Divisions in the angling community
Are there divisions in angling?
There is no hiding from the fact, there are divisions within the fishing community.
Since the lockdown has been lifted for fishing it's become more apparent than ever that, while we all class ourselves as anglers, we are divided. Surely this is detrimental for our beloved sport?
We have always had some cross discipline banter, and why not? But having watched the way The Angling Trust worked with government during the easing of lockdown discussions to get fishing allowed again, it has shown us a number of divisions within fishing.
The most obvious was that the match angling fraternity felt that they had been let down by the Angling Trust whereas carp angling went back to the most level of normality. So quite rightly, the match angling fraternity started asking questions as to how their hard earned membership money was being spent.
Whilst there was joy in England, to an extent, there was dismay in Wales. Anglers felt let down by Angling Cymru. A divide so bad it may be irreparable.
It got us thinking that, in all honesty, these divisions have been present in angling for much longer than lockdown and the Covid-19 crisis.
Carp and match anglers have a little dig at each other for a whole host of reasons, being new or a "Noddy" in the sport is hard, and we all know a fluff chucker, don't we?
The division between disciplines is the tip of the iceberg. As I've just alluded to, being new to the sport is a challenge these days. Not for tackle or advice both available in abundance online, but actually on the bank itself. The scrutiny from experienced anglers is immense. Quick to criticise and poke fun at the new comer, but not so quick to help. Maybe this is a little bit off putting to new members of the angling fraternity, when there's so much to learn. Angling is a very practical, hands on sport, and being shown what to do rather than being told can go a long way. Maybe that's worth thinking about the next time you look down the bank and see someone struggling. Rather than having a little chuckle to yourself, offer some advice. You never know, it may make the difference between having a long term angler or someone who never goes again!
Does the industry have a part to play in this too? Or maybe they're lead by demand. Take large tackle companies for example. We all know Korda and Guru are, in effect, the same company. But they both represent different strands of angling. The same goes for Preston, Avid and Korum. One out and out match fishing brand, one carp brand and one coarse fishing brand. Why not just have one brand that does covers all aspects of angling? No doubt, there are sound business decisions behind this, but it's definitely a marketing ploy too. The brand's that do best have realised a match angler won't wear camo and there's no way a carp angler is going to be seen in bright blue, for example and that must be tough to advertise as one brand.
Social media has gone the same way. From YouTube to Facebook, you can look at exactly what you want and nothing else. Strengthening your loyalty to one aspect of angling. We then allow ourselves to be influenced by the strongest personalities within our niche and are less likely to branch out from it.
But here's a tip. Pick the best anglers from your discipline and just watch the level of cross over to other disciplines or little elements that they have taken from different areas of angling. The next time you cast out something with a hair rig on it in a match remember where it came from. The next time you see Terry Hearn holding a UK 50lber don't forget he is an avid hunter of all species, like roach on the stick float and barbel in the feeder, for example. If you lure fish for pike and then do the same for salmon the cross over is endless.
The moral of the story: don't be short sighted, expand your angling horizons, close the angling divide, help people and be willing to ask for help yourself. It may just make you a better angler.
Of course, you may think this is a load of old cobblers! That's fine too. As is the norm with these blogs, they're more of a discussion piece than anything else. But the if the next time you go angling you adjust a youngsters shotting pattern or cast out a method feeder in your ultra carpy syndicate, we've done our job!
Dave passing on valuable knowledge