Looking to get back into match fishing again

[markcw]

You will find out that there are some very good match anglers in these club matches.

In the Thursday night series that my club had , the cream of the Northwest anglers were in them, including some England internationals, Ashurst, Addy,Lucas,Byrne,

 

[markcw]

Don't know yet, I'm thinking going for some low key club matches first and see how I go.

What area? North, South, Midlands ?

 

[markcw]

You will find out that there are some very good match anglers in these club matches.

In the Thursday evening matches the club had ,The cream of the Northwest fished them including some England Internationals Ashurt,Addy,Lucas,Byrne

You will find out that there are some very good match anglers in these club matches.

 

[Burton Bridge]

You will find out that there are some very good match anglers in these club matches.

This is good, good to learn from, by 'low key' I mean not overly expensive and hopefully abit of fun rarther than casting assumption on ability.

 

[Burton Bridge]

What area? North, South, Midlands ?

Midlands mate

 

[Burton Bridge]

It was a series that had to be booked onto at the start.they were club venues in the northwest.
Nope,I dont do them anymore, I moved out of the area.

Northwest is no good for me anyway, I'm more than likely going to start with my local club.

 

[markcw]

Northwest is no good for me anyway, I'm more than likely going to start with my local club.

Wheres that ?

 

[markcw]

Midlands mate

Some good commercials around there,

 

[steve2]

Most clubs have friendly members only matches which are a good place to start. My club as a monthly Sunday morning and a midweek matches with a regular 15 or so members fishing on club waters and a once a month trip to a commercial.
Give these a go before entering any open matches.
.

 

[Burton Bridge]

Some good commercials around there,

I think there are pretty good ones everywhere nowadays

 

[Peter Jacobs]

It is best to pick one close to where you live in order to get down there and practice as often as possible and get used to its different cycles.

As I said before, stick to one or just two venues where the successful methods are much the same and get used to those venues before becoming a pools donor . . . ,

 

[markcw]

It is best to pick one close to where you live in order to get down there and practice as often as possible and get used to its different cycles.

As I said before, stick to one or just two venues where the successful methods are much the same and get used to those venues before becoming a pools donor . . . ,

It can take 12 months to crack a venue with variousbaita,tactics and pegs,
That's why the same names are in the frame, plus the best of the same names will fame on most venues,
ie.. Harry Billing, Jamie Hughes,Andy May, Andy Bennet to name a few.

 

[Burton Bridge]

I think I could fish for 3 years every day and I wouldn't be as good as Jamie Hughes, the man's unbelievable

 

[markcw]

I think I could fish for 3 years every day and I wouldn't be as good as Jamie Hughes, the man's unbelievable

So is Harry Billing, he moved down south from north west, won a fair few quid when he was there,
Moved back up Northwest and local watchmen saw their winnings go down.

 

[peytr]

Anybody else had a large break from match fishing and decided to take the plunge back into it?

Last year I decided to join club competitions after not fishing any matches for more than twenty years. I'm using most of the gear I used long, long ago and am considered an 'antiques connoisseur'. Actually I am, to an extend.

I bought a second hand Spro pole because I didn't have anything over 10 meters and got it at less than 100 quid. No kits, just the pole, but a decent one. Reasonably stiff and weighing a lot less than my older stuff. The seller told me the rod has been in the shed and never on the banks. Looking at the pole I believe him.
I also bought a second 11' feeder, although I still take the antique Shakespeare with me. The latter is a bit softer and I like it a lot.

On the second hand market everything which was top notch ten or twenty years ago can be had for next to nothing. So I got a Matchcraft platform with big detachable wheels (so it can double as a trolley) and a heavy duty feeder stand. These are still manufactured but you can now find stuff like that very cheap.

When I fished matches in the past I always ended up in the middle, or just a bit better. Since I returned to the game I still end around the middle so my ambition is to get one or two positions higher and this will keep me occupied for some time. First priority still is having an nice day of fishing while not embarassing myself too much.

 

[Burton Bridge]

Last year I decided to join club competitions after not fishing any matches for more than twenty years. I'm using most of the gear I used long, long ago and am considered an 'antiques connoisseur'. Actually I am, to an extend.

I bought a second hand Spro pole because I didn't have anything over 10 meters and got it at less than 100 quid. No kits, just the pole, but a decent one. Reasonably stiff and weighing a lot less than my older stuff. The seller told me the rod has been in the shed and never on the banks. Looking at the pole I believe him.
I also bought a second 11' feeder, although I still take the antique Shakespeare with me. The latter is a bit softer and I like it a lot.

On the second hand market everything which was top notch ten or twenty years ago can be had for next to nothing. So I got a Matchcraft platform with big detachable wheels (so it can double as a trolley) and a heavy duty feeder stand. These are still manufactured but you can now find stuff like that very cheap.

When I fished matches in the past I always ended up in the middle, or just a bit better. Since I returned to the game I still end around the middle so my ambition is to get one or two positions higher and this will keep me occupied for some time. First priority still is having an nice day of fishing while not embarassing myself too much.

What did you use for top kits mate? I'm all into a bit of second hand bargains, the fish never seem to care either way, new or abused.

 

[silvers]

Anybody else had a large break from match fishing and decided to take the plunge back into it?

Yeh ... three months every year!!!

seriously ... no ... the lowest number of matches I’ve fished in any of the last 35 years was a dozen.

i don’t fish commercials, and rarely fish canals these days, but the river match scene is still alive ... albeit it on fewer venues and with lower numbers competing.
the good news is that
a) all the same techniques work as did 30 years ago (fish are still fish)
b) apart from poles, most kit has barely moved on, and even then you’ll often catch at 11m or closer if you even fish the pole, so any improvements are marginally important at that length. So if you still have your old kit, dust it off!
c) we’re all getting old(er) and therefore easier to beat!!!

good luck ...

 

[108831]

I sadly lost interest in match fishing when all the rivers within sixty miles of me lost any sort of form,so match fishing drifted away from them,I fished a few matches in the time that passed,won a few,but nowadays any matches on our local rivers are usually pole dominated affairs,with anglers that don't understand or have the ability to fish stick or waggler properly,so the weights we see posted are often not as good as they could be from certain pegs,do I miss the competition,nah,not a bit,do I miss the social side,of course...

 

[markcw]

I am like Alan, I gave up matches apart from the small club matches with mates on commercials.
I have not fished a match around Oxford yet and I have been here 2 years, The club matches up north have not materialised for me this year to to various things plus the weather. I wasn't going to do a 300 mile round trip to sit in wind and rain and hope to catch around 50lb of fish.
On a lot of the venues we use the fish are still shoaled up, and what used to be fair venues are now a lottery, you are either on them or you are not,and that's another factor I won't travel up there to fish at the moment.
I don't miss the competition side, it's the banter during and after the match I miss,the social side.
A few more visits to Newlands and I may venture into their matches, and possibly do a few on the canal, as for matches on the Thames at Sandford, that will be a lot of visits before I venture on those.

 

[Burton Bridge]

I sadly lost interest in match fishing when all the rivers within sixty miles of me lost any sort of form,so match fishing drifted away from them,I fished a few matches in the time that passed,won a few,but nowadays any matches on our local rivers are usually pole dominated afairs,with anglers that don't understand or have the ability to fish stick or waggler properly,so the weights we see posted are often not as good as they could be from certain pegs,do I miss the competition,nah,not a bit,do I miss the social side,of course...

Yea that's key the social side. Problem I have with matches on rivers now is that are won with Barbel or a fluke big bream or two. Well round me anyway.