Go Fishing 2006 at Birmingham’s NEC Arena
With the show so early in the year, for once the weather had a part to play in its success. Would there be so much snow that travel was all but impossible? Not quite, but the cold caused many anglers to forget about actually fishing, and take the easy option of seeing the show. For my own part, cancelled arrangements (twice), and potentially tricky travel conditions made me wonder whether I’d even make it, but I got there on Saturday after all.
When I arrived it was just on opening time, and the large queues demonstrated the show’s popularity. It’s fair to say that the show remained pretty crowded until well into the afternoon. Even getting close to some of the stands, especially people like John Wilson on Masterline, Matt Hayes on TFG or Bob Nudd on Browning (when they weren’t presenting) could be challenging. Others were far easier to get to talk to; the ACA were welcoming (www.a-c-a.org – just do it!), ditto Steve Pope on the Barbel Society stand, and the SAA. Along the way I bumped into Ron Clay, Gary Knowles, Matt Brown and Bob Roberts, and it was good to catch up on what’s happening.
In general, it seems that the talks were very well received, with packed arenas every time. Demonstrations like Daiwa’s Terminator (the rods seem to be surviving this year) remain ever popular. The show is one of the best opportunities to compare poles if you are thinking of buying one. With much of today’s angling being carp oriented this is the place to pick a few brains, see all the gear, compare rods, and learn about rigs and baits.
Once I’d met those that I had hoped to find and got plenty of photos, it was time to see if there was any tackle that might take my fancy. Masterline in the guise of Normark and J W Young have some new rods worth keeping an eye open for in the next few months. But it was the Greys stand that gave me a chance to handle some of the Prodigy rods. If you are after a new power float rod you could certainly do worse, and the barbel rods were equally tempting, and all at reasonable prices.
Underpinning the success or otherwise of the show must be the concern that the cost of entering is high at £ 13 + £ 7 parking. Both figures seem to increase by a £ 1 a year. And is the high cost of floor space discouraging some tackle firms from exhibiting? Where are Preston? ABU? Shakespeare? Coch-y-Bondhu books? Why is the food so poor, and so expensive? Some of these questions are more to do with the venue rather than the organisers but I hope EMAP push them back to the NEC.
Is it worth going? I think so; but my attitude has always been that the main reason has been to get to talk to people rather than just see fishing tackle, something that I can do just as well in my local tackle shops. See you there next year!
Additional Notes from Graham The first stand we visited was Maver’s, for someone had told us that Maver were introducing the Pole Dancer and, I thought, what a strange name for a pole, they usually have much more masculine and aggressive names than that for poles, but let’s go and see for ourselves.
So you can imagine our surprise and horror when we saw it was a very scantily dressed young lady writhing up a chrome pole in a most seductive manner. I really had to struggle to get through the crowd to take 20 or so shots before we slipped away. “She’s quite ugly,” Jonny commented. “You need help. Or a guide dog,” I replied. Matt just mopped his brow.
It was a smaller show than previous years and as Mark says, some of the big manufacturers were missing and there were far fewer retailers. My main objective though, was to meet up with some old friends in the media and the tackle trade, to make some new friends, and to see some new gear that was being introduced, such as the Fishpond luggage from Hardy Greys. I certainly achieved that and, as such, for me, the show was a success. That is what you have to bear in mind when passing judgement on these shows: what do you want from them? If you wanted cheap gear then you may have been disappointed, for you would have had to spend a lot of money just to recoup the entry fee, the parking fee, and your travel costs. If you wanted to see the new gear for 2006 then it would depend on what you were interested in. If it was Preston Innovations/Korum, Shakespeare, Fox, Pure Fishing, Nash, Kryston, then you would have been disappointed. If it was most of the other major manufacturer’s gear or bait then it may have been good for you.
If it was an opportunity for you to meet the big names in angling (as it is for the majority of show-goers), to chat with them, get their autograph, watch them in action and listen to the reams of good advice, then you too probably had a good show.For many it is a good chance to meet with friends, and I enjoyed the time I spent around the show, in the restaurant and the bar, just chatting with people I haven’t seen for some time and meeting new friends who had previously been no more than names in emails and on the forum. The tackle trade isn’t exactly buoyant right now and the show reflected this to a great extent. The angling celebrities who provided the entertainment gave the usual good value, and the pole dancer was appreciated by most. |
