Matt Hayes

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay]

And that reminds me Richard, I do need to get to the optician and have my eyes tested.

Had problems detecting bites yesterday.

 

[swordsy]

At the end of the day we have to accept that Matt has done a fantastic marketting job for himself and for angling as a whole and speaking personally would swap my job in a hot sweaty kitchen for fishing for tropical species in a hot sweaty mangrove in cuba.

Plus he grew up at Hampton Lode My favourite bit of the severn, I wonder how old those two ladies were when they stopped doing the ferry? I wonder who does it now, I must fish there again this season.

Well done Matt if ever you need a chef give us a ring anytime ;O)

 

[Wolfman Woody]

If he was an IT consultant he'd be charged out at between ?800 - ?1200 per day.

I can fully understand his relatively high fee, he wants time off, but he doesn't want to appear off-hand by saying "No!" So he just puts his price up to more than most of the average market can stand.

Seems fair enough, after all, I know a few farmers who won't get out of bed to sign a fishing licence for less than ?5000.

I JUST WISH - he would remove his sunglasses when talking to camera. I saw him on DHL a few weeks ago, he was inside an aircraft wearing sunglasses. Then he did another piece outside in bright sunlight without sunglasses. Then he was inside a much smaller aircraft again and put them back on. The director or cameraman should be telling him of course, but I do find it annoying. It's a personal thing for me.

 

[Steve Pope 2]

Have fished with Matt on a number of occasions and have to agree with everything Bob Roberts has said.

 

[John McLaren]

As someone who has never fished or talked fishing with anyone remotely famous, apart from everyone on the FM Ribble fish-ins! Can I just say how muh I enjoy most of what Matt Hayes does (especially in Mick Brown's company)? Sometimes even my wife watches his programmes!!

I do have a chuckle now and then though - over the weekend I saw one episode of "Record-breaking Fish" where Matt was explaining why he was wearing a camouflaged shirt so the fish wouldn't see him and all the time he was wearing a white hat.

 

[EC]

Good luck to the lad I say, whatever people say or think, he can and does the business for the camera, if you can do that nearly to order you have got to have a bit about you.

It makes me laugh though that we (anglers) moan about our lack of positive publicity and media image, our lack of funding compared to other sports, yet one of our own makes it (relatively) big time and here we are lining up to kick him in the bollocks!

People at the 'top end' of any profession or business get 'more' and rightly so, for they are simply better than the rest of us!

 

[Jim Gibbinson]

I don't claim to know Matt Hayes, but I've met him and found him to be a thoroughly nice guy.

I've not fished with him, either, but like thousands of others I've seen him "perform" on screen, and he strikes me as a first-class angler.

As to what some see as an exhorbitant charge for a "day with Matt Hayes" - I say, why not? Those who pay ?450 (or whatever)do so by choice, so why should anyone else criticise?

 

[jason fisher]

I still say that mats articles are thinly veiled adverts a lot of the time but on the flip side,
At the NEC last year right at the end on the sunday night, i happened to walk past him he had a long line of young lads all waiting to talk to him and even though most people had packed up to go home he was still taking the time to talk to the kids.

as for the cost of a days fishing with him, how much is it for a day with john wilson, john bailey or bob james. his fees are around the same i'll think you'll find.

even in 1994 it was $400 a day for a boat and decent skipper in islamorada.

1996 one day consultation with professor redvers parkins on stress corrosion in mild steel would set you back ?800.

i could show you a list of people now who you wouldn't get for less than a grand a day for industrial consultation, and one who only works on a 6 monthly basis and he will cost you 500K for the 6 months.
so he's not that expensive really, he is after all at the top of his field.

I just hope he keeps up his collaberation with mick brown on the TV programs because they've certainly been better when they've been together.

 

[Peter Knight]

I've never met Matt Hayes but I don't see a problem with his fees.

Have you hired a plumber lately or paid a garage to service your car?

Matt is right to charge whatever he can get. How many fishing old school legends made a living from fishing? Walker was an engineer I think. Fishing wasn't his job unless I'm mistaken.

 

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

Fair play to Matt.

If I charged out my current hourly rate for a day say of eight hours for sake of argument it would be ?1480.00!(not that I personally get anywhere near that!)

I probably do 3 to 4 billable hours on an average day so Matt in comparison is still cheaper.

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay]

It's time to become self employed Nigel!

 

[Kevin Perkins]

What Matt Hayes charges for a day's fishing tuition is probably well justified, and I have no arguement with that. It was just that this week there was yet another two page spread was devoted to TFG equipment, which may well be great stuff, for all I know, but their tackle is almost guaranteed to appear in the 'new' review, or be the subject of a long term test' almost every single week.

This percentage of 'free' exposure must be far in excess of TFG's market share, and to the untrained eye, would seem to be favouring this brand over others, for reasons which may seem obvious to outsiders...

Ron

I'm going to New York next week, if I pop into the Orvis shop on 5th Avenue, is it any good dropping your name into the converation in order to get a discount?

 

[EC]

Thats been happening in fishing mags for ages Kev, Matt and TFG are simply flavour of the month at the mo as I see it!

 

[NottmDon]

Matt has a fishing site and every now and then he answers questions from anglers young and old and charges nothing. Jan Porter was one of my sons idols as a lad, one day whilst fishing at Holme Pierpoint Jan approached my son and asked how he was doing. He then showed him how he fished the venue watched as my lad caught some fish and then gave him some floats, he never let on he was Jan "The Man in Red" Porter but my son knew and it made his day! Ian Heaps is another angler who will chat to you and give advice freely a thouroughly nice bloke as are many of the top Match Anglers I have had the pleasure to meet and talk to. These guys are at the peak of their fishing careers and making a living angling is a hard business otherwise we'd all be doing it right? I never knock an angling celeb simply because of others perceptions I base my opinions on having met someone as its more factual. If you tried to approach a premiership star for a chat do you think theyd give their time so freely? Maybe some would but every(and I mean everyone!) top flight angler I have ever spoken to on the bank side as had the decency to chat and even allow me to take pictures, Tommy Pickering even insisted I take a picture after he heard me tell my wife not to bother him as he was fishing a match!The Engish disease is knocking those who have any form of success in their given field I am glad its an affliction I dont suffer from. If Matt Hayes as earned the right to charge for a days fishing good for him, never heard anyone knocking him when he worked as a fishery bailif for peanuts!Those who pay it can afford it those who dont want it dont have to cough up for it, nuff said!

 

[sash]

Jan Porter is one of the nicest, most helpful guys I've ever met on the bank. Ivan Marks was another as is Bob Nudd wether fishing a match or otherwise.

Never met MH but fair play to him. He's seen as one of the top guys in his field (rightly or wrongly) so why shouldn't he charge for it. It's no different for tackle companies; if I tried to get Shimano to sponsor me with free tackle their first question would be with regard to the amount of exposure they would recieve in return.

Re the weeklies, I personally rarely buy them nowadays as there is so much rubbish in them but tackle marketing has always been a part of them, it's just that the industry seems to have got better at doing it.

 

[Tony Urwin]

Good luck to Matt it's well below normal Engineering Consultancy rates and some people will undoubtably pay it.
Personnaly I would rather spend the money on a long weekend on the Ebro, Salmon Fishing in Scotland aor a thousand other choices, but you pays your money and makes your choice.

 

[john ledger]

Swordsy
If you want to come fishing with me its ?4 50p a day and i will knock a couple of quid off if you carry my tackle.Venue for the day will be the beautiful Mr Crabtree section of the Rother at Bow Bridge and as you well know i am an older version of Matt Hayes minus the hair and certainly minus the money

 

[Frothey]

?1480 per day is roughly the same as i earn on those rare 1480 hour days.......

 

[Mark P]

I totally agree with Gibbo on this one! MH is a true genuine bloke! what makes me laugh is no one has mentioned that he has brought alot of people into fishing through his programmes and the way he explains things.
If someone wanted to pay me a shed load of money just to spend the day fishing with me i would say its your money go for it!!.

 

[Baz]

Is it only the rank and file from down south that charge exhorbitant rates?