Simple Match Fishing Forum

Fishing the Soar Valley Winter league this year and boy what a league it is on a natural flowing river with a variety of sections a cross the match length . Ninety of the countries best natural river anglers take part and the Organisers have worked hard on cutting down on uncomfortable walks and making access a lot easier . What i have notice with the inclusion of the new teams like Starlets is everyone has upped their game to compete which can only be good for the younger anglers taking part plus putting new blood into the older anglers . Nine peg sections are now decided on grammes rather than Kilograms and the end result for teams is very close either within a point or shared points then decided on weight . This brings me to the modern day match angler these anglers need to right on top of the game where strengths and depths pay off within the anglers . The modern day armoury has to cover every eventuality you may come across at you peg some anglers are very strong in certain disciplines of angler whether its hemp fishing ,chopped worm fishing or bread fishing . With the match length being so diverse these anglers can become unstuck whereas the all round angler can adapt and save valuable points . stick float ,wagglers, pole feeder . pole and feeder all play a part in every series and not forgetting Bleak which played a major part this weekend in getting good points on the day . Walking to your pegs now i can understand why we carry so much gear to cover your days fishing also fishing along side International anglers has and will continue help all the anglers improve their own fishing i spend a lot of time looking over the results we all have good days and bad yet it seems the anglers that can cover all disciplines of angler hemp,bread,G/B and pinkies Bleak fishing feeder ,stick ,waggler and of course chopped worm are all coming back with good points . when i say good points we all know in a nine peg section there are good and bad pegs . some choose to rant and rave about how bad they have drawn often beat before they start . Modern day angler gets on with the job in hand and try's from start to finish to improve his points to help the team this can mean swapping and changing or doing something competely different throughout their five hours . What a league i can't wait for the next round to come around although i'm not fishing in a top team i can honestly say i've enjoyed every minute trying to beat the other 8 anglers in my section ..

Here here Joff, fantastic innit

There can't be a more competitive league in the country at the moment. Plus it's 'proper' fishing too... none of this daft carp muckin about stuff or 'get the same 3 rigs out' mullarky

I agree with every word Joff , this is a true test of anglers skills and what they have in their repetoire .

It's brilliant the way your league is going Joff. I wish we had something similar over our neck of the woods. There are so many coming back to the Trent, I am seriously thinking of trying to get a team/pairs event going on the River. I know me and Wagglerman talked about it some time ago. We both talked about the days of the Upper Trent team championships, which was a massive turn out every year, and quality anglers and teams from all over took part. I loved my team fishing. As you say, it makes you work harder, trying everything in your armoury to winkle out those extra fish for extra points. Keep up the good work kiddo

Can't beat "proper fishing"    all these new carp puddle merchants don't have a clue how to take on a natural venue , how sad is that ? All the excuses come out ....."too far to walk" , "boats" , dog sh!t" , "tiddllers"  ::) ::) just lame excuses either because they are ignorant or just crappity smacking lazy !
Us "old uns" were brought up fishing naturals and appreciate everything that they have offer  great to see and hear joffs area flourishing  and all the hard work the lads involved have put in paying off 

Cannot agree more with everything you've said Joff
There is a fine line now with gaining points for the team.
I have been done by grammes on a couple of occasions to get higher in my section and its bloody frustrating. Although I class myself as a club angler its refreshing to see the young blooded teams coming through.
Trentmen have deserved their success putting the extra time in and the addition of  Starlets have made the league a lot more interesting.
Where else can you rub shoulders with class anglers ?
Its a fact that you never stop learning at this game and long may it continue.
Only wish I was a bit younger and able to put more time in to compete.
But I still enjoy the buzz and if I get a drag on the pools the thats a bonus
Brian and yourself put a lot of time in to make this league the best in the country.
Keep up the good work fellas  

Slightly off topic, but.

The guy I go out rabbiting with, has caught an English 42lb Common from Bluebell lakes. Ask him to rig up a Stick float or Waggler and he wouldn't even know which float was which, he's read it all out of books. A bit sad really. I don't fish that much these days, but if Commercial fishing was the only fishing available, I wouldn't bother.

Arch we have the last 15 years to make up where natural venues suffered with the birth of the commercials .Perhaps ina way this has helped us all in the long run and helped to bring anglers back on to the river and canals . The Soar Valley Winter League is a prime example where over time organisers have found what anglers really want easy access a good and fair match length with a good spread of the money . Next year will be bigger which will be good all round not only for the top teams as they know without the other teams you wouldnt have a league .Balance is key for success of this league every team is beatable on it's day and once you get this right it's a pleasure to fish and run
Arch a lot of commercial fishermen used to fish naturals and the choice is out there for them . You never forget your roots and most would pick it again with in weeks .