The New Angling Times, your verdict?

[Peter Waller]

Well, it had a spool of free 4lb line! So, yes, I broke a habit of very many months & bought a copy. Certainly it looks as if Anglers Mail has made Angling Times attempt to pull its socks up. But has it worked?

 

Certainly it is padded out. The 'swop' pages have been well spaced out, photographs appear bigger and there appears to be plenty of surplus padding. John Wilson's page on estate lake tench is, I think, a cracker, worth the quid just for that! Dear old Des appears to me to have run out of something worthwhile to talk about, so nothing new there. The 'where to fish' has spread, & to be honest, I thought it to excess. Regretfully I found it all heavy going.

 

AT has followed AM with more technique pages and that has to be good. Some excellent 'how to' illustrations can only but help its readers. But, to put it bluntly, I think they have padded it out with an incredible amount of very shallow material. For example there is some fellow who claims that when his daughter asked what he wanted for his birthday, he answered that he'd like a new whip, so she bought him a cat-o-nine-tails, ha ha!

 

It will be interesting to see how Anglers Mail reacts. Unquestionably Angling Times has, in my opinion, got marginally better, but I think there is a great deal of garbage between the good bits. Yes, I will by it again, but I certainly won't be giving up Anglers Mail just yet!

 

[ 02 July 2002, 10:14 PM: Message edited by: Peter Waller ]

[Peter Sharpe]

It's certainly a good design job, and I agree that Des ought to be retired. This week's column was absolute rubbish, even by his normal standards. It takes a bit of courage to make such a radical change so I applaud them on that. There is a lot of free space, but at least there are some "proper" articles, of the type that used to be common many years ago.

[OP-JB]

Re Des Taylor;

 

Dick Walker used to pull off column writing, week in week out. His technique was to say something contentious and then live off it for a month or two. People would write in and oppose him which would keep him going. Even the great all rounder had a system.

It takes an incredible wealth of experience, some original thinking and the will to pull it off, to succeed..

[waterman1013]

Shame they seem to have forgotten that some of us actually use flies and fish for swimmy things with adipose fins.

 

Mike

[DerwentBob]

Yes, there is no mention of flyfishing but at least it isn't all carp and barbel as some recent editions have been. I would like to see the weeklies push the case for all-round angling, a bit of everything in turn but not dominated by any one technique or species. Specialist fishing belongs in the monthly rack to do it justice. In short AT seems to be heading in the right direction.

[phil dean]

Well Ok based on you guys I'll buy a copy, if only for the free spool of line.

 

I bought a copy of improve your coarse fishing for the free line last month and did enjoy it.

 

The most interesting bit was a "where to fish" on my favourite peg in Durham....which was pretty rubbish on the stretch actually featured in the photo...but in an amusing way....I can't waite to see someone fishing for chub when they hit into their first sea trout....boy are they in for a surprise.. as the article failed to mention their exisatance whatsoever.

[Spindle]

OP-JB:

Re Des Taylor;

 

Dick Walker used to pull off column writing, week in week out. His technique was to say something contentious and then live off it for a month or two. People would write in and oppose him which would keep him going. Even the great all rounder had a system.

It takes an incredible wealth of experience, some original thinking and the will to pull it off, to succeed..

Which, in a nutshell, means Des is no Dick Walker!

 

Personal opinion on AT is pretty much echoed above. Much of the same, just looks different. John Wilson's story was informative, though the piece wasn't written by him sadly. The line was cheap though, and I'll probably collect the tackle boxes they are putting on the front (I'm a sucker for anything free...). I see Danny Fairbrass has "swapped sides!". So look forward to plenty of Korda-biased dribble in AT from now on.

I wonder if Chris Yates could be tempted to bring out a weekly....

[OP-JB]

""I see Danny Fairbrass has "swapped sides!". So look forward to plenty of Korda-biased dribble in AT from now on""

 

 

[ 03 July 2002, 12:05 PM: Message edited by: OP-JB ]

[Alcopup]

Personally I have always preferred the AT to AM.

 

Alco

[dave_H1]

While everyones on the subject does anyone know if improve your coarse fishing is still about because i have not been able to find it for the past few months now?