Time to quit

[Dick Dastardly]

"After all" I said "if you won a pork-pie-eating contest it would not make you an authority on nutrition"

 

Happy is the man that fishes to please himself, and not to astonish others.

 

 

I like both of those Dave!

[Anderoo]

Its time to get back to angling for my own self indulgent enjoyment with no strings or pressure attached.

 

Good, do what makes you happy and forget what anyone else thinks of it

 

If you ever get any more spare time and have the inclination, you're welcome to come and have a fish around here.

[Anderoo]

Happy is the man that fishes to please himself, and not to astonish others.

 

What a great line. I might get that put on a T-shirt!

[Sportsman]

I shall be fishing my first match on Sunday with a small club of ex-pats and locals.

I don't think it will be taking over my life

[gozzer]

Hi Rudd, Like you I was into matchfishing (mainly rivers back then). I started in my teens, and continued into my 30s. Like you I interspersed it with pleasure sessions, carp sessions, barbel, roach etc, even the occasional bit of sea fishing. I loved the banter, the friendship, and of course it was a great 'learning ground', as I met and fished with some very good anglers over the years. I had my share of successes and disappointments, but still loved it. During the 'earlier' years we started a few schemes to give even out 'the spoils', such as drawing pairs in a match, (those in the top half of the previous years aggregate points were paired with someone from the bottom half). It gave an extra dimension, and a better chance of something for those who went every week, but never won anything, it also made for a more friendlier atmosphere. Then the whole thing changed, and money became the only concern. Pools were added to by a 'super pool', which eventually became part of the normal pool, only for another 'super pool' to be added, and so on. Arguments followed, people left, to be replaced by more money orientated anglers, and the whole thing got to be a chore instead of a pleasure. I still persisted for a while, hoping to help turn it around, but another redundancy forced my hand, and I packed it in. It was probably the only good thing to come of of any of the times I've been made redundant. I started to go where and when I wanted to go, and fish for what I wanted to, and at much less cost. In other words I started enjoying it all again. I have still fished the odd 'friendly' since then, but no pressure, no arguments, no commitment to attend 6 or 7 meetings a month, just myself to please, bliss.

During my matchfishing years, I witnessed too many marriage breakdowns, and divorces, caused by obsessive behaviour by anglers. I've been married 36 years in April, so I think I did the right thing.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, ignore the derisive comments from other (so called) anglers, and most of all enjoy it all, both the angling, and your family.

 

John.

[Dick Dastardly]

My experiences with match fishing are much the same as previous posters. I was never really good enough to "make it on my own" on the big open match circuit but was good enough to be able to get and hold a place in good teams.I enjoyed both the team spirit and all the practice and planning/sharing of information that this entailed.

 

In later years (back in the UK) sociable club matches were about my limit.I really enjoyed any "series"/"league" type matches as Ive often thought that showing consistency in such is a far better indication of your ability than winning just one offs.

 

In both scenarios though for me the primary thing was the fishing itself.Yes winning was the goal and I would set my stall out to do so.Often sacrificing the chance to catch some big fish and concentrating on a more reliable method to get the top weight.But to me this was just as enjoyable and indeed possibly more satisfying when I won as it had been achieved by design rather than luck.

 

I quite enjoyed picking up trophies but only if I thought they were worthwhile.By that I mean that I had actually done some thing to merit them! I never had time for trophies that were won by just turning up!

 

But whether it was the spoils of a big International team match (Ive had a couple of wins of over £200) or the local clubs evening league (didn't even cover your bait and petrol! a Kebab on the way home was about their extent!) the pools were never really that important to me. In fact big (as in compulsory part of the ticket) pools actually stoped me entering some matches I would have liked to! Also money allways seems to bring out the worse in people.

 

Chucking a quid in for heaviest catch,biggest catch,smallest catch even!,first fish etc is just a bit of fun but it seems sadly that many cant take it and leave it as such.

 

I think I actually got more out of trying to beat the top guy(s) than actually taking his money if I did manage to!

[Elton]

I haven't read this thread in detail, but have met the OP a few times.

 

Kev - my own experience is that some people like competition (and all the 'goings-on' that accompanies it) and some don't. As humans, we can grow through stages of liking and not liking it. Personally, I have never liked competition in my hobbies. To me, that would ruin it totally.

 

By contrast, I'm fiercely competitive in certain other areas of my life.

 

To me, my hobbies are my escape. I 'judge' them by how relaxed I feel when they are in my life, not by comparing my performance in them to others.

 

Other people come at it from a totally different angle and that's also their choice.

 

You've done the right thing, I reckon, by identifying the one element that may be detracting from your overall enjoyment, rather than blaming angling as a whole. You may never fish another match again. You may get bored and start fishing them again next month. But, by taking a break, you'll know if you miss them or not. Good luck!

[Dick Dastardly]

You've done the right thing, I reckon, by identifying the one element that may be detracting from your overall enjoyment, rather than blaming angling as a whole. You may never fish another match again. You may get bored and start fishing them again next month. But, by taking a break, you'll know if you miss them or not. Good luck!

 

 

Spot on Elton.

[RUDD]

You've done the right thing, I reckon, by identifying the one element that may be detracting from your overall enjoyment, rather than blaming angling as a whole. You may never fish another match again. You may get bored and start fishing them again next month. But, by taking a break, you'll know if you miss them or not. Good luck!

 

I cant belive how quickly I started to lose interest as I have fished for the last 31 years!!!

Saying that it has most likely been creeping up on me without me even realising as do most forms of depression.

One of the things that woke me up was the state of my garage - Kit in a mess all over the place and I mean a mess.

I normally have everything ready to go for whichever type of angling I am going to do so I can just chuck it in the car knowing its all there without having to look for this and that.

I have looked in my sea bag and must have ten or more rigs still with leads attached in a right tangle.

Think tonight will be spent havign a sort out.

 

I have taken Friday off work and will be going PLEASURE angling - I may even wear an "I am a Noddy T-shirt"

Not decided what type of angling I will be doing yet - It may even be a bit of Dab fishing with the beachcasters - will see what I fancy Thurday night.

 

Would like to thank all posters for their replies.

When is Wingham fish in as I may make an apperance - normally had an important match to fish.

[Dave H]

Think of the knowledge you have built up over the years as a huge plus. When the going gets tough you will probably the only one catching and feel it was all a great learning curve.

You will carry that into your pleasure angling and catch more fish than most.

 

You might want to answer my question on approaching a river for the first time as i think your experience could be invaluable