Martin Bowler
Been filming with the BBC about the environmental disaster facing many of our rivers today. The bottom line from the EA is that anglers should no longer expect to catch specimen fish in the quantity they have been and should look to try out other types of angling! Need to go and lay down in a dark place for a while.

Martin Bowler
The BBC show that I have been filming is Inside Out West and will be shown on the 21st November at 7.30pm on BBC1. I do keep trying to get the message across how bad things are getting but it's a case of banging your head against a brick wall. My advice is to enjoy everything you have because even if it won't be there for your Grandchildren you can tell them about it! Enough depression I'm off fishing.

worth a watch i think

cheers
kev.

On what do the EA base that? Are they suggesting that bait use will decrease?

Let's face it: In the past to catch big fish I used to seek out solitude, waters away from the crowds. Nowadays to find big fish you seek out where other anglers most often go. For a big barbel one of your best chances these days is the fishmongers slab at 1a, Collingham.

Originally Posted by JayZS

On what do the EA base that? Are they suggesting that bait use will decrease? Let's face it: In the past to catch big fish I used to seek out solitude, waters away from the crowds. Nowadays to find big fish you seek out where other anglers most often go. For a big barbel one of your best chances these days is the fishmongers slab at 1a, Collingham.

that's assuming you can spend a week in the que for the peg though john lol.i had a read of Ricky's blog yesterday on his 'where to catch Trent barbel' which was quite interesting,and the famous no'1a got a mention.not sure of the basis of the EA statement so guess we'll have to watch the proggy on the 21st

cheers
kev.

I'm sorry but i don't really buy into what a lot of so called celebrity anglers have to say, i mean a lot of the time they tend to be very species specific, to state they are worried about the state of angling/fish/fisheries and then suggest that eels make a good zander bait is a bit hypocritical given the the current status of the eel. Numerous times on TV/media i have seen this and i feel it is wrong.

The fear of "fishing will never be the same unless we act!" has been around for years, certainly before the "quantities of large fish".

I'm not dismissing this though, the threat is still real, and perhaps exaggerating it once in a while has managed to keep the pollution down through awareness and keeping it current.

My biggest fear is the stupid angler and the brigades, I believe they are far more detrimental to fish stocks.

Originally Posted by ChrisD

I'm sorry but i don't really buy into what a lot of so called celebrity anglers have to say, i mean a lot of the time they tend to be very species specific, to state they are worried about the state of angling/fish/fisheries and then suggest that eels make a good zander bait is a bit hypocritical given the the current status of the eel. Numerous times on TV/media i have seen this and i feel it is wrong.

I would agree on that point. The whole art of being a celebrity angler, and to remain as one, is that you have to keep yourself in the news. And if that means jumping on various bandwagons it will ever be so. We could make a whole, and probably very amusing thread based solely on silly things said by the celebrity anglers, who should know better.
As with celebrity "culture" in the wider sense, the trouble is that so many hang onto every word they say. From an angling point of view, as long as they say the "right" things, that is all to the good. But occasionally they don't.
The comics, whether they be music mags, or angling mags, like writers with well known names. They drag in the punters. In general if the man in the street, or the angler on the bank writes an article, then in order for it to be published it will need to be of a higher quality that one from a well known celebrity. Celebrities, in some cases have been getting away with re-hashing the same old stuff every couple of years, adding a few different photographs, stirring the words around a bit. It works, luckily for them, for there is only so much you can write on angling without repeating what yourself and many others have already said.
News is often new.
Articles are usually old hat to an experienced angler.
To talk about something a bit different ( such as the scarecity of eels or the state of angling as just two examples from many) is just another opportunity for a celeb to get into print or onto film. Even if those topics is also a bit overdone already, it is still money in the bank for them. It is what celebs do. They earn money from their fame, and angling celebs earn it from angling fame. Nothing wrong with earning a crust of course, but as ChrisD has said, some anglers will not buy into all that they say. Others will.
And as Ian has said, "fishing will never be the same unless we act" is just another of those subjects regurgitated and rehashed every couple of years. Been there, seen that.

There's a distinct difference between a celebrity angler and an experienced angler who's found fame on the back of what he/she's achieved in the sport. You really could not compare the likes of Martin Bowler with Robson Green could you?

The differences don't just lie here though, whilst it's hard to think that Martin is in fact from the same gene pool as John Wilson, their styles are completely different. People moan about the quality of fishing programmes on the TV, some are no more than an hour slot of more or less free advertising, if you've viewed any of the "Thinking Tackle" offerings from Mr Fairbrass and his clones as a case in point.

Appearing on the TV is a totally different ball game to appearing in print. You're more likely to have to "try" and engage your audience. The very early fishing videos that paved the way for the more finished, glitzy dvds were just plain awful in terms of how they were set up. There's no doubt that the anglers in them were all very good at what they did but they didn't necessarily come across that way on film.

The writers in the "comics" may have a captive audience, some will soak up whatever they write without a second thought. But these people have put themselves out there to earn a living out of fishing. Something not to be taken lightly, it's their job. No matter what anyone says there are few who could manage it. I love the Sport but there's now way I could do it for a living, I'd soon get "fished out". Something that has happened once or twice already to me. A break of a year here and there left me coming back to it refreshed. Some peoples sabbaticals have been longer. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.

There's not too much "new" to write in a sport that has a perfect fit with todays social media. Everything is immediate, click the search button on any forum/site and that statement will stand firm. There are probably better writers for the press out there too, but can they do it in a consistent way, week in week out?

Take it for what it is, a read. Nobody expects everyone to agree with every word that's said/written, no matter what the use of vocabulary is and how eloquently it's put.

Originally Posted by JayZS

The whole art of being a celebrity angler, and to remain as one, is that you have to keep yourself in the news.

Agree with that John, but you'd have to admit that todays Perch fishing from Mr Bowler takes some beating...

and I quote:

"What a morning! 3lbs 7ozs, 3lbs 10ozs and 4lbs 6ozs, monster perch. Time for breakfast and then I'm off after Zander."

Originally Posted by drynetter

Agree with that John, but you'd have to admit that todays Perch fishing from Mr Bowler takes some beating... and I quote: "What a morning! 3lbs 7ozs, 3lbs 10ozs and 4lbs 6ozs, monster perch. Time for breakfast and then I'm off after Zander."

Yes a good catch. But would I compare it with what Walker did back in the days of yore? I think not. Walker was a true pioneer in days when a 3 pound perch was a great rarity. Nowadays they are quite common, or as Lee Swords said in his chat almost ten a penny. Not sour grapes but Martin, with a TV pedigree now, has access to very specific waters with very specific advice for those waters. Without it "Catching the Impossible" would have been just so. ( I am actually quite jealous of the time he was allowed to spend in that hut where Jardine's fish were recorded.) Pay and sponsor someone to fish, give him the time, and even excellent anglers will up their game further.
But an excellent catch, I agree.
Odd about the mention of zander fishing Mark. I had my first serious go at zander last night. But in his shoes I would have been back on the perch water.

Yes but there's articles to be written for the masses John.

On you travels again? Very interesting... Pm?