The North West

endpeg · #1

What's happened to the North West match scene? Once the most reliable place for a big match yet there wasnt a single 50-pegger this weekend again. Seems like the only reliable circuits nowadays are the North East rivers and West/East Midlands canals. Everywhere else is odd bigger matches and 10-20 peg knock ups.

#2

EP
It's not just the NW, it's the W Mids too. (I don't cover TBF)
Except for Joff's match (East Mids) I had finished at 8pm last night.
The East is holding it's own with 4 Kammy's I covered.
This weekend was the smallest number of matches I have to put over in over 22 years of doing them and it could be even smaller this week.

The best place to live is over on the Drains, Ramsey area; there is a 50 plus every single week of the season, including winter.

You can take this which way you want but part of the reason is lots of match organisers have just had their fill of the 3 percent. Lee can not run every cut match in the W Mids as good intended as he is.

The East still has a few very good organisers; I know them all and some of them are getting right wound up with the 3 percent; some of those WILL pack up.

There was an aggregate list of placings in Lee's League on another thread; I counted 22 from the W Mids, - that was it, it's there for all to see.

#3

The North West match scene is all but defunct Jon. Since the Lancashire W/L folded 2 years ago things have declined rapidly , there are rumours on the grapevine that the Mid Cheshire W/L has now gone ?? just leaving the Wigan circuit soldiering on more or less . Matty forster and Rob holt have spent the winter fishing the Stainy at Thorne near Doncaster where b/joker is allowed .... its fished really well with lots of double figure nets of roach and small skimmers showing regularly, its a fair old drive from the Manchester area but well worth it with the fishing on offer. There are no other circuits i know of in the North West apart from a small canal league in the Liverpool area and a decent circuit around the Middlewich area (T&M / Shroppie) plus some matches Albert Morris runs, regular sunday 30 peggers on the Macc canal near Stockport. There are loads of very small commercial set ups all over the North West which have a regular 15 - 20 customers fishing week in week out and Blundells & Brookside which see 25 - 40 regulars most match days.Sadly team fishing has gone up here and i personally dont see it ever returning to these parts.

Ps i forgot to mention they are only getting 20 odd on the Stainy pairs matches even though its fishing really well !!!

#4

I must say that 50 peggers are very few and far between down south and this was something that i was talking to Gary Barclay about.

He told me that there may be some changes happening to the Kamasan League due to it being dominated up north.

#5

Bill.

The match this Sunday will be the last team match i organise for 10 months and i'm looking forward to the break.

I'll probably run one on the Wyrley/Essington every fortnight after that until March 14th and then thats me done until after the National.

#6

Reading in between the lines of what we are all saying here I think when a long standing match organiser and long standing leagues end lots of match anglers go with it.

I think this has probably gone on unnoticed for quite a while and part of the reason for the decline. I'm sorry to say but it could well happen in the east too.

Lee, this 2009 Div One National is my last match, no more!

#7

You've only got to look at what happened last saturday on cornerstone, no wonder organisers get fed up what with no shows and moaning. I used to have a gripe now and then but when i thought about it i realised that anglers are there own worst enermy. Good match organisers like Bill, Paul Turner, Lee and Joff run matches because they love fishing, i know that Paul has never even had a free match as payment for running the matches over the last 20 years yet them that moan cant even be arsed to write their name on a sheet next to their peg number. The sooner anglers realise whats happening th better.

endpeg · #8

Ps i forgot to mention they are only getting 20 odd on the Stainy pairs matches even though its fishing really well !!!

Its roach soup in the 170s at the mo ive been told yet Stanilands of all places is patchy. Im sure you know the politics behind the numbers. The previous year there was two separate leagues: one with Barnsley, the other without.

endpeg · #9

Its a national trend. People are match fishing less. Even White Acres has empty spaces on its spring festivals at the moment. Is it credit crunch, fuel prices, bad weather, date clashes, too many top anglers, too many anglers dropping back into club fishing or what?

#10

Jon,

I don't think the credit crunch (recession is a better phrase!) has anything to do with it with the possible exceptions of the angling festivals you mentioned; that is probably true in that case because of the heavier costs.

In a recession many people unfortunately lose their jobs and that leaves lots more people with time on their hands. In all honesty I don't think anyone really starves in this country!

In the 1983 recession, which was very bad job wise and we haven't hardly touched that route this time yet, for some sports it was nothing but 'boom' time. The snooker halls were crammed full as a prime example and if you check back there would have been an increase, however small it was, in match fishing.

Fuel costs are definitely a cause; this is why it is so important to keep match costs at a sensible level or where is the future coming from?

As for top anglers I just don't go along with that one at all. Date clashes, - we are getting to a stage where it is a novelty to pick from two matches!

Bad weather is obviously a reason at this time of year.

Anglers are dropping back into club fishing; in most cases it is an age thing and has always happened. Surely it's better than packing it up altogether?

One big thing match fishing needs is to tackle the problem at root level. Match fishing needs matches and capable match organiers to start with. When they 'retire' they just are not getting replaced and that is sad. I am afraid far too many match anglers are in it for the 'take' only. The few percent that do give something back into it are getting less and less.

It may seem I am painting a grim picture but it certainly isn't a picture I want to look at.

endpeg · #11

I personally think most people just want a cheap, hassle-free days fishing thats not too far away from where they live these days. Cant blame them really. Also, a lot of people now seem to struggle to get to tackle shops on a Friday (me included unless i leave work early) so commercials with bait/tackle available on site are far more convenient. Once you start to get comfortable and kitted out on your local commercial its difficult to swap everything over to fish a canal/river/lake somewhere else. I know lots of dedicated canal anglers that are put off by commercials as they need to kit themselves out and learn new baits/methods. Once they do, though, it wont be long before they struggle to get back on the canals tying lots of rigs with 0.06mm hooklengths and 24 hooks again!

I personally hope if one good thing comes out of the 'recession' its more people on the bank fishing matches.

joffmiester · #12

You've only got to look at what happened last saturday on cornerstone, no wonder organisers get fed up what with no shows and moaning. I used to have a gripe now and then but when i thought about it i realised that anglers are there own worst enermy. Good match organisers like Bill, Paul Turner, Lee and Joff run matches because they love fishing, i know that Paul has never even had a free match as payment for running the matches over the last 20 years yet them that moan cant even be arsed to write their name on a sheet next to their peg number. The sooner anglers realise whats happening th better.

your right there lloydy it took three of use to sort out the team sheets on sunday and that was after about 20 phone calls before the match started in the morning about the pegs. i can see why lee is looking forward to break as i find it hard to settle down and fish a good team match with everything buzzing around in my head

i would like to thank richie reynolds who helped me clear my peg of ice as it was approaching 10.30am before i got to my peg

cheers richie

joffmiester · #13

as you know i run a summer league as well,again with a lot of help as around this area anglers are realizing if i stop there will be no one to replace me and they will turn to small individual matches with 10 here and 15 there
me personally i don't want to fish these sort of matches i would rather be at home with the family
and this is the main reason i have become i organiser so the matches i fish are 50 pegs plus and the best way of doing this is team matches this takes some of the pressure off the organizer as its up to each team captain to make sure all his team turns up
we have about 4 or 5 Sundays where we can do our own thing but the rest are all 50 plus matches
the biggest problem for me is i can only make Sundays as my business has to come first[thats the bread and butter]as fishing is still a day out with my mates
i have been asked time and time again to run a series like my summer league but on a bigger scale a cross the midlands but summer fishing is the hardest time to get teams together so at the minute its on hold
i will still have two dates at barston and i might turn these into team matches

scotty85 · #14

joff your a star pal' and i for one thank you and rog/bomber for all you do and any help i can give you in the future i will pal.

#15

Well said Joff.
You are confirming what I was getting at when leagues/match organisers go. As you say all they have left are farty little matches and lots don't like these and stop altogether.

Take the FMS. Although the league was shrinking 80 was a good figure; I would suggest that about 30 of them have given up open match fishing.

I don't say this lightly, unfortunately it is true.
Out of the 10/15 entry matches the turnouts will dwindle one by one, so in reality that figure of 30 is probably under the mark.

There is a message there somewhere.

#16

Will there be any canal organisers in 10 years

#17

There are probably more organisers now than there was 10 years ago Lloydy.

#18

Don't think there is matey.

Not proper ones that are prepared to put themselves out to do big matches.

joffmiester · #19

There are probably more organisers now than there was 10 years ago Lloydy.

i don't think so lee certainly not in this area moaning anglers put pay to most of them just look what happened to bob dyer that bloke gave everything to organizing matches and in the end only one or two ever thanked him
if look at some of the big sponsored carp names where are they
the likes of rob wootton sean huggins are only fishing small matches [odd tunnel barn matches] rob has moved a lot towards canal fishing

joffmiester · #20

I must say that 50 peggers are very few and far between down south and this was something that i was talking to Gary Barclay about.
He told me that there may be some changes happening to the Kamasan League due to it being dominated up north.

chris gary is a really nice bloke and has put a small fortune into the sport the domination up north has not been initially honest has it