Go Fishing 06

Just got back from "Go Fishing".

My first impressions are that for many it is an expensive day out. I cost me ?29.50 return fare in the train plus ?13.00 to get in. Then there are the typical rip-off prices if you want a sausage roll (?2.70), or even a pint at the bar.

What disappointed me was that the anging book companies such as Coch-y-Bondhu and Medlar Press, were not there.

On the positive side, the place was packed solid. When I joined the queue to get in at 9-30 this morning, I thought it might be a good idea if Tony Blair could see what he is up against if he ever want's to ban our sport. The comaraderie amongst the people queuing up was great.

I was able to speak to Steve Pope of the Barbel Society for some time. He is a nice man and we got on well.

And the best part about it was our Bob's presentation of testing carbon blanks. Good stuff Bob.

And I'm sure Mark Wintle will never forget being able to meet, sit with, and discuss angling with four other members of the DVSG on the Daiwa stand.

)

In addition I forgot to mention this but I met Sandra Scotthorne for the first time. She is a lovely girl with a sparkling personality. Not only that she can certainly fish a bit.

We on FM all love you Sandra!

I visited the show this morning! I know what you mean about it being packed!

I too was a little disappointed with the show...Having paid ?28.50 plus petrol to transport my dad and I, plus my 2 daughters it was more like a giant tackle mart than a show! Rightly or wrongly I expected more in the way of demonstrations and information on our sport, not how many buckets of boilies I can buy for a fiver !

I too enjoyed the Daiwa rod bending show...wish I had a camera at the time...the wince on my 2 daughters faces as the expected the rod to break was quite amusing!

I went on Friday, ?13.00 plus half a tank of diesel, as above, a couple of good demo?s especially on the game side. But all considered the show has gone downhill. As the above contributors have stated, no Coch-y-Bondhu and Medlar Press, and how many Boilies can you have, nice to see how the trade in fishing products from China are doing !!. But I did join the Barbel Society got the badge & mags , met the lads and bought a new split cane MKIV Carp from Barry Grantham and a trotting centre pin from Lewtham Engineering. The CLA game fair is a better option.

It's the first time I've been. I enjoyed chatting with friends (some of whom I've met through FM). It was good to meet new people too. Gary, I didn't spot you - which was a shame.

Daiwa, Shimano, Greys and a few others had put together good stands and I enjoyed Martin Bowlers' talk but I was a little dissapointed to have returned without buying anything from my shopping list (other than some leads - thanks Armaled).

There is far too much cheap Chinese tackle on on those stalls. Stop it! It's a false economy.

It was funny seeing the size of the of people wanting to have their photo taken with Matt Hayes! How the man manages to keep smiling each time without getting fed up I don't know!

I actually found it disappointing this year --It was only half the size of last years show ..... and there was only one stand (Celtic Flycraft) selling any fly gear.....

The Flycasting Demos were good and so was the Maver Poledancer -- but as usual too much carp gear ,too many boilies and too much Far Eastern crap

It has been a long day! Disappointed in not finding Paul Morgan, Medlar, Preston, Shakespeare, Abu Garcia. Pleased to make the acquaintance of Richard Lee and Chub King.

Spent hardly anything except on petrol etc.

Good to meet some FM people.
Got some decent photos; one of Ron trying to flog a secondhand camera. Made a few contacts, changed my opinion of a couple of people(??), and now totally knackered from not enough sleep and too much driving.

Definitely looking forward to the game fair (local at Broadlands this year)

Didn't see much that was truly exciting in the tackle line; Grey's Prodigy rods impressed though.

You D....y Old ....... so and so Ed.

Yes I saw the bird too.

Dear All,

Fortunately for me, I didn't go and had no intention of going. The proper fishing bashes are Chatsworth and the Game Fairs.

Mind you, did once queue up for two days for Steve Popes autograph.

Regards,

Lee.

That poledancer was fit Ron
She had good strong muscles to grip the pole with didn't she ?

She was quite ugly i thought.

Bit disapointed with the show, wanted to buy a few things but ended up coming away with just a landing net handle!

Liked the look of the Greys rods and was thinking of buying some for carping as well as some reels but my budget couldnt stretch that far.

Good to meet a few people and it was interesting talking to people on the stands.

Nice meeting up with ED, Dave and Chub King.

Had my picture taken by Graham with Jan Porter too as well as people from many other stands.

5 Lakes Show next!

Jonny ,A free pole dancer and your moaning cos she was ugly ,mind you ,you should have put half a pint of maggots down her knickers,she would have gone into overdrive then .
Reminds me of schooldays !

Good to see those I did catch up with. Sorry I missed everyone on Saturday but I couldn't get away from the stand I was working on!! Must have handed out thousands of leaflets for people to get free VDE bait!
Impressive talks from Will Raisen, Steve Ringer, Mark Sawyer and Bob Nudd on the stand... almost tempted me into taking up match fishing and the pole!
Am hoping to make the most of the soon-to-be-incoming low pressure by hammering the river hard over the last weekend. Glad the show was over the coldest weekend of the year. Still managed to sneak out a brace after dark Saturday (which is just as well as I blanked today. Again!).

Not as good as last year. Disappointed there was no JRC for Fox stands. Not enough women in hot pants either ;o)

In a word, devastated.

3 of us went. We got the tickets on a buy one get one free offer and we all chipped in towards fuel costs, the day out cost us ?17 each.

Disappointed with the sea stands, not much happening there at all, but as I went to buy a couple of bait runners, and some bait I got a few bargains, bait runners from ?25 down to ?12, cheap brands, but as I?m not going to use them that much I don?t care, same as the rod pod, and rod hold all, cheap at ?25 the pair but they will do me.

Couldn?t believe the queue to see Matt Hayes, and how the hell he kept smiling all day long is beyond me.

Watched the demo on ground bait and enjoyed it, by then we were so loaded up with freebies and bargains we took it out to the car, then stopped at the lake on the way back in, to watch the guy giving the spod casting demo. Wow is the only word to describe how far he cast it. He also took the time to explain who the rod works when its casting, then had one of the PAA coaches demonstrate with a sea rod and a gentle pendulum cast, he made it look so easy.

Went back in and spent some more money, but by then it was getting late and the crowds had disappeared and we could take a bit longer looking at the stalls.

Had a very good day out for what it cost, I managed to get what I went for at less then I expected, and I will go again, but to spend more time watching the demos.


But to find we missed the pole dancer, devastated.

I have always treated the show as the place to catch up with people you only see from one year to the next and a place to see all the new gear that's going to be hitting the shops over the coming months.
Ironically the lack of manufacturers meant the latter was disappointing this year giving more time for the former, so it's not all bad but an expensive day for just chatting to people!
I must admit I had high hopes for the show as it had got progressively better in the two years since EMAP took over the show but I was disappointed this time around with many of the 'regular' attendees noticeable by their absence this year.
My preference would be for the show as it used to be ie an exhibition rather than a sale as there are now plenty of tackle sales where you can buy cheap crap to your heart's content. As it was before, you would see the new stuff coming out and then wait for it to appear in your local tackle shop, thus ensuring the survival of local tackle shops!
Speaking to some of the exhibitors it's apparent that the cost of floor space is astronomical so perhaps you can understand the manufacturers not being there [we're talking about ?10k for some of the bigger stands] but surely there must be somewhere in the middle of the country where a show could be held that's affordable for all of the major players to attend so we, the punters, can see what's available in the coming year?
Most people wouldn't begrudge a fiver for parking and a tenner to get in and you expect to get ripped-off on food and drink at these type of places but when you're paying ?20 entry and car park and not getting the full support of the manufacturers you have to wonder if the show has run its course - I will certainly have to think long and hard about attending next year if substantial improvements aren't made.

Thanks for the kind feedback on the Terminator demo. Obviously the demo got slicker and funnier as the weekend progressed. Lots of hamming up, like having Jules and Brian Skoyles pulling on the same rod at the same time, then doubling whatever they could physically pull on the Terminator.

Banging the perspex booth as the rod neared maximum load was great fun. Fortunately no-one had a heart attack but one or two came close!

We planned to run demos on the even hours only but when crowds began gathering on the odd ones too we just went for it. Twenty-odd demos in three days has left the old voice a but croaky this morning.

Highlight of all the demos for most (my personal nightmare) was wen Stu - the engineer in the booth - keyed in 75 kilos instead of 7.5. Of course once he pressed the button he realised what he'd done and it was too late. Three minutes into my show and the rod has already exploded!!! Talk about wanting the ground to open up and swallow me...

Great to meet so many people. If anyone felt I kept the conversations brief please understand this is of neccessity. So many people want to say hello, so many talks to deliver, the need to prepare props, work on improving the script, tidy up, eat, drink and generally help out means you can only spare so much time with each visitor.

And if anyone saw who nicked the Rueben Heaton Limited Edition Scales from the stage during one of the early performances please let me know who the little toe-rag was! Talk about audacious...

I quite enjoyed it all in all, they were a bit more stringent with the bait freebies but still made the entrance fee back more or less.

I can't believe how many people queued for Matt Hayes either, ?10 for a signed TFG cap, 'kin rip-off, that's why he was smiling all day!

Got myself a decent fishing hat instead, Ron should like it.

I really enjoyed Martin Bowlers talk and the fly tying stand, didn't see anyone from fm apart from Matt Brown.

Steve,

If I was to tell you that the total cost for a major company to attend can be as much as ?50K you will understand why so many don't show.

We had nearly 20 staff and helpers on the Daiwa stand. They have to be paid. We stayed in the nearest hotel, we could find. That's what, ?100 per head per night? Ans some have to be there from Wednesday evening and stay there until the following Monday. A simple burger in the bar cost ?10 a go! All these staff have to be fed and watered. All need transport.

The stand costs an arm and a leg to build and just getting the Terminator down from Glasgow puts a huge hole in a grand. You have to pay for everything, and I mean everything. That's carpets, a plug socket, a sound system, lighting, the lot! Twenty thousand catalogues, pens, phone straps, carrier bags. It all adds up.

I love the show. It's always a great opportunity to meet up with friend and foe alike, but someone has to pay for it all. Alas, I too fear that it may well have run its course - on ecconomic grounds, but there will always be a demand from the public.

Bob,
good to get the facts and figures from the horses' mouth as it were! Like you I have always loved the show and have never missed one yet but a major rethink has to be on the cards if it's going to continue!
Surely the ATA could organise something similar and, with their base being at Stoneleigh Park, must be able to negotiate cheaper rates for the exhibitors?