Hey Guys. I'm a therapist and do speeches on boundary setting with people. I don't own aerial fishing but I was considering buying it but the description appears to involve using a cigarette. I was wanting to talk about setting boundaries and how people with say something to try to get us to "take the bait" and then have the fish appear at the end of the rod. Would this be a good application of this trick or do you have other ideas. Thanks!

As I recall the item it involves a fishing pole, a net and a large fishbowl prop.

A cigarette seems incongruous in this context.

It sure does. Yet here is the description;

The magician walks onto the stage carrying a large goblet of water and places it on his table. He takes a telescopic pointer pen from his pocket, extends it to full length and attaches a piece of string to the end, forming a makeshift fishing rod. A cigarette is borrowed for the "bait" and is broken into three pieces. One of the pieces is fixed to the end of the string. The line is cast forward and a goldfish appears on the end of the bait. The fish is detached and dropped into the goblet of water, where it swims about in lively fashion!

This version is supposed to be impromtu. Using the telescoping pointer as a fishing rod etc. But the cigarette does seem out of place to me. Brent, your idea sounds good, but I don't know too much about this particular effect.

It's obvious that the bait capsules look like cigarette pieces, so that's what they ended up being for this version of the trick. The old Chinese magicians made them look like worms or feather flies. However, if Brent has a good reason to identify cigarettes as bait, it makes perfect sense for his routine. I'd say he is the only person in the world able to do that particular trick and make it look right. The rest of us will have to continue looking for better ways to camouflage the capsules in themes that don't gross people out... grubs? peppermint sticks? tofu?

Oh, GAG!

I cannot for the life of me understand why Scott Penrose would do this to the classic Aerial Fishing, but he has done it. This is his version of the trick, and it is found at http://alakazam.co.uk/acatalog/Alakazam_......141.html

So here is Alakazam magic advertising this as a Children's Trick. "I say, children, do any of you happen to have a cigarette?"

Usually, this is done as a stage trick, and the baits are very unobtrusive. I don't know why a fish would want to take a bite at a cigarette. Maybe the fish in London are used to that sort of thing floating in the Thames.

I would redecorate the baits to look like feather flies, as Spellbinder suggests.

To tell the truth, the baits always looked way too large for the "fish" they caught.

Hi Bill and Magic Brent

Not sure what Bill means when he says...

"I cannot for the life of me understand why Scott Penrose would do this to the classic Aerial Fishing, but he has done it."

Sometimes I use the pocket version as a preamble to The Educated Goldfish routine. It is a pocket version rather than a full size stage effect with bowls and huge rods...personal preference I guess Bill and it suits the need for an act that likes to walk out on the cabaret floor with virtually no props...As a Children's Trick, in my lecture and the instructions for the effect, I suggest painting the Gimmick black and using it as a piece of liquorice. A number of childrens magicians in the UK use my version with the liquorice idea with some patter along the lines of Finding Nemo. For a TV show I worked on in England I also used the version and made the gimmick in the shape of a small dog biscuit...the trick was performed hidden camera in a pet shop.

Personally I still like the cigarette since a real cigarette is broken and used as the bait...my patter goes along the line of what cigarettes could be useful for for now that no one is allowed to smoke anywhere these days. No one is going to get upset, since you are not going to light it!!

Regards

Scott






Regards

Scott

It would help if this information were on the web site.

To tell the truth, I find anything that exploits any animal during a children's show somewhat questionable.

Thanks Vandy, WOW that is nasty.

I guess even a wad of chewing gum would be better than a cigarette. No crack vials please.

The part that got to me was this:



And the category is children's tricks.

I just don't see borrowing a cigarette from an audience of children to be a really viable option.

I do think that the idea with the licorice should be on the web site ad.

Thanks for all the feedback. I wish I could see a demo of this somewhere. I'm still trying to think of a connection with a fish and cigarette. I could use it for addictions with the line "you can drink like a fish if you drink what a fish drinks" but with cigarettes...

Just convert the bit to anti-smoking. Don't get hooked on Cigarettes, it's better for the cigarettes to get hooked....