Well, my trip up the Wye this week produced absolutely zero in the fish count and left me feeling a little deflated and lost! I really don't understand what's going on with the Wye this season??? It's been very up and down at the best of times. You get down there and it looks bang on and leave with nothing....and another time you'll turn up feeling it's a lost cause and you get a good head of fish. I'm confused??? Anyway, just hoping now that the last few days of the river season chucks up a fish or two for myself and fishing partner Bob. Speaking of which....Bob and I are heading over to Todber Manor this week for 3 or 4 nights of carp and catfishing. Never been there before but the videos, pictures and reports I've seen so far appear to show a very well run and prolific fishery. Can't wait to give it a try!
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| Paying clients or proper friends always welcome, scroungers need not apply! |
Since starting fishing as a young child of 6 years old, I've seen many things on and off the bank side which have made me laugh, made me cry, made me elated and deflated.....I've made some great friends and even a few enemies along the way too. All this goes hand in hand and I admit here and now that I'm not always the easiest of people to get along with when the goings tough. The one thing that keeps cropping up though is people who seek you out to get as much from you for nothing as possible.... Recently more so than ever as I have increased my visibility as an angler and person in media and Face Book etc. I've been used in the past for peoples gain and worked for hundreds of hours with little to show than ruined friendships and partnerships. This being said, I'm now in a very happy place with my work as I'm finally doing what I want and not what others want me to do for their gain.
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| Bait ingredients costs money, it's not free!!!! |
What really pisses me off though are the types of people that suddenly appear as friends on social media etc. You know the types....comment on everything, call you bro, the usual crap. Yeas, it's lovely to be sociable and friendly but often these people have hidden agendas. It appears the usual agenda is to see just how much free advice, bait or tackle they can blag from you before ditching you and moving on to their next 'victim'......I've recently had a spate of these type of dim wit and to say it's getting on my nerves is an under statement. What gets me even more is when they then go around telling others how tight you are or other lies.
I've always been an honest and giving type of guy....I support the odd good charity, help those in need and I'm a loving, caring and reliable friend to those that know me. I've been with the same woman for 22 years and I'm as happy as I've ever been. I think that says something on it's own. So, to those people who crop up now and again who think it's ok to use me for your personal gain.....'I'm telling you now that it's not happening any more'! The minority have spoiled it for the majority.
While I'm talking of scroungers....My company Face Book page gets an almost continuous flow of messages, posts and emails regarding sponsorships, free bait, free advertising etc etc. It's almost 5 messages a day from teenagers asking for free bait because they can't find work and just want to fish full time. 'Here's my photo album with 10 carp in it, now give me something for free' is the usual type of message that I receive. This really gets my back up and despite the continuous flow of prats trying this approach, I have so far bitten my tongue and replied politely and professionally. There is no career in angling for the majority.....It's a very poorly paid industry with just an extremely small minority actually making a living from it. Get a career in something, work hard and fish in your spare time. That's the best advice I can offer!
When did our country suddenly become a place harboring so many scroungers? Something for nothing people seem to be every where....The fishing industry seems to be one of the only fields where clients or customers feels it's ok to barter for products or services and then whinge when they don't get what they want. You wouldn't go into Tesco or Sainsbury, take your product to the till and then barter for a better price? So why do it with fishing tackle or bait? The price is the price for a reason, take it or leave it! It all costs money to make, package, post etc. If we give it away for free then we'd go bankrupt overnight!
Cheap bait is cheap for a reason, cheap tackle is cheap for a reason....just like cars, you get what you pay for. You buy a £5000 car mass produced in India then more fool you. You spend more on a good quality German car for example and you know your paying for high quality, well engineered products. It's the same with bait and tackle. Lots of ingredients cost lots of money. Someone had to spend time developing the recipes, testing them, researching them, fine tuning, then marketing them. All this is time and money. So next time you look at a bait, have a think about what your paying for. Why spend thousands and thousands on quality rods etc that look nice, if your then going to garnish your rig (which is the bit that attracts the fish) with a crappy food source?
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| Hoping that a few of these might soon be finding their way up my line!!! |
Sorry to those of you that aren't included in this group of bottom feeders and I hope that that's the only and last time I have to talk about these scum. Right, well back to more interesting stuff and good times this week. Hopefully I'll have some good stuff to write about when I return from Dorset next week and I hope your all in good health and catching lots of lovely fish! Take care all and see you on the bank side
Keith
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