The Big Fish: a great boost for angling or a missed opportunity?

This is a dedicated thread for discussing article: The Big Fish: a great boost for angling or a missed opportunity?

http://www.fishingmagic.com/news_ev...oost-for-angling-or-a-missed-opportunity.html

Yep, it was OK, quite interesting and diverse and I will be watching future episodes. However, I wish they would make a similar program confined to the UK. It seems all fishing programs these days have to be world wide, far flung and exotic. Most of us don't fish worldwide or can afford holidays including non anglers ditto.

The following could apply to the UK also quote:-

“that explores the incredible world of fishing, looking at its variety of fish and their behaviour in distinct environments, and revealing surprising animals and stunning landscapes"

I recently fished in a lovely valley watching Hobbies catching Dragonflies for example, filmed it would have been an amazing spectacle. Make a British angling film for a British audience, angler and non angler alike. A similar program traveling the UK showing all its diverse countryside, fauna and flora and variety of fishing would have a greater appeal to me and I believe a larger audience. Sensationalism seems to be the criteria for all angling programs these days. The next one has to outdo the last one.
And to attract more British people into angling, showing them whats realistically possible, affordable and the beauty of whats on their own doorstep might work better.

markg said:

The following could apply to the UK also quote:- “that explores the incredible world of fishing, looking at its variety of fish and their behaviour in distinct environments, and revealing surprising animals and stunning landscapes"

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I totally agree . . . . .

If, as mentioned, one of the reasons for the programme was to entice youngsters into angling, then surely the vast majority of them could not afford to fish the locations in these travelogue programmes . . . . . could they?

How much better would that have been if it had been centered on similar locations as those in Passion For Angling?

Whilst I agree that it would be nice to have a series that explores some of the stunning UK locations and that this would be more conducive to getting people to take up fishing we have to remember that this is not the purpose of the programme, it is just a potential by product. As I said in the article The BigFish is about entertainment but if that draws in the viewers and inspires more interest in angling then we should welcome it.

martinsalter said:

Whilst I agree that it would be nice to have a series that explores some of the stunning UK locations and that this would be more conducive to getting people to take up fishing we have to remember that this is not the purpose of the programme, it is just a potential by product

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No argument from me there Martin.

I mentioned it more because it is one of the criteria that The Angling Trust are going to be judged on for the continuation of the contract recently notedgiven by the EA . . . . . and as such it would have been a good start towards meeting that particular criteria.

Agreed?

martinsalter said:

Whilst I agree that it would be nice to have a series that explores some of the stunning UK locations and that this would be more conducive to getting people to take up fishing we have to remember that this is not the purpose of the programme, it is just a potential by product. As I said in the article The BigFish is about entertainment but if that draws in the viewers and inspires more interest in angling then we should welcome it.

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Entertainment is right, I like Ben Noble by the way, good presenter for this type of program. Its not that I do not welcome this program I just think the producers and inventors of these programs are missing a trick somewhere. It all becomes a bit unrealistic for the sake of a bit of sensationalism.

Take a think about our "how did you get on thread". The most popular by far and I would guess on most forums. Would that put into a fishing program with an added element of entertainment be very popular. Would it fulfill the criteria which you laid out in your article:-

“that explores the incredible world of fishing, looking at its variety of fish and their behaviour in distinct environments, and revealing surprising animals and stunning landscapes"

Its all there in one thread and its popularity proves a point. I can see it myself. I just think it would work for non anglers as well with some tweaking in their direction and added interest. .

I guess so Peter but Im not sure we are contracted to deliver a BBC TV series!

markg said:

I just think it would work for non anglers as well with some tweaking in their direction.

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That was the beauty of Passion For Angling inasmuch as it appealed to both anglers and non-anglers alike and became virtually de rigueur viewing for weeks . . . . . . .

Reluctantly I have to accept what you say Martin, although my sympathies are with the previous posters. I can relate what you say to my own experiences with my son, who showed much enthusiasm when he was still at Primary School and some talent (in my totally unbiased opinion as his Dad). Once he got to secondary school, the little boy went and the awkward teenage years started (somewhat earlier than they did for me) and he has lost interest. I still renew his club membership and licence (whilst he is under 16) as the cost is minimal. His peers are about 85% games console/computer and 15% involved in sport, predominantly football. As you say we must live with the times. My local club could be best described as "Anglers of a certain age". At a recent working party I was one of the younger ones at age 55! I would dearly love to go back to the days of Jack Hagreaves and Terry Thomas, but acknowledge that that will never happen again. Viewing figures are vital for the justification of programmes it would seem. I did enjoy the show, although I chanced on it by channel hopping and missed the beginning. I agree with the choice of Matt Hayes as he has been my favourite presenter by some way in recent years. I will tune in tonight.

martinsalter said:

I guess so Peter but Im not sure we are contracted to deliver a BBC TV series!

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again, I would agree on that point.

That said, even you might agree that such a programme would go a long way to meeting the criteria that the Angling Trust will be judged on, in part, namely:

"By the end of September refine the ‘Increasing Participation in Angling Plan January 2016 to March 2017’ with Environment Agency to ensure all the objectives are agreed, correct able to be evaluated with Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely (SMART)."

. . . . and that deliverable is only 5 months away now

Maybe this should be the topic of a new thread so as not to take this one off on a tangent?

There is a direct link between the take up in activities and exposure on the silver screen. I wish it were not so but it is - hence 'living in the world as we find it.' The Angling Trust is heavily involved in coaching and angling participation projects but youngsters still have to be inspired to go fishing in the first place. A single TV programme of whatever sort is clearly not the answer on its own but I hope TheBigFish will help, if only a little.

martinsalter said:

A single TV programme of whatever sort is clearly not the answer on its own but I hope TheBigFish will help, if only a little.

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I did not mean to suggest that it was, but rather "living in the real world" that it would go a long way, (if produced correctly) to inspiring youngsters to want to learn more and take up the sport themselves. After all, no amount of coaching or participation can be productive if the kids are not there in the first place.

Given that another of your criteria is:

"In the five months (August to December 2016 identify and agree any quick wins from other initiatives in order to maximise participation, potential rod licence sales and address the key blockers."

Then surely the Angling Trust cannot discount the obvious and immediate advantages of a well directed Angling Programme . . . . . can it?

Its an odd thing, nothing would inspire a family to go fishing more than watching a family on television going down to the river on a lovely day and catching fish, taking in the nature and countryside, some historical facts about any town they might be near and generally having a lovely time.
You never see that on TV.
Part two could be a history of fishing with all its paraphernalia.
Part three a history of record fish, how and when they were caught etc.
British topics for ordinary people; angler and non angler alike. I am sure they would relate to it and have an affinity for it more.

I do not think they would be boring, I think they could be quite fascinating and I think they could be made interesting for general viewing and non anglers. I would like to see programs like that rather than fishing the impossible for the impossible in impossible locations. It always has to be weird or sensational and I am a bit tired of the format and does it really inspire ordinary people to take up fishing!
I think the angling trust would achieve more if they got involved in something more like that with the BBC. There could be some really intelligent thinking put into it and something really good could come from it.
And a lot of program making is dependent on something "catching on" for viewing figures. Do these sensationalist programs ever catch on!
Something home grown, intelligently made including things for the whole family has more chance I would offer.

Some nice ideas there I think, Mark...classic cases of missing the trees for the woods, particularly the record fish idea - one species per each 30 min programme?