Commercials playing their part in the angling boom - Reader letter
A long time ago, angling celeb and TV personality Matt Hayes wrote an article about ‘real’ fishing and compared it with commercial fisheries.
Matt said that he felt that commercials were responsible for sanitising fishing, and that the real excitement of a catch came from anticipation.
At the time, many of us would have shared Matt’s sentiments. However, since then commercials have been quietly maturing. They contain some cracking roach and monster perch, piling on weight from the pleasure anglers’ baits to offer a challenge worthy of the best of us.
Knowing Matt’s commitment to all things fishing, I’m sure he will be absolutely buzzing at seeing the explosion in fishing over the last few months, and be grateful to the part commercials have played in this upturn.
Commercial venues are about much more than just carp
Ron Brooke, via email
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Match Fishing Is Changing - Reader Letter
“I’m not an avid match angler but I do follow the scene with interest and watch out for the results in Angling Times each week.
“Two things have stood out recently, the first being the increase in attendances at matches on natural waters since lockdown ended.
“Maybe match anglers have outgrown those stock pond commercials and are returning to fishing events that offer a real challenge.
“Okay, some of the catch weights might not be headline-makers but they usually make for close competitions.
There has been an increase in attendances on natural water matches
“The second thing I discovered was that Jamie Hughes keeps getting through to the Fish O’Mania final each year – this time marks his ninth final in a row.
“I don’t know how he does it, but there’s no denying he’s got a serious talent there and I’ll be cheering him on come the day of the final.”
Jamie Hughes just keeps winning. There’s no denying he’s got serious talent.
Letter sent in from Alex Ross, Lancashire
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"These day-tickets aren't what carp angling is about" - Reader Letter
I can’t get my head around the day-ticket palaver surrounding carp. Now it seems you have to book a swim, knowing full well that someone’s been in it for probably 48 hours before you set up. You’re paying out £50 to fish blind.
I was lucky enough to be on the syndicate where Chris Yates filmed The Secret Lake, where you could rock up and look for hours before you chose a swim. This is what carp angling should be about.
On day-ticket waters you can’t be mobile because that’s your allocated spot. Yet it seems that big fish rule the roost, even if you are fishing a three-year old hole in the ground.
These guys should look at joining a good club for about £200 for the year. Many of these have excellent stillwaters, some only lightly fished. For the price of four 48-hour sessions on a carp puddle, they could be fishing somewhere excellent.
Larry Sprusen, Tisbury, Wiltshire
This is what carp angling should be about.
Time to give Dick Clegg a Knighthood - Reader letter
It sometimes annoys me how little recognition angling gets from the country’s bigwigs.
If an England football manager had as much success as Dick Clegg had as manager of our national fishing side, he’d have been knighted by now (Angling Times, April 21).
I know that he has been awarded an MBE and an OBE, but I still don’t think that’s enough to mark the contribution he’s made.
Quite simply, he took the side from also-rans to number one in the world and kept them there for 17 years. I bet that our England football bosses can only dream of picking up six world titles. Even one would be a start.
Mark Lester, Nottingham
Dick Clegg guided England to be the best in the world