How will it level the playing field ?

It won’t level the playing field at all – it will favour those anglers who are sponsored for bait or can afford to spray a gallon of maggot over the waggler line…

The new rules (which are the same as the ones a few years back) are for Gold Valley matches only and you can only use

Maggotts
casters
worms
hemp

brown crumb
white crumb

No additives

So much for cost cutters!! I have not fished Gold for a long time use to well just fishing a maggot feeder to the ropes on middle or syndicate. With the pellets ect I know of a few people who went to these matches and enjoyed it. I dont think they will go again.. But each to there own and you have to obey the rules of the fishery..

Sorry meant to add the cost of maggots casters and worms these days does not calculate to a level playing feild.

maybe living in wakefield has done you a favour?? as from using paste and pellet the local venue exsperts have done well changing the bait requirement will now produce a new venue expert and more than likely will be the same ones who moaned about pellet and paste anyway ,but gold valley has had more sets of rules than any other fishery in england through the years. johns allways been able to control the vibes quite well so much that some say he does it for fun lol. Well not so sure its done for back to basics baits, MORE SO CHANGING THERE DIETS time will tell until next rule change hey ho

….”MORE SO CHANGING THERE DIETS time will tell until next rule change hey ho”

That’ll be next month then….

I like the idea of going back to so called NATURAL baits..

The only new rule I do not like is the Brown/White Crumb only..

My reason is simple:-

1st I would prefer to be able to select say 2-3kg of continental mixes (as I see this as a challenge if an angler has worked out a good G/bait mix that attracts the fish. so best of luck to him/her (each to his own on mixes etc…).

2nd having a Brown/White crumb (with a no additives rule) to me opens it up for CHEATING…….. I have seen it in the past and it will happen again…… Some anglers will add something to their G/bait (that is not noticeable i.e. betaine) whilst others will stick to the rules…….. then there will be all the bitching about so-and-so is cheating etc……..

However, it’s John’s fishery and if you want to fish the opens you should stick by the rules……….

It wouldn’t bother me if the venues I go on changed to using these baits cos that’s all they are , baits. There’s nothing any more difficult about using maggots and worms than pellets or paste. If you don’t present it properly you won’t catch as many as someone who does, so as in all fishing, the best anglers will still win in the long run.

Anyway, I was brought up fishing maggots and casters so bring it on )~clap )~clap

It can’t possibly make it fairer though and all that would happen in time is instead of people griping about the cost of fishery pellets etc they’d be moaning about the cost of maggots, casters and worms( which are a rip off in my opinion

Just a thought does anyone think fishing just grounbait as paste will work? If its only brown or white crumb it does not matter. I recall the Leicester lads catching bream on it on the fens years ago.
I think it worked as the bream realised they could eat as much of the stuff as they wanted without getting caught.

bread over white crumb!
will catch allmost every fish that swims!

oh is bread allowed?

@jonah wrote:

It won’t level the playing field at all – it will favour those anglers who are sponsored for bait or can afford to spray a gallon of maggot over the waggler line…

My thoughts exactly!!

@Smed wrote:

bread over white crumb!
will catch allmost every fish that swims!

oh is bread allowed?

NO.

couldnt help but laugh at this

he has cost cutter matches, and then bans the cheapest bait of all LOL

Easy way to sort this out, no one go!

he’ll soon see sense

@Anthonywaters wrote:

I dont fish Gold Valley because Ilive hundreds of miles away but I support John Raisons View on banning pellets in the open matches it will level the playing field and better still It will keep money in the British economy rather than sourcing Millions of tons of fishmeal pellets abroad I like the Idea whats everyone else think ?

That’s commercial suiside,so he who can afford most casters will probably frame everytime, that move will bite him on his ass and attendences will plummet TRUST me

hardly ‘cost cutter’-but it makes a good headline in ATimes and will probably attract some small club bookings in midweek.
Can’t see this will attract many youngsters or new comers -usually who come from
interest in carp fishing first.
We get a lot of this by some ‘older’ anglers down here, because they can’t be bothered to change their styles-and don’t want to really accept carp.
Would B&Joker be eventually barred as well?
Surely, more winter ‘silvers only and all carp a specified weight would attract simular?
why not crowquill and split cane only?
mind you-if it’s fishery only ‘natural baits’ then he’ll probably make a few quid until novelty wears thin.

cant wait for the READING MAFIA turning up again with there special groundbait lol

You Cynic,PTB,say what you mean.~think ~think ~shh ~naughty

How could this possibly level the playing field? Pellets are a bait that level the playing field, because EVERYONE can afford them in as much quantity as needed.

This is one of the most absurd ideas i’ve ever heard of. How much bait do you need for a summer match bagging big carp? I’d say an absolute minimum of 8 pints, thats £20 or more. Why bother spending £25 on entry, £20 on bait, £10 petrol, breakfast etc etc, you would need to win 60 quid just to pay for the day!

JR id the biggest wind-up merchant in the south! just as things settle down off he goes with the bans again. from 2 quids worth of pellets to 20 quids of worms and casters – and less fish !

Very reason i dont go to Gold Valley.You never know what the bait rules are going to be, till you get there.~naughty ~naughty

@Anthonywaters wrote:

I knew this would attract mixed feelings thats why I posted it, I like the idea it needs proper management like stated above it wont be fair if somebody turns up with 3 gallon of maggots and casters 4 pts should be the limit and a kilo of worm, variety is the objective.

That alone is over £20 of bait plus pools,petrol,breakfast and it’s upto 50 notes,in your first post on the subject I think you were talking about a more even match??

some people don’t arff talk out of their arse…~naughty

i still dont understand the reason for this, a lot of people have said that JR would rather have the carp anglers their so this rule will reduce the match anglers, then come winter he will change the rules back????. i fish the matches a lot in the summer but i am still trying to think of a way to fish the place with this new limit and get a decent weight?? any ideas??~think

@Anthonywaters wrote:

Is 20 quid really such an unreasonable bait bill ? what would you spend if you went down the boozer instead of fishing a match ? A fraction more than 20 quid i can bet ! I like the Idea because it offers a more traditional fishing match not everybody wants to fish pellet waggler or method feeder psb the emphasis on a more even match was around a limited inventory of baits I wouldnt like to see every commercial convert to these rules but theres nothing wrong with some venues offering something a little different. There was a series of matches run by a club near us and they were rod and line only and no pole matches people enjoyed them they were different.

Yeah, £20 quid is an unreasonable bait bill, especially if you fish 2 or 3 times a week.
I agree not everyone wants to fish pellet wag/ method etc but neither does everyone want to fish traditional methods. I just want to catch fish and don’t care how i fish to do it, trad or otherwise, none of the methods are a problem, so why not just have one ban. That’s on bait bans and banning methods!! then everyone can fish with what they want on what method they want, tell you what, that’s the fairest way possible

Anthonywaters, on GV the carp anglers bury the matchmen out of sight fishing their tactics, sometimes on the same day on opposite banks of the same lake.
I also remember Derek Ritchie gave Keith Arthur an absolute caning off the next peg in a feature they did a couple of years ago fishing their respective styles.

DADDY B strange how match tactics have changed over the last three years at gold ie teabags hair rigs boilies oh yes and the new stance behind the rive box and th ree pegs down the lake swigging beer from a tube and yapping waiting for the rod to go on submarine manouvers yes TOPLIGHTS IS THAT CYNICAL ENOUGH ????????

This is only a guess and could be miles out. I don’t fish there and can only go by what I’ve read.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this rule change is really intended as a method change. ie: some anglers are fed up with method/leads/wagglers etc winning matches.

Having spoken to a few mates that fish around here, it was unanimous that none of us would go to a venue to fish a normal match where you need to spend approx £20 on bait. Especially when you only need to spend a quid down the road.

£20 just on bait +pools + petrol + breky ect your avin a laugh i could not aford that every week

The other cost consideration is that your casters, worms and maggots are all perishable bait which will not last too well from one week to the next, certainly in the case of casters and at £3.70 a pint or whatever people pay these days,that can mount up.

£3.70 for casters DaddyB iv’e just paid £3.50 for a pint of maggots and not very good ones at that.~naughty ~naughty

3.60 a pint of maggots and 3.80 a pint of caster .. so if i need say 6 pints of each i’m spending 44 odd quid then add lets say another five or 6 quid on g/bait(plain crumb) a few tins of corn say another fiver then petrol then scoff then pools say 25 quid i could be looking at ton …~sick

This is not an opinion on the new rules but I have had numerous 150lb plus carp nets by fishing shallow maggot, I am lucky enough to get it at 16 quid per gallon, however you dont need a mountain of bait, 6 pints will do for 5 hours.

Even @ 3.50 pint thats only 21 quid ! Surely your local shop will do a discount on bulk buys ??

A trip to most commericlas these days where you have to buy their own pellet @ 2.50 per bag and you need 3-4 bags plus hookers/corn/meat etc and thats 20 quid or over.

I have also had some huge 200lb plus bags of fish by fishing hemp and meat, 2 x tins of meat @ 1.50 per tin and 8 pints of hemp @ 3 quid when bought from animal feed wholesaler is a very cheap days fishing. And you will struggle to go through 8 pints of hemp even if the fish are feeding hard !!

Is it all really doom and gloom ?

By me, pellets should be allowed but they simply are not, you gotta get round it !!

it has everything to do with cost. I don’t care what methods i use to catch fish, i enjoy them all you just can’t compete by doing everything nowadays, (unless you draw like Rembrandt which I don’t) so I don’t.
I am lucky that I can fish more than once a week, but I can’t afford to spend £20 every match.

to buy enough maggs/ worms etc costs a fortune.

Pellets corn/ meat etc I can keep if I don’t use them. not really a decision to make for me