mark barrett

says who?

That is hardly true, but even if it was what would you say the average age of a fishing forum user is? 40+, 50 + even? Have a look on facebook at the mag page, very very different but then thats more the target audience. The point being that you will always get a mixed reaction in the wrong sphere.

i'm sorry Dales, you obviously live in a tent and only work for volunteer groups such is your dislike of rampant commercialism!!

I didnt initially post about the mag Elton did. ?But you were quick to jump in and put the boot in, long before you had actually seen the content and little was contstructive, that I accept fully as it helps to formulate a magazine or similar. At the end of the day those that read it enjoyed the fact that as Davy r pointed out it wasnt the same old tired subjects, nor was it full of product placement. Ultimately we lived and died on that stand and that undoubtedly cost us advertisers as some quite clearly stated that they would not advertise without having editorial space too. Do you really want to read magazines where the tail wags the dog like the DHP stable? I didnt initially post about the mag Elton did. ?But you were quick to jump in and put the boot in, long before you had actually seen the content and little was contstructive, that I accept fully as it helps to formulate a magazine or similar. At the end of the day those that read it enjoyed the fact that as Davy r pointed out it wasnt the same old tired subjects, nor was it full of product placement. Ultimately we lived and died on that stand and that undoubtedly cost us advertisers as some quite clearly stated that they would not advertise without having editorial space too. Do you really want to read magazines where the tail wags the dog like the DHP stable?

Just to correct a few inaccuracies peddled by the same tired, boring old faces. The sales were not a problem, in so much as they were projected to outdo or match what we had set as a realistic target and bearing in mind that we gave away 1400 copies at the big one, that was pretty pleasing. The problem was and is, advertising at the moment. One of my friends with an angling related business yesterday was offered a whole page in one of the weekly magazines for £250. To put that in context, 12-18 months ago I was quoted over £800 for the same thing. We worked on the basis of an 80/50 split on editorial to advertising. If you look at the actual split on the first issue it was more like 110/20 and some of those were in house adverts. Issue two was doing about the same, possibly worse despite the hard work of the girls selling it. For a small publishing house that was unsustainable, other publishing houses can and do subsidise titles, in fact some of the titles tyhat you will be reading we actually would have doubled or matched in circulation, but the advertising killed it. Saying that no one was more surprised than me when i found out issue two wasnt happening, shame because i thought it was much better than one, but its not to be and there you go. Thank you to all those that messaged us over the lasst few weeks saying how much they enjoyed it, and for those of you that knocked it from the start well up yours and see you again soon!

got to agree with budgie, dont look past ABU for multipliers they have been doing them for years and they have got it really right.

I should also add that I also want fish n tips to be a breeding ground for new writers too. I got started by someone giving me a break and i would like to give others thmaterial for consideration then please email it to me at e opportunity, so if anyone wants to submit material then please email it to mark@fntmag.co.uk or kestrelguides@hotmail.co.uk

of course the publishers dictate the path that the magazine takes to a point, but if i didnt agree with the format I wouldnt make a very good editor. I honestly believe that there is a place for this magazine that it can grab with both hands. I speak to a lot of guys on the bank and on forums that say they dont read magazines anymore as they know the majority of the technical aspects of the sport, what they want is a good read and i can hand on heart say that this is because i have picked the guys and the stories myself.

you have quite obviously made up your mind mate so its pointless debating the topic with you.

how exactly would you ask the "angling community" what they want? The angling world is so split and diversified that you are never going to get something to please everyone, as has been abley proved by this thread. I will leave you with this thought though. The BBC is world renowned for its high quality programmes, its news and sports coverage etc and yet one programme is so succesful that it provides something like a quarter of the beeb's entire income. That programme is Top Gear, which is far from being high brow, and basically involves three middle aged men messing about in a subject they enjoy whilst acting like kids and innuendo aplenty.

First off mate its not a weekly but a monthly. Secondly that is NOT the actual front cover, the actual cover is a bit more toned down thirdly I take it that none of the complainers have ever bought a copy of the sun, in which you will see more than you will in the new mag? As Dales said, why does everything have to be hybrow,whats wrong with a bit of fun and a laugh?

Funnily enough on this I completely agree with you and I have already pulled one such photo because it was blatant product placement. As far as I am concerned an angler being daubed in sponsors logos is enough and theres no need for anything else really.

Blimey theres a serious sense of humour failiure here guys. Its a bit of a laugh and as In stated its not the actual front cover, its just a taster. As regards the sexist comments Janet, I am sorry but not guilty we have a lady writing in the first two issues and she's not in a bikini or similar but there because she is a good writer. Lighten up a bit

Bear in mind that is not THE actual cover, it was done to give people an idea and may be a bit more full on than what actually appears

Its 100% a serious angling magazine. We have anglers of the caliber of Ian Welch, Steve Pope, Jim O Donnell, Mark Barrett and others writing for us, they just arent doing the usual technical stuff that you would see elsewhere. We are also inviting our readers to take part in some of the regular series and will listen to what you the readers want. Why people have to be so negative bfore they have read a copy is beyond me.

You couldn't be more wrong mate. We are doing things a bit differently from the rest thats true and yes there will be some attractive ladies throughout the mag, but you would see more flesh on page three of the sun. What we are about is quality writing and photography with the accent on fun and the enjoyment that fishing is to all of us. You wont find an article in Fish N Tips that tells you how to tie the latest wonder rig for the umpteenth time. Instead what you will find is good stories, humour and the cameraderie that angling engenders. Angling is brilliant fun and its about time that this was represented within the angling media. Mark Barrett Editor Fish N Tips

whoever the numpty is that gave Gareth those tips he wants a good kick in the soft and danglies. Dont use wire, oh great how many pike are we going to be finding with hooks in them? Wire does not, I repeat Does not put off zander. Use tiny baits and light leads, theres a recipe for crap bite indication and deep hooked, dead zander. Some people really ought to know better

Some fair points there mate, perhaps I ought to say that when i mentioned grown out of, I meant that you dont need to know the exact item of gear, but believe me mate there are an awful lot of people out there that do. I know for instance that fox get an awful lot of calls relating to specific items that have appeared in an article but havent been mentioned and I get the odd question about gear sent to the mail. For instance I have a special bucket that has incorporated into the lid a swivel padded seat. I have had loads of letters from readers of the mail about that bucket, but I havent ever mentioned it in print, simply because I never thought to! Another thing that I would touch upon is that you say that a sponsored angler wont give an unbiased view on tackle well thats not strictly speaking true, and that an unsponsored angler will choose the gear he has as it will be best for the job. Well before I was sponsored on my bait fishing rods I used to only have shimano baitrunners as people I spoke to etc told me they were the best, i read in the mags the same etc etc. They were very reliable reels of that there is no doubt, but when I went to fox I started to use the stratos and I wouldnt in a million years switch back now, because, in my honest opinion the Stratos has a miles better clutch, which was always the unmentioned negative point of shimmy's. But in converse I use shimano stradics for my jig fishing. They are better suited to the job than anything that Fox currently produce and I am regularly pictured using them and advocate their use. There is no problem from fox in doing that and its an objective view. Likewise with the mail, I always if picturing tackle add in other similar products from other companies that I may use. The thing is mate, that at the end of the day I wasnt always a sponsored angler, few start out that way and so I do appreciate life from the other side of the fence if you like. I believe that honesty and integrity are probably the most important aspects of any angling writer and they shouldn't be compromised for any reason.

Typical of Roy Webster he has missed a very important fact, the fact that the EA have said they will not prosecute anyone for putting zander back, anywhere in the country.

As someone that falls into both of the maligned camps I think its only fair that I stick up for some (not all!) angling writers. I agree to a point with a lot of what has been said here as regards articles that read like aderts, personally I try my damndest to make sure that this doesnt happen because I remember what it was like to be on the other side reading them. Furthermore I dont sit down to write articles with that express idea, my articles are always written because I have been asked to cover the subject by an editor, or I have had the idea myself through something I have done, seen or experienced, or something upon which I have an opinion, and I would imagine that most writers are the same. However you also have to look at it this way, if somebody asks you a question regarding tackle then 99 times out of 100 the answer they will get will be in relation to y sponsors gear, because thats what I use. Likewise if there are tackle shots needed for an article, as there often is, then the chances are that it will be my sponsors gear because again, thats what I use. I also wear clothing that has my sponsors logos on it, and invariably (but not always) photos of me will have that logo visible somewhere. So what? If you look at pictures in the press of unsponsored anglers you will still see those same logo's, or it will be Nike, addidas etc etc. What does it really matter, because to me before and after being sponsored I think that this is one of the more unobtrusive means of promotion. You also have to take into account the magazine that you are writing for. Certain magazines that favour beginners or novice anglers are going to be heavier into PP or promotion because thats the biggest sales market, and there will be more of a need for tackle pictures. On the other hand a magazine like Coarse Angling Today or Pike and Predators is aimed at a different market and so has little or none. Its horses for courses in many ways, the type of magaazine will dictate the level of PP within. Finally Budgie (as he often does) hit the nail upon the head with the "growing out of" analogy. There does come a time for all of us where every article in the magazines will no longer be interesting and a certain amount will be either inaccurate or not of interest. That's not the magazines faults, as there are generations coming behind to cater for, its just a natural progression and may mean that you only really need to buy a mag when theres a piece that is of specific interest to you. Just my thoughts

Can categorically state that the torpedo release most certainly doesnt work all the time. It does occassionally, but its also extremely difficult to do with anything other than a fairly small zander. Far better option in my opinion is to vent the swim bladder (basically pop with a sharp needle), this certainly allows the fish to get back to depth quickly so that the as can be expelled from the bloodstream. I was speaking to some Dutch guys in Ireland and they reckoned that this worked the best too, but that even this isnt 100% and there are a large percentage that die, possibly as much as 50/50 ratio. As regards the record. I dont think that the guy has deliberately set out to make a false claim, but I think that he has had a pretty decent fish and somehow cocked the weighing up, possibly because he hadnt seen one before and couldnt believe what the scales were saying. zander do tend to look very impressive in the flesh and much like their close cousin the perch, they look big for their weight. I think a mixture of unfamiliarity with the species and perhaps dodgy scales has lead to a genuine mistake, which is a shame as it would have made a nice story.

The record pike was certainly taken to the bank to be weighed and its a stipulation of the BRFC that this has to happen. So unless it was taken to the bank, and the photos dont look like it was, then it wont be a record, nor should it be.

its not that great, thats never 22lbs and i think weighing from a boat has caused a fairly big mistake, and ont get itratified as a record

There are others too that also consult on an informal basis Peter. Andy, all through your rather tenuous argument you have made NACA as the bad guys here. In fact in your first post you called the club "Environmental vandals" a phrase that I take great umbridge with seeing as if it were not for the NACA a lot of the upper Wensum would be a barren canal, I wonder if you would still want to fish and canoe it if it was still as was? I think you know the answer to that one. At the end of the day there are places all over the country that I would love to go. I would love to shoot pheasents on the Sandringham estate, but I respect the fact that its private property. That doesnt mean that I go out and get a microlight and shoot them from above. Canoes are not welcome on that part of the river, because its too small for navigation and would be disturbing to any waterborne wildlife. END OF.

Sorry Andy, but your the one who comes across as arrogant, firstly because you are quite patently wrong. The Magna carta relates to tidal parts of rivers only, because if your assertion was correct then there would be no principle by which angling clubs could own waters or lease them. Wind your neck in and take your canoe somewhere where it wouldnt be both an annoyance to other people, or where there are navigation rights, such as the Bure, Thurne, Yare etc etc.