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What are your targets for the new season?

Joe Winstanley said:
It's a bit far fetched to suggest that anybody was suggesting buying custom fishing tackle is contributing to a moral collapse of society.

But it is undeniable that consumerism (in most sectors) carries a enormous externalised environmental cost and that tab will have to be picked up by future generations. You aren't going to convince me that buying tackle with the intention of never using it is good for angling (or anybody) in the long term.
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Joe, by referencing consumerism when discussing Adam’s purchasing of fishing rods he won’t use, and then talking about the “enormous externalized environmental cost” that consumerism has you are suggesting that he’s contributing to the problem in an immoral way, however small that may be

Truth is Adam might not have the intention of using it but that doesn’t mean the rod will get chucked in landfill or sit in an cupboard. It will be sold and used, a lot if he sold it to me. Well made, quality products, built to last are not the problem.

I bought a pair of Torrix’s second hand a couple of years ago, I use them for Barbel, Bream and Tench fishing, they’re pretty much the only rods I use these days, if they weren’t as good as they are I would have bought 4 cheaper rods, possibly new, to do the jobs they do.

I don’t think you can have it both ways, suggest that Adam is contributing the problems consumerism cause while ignoring the benefits his money brings to exactly the sort of businesses that should be supported if we want to bring consumerism under control.

People spending their money on quality fishing gear manufactured by British companies will always be good for our industry. If we don’t we lose them, and their place will be taken by people and companies who are driven by worse intentions
 
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Dave Quinn said:
People spending their money on quality fishing gear manufactured by British companies will always be good for our industry. If we don’t we lose them, and their place will be taken by people and companies who are driven by worse intentions
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I couldn't agree more. We are also very privileged to be able to own 'bespoke/artisanal' products at sensible money in this sport. God forbid that Dr Steve hangs up his autoclave and sells out to a tackle giant, that will be the end of that - use the brand, shift production overseas, reduce the range and quality of materials and mass-produce. We see it on here all the time, everyone wants old Fox or Drennan rods or Japanese manufactured Shimmys from a golden era when they got it right. If this isn't up-cycling I don't know what is.
I don't pay a lot of attention to what Adam asks for versus what he's paid, but everyone seems very happy with the deals. Arguably he's the UK's worst tackle trader as he seems to operate at a loss?( no offence intended) But he enables a number of people to make a discounted investment in a quality item that if they're a real angler will put a smile on their face when they use it.
Chances are they won't go backwards after that and not only support UK manufacturing but actually buy less as Dave highlights
Good for him.
 
Dave Quinn said:
Joe, by referencing consumerism when discussing Adam’s purchasing of fishing rods he won’t use, and then talking about the “enormous externalized environmental cost” that consumerism has you are suggesting that he’s contributing to the problem in an immoral way, however small that may be

Truth is Adam might not have the intention of using it but that doesn’t mean the rod will get chucked in landfill or sit in an cupboard. It will be sold and used, a lot if he sold it to me. Well made, quality products, built to last are not the problem.

I bought a pair of Torrix’s second hand a couple of years ago, I use them for Barbel, Bream and Tench fishing, they’re pretty much the only rods I use these days, if they weren’t as good as they are I would have bought 4 cheaper rods, possibly new, to do the jobs they do.

I don’t think you can have it both ways, suggest that Adam is contributing the problems consumerism cause while ignoring the benefits his money brings to exactly the sort of businesses that should be supported if we want to bring consumerism under control.

People spending their money on quality fishing gear manufactured by British companies will always be good for our industry. If we don’t we lose them, and their place will be taken by people and companies who are driven by worse intentions
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Thoughtful post Dave,

All consumerism is part of the problem in varying degrees. And the externalised environmental costs need to be recognised when making any sort of economic argument, unfortunately these costs never appear on any balance sheet do they? Always hidden from the eye.

And I'm not suggesting Adam is acting immorally, amorally might be more apt because I suspect he probably hasn't given it a second thought, although I wouldn't presume to understand his motivations or thoughts. I'm sure he's a great guy.

I take your point about supporting British companies who produce well made products being built to last, it is a salient one and is something we should all do if its possible. But I'm standing by my my view that buying things as a hobby isn't a great thing for the planet and ultimately the waterways we all love. The biggest existential threat to barbel fishing isn't water quality or predation, it is climate change. We can all contribute to reducing carbon emissions in small ways, one of them is probably buying a lot less stuff that we don't really need.

atb,

Joe
 
Terry Simner said:
Well I think whether or not this site exhibits 'elitism' may be arguable but ..... good on BFW for being so 'inclusive', and thanks for sharing that with us @Paul Richardson 🤣😂🤣😂
BTW ... I 'dipped my toe' into post-GTE Shimmys waters last winter. I managed to buy 2 brand new 4000OC going cheap and a 2nd hand one.... and I bloody hated them. Yes the clutch was smooth, but with my RE's and GTE's I never get line trapped behind the spool. That happened every time I used a 4000OC, and then I'd have to pig about resetting that oh-so-smooth clutch. Vile things, the devil's food mixer IMO!
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Interesting. Only used the 6000OCs for a season and no problems at all, but I'll watch out for that Terry is I do tend to slightly overfill spools which never helps.
 
Joe Winstanley said:
Thoughtful post Dave,

All consumerism is part of the problem in varying degrees. And the externalised environmental costs need to be recognised when making any sort of economic argument, unfortunately these costs never appear on any balance sheet do they? Always hidden from the eye.

And I'm not suggesting Adam is acting immorally, amorally might be more apt because I suspect he probably hasn't given it a second thought, although I wouldn't presume to understand his motivations or thoughts. I'm sure he's a great guy.

I take your point about supporting British companies who produce well made products being built to last, it is a salient one and is something we should all do if its possible. But I'm standing by my my view that buying things as a hobby isn't a great thing for the planet and ultimately the waterways we all love. The biggest existential threat to barbel fishing isn't water quality or predation, it is climate change. We can all contribute to reducing carbon emissions in small ways, one of them is probably buying a lot less stuff that we don't really need.

atb,

Joe
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Joe
As always a very salient post.
As I haven't set any targets for fishing this season and getting back to the OP, my targets will be
1) Fish with a friend wherever possible - reduce travel costs and fuel used and have a grand old time.
2) Only buy what I need and locally where I can

Number 2 will be hard as there are some nice Chimeras on Ebay right now but I'm going to really try.
 
Joe Winstanley said:
Thoughtful post Dave,

All consumerism is part of the problem in varying degrees. And the externalised environmental costs need to be recognised when making any sort of economic argument, unfortunately these costs never appear on any balance sheet do they? Always hidden from the eye.

And I'm not suggesting Adam is acting immorally, amorally might be more apt because I suspect he probably hasn't given it a second thought, although I wouldn't presume to understand his motivations or thoughts. I'm sure he's a great guy.

I take your point about supporting British companies who produce well made products being built to last, it is a salient one and is something we should all do if its possible. But I'm standing by my my view that buying things as a hobby isn't a great thing for the planet and ultimately the waterways we all love. The biggest existential threat to barbel fishing isn't water quality or predation, it is climate change. We can all contribute to reducing carbon emissions in small ways, one of them is probably buying a lot less stuff that we don't really need.

atb,

Joe
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Fair point, very well made 👍

I do like the feeling buying quality new fishing rods and reels brings unfortunately. It hardly happens these days and now I’m laid up I can’t justify it at all, but it’s always been part of fishing for me, rightly or wrongly. Sadly, I now get vicarious pleasure out of seeing other people buying quality gear for good prices.

I don’t see it as a hobby in itself though, it’s part of the whole thing for me. It’s maybe a bit romantic but I see fishing as a good thing, a force for good in an increasingly exploitative world. And the top end manufacturers, rod builders, niche guys and girls tend to be part of the good thing which is why I don’t have a problem with people wasting their hard-earned. Better than letting the banks make money from it 👍
 
Maybe we can all make a point of blockading a petrol station on our way to our fishing in future?


Anyway. At the moment I'm using my daiwa powemeshes 2.25, bought at £75 each, with second hand GTEs trying to temp some goldfish that seem more intent on lazing just underwater, under trees in the sun and refuse to get down 4 feet for some food.

The 2lb custom built torrix with the xteas are at home in case they get dirty.

My two biggest worries at the moment are climate change that's caused by a megaton bomb and that a care home doesn't take all my money.
 
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Joe Winstanley said:
Looking at data on my local rivers shows the situation has got progressively worse in the last 5 years. The 2758m3 of raw untreated sewage (approx the volume of an olympic swimming pool) discharged by 3 treatment plants into my local Bollin in 2021 is only the amount we know about and is licenced by the EA. United Utilities and the EA have withdrawn the discharges for 2022 from the public domain, only available on a FIA now.

Guess where the EA takes it sampling point for this area of the river from? Exactly 100m upstream of the treatment plant discharging 80% of the raw sewage. You couldn't make this stuff up. Meanwhile UU are in the courts trying to prevent anybody making a legal challenge against raw sewage discharges.
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Do you think they are returning that volume of untreated effluent because they want to? It will get worse without investment!
 
There is definitely something to be said about consumerism wherever it may be. We do not need half the stuff we buy and literally all of it adds to the problem! Personally, and I have held this opinion for a long time that our need to continually make purchases is indicative of an underlying issue a lot of the time - we buy stuff to make us happy because inherently we are not.
 
I have more wishes than targets.
I wish we could have seasons like we used to 30 years ago. (looks like we're heading for zero rainfall in the east for April)
I wish abstraction could be put back to what it was 30 years ago.
I wish pollution could be put back to what it was 30 years ago.
I wish that predation could be put back to what it was 30 years ago.
I wish social media could be put back to what it was 30 years ago. ;)
That's enough for now. 😄
 
Sam Lloyd said:
Fishing the Div 2 National on the Warwickshire Avon, and the Bridgnorth Winter League on the Severn will be the highlights for me.
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Fished it as a lad Sam and did well, though the tactics will have changed nowadays........my one tip.......molehill dirt 😉
 
Terry Simner said:
How do you think "molehill dirt" might work as an attractor @Kevin Daly ?
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Soil plays a big part in a lot of match fishing groundbait mixes for silverfish. The idea being it’s
1) an attractor with low feed content
2) some soils are used for their higher density to help sink groundbait in deep water
I’m lazy and buy it from tackle shops rather than go riddling molehills 😂
 
Sam Lloyd said:
Soil plays a big part in a lot of match fishing groundbait mixes for silverfish. The idea being it’s
1) an attractor with low feed content
2) some soils are used for their higher density to help sink groundbait in deep water
I’m lazy and buy it from tackle shops rather than go riddling molehills 😂
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Yes, totally agree Sam ...I used to use a lot of molehill soil when fishing for perch on lob, mostly in the winter. But when I couldn't get molehill soil (the blighters only seem to have a good clean-out twice a year) I used any old soil, and found it as good if not better. I found the only good thing about molehill soil was at times it was very easy to collect.
 
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