What did you/we do before FIshingMagic.....

[Kevin Perkins]

And what would you/we do without it.........?

Just think back those few short years ago before all this interweb 'facialsocialising' started and how ever did we manage? Remember when you had to phone your mate up to arrange a fishing trip, or worse still, write a letter.

If you had a query about an item of tackle, or a specifc rig, you either trawled through your back copies of angling weeklies (let's face it, most of us had a loft full of them) or heaven forbid, you tried to solve the problem yourself.

Imagine going to a venue and not being able to find out a thing about it before you got there. All that trial and error, what a waste of time.

Has having all this information at our fingertips, just a few keystrokes and we can learn everthing we ever wanted know, made the fishing any better for us..........?

Does less time thinking about what we are doing result in all of us being able to catch more and better fish with far less effort.......?

Has the internet made fishing too easy, and would we be better anglers without it......?

 

[Fred Blake]

And what would you/we do without it.........?

More work probably.

Just think back those few short years ago before all this interweb 'facialsocialising' started and how ever did we manage? Remember when you had to phone your mate up to arrange a fishing trip, or worse still, write a letter.

If you had a query about an item of tackle, or a specifc rig, you either trawled through your back copies of angling weeklies (let's face it, most of us had a loft full of them) or heaven forbid, you tried to solve the problem yourself.

Try and solve them myself - that's half the fun.

Imagine going to a venue and not being able to find out a thing about it before you got there. All that trial and error, what a waste of time.

Not a waste of time at all. I'd rather be on the bank getting it wrong. Besides, a fresh approach so often reaps rewards; I've lost count of the lakes where all the regulars fish in a particular way, and even think themselves out of a catch by not fishing at times they believe are unproductive, or by avoiding swims with no 'form'.

Has having all this information at our fingertips, just a few keystrokes and we can learn everthing we ever wanted know, made the fishing any better for us..........?

Better? No. More successful? Possibly. More interesting? Yes. It also enables us to converse with like-minded individuals far more easily than would otherwise be the case.

Does less time thinking about what we are doing result in all of us being able to catch more and better fish with far less effort.......?

No. If anything, the discussions on here make one think more, not less. Even if it's a subject you're familiar with, having to write it out for the benefit of others makes you think more about what you otherwise tend to take for granted.

Has the internet made fishing too easy, and would we be better anglers without it......?

Depends on your attitude. The type who benefit most from the internet are the beginners, and they'll have no reference point against which to judge it. The more experienced among us will probably find the fishing hasn't changed at all - only the anglers.

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

Good points Kevin

I think it has made the poor to average angler like myself a little better by having the info but nothing beats having someone show/explain in person how or why something works.

Being able to arrange fishing with friends over the 'net I think has been a good thing.

Forums - a good place to exchange info, but can lead to disputes

I knowing about a place before you fish it does not mean you know EVERYTHING you need to catch but it will help - you still have to be prepared to change baits/methods on the bank if your info is not working on the day, and experiencing the place for yourself will never be replaced by reading about it.

Finally - letting idiots such as myself write articles for websites - well it's a kind of therapy

 

[captainbarnacles]

I think its made fishing a lot faster to learn for most of us, due to information being readily available you might say. Although a lot of us older ones knew most things before it started , there is still a lot i have learned since i joined. I hope iv,e made some friends in doing so , and helped others as they have helped me. The fishing side of it is not easier in physical terms but the mental side is as this is the part that we have help with from more experienced guys on fm. I have only attended 2 fish ins in my time on here , and they were cut short , i,m sad to say as it was at a time in my life when things were getting me down a lot and i went a bit loopy in the head. But i think all is well now , and i can cope with life a lot easier. I am getting back into my fishing thanks to FM and all of you guys, as i came back on a few times and left again , through my head not being right, but not once did any of FM,s members abandon me and i was always welcomed back with open arms. To all those people that have stuck by me and given me an interest in living again , and helped me with information and praise when i do well (I THANK YOU ALL) Without FM i think fishing would have gone from my life , but you guys have given me the drive to keep it going and rekindled my love for the sport. It makes me sad at times when people get a bit too personal in threads , we must all remeber that we are just voiceing our opinions , and not trying to say things are right or wrong . We sometimes get confused with this and go off track sometimes. I personaly am sorry if i have ever offended anyone on FM with any remarks i might have made. And hope to come to some fish ins in the year coming up . I would love to meet some of the guys that made me so welcome last time, and this time iv,e got my good head on. With the kindest regards to all on FM , chubber.

 

[guest61]

Has the internet made fishing too easy? No. I do think that there are many benefits about having forums such as FM. Notably for discussion about rigs and baits or venue information. But we all have our favorite methods, baits and venues anyway - and this doesn't substitute first hand experience.

Would we be better anglers without it? What I don't see on the internet is much discussion about 'watercraft', again this can only really be developed by time at the waterside. Its easy to offer opinions on items of tackle and contribute to threads about 'How to do this...? or 'What do you think of...? But such contributions are really a 'side show'. For me, the real issues in fishing are finding fish and presenting baits to them, and enjoying myself whilst in my persuit of fish.

I think that certain aspects of the internet are particularly useful - Youtube videos on for example, 'Wallis casting' will show a whole lot more than reading an article on the subject, seeing someone catch a fish using a demonstrated technique will give you confidence when applying this to your own fishing situation.

Among the more disappointing developments on the internet are the well produced 'thinly veiled' adverts for all kinds of stuff that are backed by a 'name anglers and are designed to get money out of us. I've spent an afternoon working on some swimfeeder designs. I'm solving a problem that probably doesn't exist - but if I catch using these designs I'll get a minor thrill out of 'solving the problem for myself'.

Mark

 

[Fred Blake]

I've spent an afternoon working on some swimfeeder designs. I'm solving a problem that probably doesn't exist - but if I catch using these designs I'll get a minor thrill out of 'solving the problem for myself'.

Mark

And that, more than anything, is what the instant angler (just add water) misses. These days it's so much easier to ask advice from others than solve a problem yourself - to the extent that you get questions like 'I've been carp fishing for six months and I'm off to so-and-so lake this week coz I want to get my first forty. What bait should I use? What rig? Which swims are best? Can I use a bait boat?'

But is that really a failing of the internet, or simply bad manners on the part of the user? The type* who constantly asks for information (often with no attempt at politeness) on angling forums would probably do the same thing on the bankside, bending your ear when you're trying to get some peace. At least on the internet you can ignore him.

*Usually known as a 'punisher'.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Personally its been an absolute godsend.I can honestly say I've had to rethink much of the way I fish because of what I've learnt from others on FM ......
Yes,I agree,to a certain extent,that because this information is so readily available it does save me the effort of working things out for myself but I look at it from the point of view that what I get from others only forms the basis of new ideas and approaches and I always try to adapt whatever it is to suit my circumstances.

I said"rethink much of how I fish"because being alone fisherman(and not keeping up-to- date with all the latest crazes found in the weeklies!)I admit to becoming a bit'samey'in my approaches to a given situation and this has probably restricted my catches in some ways....
I can say,without fear of contradiction,that by using methods found within FM and the freedom of thought it instills my catches this last year or two have improved no-end!

So this,along with the many faceless'friends'I have made,makes FM just great in my eyes-its opened the eyes of this 60+ chap and I'm thankful for that........

And before FM?..well,the cork bodied perch float & 10lb line sort of worked,but the steel rod had started to become a little heavy!!

 

[Mark Wintle]

I'm currently researching roach fishing for a book I'm writing and I have to say that the internet isn't much use. It comes down to a lot of hard graft reading through huge piles of old newspapers and magazines (spent today working through Anglers Mail 1972-4) hoping to find some gem or other, and then trying to piece together what happened 30, 40, 50, 60 years ago. My contacts help with telephone numbers, and I'm lucky in having met or already knowing just the right people to help, but it still comes down to writing letters and trying to get good scans of old photos. A vast amount of angling history has been lost over the years dumped in skips. Other stuff resides somewhere but exactly where no-one knows. At least one of my enquiries results in lost scrapbooks being re-united with the correct custodian. Several written but unpublished books may or may not be out there somewhere but the authors have since died and somehow never found a publisher. None of this is on the internet.

 

[guest61]

I'm currently researching roach fishing for a book I'm writing and I have to say that the internet isn't much use.

Did you expect to get information for a book from the internet? Short of someone getting all of the applicable copyright clearances and being paid to scan old books and documents and load them onto a website how would this information get on to the internet?

A literature search is a handy thing.

 

[Mark Wintle]

I certainly knew that what I wanted would not be on the internet but it is a common belief that it is all there on the internet. Some books are available electronically but I know of no angling journals on there. There are very few libraries of these journals apart from places like the journal's own libraries, the British newspaper archives and a handful of collections. Fortunately, I think I have the material I need but it's a slow old job reading it all - found some good new stuff today that I didn't realise I had. Angling Times 1972 beckons tomorrow...

 

[Neil Maidment]

Ah! The good old days.

Meeting down the tackle shop on Wednesday and Friday evenings, chat with those in the know. Maybe followed by a quick pint or two down the pub, yet another group "in the know".

Scan the AT/AM just in case they may have covered the venue (but must remember to take it with a pinch of salt).

Make a few phone calls, long chats.

Meet up for the draw on Sat/Sun, fish match.

Or in my case get the information off my Uncles who had done all the hard work.

Mind you, their group were some of the best in the area so they were the ones receiving the phone calls and being followed from tackle shop to pub and swapping info for pints.

They had quite a mutual network of contacts and information around Southern and Western England. Always put to very good use when preparing for matches/Winter Leagues and Opens. And more importantly they were very happy to share good information in the knowledge it would be repaid handsomely.

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

What did I do before FishingMagic?

What daft question. It's like asking, what did I do before I was born.

It was all blackness. You either watched repeats of old sitcoms on TV Gold or delved into your VHS tapes. The PC was for work. Albeit I've had internet sites and email etc. for donkey's years now, since about 1994 I think. But there was no Wikipedia, no You Tube, no Ebay (don't bother with Facemask or Twinkle or whatever they're called - I don't want to be stalked by sex-hungry cougers).

Then one day, there was light - it was sometime in 2001, I think. There was a page or half page in Coarse Fisherman talking about FishingMagic and I looked in. Didn't join of course, I mean, bunch of nutters weren't they, what did they want off me? So I just looked in from time to time as I only had a fast modem in those days. Then in January 2002, I wrote a piece about the Compleat Angler (it's knackered now) where I fished and GM published it.

Later in 2002 I got Broadband and that was it, I'd sold my soul to FM. I've never looked back.

 

[Paul H]

I can't answer the main question because FM was started before I really began fishing in earnest. Well, as earnest as I can get.

I think the other questions depend a lot on the user's outlook on life in general.

It will make a lazy person a lazy angler.

It makes me interested in different techniques and keen to think about problems and alternative methods and to try things for myself.

The degree of effort put into their angling by some people both inspires and sometimes baffles me!

I mean, weighing hooks? Who really has the time for that?

 

[Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC)]

Without Fishing Magic I would never ever have received the generous sponsorship from Tickletackle which helps so much towards my costs. (Another few more labels Kev...and I'll have enough to cash in at the recycling plant...and I can buy a caster).

Nor would I have developed the network of mates and contacts up and down the country who dread the phone call.....and always seem to have to attend an AA meeting whenever I suggest I go fishing with them

 

[stikflote]

I dont think it would make a great deal of difference, i didnt have a pc till about three years ago,
then i struggled with it to find out how to use it ,i still dont know i can post on sites but thats about all.
with out the net i would read more books go fishing,cant see where ive caught more by using net, and i might well have saved a lot of money,because i wouldnt know so much about all the latest bits of tackle ,,i go on three fishing sites to look and post.

No it would not bother me at all if i didnt have a pc ,i dont use it for banking, i have bought from e bay but very little,i have no confidence in internet shopping, my very first purchase on e bay cost me a hundred pound on a mobile phone i never received,,

SO honest answer is no its made no difference at all to my fishing,,and my wife and have already said should this i mac break we will cancel the broad band just another bill

 

[Harvey]

..........

 

[Fishingdownthewindy]

Before Fishing Magic? I went fishing, I suppose.

You took the words out my mouth Harvey

 

[Tee-Cee]

Never mind Fishing Magic,what did we do before television,thats what I'd like to know!

I seem to recall my parents sitting reading books from the library and the newspapers an awful lot.......perhaps sex was more readily available as a general pastime as people went to bed earlier(?)........was the birth rate higher back then?

.............did they go fishing more often and stay on the bank longer as they didn't have to rush home for Corrie or 'enders?

....perhaps they went to war more often....must've felt like war was always in the air back then-either starting or finishing one.....

Apologies for highjackin' someones thread!!

ps Must be a few members who can remember pre-tele days?

 

[Paul H]

.......did they go fishing more often and stay on the bank longer as they didn't have to rush home for Corrie or 'enders?

Anyone who rushes from anywhere for that load of tripe has really got to assess their priorities in life.

 

[stikflote]

lol, i glad to say my wife does not watch any soaps at all on tv
so i dont have to put it with them either,
i watch very little tv,at home,i see more tv at my friends houses,than i do
all week at ,our own tv is never switched on before 6/30pm,,cant see the point in getting up and putting tv,on,
i would gladly get rid of ours