I'm a member of Rothwell Angling Society, (I'm 67) with members between 50 & 80 odd years young. We help each other out carrying our gear from car to peg & back - It's what we do !!
Another thing for clubs to consider is possible mergers. Interesting thought provoking video, perhaps it’ll help people to take a more active role within their own outfit and hopefully encourage others to do likewise.
Great post mark, someone who obviously has knowledge of these matters. Sorry to say mark, it's about managing decline, on less, as you touched on at the end, clubs have a good head of large Barbell in their rivers. When I first joined my club seven years ago it was easy to get into. I joined because of my love of Chub fishing.Even to the point I couldn't print maps off thire web site, so the club secretary printed them off and posted them to me. When I asked him a few years later why we now had a waiting list, he told me. "The feedback from anglers wanting to join was because anglers are getting fed up with carp fishing and moving to Barbell" .Both hard fighting fish, that grow large. That's what most anglers of working age want. Despite behond beleve such a dedicated committee both administratively and physically. I'm just a member. There's only so much I can say here, but in short, "if you ain't got Barbell, you ain't got long" Sad days indeed.
My local Dorset clubs did have some good barbel fishing. Both the Stour and Avon still have some very big barbel in them but the days of attempting to get a bag of several 5 to 8lb barbel are gone for the moment as those monsters are few and far between. There have been stockings of smaller barbel from Calverton but whether they will thrive I don't know. There are shoals of small barbel under a pound on parts of the lower Avon.
Unfortunately I don’t have time anymore to go Fishing, my 2 sons weren’t ever interested in fishing either. Beekeeping takes up my summer weekends now.
My local club is Kings Lynn AA. We’re blessed with around 50 miles of rivers. Unfortunately, about 49 miles are inaccessible and there are no cut swims or parking. Pity.
@@MarkWintleFishing yes, and ten mile bank, the middle level, the cut off channel. Miles and miles of inaccessible banks. You can fish all day without seeing another soul.
Amazing to think that 50 years ago there were 1300 anglers fishing the Relief Channel in the Great Ouse Championships, and massive matches on the other venues you mention. I like Drain/Fenland fishing but very little near me!
@@MarkWintleFishing absolutely right Mark. In the late eighties, I used to fish in 80 peg matches on the cut off channel and the middle level. There were dozens of young lads fishing these matches. I doubt there are a dozen fishable pegs on the entire cut off channel these days. And the irony is that these waters are full of fish and a twenty or thirty pound bag is readily achievable for a pleasure angler. And yet the cut off is rarely ever fished. The days of coachloads of anglers coming from Sheffield and Doncaster on a Sunday are long gone. And now that the anglers are mostly grey hairs like me means that we can no longer access the steep banks. It’s all very sad.
Hi Mark, reference the dearth of youngsters in fishing clubs ,have you considered that society may be changing, and that old codgers like me simply belong to another time? As we die out so will club fishing.Is the problem solely restricted to fishing or does it apply to other field sports? I think your channel is excellent, by the way.
Society IS changing, no doubt about it. I suspect other sports are also suffering. I ghet the impression that golf also had a covid bounce but that it is also in decline due to an aging demographic wanting to play. Two golf clubs near me have closed for good, both created in the 90s golfing boom.
And if your club has still waters be critical of who gets put forward to your club's committee! My club lost a water to a new committee member who exploited their position to promote a commercial contract with the owner of the water. This kind of thing is not rare, clubs can't afford to lose waters when memberships are at a premium.
Not quite the same but as a youngster I witnessed a new committee man who unknown to the existing committee had a conflict of interest and within a couple of years lost a good fishery due to his inside knowledge to his benefit. The club never got it back.
I think angling locally has had a poor deal. You mentioned the boat moorings, At Radipole Lake the local anglers have all put been pushed out by the shameful behaviour of the RSPB over the years. We are just not organised enough politically and our needs are just not taken into account when decisions that affect us are taken. It's very sad.
Sadly the Stour and Avon have declined dreadfully. Most people want good fishing with regular action together with secure parking and short walks. I cant see things doing anything other than getting worse. Many more clubs will fail. The loss of the Barbel as a regular and viable quarry has killed the holiday trade for places like Throop and Severals. You can spend weeks to catch one Barbel. On a weeks holiday, you'd be lucky to catch one! People now fish the Trent or Severn. Much better.
There has been a decline in holidaying anglers locally. There's less fishing available on day ticket, and as you rightly say, barbel fishing is much tougher. This might seem incredible but as a lad at wareham I would watch visiting anglers fish the very open and fishable Frome for roach and dace, many staying on a nearby camp/caravan site. The roach went to a pound and a half maximum but there were lots of swims - I counted 57 one midweek day in August 1971 - but later the number of moorings increased massively and it's rare to see more than a couple of anglers in summer now. I have an Angling Times feature from the same summer about the Royalty and it is absolutely rammed.
Just like all kids mark you went with your mates down your local river or pond, a rod a jamjar with worms or maggots if you were lucky and a bottle of cordial and a few sandwiches,and a pen knive to make your rodrest eh mate,and mum knew you would be home when you've had enough,good old days eh
And free for many other activities, dumping of rubbish cars fires, tin tray portable BBQ's left still hot trodden on by kids. Taking of drugs. See the free part of the river Wandle its a S*×t hole, See the difrence in club section . Club membership last year cost me £3.48p a vist. If you don't belong to don't tend to care.
I can tell you a thing or two about local clubs....many are run by a small band of people...but beware if match fishers take over a pond...they tend to take down all the cover, turn natural waters into easy access for trollies etc. And in no time the fish have damaged mouths....nightmare....these days i have tickets for clubs but never get involved with committees and politics...not good for your peace of mind...sadly😢
Personally I can't stand commercial fisheries they're like fishing a garden pond full of fish you know you're going to catch something..and I wonder if commercial fisheries never came about if you would of ever heard of the names such as Jamie Hughes or Andy May on the winning any matches on rivers canals or anywhere else probably not
You do realise Andy May cut his teeth fishing rivers and canals and was very successful too. In fact he was an English Youth International and was highly tipped to go on and fish for the England senior team. But for whatever reason, possibly the draw of high payout matches like FishOMania, he decided to concentrate his efforts on the commercial scene but it doesn’t detract from the fact he is a very good allround angler. Similarly Jamie Hughes. If you are very good and at the top of your game in one discipline then you can easily adapt to become as successful in another. Steve Ringer for example, who is seeded as the no1 feeder angler in the World, also represented his country at fly fishing! What I am trying to say is, if there were no such thing as commercials then yes you would still of heard of the same anglers because they are talented and dedicated at what they do no matter was discipline they fish.
Sadly I can see fishing being banned one day in the not too distant future. The last couple of generations have shown none of the interest and enthusiasm that mine had. So many of them now have probably been indoctrinated to believe that fishing is cruel - especially school age kids with their woke teachers. I was a third generation angler yet my son showed very little interest after his teenage years. Today's parenting doesn't appear to offer kids the freedom I grew up with. Weekends away camping by the river at 13/14 with a mate or two, fishing the Thames at Laleham by the campsite. Spending summer holidays fishing all around the local area. Hardly ever see a kid fishing now. At 80, I've quit - but still have some pretty good quality tackle from the early 2000s/2010. I've been hoping to discover a mad keen young angler to give it all to. It's a pretty fruitless mission
I’m a member of Dorchester, the commitment these guys put in to make the club successful is second to none 👍🏻
They've come on over the years.
Good follow up video Mark - completely valid points well made.
I'm a member of Rothwell Angling Society, (I'm 67) with members between 50 & 80 odd years young. We help each other out carrying our gear from car to peg & back - It's what we do !!
That's good but do you need to recruit younger members?
Warminster and district ac have 1000 members at the moment that’s because they have lots of water and listen to members views.
Another thing for clubs to consider is possible mergers. Interesting thought provoking video, perhaps it’ll help people to take a more active role within their own outfit and hopefully encourage others to do likewise.
Great post mark, someone who obviously has knowledge of these matters.
Sorry to say mark, it's about managing decline, on less, as you touched on at the end, clubs have a good head of large Barbell in their rivers. When I first joined my club seven years ago it was easy to get into. I joined because of my love of Chub fishing.Even to the point I couldn't print maps off thire web site, so the club secretary printed them off and posted them to me. When I asked him a few years later why we now had a waiting list, he told me. "The feedback from anglers wanting to join was because anglers are getting fed up with carp fishing and moving to Barbell" .Both hard fighting fish, that grow large. That's what most anglers of working age want. Despite behond beleve such a dedicated committee both administratively and physically. I'm just a member.
There's only so much I can say here, but in short, "if you ain't got Barbell, you ain't got long" Sad days indeed.
My local Dorset clubs did have some good barbel fishing. Both the Stour and Avon still have some very big barbel in them but the days of attempting to get a bag of several 5 to 8lb barbel are gone for the moment as those monsters are few and far between. There have been stockings of smaller barbel from Calverton but whether they will thrive I don't know. There are shoals of small barbel under a pound on parts of the lower Avon.
Unfortunately I don’t have time anymore to go Fishing, my 2 sons weren’t ever interested in fishing either. Beekeeping takes up my summer weekends now.
What 3 words very useful.
Always worth remembering if you have to dial 999.
Clubmate very good 👍
My local club is Kings Lynn AA. We’re blessed with around 50 miles of rivers. Unfortunately, about 49 miles are inaccessible and there are no cut swims or parking. Pity.
I presume that includes waters such as the Relief Channel?
@@MarkWintleFishing yes, and ten mile bank, the middle level, the cut off channel. Miles and miles of inaccessible banks. You can fish all day without seeing another soul.
Amazing to think that 50 years ago there were 1300 anglers fishing the Relief Channel in the Great Ouse Championships, and massive matches on the other venues you mention. I like Drain/Fenland fishing but very little near me!
@@MarkWintleFishing absolutely right Mark. In the late eighties, I used to fish in 80 peg matches on the cut off channel and the middle level. There were dozens of young lads fishing these matches. I doubt there are a dozen fishable pegs on the entire cut off channel these days. And the irony is that these waters are full of fish and a twenty or thirty pound bag is readily achievable for a pleasure angler. And yet the cut off is rarely ever fished. The days of coachloads of anglers coming from Sheffield and Doncaster on a Sunday are long gone. And now that the anglers are mostly grey hairs like me means that we can no longer access the steep banks. It’s all very sad.
100% agree 👏🎣
Has the dorchester club cleared all banks along Haywards Bridge mark? Heard that was the plan, which is slightly worrying
I've not been able to get near it for weeks but not last time I looked.
Hi Mark, reference the dearth of youngsters in fishing clubs ,have you considered that society may be changing, and that old codgers like me simply belong to another time? As we die out so will club fishing.Is the problem solely restricted to fishing or does it apply to other field sports? I think your channel is excellent, by the way.
Society IS changing, no doubt about it. I suspect other sports are also suffering. I ghet the impression that golf also had a covid bounce but that it is also in decline due to an aging demographic wanting to play. Two golf clubs near me have closed for good, both created in the 90s golfing boom.
And if your club has still waters be critical of who gets put forward to your club's committee! My club lost a water to a new committee member who exploited their position to promote a commercial contract with the owner of the water. This kind of thing is not rare, clubs can't afford to lose waters when memberships are at a premium.
Not quite the same but as a youngster I witnessed a new committee man who unknown to the existing committee had a conflict of interest and within a couple of years lost a good fishery due to his inside knowledge to his benefit. The club never got it back.
I think angling locally has had a poor deal. You mentioned the boat moorings, At Radipole Lake the local anglers have all put been pushed out by the shameful behaviour of the RSPB over the years. We are just not organised enough politically and our needs are just not taken into account when decisions that affect us are taken. It's very sad.
Sadly the Stour and Avon have declined dreadfully. Most people want good fishing with regular action together with secure parking and short walks. I cant see things doing anything other than getting worse. Many more clubs will fail. The loss of the Barbel as a regular and viable quarry has killed the holiday trade for places like Throop and Severals. You can spend weeks to catch one Barbel. On a weeks holiday, you'd be lucky to catch one!
People now fish the Trent or Severn. Much better.
There has been a decline in holidaying anglers locally. There's less fishing available on day ticket, and as you rightly say, barbel fishing is much tougher. This might seem incredible but as a lad at wareham I would watch visiting anglers fish the very open and fishable Frome for roach and dace, many staying on a nearby camp/caravan site. The roach went to a pound and a half maximum but there were lots of swims - I counted 57 one midweek day in August 1971 - but later the number of moorings increased massively and it's rare to see more than a couple of anglers in summer now. I have an Angling Times feature from the same summer about the Royalty and it is absolutely rammed.
Just like all kids mark you went with your mates down your local river or pond, a rod a jamjar with worms or maggots if you were lucky and a bottle of cordial and a few sandwiches,and a pen knive to make your rodrest eh mate,and mum knew you would be home when you've had enough,good old days eh
There might be a different view , if there are no clubs then the water is free to fish
But no access provided by land owners so no fishing.
And free for many other activities, dumping of rubbish cars fires, tin tray portable BBQ's left still hot trodden on by kids. Taking of drugs. See the free part of the river Wandle its a S*×t hole, See the difrence in club section
.
Club membership last year cost me £3.48p a vist.
If you don't belong to don't tend to care.
thats when the likes of the essex matchmen move in and buy up the fishing rights, the water becomes a match puddle
I can tell you a thing or two about local clubs....many are run by a small band of people...but beware if match fishers take over a pond...they tend to take down all the cover, turn natural waters into easy access for trollies etc. And in no time the fish have damaged mouths....nightmare....these days i have tickets for clubs but never get involved with committees and politics...not good for your peace of mind...sadly😢
Me too. I just buy the permits nowadays.
Clubs should pull together not beat each other up
There is cooperation between the clubs at times.
Personally I can't stand commercial fisheries they're like fishing a garden pond full of fish you know you're going to catch something..and I wonder if commercial fisheries never came about if you would of ever heard of the names such as Jamie Hughes or Andy May on the winning any matches on rivers canals or anywhere else probably not
You do realise Andy May cut his teeth fishing rivers and canals and was very successful too. In fact he was an English Youth International and was highly tipped to go on and fish for the England senior team. But for whatever reason, possibly the draw of high payout matches like FishOMania, he decided to concentrate his efforts on the commercial scene but it doesn’t detract from the fact he is a very good allround angler. Similarly Jamie Hughes. If you are very good and at the top of your game in one discipline then you can easily adapt to become as successful in another. Steve Ringer for example, who is seeded as the no1 feeder angler in the World, also represented his country at fly fishing! What I am trying to say is, if there were no such thing as commercials then yes you would still of heard of the same anglers because they are talented and dedicated at what they do no matter was discipline they fish.
@@waynenippard5933well said sir.
Sadly I can see fishing being banned one day in the not too distant future. The last couple of generations have shown none of the interest and enthusiasm that mine had. So many of them now have probably been indoctrinated to believe that fishing is cruel - especially school age kids with their woke teachers. I was a third generation angler yet my son showed very little interest after his teenage years. Today's parenting doesn't appear to offer kids the freedom I grew up with. Weekends away camping by the river at 13/14 with a mate or two, fishing the Thames at Laleham by the campsite. Spending summer holidays fishing all around the local area. Hardly ever see a kid fishing now. At 80, I've quit - but still have some pretty good quality tackle from the early 2000s/2010. I've been hoping to discover a mad keen young angler to give it all to. It's a pretty fruitless mission