The Alternative Angler – DVD Review

Fox lure Fishing DVD

Oh well, if you can’t actually get out fishing, I suppose the next best thing is to sit down in the warmth and watch a couple of experts show you just how to do it properly. So here is my own personal review of the Fox Lure Fishing DVD featuring those two esteemed pike anglers, Mick Brown and Dave Kelbrick, enjoying a lure fishing session on Esthwaite trout fishery.

‘Mogadon’ Mick Brown sets the scene by telling us what tackle and tactics we are going to be shown. Mick’s delivery style to the camera is less than dynamic and as such, he has probably managed to put more people to sleep in their front rooms than Harold Shipman ever did.

A very busy Dave Kelbrick then chimes in with a small contribution, I say very busy because he doesn’t appear to have had time to take his sunglasses off before he says his piece. Perhaps it’s just me, but angling superstar M Hayes does exactly the same and that pisses me off too!

And Mr Kelbrick’s appearance isn’t helped by having his sleeves rolled up displaying heavily tattooed, almost Popeye-like forearms. He looks like he would be more at home on the door of the Billericay Locarno telling you that ‘You can’t come in here wearing that’ than guest presenting on a fishing DVD.

The intrepid duo set off in one boat, which in various shots is numbered 6, 9 and 11, (continuity…) and commence fishing. Very soon they manage to catch a pike, a nice double, without telling the viewer what tackle or tactics they are using, other than they both thought that what they were doing wasn’t working and that they would try something different very soon. Hmmm….

And for all their talk of unhooking mats and fish welfare, they proceed to unhook the pike whilst dangling it three feet in the air above the well of the boat. In fact they don’t unhook the fish, as Dave the Demon Dentist sets to with fistfuls of ironmongery and snips the hooks, which is what he then proceeds to do with every pike they land.

Barbless hooks would probably be a better option for those of us not sponsored by a tackle company and not wanting to have to replace hooks every time they catch a fish. And a lot of the soft lures available these days are actually moulded to the hook, making replacement difficult, to say the least.

Our hosts return to the bank to give us a demonstration of the soft plastic lures they have been/will be using. For those who take their safety seriously, it should be noted that both presenters continue to wear their buoyancy aids, even on dry land. Maybe they’re expecting some sort of Esthwaite tsunami and were prepared for it, or perhaps the fact that the sponsor’s logos were highly visible had a bearing on the decision.

Back to the lures, and I am particularly taken by Dave Kelbrick as he proceeds to show us what he considers to be a lifelike roach imitation in black/gold glitter finish. There are not many roach that look like that in my neck of the woods, unless they are friends of Dorothy, if you catch my drift. But I find I cannot take my eyes of the heavily chromed bicycle chain that Dave is wearing as a bracelet and can’t help wondering if such a glittering article wouldn’t make a far more attractive pike lure than the stuff he is showing us…

A bit later on the two experts run us through a selection of rods that they recommend, a total of 10 in all, (is that really all you need?) for different types of lures, but no mention is made of casting weights, which might help a novice. A further cause for confusion comes when MB suggests that a fixed spool should be used when using lighter lures, whilst DK insists that a multiplier is best for smaller lures.

And some might take issue with DK’s statement that 80lb braid is essential to avoid crack-offs when using bigger lures. I’m no physicist, but 80lb is more than the weight of a couple of council paving slabs. Can those sort of forces really be generated when casting lures, and if so, surely the trace, split rings and swivels need to be rated to at least that BS as well, but these obviously salient points aren’t deemed worthy of a mention.*

A small section on spoons was included where MB has taken up the ‘Presenter wearing sunglasses’ mode as well, grrrrrrrr…!! and amongst the selection of spoons shown are some with hooks fitted to the middle of the spoon blade, which according to DK is to help with pike coming up short to the bait. If the pike are failing to hit the treble at the back of the spoon, fitting one even nearer to the angler isn’t going to help a lot, is it?

In conclusion, it’s easy to be flippant, but both the content and presentation of this DVD suffer from having a distinctly home-made look and feel. The action shots on the boat would have been greatly improved with the camera positioned on the boat and closer to the action rather than filmed from a distance. The dialogue needed to be far better scripted and contained too many ‘Now over to you’s’, and sprinkled with repetitions where MB would say ‘Why don’t you try so and so’ to which DK will reply ‘I’m going to try so and so now.’

As for the presenters themselves, well, let’s just say they are great anglers. Perhaps the format would have been far better done in a documentary style with a commentary informing the viewer as to what was happening whilst they were out on the boats and then a question and answer session on the bank whilst the experts run through the tackle used, reasons for, recommendations, etc.

Overall, I couldn’t give the DVD a rating much over 5/10, probably less when it is really nothing more than an advertising platform for Fox products and given that you are expected to pay £ 9.99 for the privilege of watching it. And basing it on boat fishing with endless references to trout reservoirs and glacial lakes is slightly alienating to the majority of viewers, who will be not be able to relate to those experiences at all. A section on river, pond or drain lure fishing would seem to have far more relevance.

You would be far better off spending that £ 9.99 on a couple of lures (other makes are available…..) and getting out and having a go yourself.

* My few remaining brain cells have been puzzling over the ‘Use 80lb braid to prevent crack-offs’ statement in the DVD. Back when I was pike fishing seriously, I used a 25lb Dacron shock leader and regularly hurled 8oz mackerel baits over long distances. Despite occasional glitches with over runs and sometimes forgetting to engage the free spool, I never, ever had a crack-off. Broke a couple of rods, but never had a bait crack-off.

Now, I am not for one moment suggesting that Mr Kelbrick is using the wrong knot to attach his leaders to the braid, but is that where the weakness lies, causing these crack-offs? Perhaps frequent casting of heavy lures is causing a hinge effect to act on the braid, thereby weakening it at the trace knot. I seem to remember that Fred Buller made reference to braided lines suffering from knot strangulation years ago, is repeated casting just going to exacerbate this problem?

Maybe the braid needs to be attached to the trace via an additional swivel, spring clip or split ring, something that will allow rotation of the trace during casting/retrieval without the force acting on the knot, or am I just talking b*ll*cks, as usual…..!!