Matt Hayes

dezza · Jun 8, 2012

Has just gone right upwards in my estimation.

He is featured on a recent DVD talking his life in angling, and about a number of angling home truths.

Have a look:

Matt Hayes talks about his fishing and his life.wmv - YouTube

sam vimes · Jun 8, 2012

Ron,
your link isn't working.

dezza · Jun 8, 2012

It is now.

Matt talks about how negative the current obsession with numbers and box ticking is in the specimen fishing world. He is quite right when he says that far more skill is required in catching 1/2 pound roach on the waggler than a big carp on a boilie and a bolt rig.

mark brailsford 2 · Jun 8, 2012

Ron,
I watched this a few weeks ago and it made me change my mind about Matt, but I must point out that it was TV programmes that put me off him, he allways seemed to come over as a little big headed. Maybe it was just me not giving the guy a chance

dezza · Jun 8, 2012

mark brailsford 2 said:
Ron,
I watched this a few weeks ago and it made me change my mind about Matt, but I must point out that it was TV programmes that put me off him, he allways seemed to come over as a little big headed. Maybe it was just me not giving the guy a chance

You never watched **** Walker then, or even Bernard Venables?

dangermouse · Jun 8, 2012

Interesting vid, thanks for posting Ron.

beerweasel · Jun 8, 2012

He now sounds quite content with his life.
I was disappointed to hear that Mick has changed his ways.

cg74 · Jun 8, 2012

Ron The Hat Clay said:
It is now.

Matt talks about how negative the current obsession with numbers and box ticking is in the specimen fishing world. He is quite right when he says that far more skill is required in catching 1/2 pound roach on the waggler than a big carp on a boilie and a bolt rig.

We done this one not so long ago: http://www.fishingmagic.com/forums/coarse-fishing/297949-matt-hayes-knows-whats-up.html

But I'll tell you what, here's a challenge, you see how many 20lb+ carp you can catch over the next week and I'll do the same with 8oz roach on a waggler.... We'll soon see which is harder (that said most serious carp anglers would say a "big carp" is 25lb+, if not 30lb+).

sam vimes · Jun 8, 2012

The cynic in me see that as pretty easy to say, to those that aspire to be where he is, when you've already got to make a living out of fishing on the back of the number chasing/box ticking fame.

maceo · Jun 8, 2012

My respect for Matt Hayes continues to increase (apart from the unfortunate Manchester United thing....)

What he's realised with age seems to me to be blindingly obvious:-

It's supposed to be fun and enjoyable. Catching mahusive fish is nice, but it's not the be all and end all.

I'd pack it in and find something else to do if it stopped being enjoyable.

murv · Jun 8, 2012

Can't watch the vid at work but I must admit I've always enjoyed watching his programmes. Best of the crop IMO, he comes over very well

cg74 · Jun 8, 2012

maceo said:
It's supposed to be fun and enjoyable. Catching mahusive fish is nice, but it's not the be all and end all.

I'd pack it in and find something else to do if it stopped being enjoyable.

He must be a slow learner; as it took him an age to work that one out...

"I'd pack it in and find something else to do if it stopped being enjoyable."
I think 99.9% of anglers would do the same, because the vast of us have no other reason/motivation to fish, except for our pleasure.

mark brailsford 2 · Jun 8, 2012

Ron The Hat Clay said:
You never watched **** Walker then, or even Bernard Venables?

Never see anything on D. Walker but I saw a few bits with Bernard in and he came across as a true gent!

---------- Post added at 10:41 ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 ----------

beerweasel said:
He now sounds quite content with his life.
I was disappointed to hear that Mick has changed his ways.

What's this thing with Mick Brown then mate? tell us more, I'm intrigued

steph mckenzie · Jun 8, 2012

He has simply just Matured with age, it happens to most of us.

I was surprised to hear that he had never had a double figure Tench ... i would have thought he would have.

dezza · Jun 8, 2012

It must be about 15 years ago when Matt Hayes let it be known that he had given up a lucrative position in marketing (I think it was marketing), to make a living 100% out of fishing.

Not many of us, excluding tackle retailers, have ever managed that. I nearly went into full time tackle distribution and I'm bloody glad I didn't. I knew a few who committed suicide from that business.

But Matt has made a success of it and good luck to him I say.

benny samways · Jun 8, 2012

Matt Hayes was a tyre fitter; he got a camera, got in with Len Gurd at the start of Linear, worked hard and the rest as they say is history.

Fishing is what has given him a relatively lucrative lifestyle.

mark brailsford 2 · Jun 8, 2012

benny samways said:
Matt Hayes was a tyre fitter; he got a camera, got in with Len Gurd at the start of Linear, worked hard and the rest as they say is history.

Fishing is what has given him a relatively lucrative lifestyle.

I think he was a bit more than a tyre fitter mate

Try head of marketing at Pirelli

dezza · Jun 8, 2012

It was Des Taylor who told me that Matt was in fact a highly qualified man in company finance, earning big money.

But he gave all that up, and due to the fact that he was/is very well presented, was able to create the right impression with Angling Times and Shimano. He was able to get sponsorship from Shimano and was also able to get a regular slot in Anging Times, the country's biggest fishing publication. At that time, the editor of Angling Times was Keith Higginbottom who had Matt writing for beginners. I am sure Matt must have hated that as some of the stuff he created was darned awful.

I remember when he wrote am article on how to catch pike. He began with:

"I'm a dapper snapper and I'm looking for a slapper!"

But these were the Higginbottom days where they had a semi-naked ruffe slapper on page 3.

Remember?

And on top of all this, Matt was able to win the Drennan Cup, and a future making a living in angling was assured.

---------- Post added at 09:35 ---------- Previous post was at 09:21 ----------

steph mckenzie said:
I was surprised to hear that he had never had a double figure Tench ... i would have thought he would have.

He has had them over 8 lbs a number of times, as have I.

So does that make people like myself useless at catching tench?

**** Walker's biggest tench was only 5lbs 14oz, as was Fred J Taylor's, and Fred in his day was one of the greatest tench catchers of all time.

dangermouse · Jun 8, 2012

Ron The Hat Clay said:
He has had them over 8 lbs a number of times, as have I.

So does that make people like myself useless at catching tench?

**** Walker's biggest tench was only 5lbs 14oz, as was Fred J Taylor's, and Fred in his day was one of the greatest tench catchers of all time.

He said in the video that he`d had them to 9lbs. I must admit that like Steph I was surprised he (Matt) had never had a double figure tench. That`s no criticism of Matt`s ability as an angler but I still think it`s quite surprising given the waters that Matt has had the opportunity to fish. Then again a double figure tench is "an impossible" fish and the fact Matt hasn`t caught one sort of proves it.

I`ve no idea what the record weight for a tench was when Walker and Taylor were fishing but I`m guessing it was well short of 10lbs - something like 7lbs? - and so their individual PB`s were presumably very good for the time. Not really fair to compare them against modern weights, after all you can`t catch a fish that doesn`t exist.

sam vimes · Jun 8, 2012

Ron The Hat Clay said:
He has had them over 8 lbs a number of times, as have I.

So does that make people like myself useless at catching tench?

**** Walker's biggest tench was only 5lbs 14oz, as was Fred J Taylor's, and Fred in his day was one of the greatest tench catchers of all time.

It's all about context, something we rarely get to see or hear about. It also doesn't prove that anyone is a better angler just because their PB is higher.

If a modern day angler, that had never fished outside of North Yorkshire, said that their PB tench was shy of five pounds, that would be reasonably impressive to me. I doubt that most unfamiliar with the area would think so.

Same goes for many species. I know of fine anglers that have never caught a double figure barbel from the Yorkshire rivers. I have, but I know damned well that it doesn't make me a better angler.

Matt Hayes

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