National Championships

[bill yards]

Although I wasn't there I think congratulations are in order to Angling Trust and the organising clubs for what apparently was a very good National on the River Trent. I would also like to add a'very well done' to Barnsley, Shakespeare and Dorking plus all the other competitors that contributed massively to such an event.

The National Championships is our premier event, the very name of states that. If the figure of 42 teams was final that is the lowest turnout for almost 100 years in our top match. For the stats the lowest before Saturday was when 384 anglers lined up, on the Trent coincidentally, 1n 1921. This really is a pathetic situation.

I know the Angling Trust will try their hardest to go some way to putting the National Championship back onto the pedestal where it surely deserves (match fishing's premier event). Maybe the very result of this years match doesn't help as perhaps teams feel they are struggling to compete against the big guns. This is a catch 22 situation as the less teams that are in it naturally cuts the odds down and gives the very strong teams even better chances.

Maybe this is part of the problem maybe not. Another issue is that some events have been swamped with money (the root of all evil, some may say!). Without mincing words I am talking Fish'O'mania here. Is it right that this event carries a lot more clout than the National, - I don't think so but I am obviously in the minority because of the turnouts.

I can see Angling Trust having great problems with the National but it must be difficult for them as FishO must be a great money spinner for them.

This could also be a huge part of the problem. There are the other reasons like cost of fuel and that, cost of fishing and the like but match anglers do seem to fork out for Fish'O'.

Just trying to start a debate here where perhaps someone else could come up with some better answers than I have. I don't think our National will ever completely disappear, some anglers just would not let that happen but I would love to hear what others have to say on the matter.

SAVE OUR NATIONAL

[Dodge]

Nice piece bill from the heart

Just my perpesctive ....... Yesterday my team went into the biggest team match of the year with no fear , the venue was fishing very well and full of fish . It's a venue we couldn't win as a team on but we weren't scared of getting relegated , just individually enjoy the day and fish it as you see fit Some fantastic team performances on the Trent yesterday from Barnsley , Shakey , Dorking and quite a few others , hope these TEAMS get the credit they deserve in the media but in this day and age of greedy individualism and winner takes all mentality I seriously doubt it ?
Another superb well run event yesterday , the stewards in my section were terific and very helpfull and the mighty River Trent is back and full of fish of all sizes

[Mark Wintle]

The real problem in match fishing is that the average age of match anglers is still getting older. Each year the same anglers and far too few new younger ones coming into the sport. As the older anglers drop out so the numbers diminish. I wouldn't be surprised if the average age of match anglers is nearly double that of 30-40 years ago.

[bill yards]

Mark,

The problem you describe is certainly not that apparent in the Midlands, - it is more of a regional issue. Match turnouts in the Midlands are consistently high and certainly more than they were years back.
I go back a long time and true a lot of the matches were 300 pegs. The difference is match fishing has changed so much, -then there would probably be a 300-peg match in one county every two months or so, probably three in a season and that was it! Nowadays there is a huge choice with the addition of commercials, midweek matches and the like.
The turnouts over any one month period would be 300 X several times over as there are matches Sat, Sun, midweek and on top of that the commercial match scene where some venue attract over 100. OK the 300 peggers are gone although I had 281 at a match five years ago to end a run of six consecutive 200 peg plus matches! The National was here, that was the reason.
Also in this area there are quite a lot of angling coaches and Juniors are coming through at a steady rate along with others that follow dad and indeed go about it by their own means. This years Junior and Schools Nationals attracted nearly 300 youngsters and whilst that figure may be down it is not by a lot.
I know people say we are very lucky in these parts as the fishing is very good but a lot of people have put a lot of their time in to make it what it is.

[Mark Wintle]

I'm currently looking through Angler's Mail 1973-75 in my Ivan and the Likely Lads research and if I were to add up a typical peak summer's weekend's open match entry from back then compared to today it would be embarrassing. It is higher by a factor of getting on double figures. Back then if you phoned a result with 30 anglers they'd put the phone down. My local match scene in Dorset disappeared 5 years ago. It was never massive but 120 peg winter leagues (no league now) annual Xmas matches of 60-120 pegs (now 20 if you are lucky), plus opens up to 100 pegs (gone). Club matches have gone from half the clubs, those still running have a steady 15-20 but the big clubs had up to 70 and even my little club averaged 28 at its peak (no matches). The funny thing is that the West Midlands open match scene was smaller than the Fenland/Yorks/Lancs matches (late 70s) which didn't really become apparent until the first AM Matchman of the year contests when suddenly the West Midlands struggled for 100 peg (it had to drop to 80 then 60) matches whereas the likes of Billy Makin and John Dean won it scoring in 300 matches. As for youngsters, my local club had no juniors last season (once had 87!), and more over 65 than under. Much as I'd love to think all is rosy the evidence doesn't stack up well overall. I suspect many of the great match venues that hosted the huge matches - Relief Channel, Welland, Middle Level, even the Trent, are largely devoid of match anglers today. In 86 I had a short holiday at Stoke Bardolfe and remember talking to the president of Notts AA about where I could find a singe peg to fish as every single peg for 20 odd miles was taken with matches or the few short 'pleasure' bits were crammed. In the end he said try the Embankment where I went to spot a swim but before I could unload it had gone; eventually I found a reedbed and beat out a swim in the middle to fish but a glimpse of how many fished then. Sadly I cannot see a way back.

[bill yards]

Mark,

I don't want to get involved with a table tennis match but I have probably run more matches in the Midlands than anybody. I can guarantee you I was never interested in running small matches. Billy Makin gained lots of his Shakespeare points in matches around Stafford, Norbury, Nuneaton area, Oxford Canal and Sandon. I did actually start running contests then and not too long after started working on an angling column for a newspaper for 29 years then Angler's Mail (I still do a lot of work for them on a weekly basis, all but 30 years now). Besides running all sorts of Leagues, open matches, industry Nationals and main National Championships I still got the results in for AM (in those days I rang the organisers not the other way round) until I retired from that post last September , - as an OAP now working through the night on Sundays on the ever increasing amount of matches to cover was taking its toll and I dread to think how many matches, including Nationals, World Championships and the like I have covered and been involved with in that time .
Mark, when I started reporting on matches it was a few hours on a Saturday night (two at most) and from 6pm to midnight on a Sunday. When I finished it was all night Saturday to midnight. On Sunday more times than not it was 6pm to 10am Monday morning (first deadline) then sleep for a few hours, followed by results throughout the week, it was a seven day a week job. I think I can vouch for how match fishing has changed in these parts and the attendances

End of

I have only spoke how it is around here; it was no coincidence that there was only one team short of the maximum allowed in the Angling Trust Div One National on our three canals just five years back.
On the other hand there used to be five or six winter leagues, all big matches, in Staffordshire alone but there are none now. Having said that these matches have all been replaced by others and of course the commercial scene.
Last winter around here you could fish a Kamasan qualifier match every Saturday and Sunday if you chose to. There was 90 in our local winter league.

[joffmiester]

Sad times bill its too easy to drop one national to go into the other if you preffer the venue .Wigan canal Div2 has over 40 teams in it this year

[Sluicer]

Not sure where you heard that Joff, but there are only 33 teams in the Division 2 National this year.

[brian_gibson]

I was talking to an old mate the other day and he showed me his Division 6 medal, only 2 divisions now......its not rocket science is it 

[joffmiester]

Not sure where you heard that Joff, but there are only 33 teams in the Division 2 National this year.

YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT now kiddo some have dropped out

[Geordie-Phil]

I know the D2 national this year has not even taken place yet but was wondering if anyone had any news on the 2015 venue?

few of us are looking to put a team together to enter but to short notice to get sorted this year.

Thanks

[wagglerman]

To a certain extent the demise of some natural venues at the same time that commercial venues arrived on the scene has contributed to the shrinking of nationals. I believe there is now a new dawn approaching with rivers on the way back and turnouts on the increase. The problem is the average age of anglers fishing rivers is high whereas the average age of anglers fishing commercials is much lower . The big question is can we attract the youth of angling away from comms and on to the natural venues ? If we can do this then we will see the National return to its former glory .

[leeben1]

theres a lot of very good young anglers fishing commies that I believe could easily make the switch,its just coaxing them onto naturals