Since I started fishing maggot again. ?

[TF_paulnewell]

Since I started fishing maggots again I get orange shit all over . Can you remember those wonderfull years when it was white only. ? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Anonymous]

Your going back a very long way, Paul. Dave Thomas created a bronze maggot revolution in the mid 1970s on the likes of the River Trent. I think bronze maggots where around and popular even in the mid 1960s until Benny Ashurst showed the way forward with casters (Reminder to read his great book again).

I came across this while trying to find out when bronze maggots where first used. Makes interesting reading!

Part of an article by Kevin Ashurst in the Anglin Times – Is there anything that you really miss in modern day angling?
I would love to turn the clock back 50 years. Without doubt I was born in the right era for the sort of match fishing that I enjoy on traditional fisheries, whether it be lake, canal or river. Yes, I miss team fishing the way it used to be when the Angling Times winter league was at its height and we had big open matches with up to 800 anglers on the banks of a canal. Sadly team match fishing is now a “win at all costs” event and the friendly banter has gone.

Those early years of the AT winter league were brilliant. I took part in the North West and most of the matches were on local canals (Lancaster, Bridgewater, Leeds-Liverpool, Shropshire Union) and the River Weaver. There were 20 men in a team and and the first nail in the coffin of the competition was the introduction of a points system, which does away with the element of luck and favours teams with a higher percentage of good anglers. The league had a system that paid back pools money back to the top six in every team, so no matter what the angling abilities were, everyone got a share of the pot – and more important than anything else – they felt they were part of the game.

But greed put paid to that. The rules changed (mostly under pressure from men in the leading teams) so that the top anglers got all of the money and those who were there for the fun of the thing simply stopped coming. Match fishing was brilliant through the 1960, 70s and 80s. Angling was big business than and attracted a lot of valuable sponsorship that created competitions such as the Woodbine Challenge (later to become the Embassy Challenge) and regional sponsors, such as the North West brewery company Greenall Whiteley.

The Greenall Whitley match could entice a 1,000 matchmen on to the bank, and what about the Birmingham AA Big ‘Un; at one time it had an entry of 8,000! And across the country local association match organisers could click their fingers and have 250 eager anglers on the bank on any Saturday or Sunday.

I was lucky enough to fish the last few years of the N/W winter league before the rule changes. Kevin makes some very good points about the way match angling went. It went a long way to killed team fishing over time, imho. Its also part of the reason why match fishing on our commercials is going the same way. Rules and the structure of match fishing has changed so much and in many cases. Not for the better!

[TF_MarkV]

Excellent post TrueBlue

[TF_paulnewell]

Blimey true blue you really got some steam up with a tiny subject matter . That’s been an interesting read and i especially agree with the points argument. Where it really cheesed me off was fishing for points at say eckington on the Avon . Really you wanted to chuck for a bream all match but did not want to suffer the embaresment of failure !

But the story was of the coloured maggot ban and I remember matchmen saying the chub will still have white maggots but those roach at stourport or huxleys won’t .Guess what we caught just as many 2ib roach and the chub loved them!! When the bronze maggot was re introduced I carried on with whites much to the disgust the trentmen.that visited the Warwickshire Avon in its heyday. I got some good bags with whites even catching chub spewing up bronze But to not have criso o your face hands or underpants . Nice. 😮 😮 😮

.

:p w.

[TF_Paddy]

TB – Good Stuff. Have you, or anyone else got the Ivan Marks book? The extracts from AT write-ups discuss the same era, maggots and the points system – All of which make great reading, even now after all this time.
If i get chance, i will see if i can find the the article and elaborate a bit further.
Paul – its normally the way, from small posts, good and bad topics start and can turn into great topics – post more!!!!

["H"…Participant]

maybe a river comeback a paul??? wont get all these silly bans then 😀

[TF_paulnewell]

Just joined angling trust and entered five . On rivers see some old friends trim the tackle down purchase some waiters . Do a list . Paint some floats . 😮 😮

["H"…Participant]

great news,ive entered 1 upto now,looking at another couple,do you miss the glory days

[TF_paulnewell]

The Avon and Severn circuit was extremely competitive and the chub dace and roach fishing perhaps the best in the world in the late seventies and eighties. !!! Big Kevin loved stourport and the trentmen came in numbers to the Avon . There was jan , barker, russ, BUTANE , Moroz. And an extremely hard to beat ted stokes , Sorry for the travelling matchmen I missed ! Oh Liston dave bream ken Collins .Lets get the ball rolling though and bang the drum of the west midland greats. Tony eaves Richard kings Clive smith kenny Steve web dave Harrell BLoody eck ill be here all night ! Lets have more greats and also do you remember South v Midlands v North. . Them co knees ain’t half improved!!!! 😀 😮 😀 😀 🙁 🙁

["H"…Participant]

i remember reading about you and most of the names you mentioned,a great scene sadly for me i was a bit too young to compete,i just caught the tail end,used to read harrys theme in the early mf mags,a match every other day throughout the week,big team matches etc,just great! did you ever fish the trent at swarkstone and shardlow? and how would you compare todays anglers with the golden eras

[TF_paulnewell]

To compare is wrong but from my own experience it took me an age to get anything like commercially proficient .The old river men carried to many ideas to the ponds Such as using lead to beat wind Carp don’t respond much to weighty rigs . Recently pole pots beat cayapults almost the same as feeders on the river . Some of us mature matchmen desperately want to use a catty .The good commercial anglers can fish rivers with a bit of coaching. !!! But I would say i am speaking of rod and line fishing not pole type venues. Look no further than the great England team Shippy raison Hemingway. Steve Gardner awesome river angler You have to adapt to new challenges or pack in. 😀 😉 😉 😀

["H"…Participant]

wise words paul! 😀

[TF_paulnewell]

Watching and ponsing info from Kieron rich Simon Christian Paul Evans And Eric Davies and also paul downs. I spent two years wasting my money before asking for help . The tunnel barn era was my own . F1 s overstocked are suckers for mashed bread . I proved that eventually to be my downfall .But now iam enjoying seeing old faces. ! Wrinkly old faces. Some of them rejecting commercials but proving there is another flourishing circuit out there equally important . I shall never win as much coin again but i am sure of one thing !!!! The man with my next pay packet will hand it to me with respect and say well done .!! 😮 😎 😎 😎

[Anonymous]

hi paul i see you mentioned terry moroz.he fishes my local river don matches in the autumn and winter and still fishes the trent circuit during the summer.

[TF_matt haines]

The dace turned up last year at stourport! 20lb to win. Also the bream showed up on many pegs! Last time I saw you on the Severn was on stans float onlys! Dave Foxhall run some tue opens at arley above the Valencia. Float onlys! Some proper walks flat tho and a fairly good path! but well worth it the chub were huge! If I go on any ill let u know and I can pick u up!

[TF_baz-65Participant]

In the mid sixties, before a lot of you members were possible born, the Warwickshire winter league was formed by the local fishing clubs in the Bedworth and Nuneaton areas. This was originally to put bums on the coach seats in the winter to reduce the clubs outgoings. We had about four or five matches on the Trent, Nene Ouse and Fen Drains with up to a hundred anglers taking part. It was good fun, with lots of banter, and obviously keen competition between the clubs. No bad feeling between the clubs, no falling out, no silly rules and weight won the match.
Billy Lane or Ivan Marks presented the trophies, at the yearly presentation night.
The downfall, was the out of town teams who then entered, bringing in top anglers from Coventry and Birmingham. Arguments over low pools and prizes,, refusing to travel on the clubs coaches.
The initial concept of helping local clubs during the winter, fell apart and the original league ceased to exist due to the influx of outside anglers.
I suppose that we were too long in the tooth to except this new breed of anglers, who entered matches to win at all costs. Gone was the friendly banter, replaced by continued criticism of everything we did or said.
From our demise, I think that the new leagues started with their new structures. Also with costs that we could not afford, so we bowed out and continued with our local clubs.
No animosity from myself, it was the way that match fishing was to evolve, We had our way, and the new match anglers had theirs. Who is say which was wrong and which was right.!!
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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