Match Fishing - Bloodworm and Joker Binned!

'Loaves and fishes' opens are looking good!

For once match anglers are asking for bans rather than moaning about them and turnouts are “excellent and increasing” as a result! Terry Comerford reports.

Canal match anglers all over the country are asking match organisers to run more winter matches without bloodworm and joker.

The anglers have asked organisers to concentrate more on matches without the ‘little red men’ playing a part due to the recession and spiralling costs. With large increases in travelling and home fuel bills and inflation on the rise anglers are making cut backs but still want to regularly go fishing.

The Izaak Walton Winter League has seen 72 anglers fish each of the two rounds held so far with impressive canal weights of 20lb and 11lb taking the winner’s purse and telephone calls to match organisers across the country informed me that they have seen a huge increase in anglers wanting to fish these matches.

I asked respected winter match organiser Tony Keeling about the 2011 winter league scene:

 "Everyone in the country is trying to save money and cut down costs, match anglers are no different and spiralling petrol prices have made them have a re-think about the matches they fish. Fishing liquidised bread and bread punch for instance is just about as cheap as match fishing could get and some of the lads in our winter league will take only bread baits with perhaps a handful of squatts/pinkies and a few casters."

Tony added, " Turnouts are excellent and increasing and I'm noticing a lot of anglers returning to canal matches from the commercial and river match scenes, more interesting is seeing youngsters fishing these canal matches, again they would not be able to afford to compete with bloodworm and joker to buy."

Although there has been excellent weights so far in the early rounds of winter leagues across the country, it’s early days yet for these 'loaves and fishes' opens to be hailed a success but they are certainly taking off and I'll keep you informed on the matches throughout the winter.