Another interesting and thought provoking article Mark, thanks.
A glance at the Match pages in the weeklies tells us that there are still some good matches taking place but obviously nothing compared to the massive events of the past, and there is a reasonably equal split between North and South.
However, more and more appear to be on the commercial lakes rather than on Rivers, and it has to be due to the fact that anglers want (need?) to catch bigger and bigger match weights.
I don?t think that match fishing will ever sink into oblivion - after all - one of our most basic human instincts is to be competitive, although the average age of match anglers is definitely on the increase, which is worrying.
Maybe what is needed though is a thorough review of the way the prize and pools monies are divided as it is amazing how often the same names crop up on the results sheets.
I also think that some of the rules need to be revised to outlaw practices like some of the ?stars? who have runners who go to several venues and draw on their behalf, then they report in on the mobile phone so that the ?star? can then decide on where he thinks he has the best chance of winning off of a fancied peg.
When you think about it, match fishing is one of the few sports where everyone starts and competes on (relatively) equal terms inasmuch as we all draw, start and finish together.
I wonder what sort of response would result from the thought of a handicap system?
Most individual sports at competitive level incorporate some sort of handicap system so why not match angling?
If everything stays the same I still hope that maybe there will be a revitilisation of the old style all rounder match circuits as those events have certainly given us some terrific match anglers from Lane to the Ashursts, Gardner, Vincent and Scotthorne.
A glance at the Match pages in the weeklies tells us that there are still some good matches taking place but obviously nothing compared to the massive events of the past, and there is a reasonably equal split between North and South.
However, more and more appear to be on the commercial lakes rather than on Rivers, and it has to be due to the fact that anglers want (need?) to catch bigger and bigger match weights.
I don?t think that match fishing will ever sink into oblivion - after all - one of our most basic human instincts is to be competitive, although the average age of match anglers is definitely on the increase, which is worrying.
Maybe what is needed though is a thorough review of the way the prize and pools monies are divided as it is amazing how often the same names crop up on the results sheets.
I also think that some of the rules need to be revised to outlaw practices like some of the ?stars? who have runners who go to several venues and draw on their behalf, then they report in on the mobile phone so that the ?star? can then decide on where he thinks he has the best chance of winning off of a fancied peg.
When you think about it, match fishing is one of the few sports where everyone starts and competes on (relatively) equal terms inasmuch as we all draw, start and finish together.
I wonder what sort of response would result from the thought of a handicap system?
Most individual sports at competitive level incorporate some sort of handicap system so why not match angling?
If everything stays the same I still hope that maybe there will be a revitilisation of the old style all rounder match circuits as those events have certainly given us some terrific match anglers from Lane to the Ashursts, Gardner, Vincent and Scotthorne.