Is Sea Angling 'working Class'

[Stoaty]

It was mentioned on another thread that the number of dinghy anglers was down and this might be due to money being tight for a lot of people. It occured to me (white van man) that most of us are working class people, that's in the modern sense of 'working class' and when money is tight we suffer first. Am I in cloud cuckoo land or is our sport full of the rich and gentry? Or is sea angling in general just for the poor man?

Edited November 18, 2005 by Stoaty

[JRT]

I've always thought class was more a state of mind than an up bringing? But nothing gets my back up more than people wearing 'working class' as a badge of honour, like a reverse snobbery. Fishing has (and shouldn't have) anything to do with class.

 

jrt

Edited November 18, 2005 by JRT

[Stoaty]

Ok I'll try and rephrase it. Is sea angling the sport of the less well off?

[jeepster]

i wouldn't say so, angling in all it's forms seems to attract a wide spread of people from many different income brackets.

[Leon Roskilly]

Ok I'll try and rephrase it. Is sea angling the sport of the less well off?

 

 

I think that the Drew report has something to say about that.

 

http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/reports...ing/default.asp

 

 

If I remember correctly as Saltwater Fly-fishing is becoming more popular, and boat ownership by anglers, the profile of the sport is beginning to move upmarket.

 

Well that was until the kayakers arrived

 

Tight Lines - leon

 

ps Probably no bad thing, yachties and golfers know how to organise themselves politically, and get results

Edited November 18, 2005 by Leon Roskilly

[stavey]

Ok I'll try and rephrase it. Is sea angling the sport of the less well off?

 

It depends if you wanna catch anything decent stoaty? if you can afford to jet off around the world then catching something decent is possible no dought, and if you can get paid for doing just that (like them poncing) tv angling celebs then yeh i would say it is for the better off, but if you stay put and cant afford to travel and fish here in the uk instead you wont catch jack sh*t of any size, might not cost much but then there is no sport in nothing....

[pestguard1]

Ok I'll try and rephrase it. Is sea angling the sport of the less well off?

 

is Paul Young,Rex Hunt,Matt Hayes,Jack Charlton etc,etc less well off...........................I should coco.................wish I was a few grand behind these celebrities ...............

 

I think you should definately re-frase that question yet again m8.......................or better still .......................put ones brain into gear before you think of these silly questions.

 

[RichardB]

"Ok I'll try and rephrase it. Is sea angling the sport of the less well off?"

 

In much earlier days I would say it was. After all it was (and still is) essentially free, and a way of supplimenting the larder. Tackle was a lot more primitive, but there were more fish. Game fishing for the likes of Salmon and trout was mostly only accessible to those who had money.

 

The definition of what is 'working class' is a lot more fuzzy than it once was. I imagine that most of us who enjoy sea angling (with the exception those who are unemployed or cannot work due to health reasons etc.), work in a great variety of types of jobs and consider ourselves to work hard for our money. Is this being working class ?The big difference between now and 100 or 50 or 30 years ago is the amount of disposable income available to 'working people' - be it immediate or defferred (credit). Just think what spending £150 pounds on a reel or £250 on a rod would seem like to many of our great grandparents or further back.

 

As JRT said, I think the traditional idea of 'working class' is more a state of mind.

Edited November 18, 2005 by RichardB

[Stoaty]

Paul Young,Rex Hunt,Matt Hayes,Jack Charlton etc,etc less well off

 

Yes but arn't these the minority. I don't see many princess's or bayliners with rods hanging out the back.

 

I think that maybe saying working class was wrong. Less well off is better for what I was getting at.

 

People do spend a couple of hundred quid on a rod and reel. Then moan about the price of worms.

 

I think it always has been for the poor. Originaly to feed the family, that's why we have an ancient right to fish.

 

It's a shame we don't have polls on here we could do one on income.

[Newt]

Stoaty - when you open a new topic, there should be a 'manage poll' line just under the title lines and above the place where you put the body text. I just checked and as far as I can tell, all members should be able to post a poll.