WE OWE IT TO YOUNGSTERS TO GIVE THEM PROPER KIT
Without it, they’ll turn away
WE HAVE a crisis as a sport… recruiting youngsters. The Environment Agency knows it, the Angling Trust knows it but, sadly, it appears that not all the tackle trade does.
At a meeting earlier this year between those at the EA and Angling Trust responsible for increasing participation, along with some members of the UK tackle trade, it was made clear that the industry wasn’t interested in producing tackle for absolute beginners – the main target was to increase the spend of existing customers via tackle upgrades.
For sure there are ‘beginners’ kits’ on the market, although you’re unlikely to find a decent one in most tackle shops. In my opinion, what is needed is some practical, usable, genuine beginners’ kit in stores where the general public go.
Imagine how many would be sold in a Tesco or Asda, for example, especially at this time of year when aunties and uncles, even mums and dads, are looking for inspiration for a gift that doesn’t involve batteries, and gets the kids outside into the still relatively fresh air.
Argos is one store with little sporting context that sells beginners’ outfits, and if I’m absolutely blunt they are dreadful. I saw one recently, brought in by a group at a Get Hooked on Fishing family day – it included a 4m whip which, apart from a disgorger, was the only good thing about it. There were two rigs in sealed packets and the disgorger, along with a 15m spool of line, some plastic corn and maggots, and a booklet.
It stated that the rigs were made on 0.15mm line. It was actually over 0.20mm, so at least 8lb breaking strain. The hook, designated 16 but more like a 10, had the benefit of being barbless but it was tied direct to the line so, in the event of hooking the bottom, the line is most likely to break at the knot connecting it to the whip, or the whip itself.
The float was a monster pole float, with a single large bright silver shot 6ins from the hook and, to put the icing on the cake, the rig was 4ft longer than the whip.
The group had arrived about an hour before dark so I helped by shortening the rig to the right length, took them out to one of the pools and dropped the rig in. The shot, I’m guessing an AAA, made little impact on the float, leaving half the body, never mind the ‘bristle’, sticking out.
I lifted it from the water and the float slid down the line, being held in place by a single band on the stem that was way too big.
I took the lot back into the classroom, cut the hook off and threaded a couple of bits of tight silicone on the float, tied on a proper hooklength of 0.14mm to an old-fashioned 16, removed the shot and went back out again with a plummet, a shot dispenser and some maggots.
Once I’d shotted the float properly, the middle lad had first go. After a few minutes the float dipped and he lifted into a gorgeous little rudd. Older brother took over and, after a few more minutes, tricked a perch. Junior brother had the next go and caught a rudd and, as the already sparse light dimmed into dusk,
dad also caught his first-ever fish, a 3oz roach.
Make no mistake, if we’d just done the simple thing and sold them a day ticket, the £15.99 kit would have gone straight into the bin as unusable. As it is, they’ve caught fish and will go to the tackle shop with a short list of things that will make their kit even better. Plus a landing net!
The sad thing is, the kit is promoted on the Argos website, as the Matt Hayes Junior Pole Kit. I can’t imagine that Matt has any idea of its complete uselessness. How it is credited with four stars beggars belief!
If we could get UK tackle suppliers sufficiently motivated to produce the right stuff, and then have the bottle to take those items into supermarkets and other outlets outside the angling box, it will drive more customers into their standard dealer accounts.
It will increase the number of customers at fisheries, new members for clubs and, of course, the Angling Trust. It will sell more licences for the EA and our sport will thrive.