FISHING IS TOO CHEAP

[joffmiester]

trust chief's call to anglers
its time anglers started paying more for their sport
these are the words of the angling trust's chairman Mike Heylin
reacting to the three toughest months ever faced by angling and the news there could be worse to come in 2011
he is just one of many industry experts who share this opinion that fishing has been left behind other pastimes when it comes to price and it is this fact that they believe needs to be addressed to secure the future of the sport
he goes on
at present angling offers unrivalled value for money with 10 hour sessions at a commercial averaging just £7 [that means at least £10 a day for match peg fees yet we fish 5 hours]a years fishing on club waters available for as little as £30 [thats water rents going up then]
he goes on and says the average football game cost £40 ticket the average golf membership is at least £500 a year
with the fishing industry still counting the cost of the coldest winter for a generation many are now adamant that prices need to be increased if fisheries,tackle shops and clubs are to survive
Mike heyton also says what we charge anglers hasn't moved with the times
the demand from anglers for fisheries and clubs to provide well kept waters boasting huge stocks and first-class facilities also has many fishery owners and managers agreeing the price of running a fishery is on the rise
i don't agree with this one little bit
for one thing commercial  fisheries have had a big impact on rual angling,rivers and canals they made thousands and thousands of pounds when they first opened, has it accrued to mike heyton that the amount of commercials cropping up everywhere is having a detrimental effect on each other
angling on commercials are like the pub trade you get used to one and then another opens so you move to that one then the next one its just the same with pubs

why not purpose build pegs on natural rivers so anglers can enjoy river fishing once again evesham a prime example if we had pegs like that on the river soar we too would have a full house every week


angling has always been a working class sport thats why so many people take part
if you want angling prices to rise then anglers want to see what they are getting for there money
golfers have their courses cut and maintained  on a daily bases NO one has ever looks at natural rivers in this way the banks,the broken down tree's that now litter the rivers its not all about commercials mr mike heylin !!! 

[harry911]

well said joff

[Waveney_One]

Sorry joffy mate, but there are a lot of areas where fishing is too cheap in my humble opinion. Here is what I posted on another site; -

I am probably in a minority as usual but in my opinion there are a lot of things that are too cheap in angling.

Most tackle is one, with rods and reels being an example. Even some poles at the lower end are cheap but the top of the range poles are way overpriced. As for the ridiculous rrp on them and the 'discounts' offered, come on start getting real. I have to say that the closure of tackle shops around the country is down to the cheap price of tackle and the pile it high, sell it cheap dealers as well as the bad weather we have experienced. I can see a day when your bait is either purchased at the Supermarket of ordered over the internet as all the local shops close down.

Commercial fisheries are not cheap, they are OK maybe in some cases too expensive. Nothing wrong with people making money from their business but some around here keep putting up their prices whilst the quality of the fishing actually declines. Even on some commercials it appears that the owners are not prepared to pay for staff to do the maintenance work on swims, cut trees, remove weeds but leave it to willing volunteers to do these things.

Clubs come in all shapes and sizes but if the most of the ones I belong to are anything to go on, there will be very few in generations to come. Committees and work parties are made up of ageing gentlemen who will be too old to wield a spade or axe.

Some clubs offer extremely good value for money others are expensive especially when a lot of their active members spend the majority of their time on commercials rather than the local club managed rivers, pits and lakes.

As for the EA and the Angling Trust then both are too cheap in my opinion. I can remember paying 2/6d for an Essex Rod Licence and 6d for a 'boys' day ticket on a local lake. I hate to think what that would be at today's prices. As for the Angling Trust, then if we want the Government to put more money into angling (with the inevitable intervention that would go with it) then the Trust needs to be backed. A powerful voice with a strong membership in numbers is the only way that it will happen. That is what the other sports who do get funding have.

[joffmiester]

what has happened to all the money ask yourselves this
10 to 20 years ago the banks of the nene and Welland were crammed with fishermen 1 to 200 pegs every weekend saturday and Sunday all [well most would of had a license so the income for the water authorities would of been good yet nothing was ever done to improve the fishing ie banks and pegs if a percentage of that money had been used back then i'm sure the banks would have anglers on now
this just doesn't happen over night if my business was short falling i'd of been looking into it at the time not 20 years later when suddenly the job is too big to put right
so the answer is to put angling up for the mistakes of others

clean rivers are great but need river management weed needs to be farmed tree's need cutting back access needs to be sorted

so where did the money go in the golden days of rod license's

if you want to put angling up first you need to put the profile of the whole sport up more TV coverage more sponsorship it has to be recognised to the whole sporting world not shut behind closed doors

[joffmiester]

rich these days months and years are going very dark for everyone the answer is not by putting prices up
i'm in the food trade and i'm sick and tied of the reports i here about on the news food going up 2%3% the only food we are selling is the food we put on offer the choice is there but its the deals that are what they want, ok the profit margins are lower but the price we have to pay its getting people coming through the door
the garden center up the road does a 10%off day guess which is the busiest day
what if commercials offered a discount throughout the winter months perhaps tackle shops could do something a long these lines you never hear anything in the summer months when bait and pellets are flying off the shelves

[Waveney_One]

I know what you mean about the dark days Joff. I have been on a pension for 11 years now and whilst it was worth having at the start, it isn't much now I can tell you. The trouble is that angling has got cheaper in relative terms over the years instead of going up in line with everything else.

I remember when a reel was a weeks wages and a rod 2. They aren't now. That is the trouble, we had it too good for too long and now it is biting us in the bum. No I don't want the price of everything to double overnight, but fundamentally the sport is as cheap as anything.

The guy is right for the price of £6 or £7 pounds you can get a day ticket on most commercials and start at 7 am and finish at 7 pm in the summer. All the bait you need is a few tins of Llidl corn and some pellets - another £3. With a few floats, hooks, line and shot and a margin pole you can have 12 hours good cheap entertainment.

[bill yards]

To be honest I think if match costs went up match fishing may loose a few and the game would possibly get even a bit more fragmented. It may be different in some parts of the country but that is a fair assessment around here.

I have fished a fair few of these 'money' matches over the years and my view is that this is where you appear to get more moaning and fall outs. I have always held the theory that it is the small majority that can't really afford to be there that moan and blame everything, usually aimed at the organiser.

A couple of years back I decided enough was enough and nowadays I tend to fish £10/£12 matches and have found these are a lot more friendly and that much more fun it is unbelievable; to me this is what the game is all about. Believe me payouts are still good and sensible, I am currently fishing a legue where the top three in every section get paid out and a large team payouts for the top sides in the league at the end of it (top 3 or 4 teams). the winning individual only wins his section but it is a good system and works really well, after all it is team fishing so why shouldn't there be proper team payouts? Everybody to their own but that is what I do and have never regretted it for one moment.

I can comfortably fish 'money' matches if I want to but choose not to now. I have seen changes galore over the years and as a youngster I used to go and watch the Villa play (Gerry Hitchens and all) It cost me the princely sum of 1/3d return on the coach, 6d to get in and 3d for a programme, - that was it a day out for what is 10p today!

Match fishing was also classed as a hobby for the working man. As an afterthought and food for thought I wonder what percentage of match anglers do not work nowadays!

[Waveney_One]

My reading of the original statement and who made it means that I don't think we are talking about the cost of matches here Bill. It is the Angling Trust, rod licences and tackle that is forcing companies out of business. Perhaps he meant to include the pegging fees on rivers in that as well, but personally I don't think most are cheap for what you get unless you are happy just fishing rather than catching a few.

By the way golf covers most sectors of society these days. It isn't restricted to the middle and upper classes. Loads of guys I used to fish with have given it up and taken up golf. They range from butchers assistants through shop assistants to the guy that still delivers the maggots around the tackle shops. None I would class as any other than working class.

[bill yards]

Point taken Waveney One.

Some of the beer has also shot up in price in these parts but you can still get a cracking pint (Titanic Ales, it goes down well!)

Sometimes I have a few too many so all my posts around midnight should be taken with a council yard heap of salt

[Waveney_One]

You'll have to take more crisps and nuts with it Bill

[joffmiester]

it the witching hour rich after midnight bill doesn't which direction the bathroom is after all that beer

[bill yards]

You'll have to take more crisps and nuts with it Bill

I don't eat the little fokkers