Go Fishing 2007 at the NEC

So who went and what did you think about it?

I have a good friend who is a representative of Shimano and he told me ages ago that due to the ridiculous prices that the NEC are charging for the stands Shimano and most of the other well known companies would not be attending this year. This appears to be a threat that they carried out and the only losers are the fishing public that did bother to attend. These companies have long held the view that for what they get out of it against the astronomical cost makes it a project they can well manage without.

Will NEC learn from this, are they bothered, do they have loads of others waiting to jump into Go Fishing's place? I suspect the answer is no to the first two and yes to the second and it will be interesting to see if there is either a change of heart or a change of venue next year

Sad to here it wasn't as big a show as in previous years, it used to be very good. I can only think that now they charge for parking as well must have put many anglers off going.

You really can't have a show without many of the big players there and certainly Shimano are important, not to mention Daiwa and the others. I'm sure if they thought there would be the attendance they would be there irrespective of cost since it would balance out, e.g cost v. benefits.

It's ten years since I was last there and the reason I don't go - it's too early in the year!

It used to be held in May, just ready for anglers preparing themselves for the new season and warm enough to enjoy it in short sleeves. Middle of March? I don't think so.

I attend a lot of NEC exhibitions, and falling attendances are in evidence at many of them.

I'm not sure if it's the cost (to exhibitors and punters) or the school of thought that people are getting a bit overloaded with shows these days. Maybe a bit of both

But I do think there are a great many other venues which represent much better value for money; the car parking charge at the NEC is outrageous these days, particularly when added to an entrance fee.

Maybe Go Fishing should move somewhere interesting. What about Billing Aquadrome? Camping and caravanning on site, loads of lakes to fish, central location, etc. And Woody's right; March is too early; just an attempt by organisers to get the income on the bottom line for 2006/7 financial year.

So I say a fishing show in May/June when it's warm at a lower cost, and at a family-friendly location where there's more to do than just spend ?5 on a baguette.

I actually enjoyed it. Plus points for me were the angling times live arena, talks from Dean Macey and John Wilson I found particulally good. Also grabbed few bargins from the trade stands. One benefit of going on the sunday (when it was quiet) was getting to chat with some of the well known anglers (I found Wilson in particular very approachable and good company).
On balance though, it was my first time so cant compare with other years. Also I'd won free tickets and I'm only 25 mins from the N.E.C.
It was much smaller than I expected with a few notable 'names' missing - Fox, Shimano, Drennan and publications outside the 'Angling times' group. So had I have paid ?15 for the ticket, traved for six hours, spent ?7 on parking then over ?7 for two pints at lunch time then I'd have been very disapointed. Its a shame and I hope it does'nt spell the end for these shows?
It's interesting to note that in my industry (areospace) that alot of the big companys are no longer participating in the N.E.C. exibitions due to ever increasing cost, when returns are minimal if you are an already established name.
Somthing I think they need to address is such events are to continue to be successful!

I think we're being a little unkind towards the NEC who don't organise the show.

The show is organised by EMAP/ Angling Times, not the NEC. The NEC have little influence over the price of stands or the price of admission.

Yes they charge for car parking but this is the same charge whether you are attending Go Fishing or any other exhibition held there or for a concert in the arena. ?7 to park is a pain in the bum but it is no less than I pay to NCP when I go to a theatre, it's less than parking at some railway stations and a day in a hospital car park. We should be pleased they don't have meters!

The show everyone wants to see is one where the leading manufacturers all attend to showcase their new products.

Not wishing to appear too negative but the show we get is a vehicle designed to promote the Angling Times editorial team with a tagged-on glorified car boot sale that is there because EMAP's research has indicated this is what the customer wants.

The manufacturers who do attend are simply occupying space at premium prices and hoping the attendees like what they see. Alas they're more interested in buying imported junk from an old tart than investing in state-of-the-art.

It's nice to see the various Societies there, it's nice to have book stalls and refreshment stands but the bottom line is simple. Real anglers want to feel, smell and purr over the very best equipment our sport can produce.

It would be in the best interests of angling if someone was to launch a rival show, possibly at a different venue (Stoneleigh perhaps?) that was run independently of a publishing house. Get rid of the car boot sale/ cheap import dumping, get rid of the nepotistic 'star' culture and let the manufacturers use their own sponsored anglers to provide the entertainment and then the cost of visiting might take a tumble but to be honest, we'd pay the going rate with a smile if the product was right.

But I guess I live in a dream world so it ain't going to happen.

Next week's Angling Times will be full of how great the theatre shows were, how folk queued for 'our' Matt's autograph rather than the groundbreaking tackle to be launched by Drennan, Fox, Nash, Shakespeare, Shimano, Daiwa and so on.

And, as ever, they'll claim record attendances again.

The Anglers Mail will probably ignore the show along with DHP and Regional Angling Magazines and that's what is intrinsically wrong with a show of this nature.

It should be the highlight of the year for the tackle trade and angler alike. But it's not. And there hangs a tail.

EMAP are the only folk with the power to run a show like this and one could argue that the whole purpose of the show was to benefit EMAP. There a well known saying about absolute power but you know what, if you or I were in EMAP's shoes we would run it just the same way.

Never confuse business with philanthropy. It's got less letters. And mentioning letters, what's the betting next weeks letter page in AT will contain nothing but glowing praise for the show?

Not been this year but interesting comments on the nature of the trade show.

There is already comment elsewhere about the effort that EMAP are putting into their webpages.It cannot be long before Dave Hall Publications respond in some way. I wonder if the web generally is having some impact.

There is a very good argument for some rotation of venues.Cost is crucial. Most major regional cities now have some large exhibition space i.e. GMEX. Some don't but equally some Universities have suitable venues/sufficient space out of term time - and a few have lakes etc.(East Anglia and Stirling included - and Nottingham Uni lies in the banks of the Trent!) Not so sure about the date - by May I'd rather using free time fishing.

The opportunities to meet the "stars", old + new friends and handle product are all valuable functions. That is the one aspect that I find strange in the absentee companies attitude. I won't buy anything from a manufacturer unless I have seen and handled it either in my local tackleshop or with one of my angling pals.

I enjoyed it too, won free tickets in the competition thingy and went with the missus. It was quite strange to get distracted for a minute and turn around to find my special lady chatting happily to a celebrity angler! Went home weighed down with bait, managed to get some good deals and would have got more if we'd driven instead of taking the train. One strange thing about the NEC, the management seemed to rely on employing local people to aggressively shout directions at disorientated visitors rather than a seemingly cheaper system of sign posts!

Who ran the show before EMAP?

I was there with Angler's Mail and Coarse Angling in 1995. Colin Mitchell and Ray Walton were there also along with all the regulars from AM. I know that David Hall was there too with a stand that year and again in 1996.

I disgaree slightly with Bob in that there isn't just EMAP who have the "power", but I agree that perhaps a rival show may be on the cards, organised by some body that is independant of all other bodies within angling. Clearly, there is a demand for such a show, but it needs a bit more perhaps to make it really successful again.

The first show I attended was held in Sheffield - at the City Hall - if I remeber. In those days the Mail had 'Angela', sort of a prototype Page 3 model in waders and not a lot else. Great days.

I believe it was independant of all publications back then and guess what? It folded.

Then we had a while with nothing before Tom Pickering revived the concept of a national show. It was held at Doncaster racecourse initially and did very well for a few years.

Tom sold the show, it toured around for a while, I even recall it being held in Docklands one year, and it changed hands several times. Eventually EMAP stepped in and the rest is history.

Tom's story of events would make a fascinating read.

Do remember though that back then we didn't have all these car boot style 'dumping' shows travelling the country, carp shows and all the other events that eat into everyone's profits. AT was king, too, selling many multiples of what it does today

With regard to 'power', if EMAP had to pay for the publicity it gets from its titles then the show would struggle. Bearing in mind that the AT sells about 50,000 copies (latest ABC figures across all angling titles are quite alarming by all accounts), IYCF a similar amount (many are the same readers), and the show organisers will claim 25,000 punters through the door, I'll gamble each and every punter has bought AT or IYCF in the past year. In other words, the advertise to their own customers, provide their own celebrities from within the titles.

No other publisher has this sort of power. In AT they have the brand. In its readership they have a brand-loyal audience. Its a cycle thats difficult to break.

I think it's slightly 'sad' to see a pole dancer at what is still considered to be a family event with loads of kids running about but then I guess thaty's soceity today.

I went with 4 others, 1 who went last year, the other 3 were first timers.

both myself and the other guy who went last year found it crap, sorry thats it.

larger hall, but less stands, and why the curtain to block 1/4 of the hall off and turn it in to a bar.
less in the way of freebies/samples, at the end of the day if you can try it for free you will buy it.
the sea section was tiny, with only 2-3 stands displaying and selling tackle.
why all the boats, if people wanted to see lots of boats go to the southampton boat show.

the only thing i really enjoyed was the boat fishing simulater, that was fun.
the pole dancer was good, but when you got close to her the only thought that came to mind was "mutton dressed as lamb"

the other 3 used it as a chance to kit them selves out with tackle, the boot sale thing does work. not everyone can afford expensive tackle, not everyone can justify buying expensive tackle. i bought the kids a rod each. only ?10 each, a bargin for what use the kids will get out of them.

last year was much better with more varitiy and more to look at.

(latest ABC figures across all angling titles are quite alarming by all accounts)

mainly because they print the same old crap every few months, and for the people who do want to buy them you cant find them in the shops, i cant remember the last time i saw a fishing mag on a shop shelf.

Bob,

The first Angling Exhibition I ever attended was ca 1962 at the Boat Show in London.

The big attraction there was **** Walker. There were literally hundreds of young anglers who just wanted to say they had seen him in the flesh, let alone spoken to him.

I wanted to get there this year, but I decided against it because of my gammy leg!

I've heard the same as Bob, that the circulation of our angling journals in general has plummeted. If the figures I've been given are correct both our weeklies have dropped around 10,000 copies each in the last year.

One of our major angling publishers has 'forgotten' to pay his ABC bill this year and therefore hasn't published any figures. Make of that what you will.

Most of the smaller publishers never pay the ABC for figures. Which is not surprising considering it costs about a grand per publication.

It's all very worrying and it all can't be blamed on the Internet.

As we've mentioned on another thread, there is an ever increasing number of angling journals competing for an ever decreasing number of readers and the same pot of advertisers.

At the last count we have two weeklies, 9 carp magazines, 4 'other' angling magazines, and 4 regionals. That's not including game and sea mags and the freebies sent out by clubs/groups. And I've probably forgotten one or two.

Yes, mutton dressed up as lamb, you are right Alan.

I have absolutely no respect for these sorts of girls - ruffe slappers is all you can call them.

I remember very clearly ""Angela - The Anglers Mailmaid".

Personally I prefer girls like our Wendy and Claudia.

)

The NEC have little influence over the price of stands or the price of admission

You are having a laugh, aren't you Bob? OK, AT sets the ticket price, but this is influenced by what the NEC charges for hiring the halls. And it's expensive.

All the NEC's services are expensive. One year I needed a desk for my stand (an oversight by someone else) so I hired one: ?55 for two days, and it was a battered old thing, too.

It was only later when I went to IKEA that I saw what I'd hired; price? ?55.

The NEC is too expensive, period. It might be OK for a diamond mining show or missile exhibition, but for a fishing show, we need something much more basic; maybe Donington, or as I said earlier, Billing Aquadrome near Northampton.

Spot on Graham.

In the 60s, everyone, and I repeat - everyone who was a keen angler, bought Angling Times every week. I believe that at times, during that period, the circulation exceeded 400,000 a week. multiply that by three and the readership was in the vicinity of 1.2 million.

But in those days, AT was totally different to what it is today. It was printed on cheap newsprint and covered all aspects of fishing, including sea and game angling. The contributors were not pros, they were freelance journalists and were generally composed of keen anglers who had a story to tell, or who wanted to spread the message about what they had learned.

In fact anglers were encouraged to write for AT.

I'll never forget the letter I recieved in the early 60s from Jack Thorndyke who told me how the write an article. I had several published in AT after that, and in AM and a whole host of other mags.

It's not the same today is it. Same old names and same old story.

I have said it a thousand times and I will say it again and I do not give a toss what people think and if they consider me an egomaniac...Then so be it but I am correct

Angling Times and all other publications and media outlets need me and people like me.

What is wrong with AT/EMAP and some of the rest is the lack of freelance writers/contributors.

If I see Bobb Nudd cup one more pot of chopped worm into a swim so full of shit fish that the bloody float struggles to cock I swear I am going to spit blood!

I do not want to know how to fish a splasher waggler

I do not wish to have the knowledge of how to tie a loop rig disseminated to morons who then think they have the grail of rigs.

I attended a show in Sheffield last year it was crap....If I want to buy rubbish I will go to a landfill site!

Stop aiming at peoples feet and force them to look to the stars instead, Its fine starting of campaigns to cull Cormorants and telling us the dangers of Otter predation.

But why not lobby against the raping of our seas and study the reasons why the otters main food item the Eel is at 1% of what it was 20 years ago.

Stop going for the lowest common denominator and dumbing things down. EDUCATION...EDUCATION...<u>EDUCATION</u>

Saying that though I must point out that it is not all gloom

Greg Whitehead does some good stuff in AT and the new Dean Macey column is spot on.

Kieth Arthur will always be worth reading as will big Des...But 80% of the rest is dross.

When these fishing shows first started they were very novel, they attracted ordinary anglers because they could see a vast array of tackle all under one roof, something never available before. The big drawback in those days was that you weren't actually allowed to buy anything and after a lot of hoohawing this was eventually changed.

The trouble was, that with this came the era of cut price tackle available for the cost of a phone call. Then the computer age appeared and even more tackle at even bigger discounts was readily available to anglers and there I think is the reason for the demise of the angling show. Why pay a fortune for a day out at a show where they charge more for tackle than you can buy it for in the comfort of your sitting room.

Exhibitors don't attend because of the cost so it is hardly surprising that anglers don't either.