Simple Match Fishing Forum

Sorry Joff i should have wrote that it`s been dominated up north over the last few years.

There is a chance a matchman from the east could win it this time.
Steve Winter is only one win away.

i think there are a few causes to poor turn outs here
firstly fuel costs it has a major knock on effect ie bait prices rising ect
secondly and probarly more important the lack of young anglers on the circuits,look at Lee"s teams of 3 and the warwickshire wl how many anglers are under the age of 30.
there are very few youngsters coming in to the sport

i think there are a few causes to poor turn outs here
firstly fuel costs it has a major knock on effect ie bait prices rising ect
secondly and probarly more important the lack of young anglers on the circuits,look at Lee"s teams of 3 and the warwickshire wl how many anglers are under the age of 30.
there are very few youngsters coming in to the sport

But the one's that are there week in week out are handsome ent they

Who the crappity smack is that, me?

Last week £20 bait
£13 pools sat
£20 pools sun
£20 diesel
total £73
How many anglers can afford that every week, let alone young anglers. Add on to that if you dont pick up very often and odviously any young lad coming onto the circuit will have quite a bit to learn and has they say you have to pay to learn.

I totally agree Simon.

Maybe it is the wrong time to say this, but here goes!

I am now 38 and can remember seeing the lack of up-and-comers when I was younger. When I was 16, there were loads of anglers my age and in the Burton and Derby area the match scene for juniors and Intermediates was buzzing. By the time I was 22, the likes of Sean Ashby, Wozza and Nathan Hughes (Brat Pack and Roach Pole) were well established on the open match circuit. I am a couple of years younger than they are and looked up to their achievements. There was no-one else who followed at my age and only Kian Wardle followed in our footsteps from our area. NO-ONE ELSE! The other youngsters disappeared!

Then came the fall of the Trent and along with it our local , large match team circuit! Dozens of anglers just disappeared away from where we used to fish. GONE!

I turned to Pelsall Club (with my close mates) and learned to fish canals (under the wing of Baz Astbury who ran large team matches such as the Bank's League). My location had changed, but I was still fishing larger team matches and opens.

More recently, I was match secretary for the Burton Mutual. I took bookings from other clubs and had details of over 40 local clubs that booked our waters (All with 15 to 30 members). I found that many of the anglers that used to fish the Derby team and open matches now fish in these clubs. Most are much older than myself and were probably happy to drop back into the club scene, fishing their local waters.

An example of this fragmentation to smaller clubs is the Van Den Eynde Supercup. Hundreds of clubs enter. Thousands of anglers!

Now, almost no-one fishes our Trent and Mersey canal and maybe I am too close to understand why. I suspect bait cost and chances for a lesser angler to win on a small fish venue don't help. The carp lakes are too small in our area for larger opens and the rivers offer overgrown pegs with long walks for that ageing man who catches more and has better success on the carpers with his local 20 peg club.

Another point I would like to make is the technology and development within fishing. 15 years ago saw the advent of loads of new baits and methods being used. This is continuing today. The method, candle, hair rigs, boilies, 1kg of worms, Floating pole, minced meat. Pellets, 16mm hallibut pellets, paste, drilled pellets, micros, 3mm, 6mm, floaters, sinkers, etc. Corn, bread and meat on top of maggots, casters and hemp if it is allowed. Then add 0.14 or 0.17 line, 14 or 16's elastic on top of the other rigs and pole tops you need to fish canals and rivers. Braid, different line size and so the list goes on!

The point is that it takes a very dedicated person to sort out all these requirements and most people can not dedicate the time and cost on a weeekly basis. The question used to be "Maggots or casters? And will I need hemp?" Now, there are that many variations that most anglers can only deal with 2 or 3 different venues as the requirement for rigs, tackle, bait and methods is too diverse for them the cope with!

It is for me!

Your thoughts gents?

Some good points there Bros. As you probably know I spent years fishing over your way, Burton, Alrewas, Derby, Willington, Shardlow etc. They were really good days with well run matches and leagues.

I think in a nutshell we all might be saying that since the innovation of 'commercial fishing' it has certainly gone a long way to crappity smack up the canal circuit.

I do still think the canals still have a lot to offer match anglers and all but the two or three percent of miserble and moaning bastards they are a good day out with plenty of light hearted banter.

Like a few anglers I have been involved with lots of coaching schemes for youngsters but you can not 'force' people into angling of any form. These coaching schemes are really good and whist still in their infancy we can all hope they initially start a few youngsters into match fishing (on the cuts!). Time will tell yet, it might be a little early as these kids are generally around 13/14 when coached, then they have the 'crumpet barrier' to face but hopefuly a few will come through.

I have also mentioned this until I am turning a shade of ultramarine in the face but it never seems to bring a response. The cut scene needs match organisers and they need looking after; too many have been forced away by the two or three percent obnoxious bastards, - I am one of them. (not an obnoxious William the Conquerer!)

PS I could do with a hair rig nowadays but not the fishing sort!

Last week £20 bait
              £13 pools sat
              £20 pools sun
              £20 diesel
       total £73
How many anglers can afford that every week, let alone young anglers.  Add on to that if you dont pick up very often and odviously any young lad coming onto the circuit will have quite a bit to learn and has they say you have to pay to learn.

thats hit the nail right on the head lloydy,one thing i would say is on sunday £20 pools you could of won £350.00 it you fished a commercial out of that £20 you would of paid £7.50 peg fee
ours are £3 and we don't own the water just rent it..
i see in the AT this we some commercials are going to close ornot run matches in the winter months because of poor turnouts surely if they reduced the pegging fee in the winter months as catches are not so good might help the turnouts

could of won £350.00

Its great if you win, but some rarely win

Last week £20 bait
              £13 pools sat
              £20 pools sun
              £20 diesel
       total £73
How many anglers can afford that every week, let alone young anglers.  Add on to that if you dont pick up very often and odviously any young lad coming onto the circuit will have quite a bit to learn and has they say you have to pay to learn.

I get £30 a week EMA ... all goes on fishing

Well i could go out n get a job ? ..... at the minute how would i get a job without having qualifications through college university etc .....

people can't afford to fish until they're about 22 now ... not properly ... and those who take it up at that age are behind the few who have been at it five or 6 years all be it hampered against the older "seasoned pro's" .....

i don't know what can be done to get more young anglers on the bank because its not only each weekend its the cost of the gear aswell .....

Why not make the pools optional with only the peg fee compulsory?

Has anyone mentioned stepped pools yet?

Why not make the pools optional with only the peg fee compulsory?

Personally u highlighted more of the problems in your write at top of the page Bros

If i think pools are getting too much then i will fish another venue .....

I honestly don't know the answer ..... nobody i know of my age seems to have any interest any more ..... it just doesn't exist ..... I think me and Sladey were the only teenagers fishing the Drennan Super Leauge this year - meaning that 2 out 40 anglers were under the age of 20

Angling times isn't much better i think there was only myself, Sladey and Matt Derry ... i've probably forgot someone but i know there arent many.

Why not make the pools optional with only the peg fee compulsory?

Personally u highlighted more of the problems in your write at top of the page Bros  

If i think pools are getting too much then i will fish another venue .....

I honestly don't know the answer ..... nobody i know of my age seems to have any interest any more ..... it just doesn't exist ..... I think me and Sladey were the only teenagers fishing the Drennan Super Leauge this year - meaning that 2 out 40 anglers were under the age of 20  

Angling times isn't much better i think there was only myself, Sladey and Matt Derry ... i've probably forgot someone but i know there arent many.

And Sladey's found the damp patch now

Is the damp patch the bit where my net bag leaks?

Seriously though. The Burton Mutual Match Committee (for which I was Secretary) started running kids matches on our local pool. On the first match we got 7. The last match attracted 27 juniors fishing. I think that most of these young lads had already fished the venue as a pleasure angler (with their dad or mates) and found it comfortable to fish a venue they knew. We had plans to put the next match to be the cut, but our match organiser moved for his job and it never happened. It would have got at least 20 turn out.

So. My point is that, in my opinion, the quickest and easiest way to get kids fishing matches is to introduce them to our pleasure on their local waters. Once the young angler has become established and fishes matches on a regular basis, he or she then will make their own decision as to where they want to fish and we would see an "over-spill" to the cut.

DO FISHERY OWNERS RUN REGULAR COMPETIONS FOR JUNIORS?

Your thoughts?

Dodge,

Can't agree that the NW match scene is "all but dead".... We are currently fishing a Team of four at Blackburn (40 anglers limited by the organiser), and there's a team of 4 series with similar no's running on Liverpool at the same time.

Going forward the Wigan teams of four starts next week for 6 weeks with well over 10 teams followed immediately by the Wigan spring league (6 to a team over 10 teams committed already)....

Whilst that's going on the Wigan mid weekers continue to attract 30+ anglers and the Sat/Sun opens continue.....

The Winter league was prossibly the biggest in the country with a 110 anglers on it as you know...

Seems pretty healthy to me!!

Endpeg,

The Blackburn organiser isn't posting results so maybe  you aren't seeing the full picture?....

Good point Irk  ;)   Is the Blackburn league more or less the same anglers from the Wigan circuit ??  
We have a team booked on the Middlewich spring lge (T&M) which is pretty local.
Its the Wigan circuit that is keeping the NW scene going without a doubt ...... your lads use the angling media to good effect Irk ,i cant understand why others in our area dont use it at all to publish results etc like the Blackburn lads ??
The River Weaver at Nortwich for example .....brilliant venue but the results / details etc are never published in the Angling Times but i think the organiser has issues with them ?? If they were published i think we would see a lot more interest and possibly bigger turnouts.