Match Etiquette

[mick boswell]

Yesterday I was pegged opposite a match on a commercial lake which very slow indeed for the 15 or so anglers an hour after the all in. Fortunately I was having a field day and they could see me catching well. A little lad who was with one of the matchmen came around and without any hesitation or introduction asked me what bait I was using, nothing else. Not thinking about It I told him and off he ran back to the adult. In hindsight perhaps I should have said nothing as I might have given him an advantage over the others. Very surprised anyone in a match would do this and even worse be seen to be doing this.

What was the right thing to do?

 

[capbrown]

chill out and enjoy your fishing,fish first for enjoyment,winning is just a bonus.whats wrong with helping someone out..

 

[mick boswell]

I was enjoying it!, I wasn't even in the match but seemed unusual request at the time.

 

[trev matthews]

Mick you have nothing to worry about, im sure if the lads dad had started to catch as well as you then the others in the match would have kicked off and said something at the weigh in. Match anglers themselves will deliberately mislead others in the match with false baits and false catch reports to bank runners its all par for the course to them.

 

[BAZ (Angel of the North)]

Match angling and money never did make a good combination and never will. And there's no such thing as a friendly match.

 

[Waveney One]

BAZ you are totally wrong mate. Perhaps if really big money is involved then it becomes a bit serious. However, the usual Open is fun and the majority of participants go there for that reason and no other.

 

[BAZ (Angel of the North)]

Waveney.
I have seen these so called friendly matches being run on Lake Fiddlemore. How do you think it got its name?
I could write chapter and verse on the stunts that were pulled all to win a fiver. In fact I think I will.

 

[Waveney One]

That's the problem with living up North then! Down here we don't get that sort of problem at all.

 

[Graham Marsden (ACA)]

I fish a club match every three to four weeks and have done for several years. We've had no aggro whatsoever of any description and there has NEVER been any attempt, or mention, or anything, about fiddling.

 

[BAZ (Angel of the North)]

Fiddling doesn't get mentioned, it just happens.

 

[BAZ (Angel of the North)]

There were three cribbers, dips, and lifters in particular who were very adept at pulling the same three numbers out of the draw bag between them, for a full season. And it had nothing to do with the luck of the draw.

I was the one that sniffed them out.

 

[Waveney One]

All I can say is that if they were caught cheating then they deserve to get caught ridiculed and have their names publicised. They should be banned from fishing opens.

However, I have never seen it happen. I have heard the odd comment about cheats at matches I have attended but I have often been able to refute these as what has been said has often been incorrect. If I had suspicions about a draw, then that would be the last time I fished that venue whilst that organiser ran the matches.

As I say, our matches are clean around here. I know the Suffolk Water Park matches are fair at the moment as I run them. Even if I was wanting to cheat, I couldn't as I always get someone different to draw my peg for me every week (the 10th in the queue) and anyway no one knows where the winner will come from. Each week is a different peg so far this year and it isn't wind dependent.

 

[Graham Marsden (ACA)]

I fish a club match every three to four weeks and have done for several years. We've had no aggro whatsoever of any description and there has NEVER been any attempt, or mention, or anything, about fiddling.

 

[BAZ (Angel of the North)]

I fished a club where fiddling was rife in the matches. That's why I came out of it. Fact.

 

[stu]

I have match fished for over 30 years and while cheating obviously does go on its no where as rife as some would have us believe, most cheats get found out prety quickly unlike in the big fish world where cheats and liers get away with it for years.I've also found most decent match anglers quiet happy to pass on information unlike your average carp angler

 

[carozaco]

Maybe a different kind of etiquette, but I just wondered about the fishing methods people use. A few weeks ago I fished in a charity match, just to support the charity, not for the prizes and found myself pegged opposite a bloke who chucked a big feeder around all day whilst the rest of us in his vicinity float fished either with pole or rod.
Perhaps he was within his rights to use that method, but it certainly made a fair bit of disturbance when he slung the gear in. I just wondered if there were any rules and regs concerning methods of fishing in matches?

 

[Waveney One]

Not usually carozaco. There are a few float only matches and once a year round here there is a waggler only match. It comes down to respecting other peoples choice of fishing. On a large water, I have no problems with feeder fishing at all. To be fair, a lot of my fishing is done with a feeder.

Nowhere should you fish past the middle with a feeder if people are on the other bank. You shouldn't cast past half way between you and the guy on the next peg.

Most commercials won't allow a fixed feeder rig but some have really strange rules. I heard of one the other day where you couldn't use a straight lead but could use an empty feeder. The reason stated was that if you cracked off with a feeder you wouldn't kill the bloke on the opposite! bank!

 

[BAZ (Angel of the North)]

I don't think there are any Carozaco. Not unless it is stated before the begining of a match.
But I have known it for certain pegs to be taken out of a match, because it was said that pole anglers couldn't manage their poles properly. This was done by the chief fiddler, regardless that there were rod and line anglers present.
Low and behold, the chief fiddler had a whole bay to himself.

 

[carozaco]

Thanks very much for answering my query. Much appreciated. On this occasion, no mention had been made of restrictions on methods, only on baits. Thanks again.

 

[Mel P]

BTW Mick - what bait were you using.......

TeeHee