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I already had a good idea what to expect as I’d seen a few clips and read numerous comments by Bob on the forum. His detractors did a fine job for him as they chipped away and presented him with endless promotional opportunities. I wonder if they knew that every time they dipped in their poisonous pens Bob’s till would go ker-ching, ker-ching almost to the point of being a one-toner! You can’t blame him for grasping those opportunities and tossing a little more bait to his predators.
So, does the DVD stand up to the hype? Is it as good as we’ve been led to believe?
Well, for me at least, it’s much better than most of the fishing DVDs I’ve seen, including those that have been made on a much larger budget. Like fishing magazines, however, to what degree you’ll enjoy it is going to be a matter of taste. There will inevitably be some parts you’ll not be particularly interested in, and others that you’ll love and play over again.
The content was especially good for me as it was filmed for the greater part on the rivers I fish. The scene setting and action shots were well done, including seeing the rods hoop over to bites that didn’t look like they’d been set up. The enthusiasm of the two presenters came across as genuine. The sequence with Lee Swords on the Trent was, not surprisingly, different and funny, and at the same time informative and exciting. There were obviously a few nerves jangling at times but ‘Big Swordsy’ took our mind off these by constantly reminding us how good he is. I don’t know how his commentary will be taken by those who don’t know him, but for those of us who do it’s no more nor less than we expect and love about one of fishing’s few remaining characters.
The sequence at Calverton fish farm with Alan Henshaw was enlightening and you’ll learn things about barbel you didn’t know before. Most interesting was the story about rearing the enormous barbel known as ‘The Beast’ that was stocked into the Wensum – is it this one I wonder?
Considering the DVD was made with no film crew other than Bob and Stuart and, I believe, just the one camera, I can appreciate the sheer amount of hard work they’ve had to put into the making of it. When the near bank shot changes to a shot from the other bank it means someone has had to walk round with camera and tripod to shoot it. Every time you see a shot from a different angle these two guys have had to set it up. I’d guess that Stuart has had to work his socks off and his magic with cutaways and continuity in the editing suite.
Nevertheless, they’ve made a very professional job of it, pretty much seamless continuity and the picture and sound quality could hardly be much better without nit-picking.
You would have to be completely uninterested in barbel not to enjoy it, and the DVD is testament to the fact that it is possible for two anglers and some reasonably decent kit to make a very, very good fishing film, certainly better than some of the stuff I’ve seen on the Sky channels.
We are promised more underwater sequences in Volume 2, and guest appearances by more friends.
If you like fishing, and especially if you like barbel, you’d be a mug not to buy it. And if not enough of you buy it there’s a chance they won’t make any more, and that would be a great shame as fishing DVD’s of this quality of picture, sound and content are hard to find.
rating: 10/10 |
