made out of hair taken from the tail of a horse and twisted together to form a length of strong braid. Up to 15 strands of hair can be braided together to form a very strong line, or alternatively a single horse hair can be used as a fine line. In Compleat Angler horse hair comes in sizes from 1 lb breaking strain to 12 lb for heavier fish. Note, that this line doesn't stretch, so care must be taken when playing a fish.

Grasshoppers Grasshoppers come in 3 sizes in Compleat Angler, small meadow, standard, and large. When fished on or near the surface in the summer months they can be a deadly bait, especially for chub and trout. The large grasshoppers will easily float on the surface, but the smaller ones will slowly sink. Recommended hooks are size 10 for the large grasshoppers and 16 for the smaller ones. Grasshoppers can't be used as feed and colouring and flavouring this bait has little effect.

Winch Reel The winch reel is the first reel you will come across in Compleat Angler. It is very basic and consists of just a rotating drum and a handle to turn the drum. There is no mechanism to aid the winding process which makes the retrieval of line quite slow and difficult, especially with a heavy weight like a fish attached. Casting is tricky because there is no balearm to allow the line to run freely. This makes overhead casting almost impossible, therefore the only effective cast is an underarm flick, similar to that when using a centrepin. Even with an underarm cast, don't expect to be able to cast any great length. The ideal use for this real is when trotting rivers or streams. Line can be pulled off the spool ( using the Pg Down button ), to allow a float to trot smoothly in the current. Be careful not to allow too much line out though as the retrieval process is slow.