| KEVIN PERKINS | |
Never mind smelling the flowers, don’t forget to take time out to see the satirical side of fishing life and grab a laugh along the way. |
Strike! The launch of a new angling magazineWith regard to the recent news that FM’s parent company, Magicalia, were looking for angling publications to buy up, surely it makes more sense to start afresh rather than trying to breathe new life into tired ideas. An innovative, groundbreaking periodical that can draw inspiration from all forms of media is just what is required now. With that in mind, and in the manner of Hello or Heat magazines please welcome the imminent launch of….STRIKE..!!The all-new 21st Century publication for modern anglers. Packed with features, gossip, in-depth interviews, and all manner of tips and suggestions STRIKE..!! truly reflects the way forward for fishing. To give you a flavour, a few of the of the planned new features are listed below: Bivvy Skivvies Embarrassed by your mate’s set up? Ashamed to go into his bivvy because of all the clutter inside, afraid you might catch something if you eat anything he cooks in there? Then call in the STRIKE..!! Bivvy Skivvies.
A pair of really quite frightening ladies of a certain age, dressed in white coats will come in, verbally berate and lambaste the owner, don the fur-trimmed rubber gloves, then spruce the place up in no time at all. They will even provide a couple of skips to cart all the rubbish away. The only downside is that they will be back after a while to do a follow up piece, so you had better not have returned to your old ways or there will be trouble… FAGs – Flash Angler’s Girlfriends Footballers have WAGs we’ve got FAGs! For the roaming hordes of nubile young ladies who have finally cottoned on to the fact that if they can’t marry a footballer, or Sir Paul McCartney, or get on X Factor or Big Brother, or work for a living, (perish the thought) then there is only one thing left to do. Just get your claws into one of the jammy anglers out there making big money in match winnings, sponsorship deals, even TV exposure. We all know the type, turns up at matches and borrows bait and/or gear, always gets lucky at the draw bag and flukes a winning fish every time. Never first to the bar after to share their good fortune either….. No aspiring young angler can afford to be seen out without his FAG, and our feature will show wannabe FAG’s the best places to net the man of their dreams. And just what a catch (expect many other fish based puns) they can turn out to be. In this series of articles, the STRIKE..!! journalists and snappers will follow these would-be starlets as they stake out working men’s clubs looking for lucky winners after match payouts. The features will show the girls just the right shade of blonde to dye their hair, Chrysodine yellow is always popular, tips on just how few clothes you can get away with to make you irresistible, and that one of the best kept secrets of how to hook an angler is concentrated halibut oil and where to dab it for the best effect. Gripping stuff that is bound to keep the readers enthralled as the series unfolds. Problem Paige Dear old Elaine has been out of the theatre and off the telly for a while so in yet another exclusive, STRIKE..!! have managed to get her to edit our problem page. No holds barred and anything goes. Can’t get to sleep because your bivvy partner snores? Elaine will give you the answers, and surprisingly, filling his gob with groundbait isn’t one of them. ”My girlfriend complains that my tackle is too big/too small,” is another common gripe that Elaine is only too pleased to get to grips with. Send it your problems and every one will receive a personalised reply, and the best ones will be published with names and addresses to show that we are not making them up. Relocation, Relocation. Relocation A really interesting concept, that although sometimes heart warming, isn’t always guaranteed a happy ending. We follow the trials and tribulations of some long stay carp anglers who, for a variety of sometimes diverse reasons, find that they have to leave the swims they have known and loved, sometimes for many years. Some are upgrading to better places on syndicate lakes, others find that financial constraints force them onto day-ticket waters, one particular piece showing a former battle-hardened long-stay carp man being forced to fish a commercial water is bound to bring a lump to the throats of the hardest of souls. The last picture of him sitting alone on a wooden platform, silhouetted by the sunset will have your eyes welling up…….. Competitions Competitions are sooo last year, so what better than a raffle? No phone-in shenanigans, we put up a decent prize worth at least £ 150 (not so expensive barbel rod, perhaps), and as soon as we have sold 300 tickets at a £ 1 each we make the draw. A winner every time, can’t be bad! KOC Cup The Kit-Off Challenge Trophy is sure to be a winner with the ladies, and in the manner of the Drennan Cup, anglers are invited to send in pictures of themselves. These snaps should be tastefully posed, with as little clothing as possible, or maybe naked with just an item of tackle to cover their tackle, as it were, and preferably with manly torsos glinting in the sun after being oiled up with bait glug.
Judged by our very own panel of FAGs with prizes for the weekly winners and grand final at the end of the year. You have to be in it to win it, so get your pecs in the pics! Fux DVD – Scoop Exclusive Preview! And in the very first issue of STRIKE..!! TickleTackle will announce that they are producing a DVD named ‘How Not To Lose
Double 2 The first all-new aid to lure retrieval is the ‘Double 2’ link, which allows you to fish with braided lines doubled-up. As you can see from the illustration, if one braided line breaks, or one of the knots gives way (and this has been known to happen for no reason at all) the clever design of the link allows you remain in direct contact with the lure with the one remaining line.
Tests have shown that fishing with two lines together on the reel has no noticeable effect on casting or playing fish, but the ‘belt and braces’ insurance that the ‘Double 2’ link brings, can only help you to fish on with additional confidence. EcoLyne Also on show is the new EcoLyne braid. In a radical departure, and to combat the problems of invisible microscopic fibres breaking inside the braid and weakening the line, this 100% natural, free-range line comes with completely visible fibres. Now you can instantly spot any degradation and act quickly to save you losing that fish of a lifetime.
Apart from the previously stated benefit of being able to easily monitor the condition of the line, if visibility is an issue, it will readily take many forms of dye. Although it should be noted that repeated use will bring about a subtle toning down of the original colour. This is a huge benefit over most braids, which actually lose colour as you use them. As shown, line lay on the spool is just about acceptable, spool capacity is decreased somewhat, but you really don’t need that much for lure fishing, and the line clip may not be usable, but then again, you don’t use that when spinning, do you? The breaking strain is a bit variable, but that is nothing new for braid. The big selling points are availability in most hardware stores and the (relatively) low, low prices that means EcoLyne is sure to become a firm favourite amongst lure anglers.
Not So Deep Throat At last, a cure for all those occasions where you’ve had to snip off hooks in a throat hooked pike, a hair rig for lures. Simply cut all the offending ironmongery off your lures and attach the ‘Not So Deep Throat’ trace as shown. The single, bloody great big, barbed treble is set well back from the bait, so minimising the risk of a pike engulfing the hook when it swallows the bait. So very, very simple, and yet very, very effective. Stikk As well as a whole range of specially reinforced end rigs and lines to ensure you can get your valuable lures back, no matter what (and let’s face it, that’s the most important thing), a range of stepped up rods has also been launched under the Stikk brand name. Please note these are not just re-branded IGFA 50lb wreck fishing rods, (the prototype does feature roller rings, but they will be an option) but a whole new design. Using these rods in conjunction with the new end rigs will ensure the greatest possible chance of getting your precious lures back from any snag. And having hauled a lure back from some underwater jungle you can sit back and proudly say ‘Ahhh…..That FuxStikk’. And finally……. To borrow a line form Titus Oates, ‘I may be gone for some time…’ Possibly to the relief of many, the Alternative Angler will not be appearing on your screens for several weeks. I’m taking my first ‘proper’ holiday for almost four years, and if I feel the need for a break, then you lot surely deserve one too. Regards Kevin |
