Numbers are down but we cannot keep blaming the recession... During the Labour 'era' people had it quite good.... numbers were down then.

There are some great anglers who no longer fish comps.... How can we get you back? What is needed?... Can we have a balanced/constructive thread here that may give clues to all organisers be it team and individual...

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Before you cast the fly, make sure you can handle the fish! Vuoi imbrogliare? Poi Non competere! (If you want to cheat, then dont compete)

As i posted in a thread before, i for one am looking at getting seriously involved in competition fishing. However, it seems to be quite a closed shop, and there seems to be little advise and guidence on how to go about getting involved. Thankyou to those that bothered to reply to my thread. I have been doing some research and while it looks quite costly for the travelling etc some of the prizes available make it worthwhile, but take the fun out of anything and you loose people!

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Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught!!!

Get the Captain in as the English Loch Style Manager for starters. I think he would be the ideal man for the jobby.

Deleted............

Well, for a start, I was heavily put off with the hours involved and that was just with the comps I fished at Hanningfield.

A 10am start is simply bonkers and a 6pm Finish? Too late.

8am to 4pm or even 8am to 2pm is fine if you ask me as it still takes up to 1.5hrs to finish weighing in and announcing the results.

If it is a 2hr drive to a venue and a 2hr drive back then an 8am to 2pm session would be fine or even 4pm for major comps but 10-6 is too long.


Further, perhaps for qualifiers and minor comps, no practice days allowed. Think about it - for those that live too far away or have little available funds; how is it fair for them when others have been on the water for 48hrs before hand? This would make a more level playing-field.



Just a thought.




Ben

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Hi Martin from a team point of view its not easy taking time off work and if your selfemployed to fish mid week comps for some is out of the question. If organisers put comps on a Monday instead of mid week I think they would be more do able to a wider range of anglers. As a Comp Organiser for our local club its seems there are plenty of us out there still up for a good comp , but its hard to get back good anglers that come off the comp circuit back on.

I would agree with this. The main comp i was a part of was a Troutmasters final at Grafham a few years ago. I'd never fished the lake before and turned up on the day to try my best. Unbeknown to me most anglers had been fishing the previous few days and most of the top ten knew each other and had been fishing the lake all week!
Im not saying this is a bad thing, but maybe different categories depending on skill/experience/previous results. In Competitive Clay Shooting this is how its done and makes competitions available for newcomers and seasoned vets alike.
Failing that im sure bigger prizes would attract a larger crowd!!!

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Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught!!!

Martin
Are you trying to get more people to compete in the England qualifiers?


If so.
The preliminary rounds (probably 2) are held reasonably early and are dominated by pulling DI7 for stockies.
Some of the anglers you want back are now not fit enough to compete with the young guns ' pulling all day like mad'
Its easier not to bother than feel old and past it. Much nicer to fish with a like minded mate on the anchor.
No need to take time off work ( holiday ) to fish practice sessions.

ANSWER
Hold the eliminators as late as possible (even if this means putting the area final back) to allow the fish to rise in the water , give anglers a chance to fish lighter lines.
Hold them on a Sunday to allow those that want a Saturday practice.( think this happens anyway)
Instead of 2 eliminators hold 3 or 4 to eradicate fluke results and get most consistent anglers through to area final.
Ask the Ressie not to stock for two weeks prior to any events and do not reward speed fishing for stockies with a time bonus.
Comp starts at 09.00 hrs and finishes at 17.00. What you way in for the ressie fish limit is the weight that counts.

Just my thought.

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Better a 'has been' than a 'never was' !
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I posted this a week or so ago ,120 veiws no answers ,yes I could have done my own research but kind of busy with a day fishing and that curse of the angler work .
Floating line matches

Would enjoy a couple of days out fishing floaters or slow sink lines ,dont want to go the whole hog of re tackling for fast sinkers ,all my boat stuff is #6 or lighter,bar some elderly sewin stuff.

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Andy Wren
Winter grayling taking a year off !
Claret not just a great dubbing colour!

Further, perhaps for qualifiers and minor comps, no practice days allowed. Think about it - for those that live too far away or have little available funds; how is it fair for them when others have been on the water for 48hrs before hand? This would make a more level playing-field.

How about a luck dip or raffle then?
Generally, the best anglers will always come through in the long run though if they can afford it.
As in all sports the cream will rise to the surface, if they can afford it.
But you have to really want it and be able to afford it, otherwise you've no chance.
The difference with competition fly fishing as opposed to other sports today is that it costs an awful lot of money as Sponsorship is at rock bottom. The millionaires and rich can spend the money on preparation, take part and give it their best shot, others can't. FACT.
There are no even playing fields here chaps.
The solution.....it's time the Angling Trust, The Government and other suitable bodies set up a proper development programme so that talent can be nurtured and developed in a proper structured way, with funds available to help the masses on their way if required.