Decline in open matches

[TF_One fish]

Read thoughts on this in a number of posts. I am based in south wales, loads of our anglers would travel every weekend up to 100 miles one way every weekend all year.Most have now stopped.Why? First we now have better local venues, second the costs are now higher ( fuel and bait ), but mostly payouts are not worth it.We all want a good day fishing, but a £70 day out of 11 hours for an £80 win is not worth it.We can win that on our doorstep.We used to travel because the first prize was worth it, even if we were against local experts.Not worth it now with payouts spread so much.I still believe if you win a match it should be something special prizewise, something worth chasing.

[TF_boss baitParticipant]

@One fish wrote:

Read thoughts on this in a number of posts. I am based in south wales, loads of our anglers would travel every weekend up to 100 miles one way every weekend all year.Most have now stopped.Why? First we now have better local venues, second the costs are now higher ( fuel and bait ), but mostly payouts are not worth it.We all want a good day fishing, but a £70 day out of 11 hours for an £80 win is not worth it.We can win that on our doorstep.We used to travel because the first prize was worth it, even if we were against local experts.Not worth it now with payouts spread so much.I still believe if you win a match it should be something special prizewise, something worth chasing.

disagree i say spread the money around or you have no matches as the regulars will take all the money .

[TF_One fish]

Bit negative, we used to travel to moorlands, hillview,woodlands etc and numerous natural venues. A fair few still travel to larford and we all won our fair share. Ok you lose at first but become a better angler for it and learn. Following that you compete and win money. Venue experts are your target, aspire to beat them not give in.

[Anonymous]

Totally agree, One fish. The only winners are the fishery owners who get a much bigger share of the pools money than the winning angler!

Several problems with open match angling now that is slowely killing this area of our sport. Pools have stayed the same and never gone up as you would expect like wages or inflation year on year. We are still paying the same £20 that we where paying 10+ years ago.

Fishery owners have raised the cost of peg fees on most venues over the past 15 years. That reduces the payouts from the pools. Fishery owners and match organisers have also decided to pay out smaller sections with bigger prizes. Paying out 4/5 peg sections of £50 on many venues leaves very little money in the pools for the match winner.

Gone are the days when i could get 7/1 on my pools money on most venues if i won an open match and sometimes much more if it was for winning a big open. Lucky if i get 4/1 on most open match venues now.

As for the argument that it stops the local venue experts from winning all the cash. Sorry but i dont follow with the venue expert argument. Those anglers are just good anglers who would win plenty of open matches on lots of different venues. Why should the better open match anglers have the pools payouts handycaped because they are better than you? They pay the same pools money as everybody else. They just use there angling skills to do better than most and its likely that they have payed there dues as pools fodder while they where learning those angling skills.

[TF_baitchefParticipant]

I’m not a match angler by any means and i only started matches when the first commercials became popular. I recon that the terminal decline in match fishing began the day that the first farmer realised they could fill a hole in the ground with carp and charge a fiver for a days fishing for them.
Don’t get me wrong i enjoy commercial carp fishing, but i believe there are far too many of them cashing in, hence the reason why things are spread so thin.

Lately i have been fishing the big natural reservoirs around down here and i would much rather fish a 100 peg open on one (if there was such a thing) than a 10 peg knock up on a commy. Even though i enjoy both.

[TF_stav]

I used to organize opens on a weekly basis and witnessed the decline in turnouts when the same anglers kept picking up all the money.
I stopped fishing opens last year and decided to get back on the club scene, I found that i could not compete with anglers that get to fish the same venue 3 or 4 times a week when i have to work and can only get out on a saturday or sunday
Yes they are probably better anglers than me but the point is I work hard for my money and would like at least a chance to compete the average open costs me £50 with petrol, bait, entry fees with little chance of return, I can fish a club match for much less, have a good laugh with mates, catch a few fish and sometimes pick up a envelope now and again
works for me.

[TF_One fish]

I have started running a series of matches in the winter ( £20 entry ), the first prize is over a £100 with near that for second and a good third place. We still pay £40 a section but stick to sections of ten. These matches are now so popular that they are sold out with a reserve list No advertising either.I am convinced the good payout is attracting anglers.

[TF_baitchefParticipant]

Exactly stav, and the more prolific the venue (carp pool) then the easier it is to become an expert (given enough time). That doesn’t mean to say venue experts are not good anglers, they are in my experience brilliant anglers.

For example, Dave Harrell is considered one of the greatest all time river anglers, but look how long it has taken him to become so, and yet i doubt he would ever consider himself a venue expert.

[TF_baitchefParticipant]

Or to put it another way, over the space of 1 year whats easier to master, a 100 mile stretch of river, or a 30 peg carp pool?

[TF_wonderwoz]

There is no easy answer to this problem, I am convinced that our sport is going downhill, with cost being a contributing factor in this. It’s an expensive game now this matchfishing with all costs involved match fee/bait/fuel etc! And perhaps awarding more money to the match winner is not a good thing. Perhaps some would see it differently but not me. I’m afraid our sport has bigger problems, I’ve fished the open at tunnelbarn today and I wasn’t surprised when at 27 I was probably the 2nd youngest there. There are no youngsters fishing now!

[TF_baitchefParticipant]

Cost is a major factor and whilst the commercials have helped save the tackle industry, it could be short term gain.

[TF_GLEBE1]

@wonderwoz wrote:

I’m afraid our sport has bigger problems, I’ve fished the open at tunnelbarn today and I wasn’t surprised when at 27 I was probably the 2nd youngest there. There are no youngsters fishing now!

Your not wrong there, you can forget cormorants, mink, animal rights nutters, the economy etc. Match fishing will run out of participants in a couple of generations time.

[TF_Tim_D]

@wonderwoz wrote:

There is no easy answer to this problem, I am convinced that our sport is going downhill, with cost being a contributing factor in this. It’s an expensive game now this matchfishing with all costs involved match fee/bait/fuel etc! And perhaps awarding more money to the match winner is not a good thing. Perhaps some would see it differently but not me. I’m afraid our sport has bigger problems, I’ve fished the open at tunnelbarn today and I wasn’t surprised when at 27 I was probably the 2nd youngest there. There are no youngsters fishing now!

Quite true, it’s a sad fact.

Many places I fish in east anglia I’m often to youngest there and I’m 28, give it 25 years and all matches will be 10 peggers.

[TF_FishingKing]

The lack of younger people is a issue, but if we look back to when we started match fishing there wasn’t as much around for us to do – and I am not 40 yet, with the introduction of computer games/iPads younger people don’t want to leave the house, let’s face it an open match is getting close to fifty quid with fuel,bait, pools, breakfast etc, there isn’t many parents what can afford that every week, I personally think there is the same amount of anglers fishing, but we are getting older, as a younger man, puns closed at 11, maybe a club at two, now bars are open later, clubs are open later – which means the younger generation have more options, I used to have a converted trolley to go on the back of my push bike so I could go, but parents wouldn’t allow there kids out like it now, the other question/answer to the problem is how many of us help younger people when we see them. How often do u see someone struggling or with the wrong gear for the job but offer no help – I know I have in the past but do try to assist when I can. Like most things in life, people take the easy route, frost on the car, two inches of ice on the canal or roll over and go back to sleep, there isn’t many parents or kids which would do any different. Maybe I am wrong, but until fishing is seen as a cool thing to do we will struggle, you only need to look at other sports, go on a golf course you will struggle to see anyone below forty, same with cricket.

[TF_pr@ngler]

I think there are loads of reasons why fishing is in decline.

Some come from outside the sport, such as people wanting an easier fix, less participation in sport and so on, all now exacerbated by the economic crisis and lack of financial confidence. There’s not much we can do about these things

Within the sport there are a number of factors:
1, I believe the rise of commercials has not been completely positive. The overstocking, high catches expected and the reduced need for watercraft etc mean that for some people, fishing is less satisfying. Sure you can bag up during the summer, but that immediate satisfaction is less sustaining
2, Worse than not being sustaining, the chance to sack up on a commercial is seductive. It makes winkling out a couple of pounds of fish from a canal seem like a struggle, rather than a real achievement
3, Some commercials simply aren’t that nice a place to be. Yes, you can park behind your peg, there’s banter with your mates, fewer snags and so on. On the flip side they are crowded, there’s usually a row of cars opposite you, the venues can feel a little sterile and so on
4, You have to pay for a day ticket every time you fish
5, Some commercials ban kids, which makes for a quiet life but is shortsighted for the future of fishing. As a kid I would say that 95% of the fishing trips I went on were without an adult
6, The emphasis on kit in coarse angling is a sign of decadence. Its as if you’re wasting your time if you haven’t got the right gear, and it has to be colour coded too. I had a day’s coaching from an international angler and he simply couldn’t coach me because I didn’t have a state of the art 16 metre pole. (My £1800 16M pole was too floppy for him to make it worth bothering with). I’m not saying kit isn’t important, just that there’s a lot more to fishing than that.

For the reasons above, fishing won’t die out in two generations. It will die out in one. Unless we do something about it.

[TF_caster robParticipant]

Good post pr@ngler, fully agree with you.
I gave up on match angling when our club folded due to most of the members dying or becoming too old or physically incapable of getting out. I was among that number myself for twelve months and when I was well enough to go again there was no club.
That leaves the odd trip to the river (when it’s not threatening to flood) or a canal foray in the winter when cycling and boating activity are reduced and as long as the canal’s not frozen.

[TF_JohnH]

Fully agree the lack of youngsters in our sport is a worry for the future, also agree the change is rapidly moving forward in time. There seems to be many more old hands dropping out of match fishing than youngsters joining.
Travelling is a none starter as payouts are generally low and well spread. The reason for this is the venue owner wants bums on pegs as that is the source of his income.
There are matches now 7 days a week on the larger commercials and anyone not working clearly has an advantage, hence the birth of the venue experts.
I am not too depressed about it all as the quality of fishing has never been better. I have never been fond of grinding out low weights on freezing canals or rivers but good luck to those who do. Essentially for me at least, it has become a summer sport, March to November at the very extreem.
Tackle too has never been better with many of the developments on the back of commercial fishing, strong poles great reels etc etc.
I am sure that I have read licence sales are up so maybe pleasure angling is on the rise who knows.
My advice is enjoy what we have the future will take care of itself.

[TF_boydieParticipant]

There’s a bit of a trend in our area to pay big section prizes and do away with the top 3 altogether.
Most of these matches are run as a series where you pay the peg fees upfront then your pools money is all paid out on the day, usually 5 or 6 peg sections where you can win 70-100 quid.
It has its pros and cons and you can walk away being 2nd in the match and win nothing but on the other hand you can draw absolutely crap and still have a chance of a decent payout.
It does divide opinion amongst anglers but from what I’ve seen the turnouts are always good, definitely better than most of the 10-15 peg ‘ open’ matches you see on let’s of venues.

[TF_One fish]

My bottom line is simple, if the cost and the quality of fishing is not worth the reward then I will not bother. More likely to fish a smaller local match. Totally agree with the lack of youngsters, we have a large number of juniors in our area fishing. A few are now entering odd club matches on a regular basis, a lower cost especially if they are club matches.Years ago this is how the seperation was, a club match far cheaper and a lower quality than an open.I would suggest there is little difference in the quality now, not sure about the cost.

[Anonymous]

Think there is a massive gulf between the average club angler and the top match anglers. 30 years ago. There was still that gulf in standard but as a club standard angler you could draw on a few bonus fish and win the odd open match or two.

These days with most of our open matches on commercials. There are plenty of those bonus fish on many more pegs. The better quality match anglers dont make many mistakes on these types of venues. So, your average club standard angler struggles to win against the so called venue experts in open matches.

I tried to take a step back from open match fishing a few years ago. Joined a club and won most of the matches. Was never out of the top 4 in 18 matches. It was not long before the moaning started and i was pushed out of the club. So, it was sugested that i join a different club by two of my angling mates with what was believed to be better quality anglers in it whom fished regular open matches. I joined the cub and seemed to fit in for a while until i started to win quite a few of there matches. At the end of that season. I recieved a letter from the club asking for me to not join the club for the following year. The letter stated that in the clubs eyes. I am an open match standard angler and 6 members of the club (all whom attend open matches regularly) would be leaving the club if i joined again as they felt that they had little chance of winning. My two angling mates alreay in that club left tht club because of this letter and the way the club acted.

Here is the biggest issue with open matches imho. Fisheries want as many of those club standard match anglers fishing there open matches as possibe with the regular open standard match anglers. A peg fee is a peg fee to a fishery owner no matter what standard the anglers are. Those club standard anglers dont enjoy being beaten by the better quality open standard match anglers. Its the age of instant reward for very little effort in most things and its the same with match fishing at every level! So, the pools are set up to make sure that those club standard anglers pick up at least the odd section win. This results in those club standard anglers returning again and again. This has resulted in open matches becoming little more than club matches in terms of pools payouts.

I believe that many once regulars in open matches only a few years ago have taken a step back from fishing at the moment. There is very little in the way of a buzz in fishing an open match for winnings of only £70 or £80. The prize money in some clubs is bigger for winning a club match than for winning many open matches because of the way the pools and payouts are set up today.

I personally dont get much of a buzz out of winning a 5 peg section even if i win £50 every week. Getting a bumper pay out when i win an open match is what gets me out of bed in all weathers and im sure its the same for many open match anglers.

Why have open match pools stayed at more or less the same amount for more than 10 years? The one thing that has gone up is the peg fee,s. Fishery owners have to earn a proper wage like you and me. We should be paying £30/£35 in pools money plus a peg fee based on the rise in average earnings and cost of living rises over the past 10 years. I was paying £12 pools 25 years ago for the average open match and only £1 for peg fee,s. God knows what the cost should be for open match pools based on raises in wages or cost of living over all those years? So, something has totally gone wrong with open match pools. Thats easy to see!!!

I,ve always believed since my early days in angling as a kid that club matches should really only be fished for medals and trouphys. At most. Clubs should only be fishing for small amounts of cash. Thats the way my clubs where 30+ years ago. Clubs where for having a laugh and learning the skills before moving on to fishing regular open matches against the better quality anglers. You payed your pools and payed your dues to the sport and open match fishing before you could expect to pick up money on a regular basis. However, the average club match has similar pools to your average open match these days. Open match payouts are set up so the club standard angler has a better chance of picking up cash that brings them back. Makes them feel/think that thay are better than they are at fishing. Also, gives rise to the idea that its the local venue experts who are in some way in the wrong for being good at what they do in opens.

Thanks for taking10 reputation points off me, Shark! What was it that you did not like about my first post on this thread that offended you so much? Strange person that would take 10 reputation points from a member of this forum for givng a personal opinion on a subject that you could not even be bothed to comment on. Or, did you delete you effort at posting something that is relevent to the debate?

Some ppl dont like the truth, lol

[Author]

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