Anglers Mail and Fishingmagic

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peter webber

Guest
So "Fishingmagic" has no named anglers ?

Well the way I see it and just from looking through this thread I counted 6 plus an up and coming one, they are;

Graham Marsden
Neil Wayte
Ric ( Carp Angler )
Stewart Bloor
Ron Clay
Paul Williams

and Wendy who is fighting tooth and nail to rise up in the ranks and in the short time that Wendy has been fishing has already writern 2 articles and been in Coarse Fisherman.

All the above have writern a number of articles not only on here but most write for one or two mags as well.

I would rather read what the above write then most of whats writern in the rags from the shops.

No BIG names on "Fishingmagic" ?
OH yes there is...

Pete
 
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Wendy Perry

Guest
awwwwww cheers Pete i try :) But theres something else as well pete we all tell it as it is and we ENJOY it :)
 
R

Rob Brownfield

Guest
When you look at AT and Am, what are you really paying for?

Well, a third is dedicated to "Look what I caught", a third to adverts and match reports and a third to reviews and writers exploits.

What do we get from Fishingmagic?

A laugh, up to the minute "look what i caught"..especially from Wendy :eek:), articles by people we can relate to because we have exchanged views with them, honest reviews, the chance to win prizes, the chance to write articles (how many mags would let a complete unknown write something in there pages), opinions on gear from anglers who are not paid by the major tackle companies , help with waters, baits, methods, tactics etc....infact, i could go on and on...

I think the websites are great..and the best thing is...u don't have to pay a pound a week for them!
 
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Stewart Bloor

Guest
Being mentioned in the company of such an elite band of anglers has left me...well...err...
 
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Terry Mann

Guest
I suppose now we have said the team is famous we are going to have to be bored silly every other week with articles about
your holidays catching tarpon or great whites in exotic places like the "experts " in the papers !!
 
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Paul Kendall

Guest
The "big names" have got where they are through having bloody good PR companies working for them (except for my man John Wilson, who got there through hairdressing and a bit of luck !!)
 
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Wendy Perry

Guest
Rob i'm hoping that Matt Hayes may read my stories thats why HeHeHe :) you never know he might come on one night to read some threads LOL
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

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I know personally most of the 'big names' in fishing and I can tell you that none of them are represented by a PR company.

Fishing is not like football and motor racing. It is not a rich sport, and those right at the top of the tree are not earning fortunes.

One of best known names in fishing, who writes a regular column for a weekly, is a consultant for a top tackle firm, has written books and made videos, and does the talk/slide show circuit, had a heart attack last year, luckily only a mild one, because he was doing too much.

Only yesterday another household name, and again someone who writes in a weekly, and several magazines, a consultant for a top tackle company, writes books, stars in videos, TV and all the rest of the things that the best known anglers do, was on the phone to me for over an hour asking if I could put him onto some more work because his earnings were so low.

PR companies? Don't make me laugh. Even those at the very top, like Wilson and Hayes, who do TV, don't make enough money to pay a PR company. They're comfortably off, sure, but if they did a fraction of what they do in any other sport they'd be millionaires.
 
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Paul Williams

Guest
I agree with your comments on the hard work envolved Graham, especially from the guys who try to write and hold down full time jobs, the only bit i have my doubts about is the bit about other sports.......imho some of the "names" in angling wouldn't hack it in other speres but the very nature of angling allows them through to become stars.
Having said that i honestly believe we are blessed with some of the best angling writers the sport has ever had, or ever will have.
 
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Ron Clay

Guest
Graham is right about the big names. I should hate to have to earn a living by being a "professional" angler. Graham has got the best job of the lot, running the best angling web site in UK, if not the world!

I once watched one of these big names trying to catch stillwater chub in Oxfordshire. He had a camera man with him together with about 2 galls of maggots. In 4 solid strenuous fishing hours he caught nothing whilst I caught 5 including two 5 pounders.

Suffice to say I don't think this guy will speak to me again as his photographer wanted to take pictures of me catching fish not him. LOL
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

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Ah, but Ron, you probably had about 40 years more experience than him!

Paul, you're right, angling does make stars of some anglers who have no right to be called that. There are too many so-called stars who have done no more than have plenty of time on their hands and used it to camp on a water until the fish decided to feed where they'd put their bait.

But don't blame them, blame a weekly press that awards them prizes and cash for catching the biggest fish of the week with no due regard to the circumstances in which it was caught and from where it was caught. Win enough prizes with lots of huge fish and a gullible audience will soon begin to think the bloke is a hero, when nothing could be further from the truth. From there the very same weeklies, and some monthlies, put their name to articles, tackle companies employ them to put their names on their products, and in no time at all you have an angling superstar.

While all this has been going on the star has made himself learn a bit about fishing, and particularly about fending off tricky questions and before you know it you have a 'manufactured' angling star much in the same mould as some of the boy and girl bands have been processed, only in a much more minor way and with much less talent.

Angling is indeed one of the few sports where anyone can aquire the right gear and bait and, given enough time to spend fishing, become a well known name. If you're capable of writing your own stuff and can take a mean photo then you have an added advantage and can reach the top much more quickly.

So why don't more anglers do just that?

Because they think that angling stars are special, that they're heroes, and that you have to have a special gift to reach those dizzy heights.

Rubbish!
 
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Ron Clay

Guest
Take the following scenario.

Young angler gets to fish at Kickles or Adam's Mill. In two years he catches 4 barbel, all doubles with the best at 17 lbs lets say.

Get's invited to join BSCG.

Become accepted as a leading barbel angler and invited to write articles etc.

Then take another guy who has fished for barbel on 13 different rivers. Has caught hundreds if not thousands of fish between 2 and 9 lbs but never a double. Has also caught barbel using various methods and techniques. Most of his fishing is confined to rivers where barbel over 10 pounds are very rare.

Who would you classify as the best barbel angler?
 
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Richard Long

Guest
I have to say I never really have a great deal to say on the forum, but I sure hell enjoy reading the discussions.
Thank you for making me smile and giving me a few tips along the way.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
I have a much more cynical view of all this.

Nowadays most "names" act as PR people for the tackle companies which sponsor them, hence weekly and monthly mags full of product-plugging ad features and very little else.
 
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Ron Clay

Guest
Just a point,

During the discussion I had with my high profile friend the other evening. He happened to mention the names of our esteemed web master.

He said that Graham generally has one of the highest ratings amongst all well known anglers in Britian.
 
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Steve Burke

Guest
One of the nicest things about angling is that even a complete novice could catch a record fish. However, it doesn't make him a top angler - just a lucky one!

It's rather like a novice golfer getting a hole in one. However, you wouldn't expect the same golfer to break the course reord. It takes skill to do that. It takes even more experience to do do consistently well on a variety of different courses.

I agree with what Graham and Ron have written. I have most respect for those who can succeed on a variety of waters, especially if they succeed by working things out rather than just putting in the rod hours. IMO, the best anglers are the thinking anglers - those who succeed even when the going gets tough.
 
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