CORRESPONDENCE Correspondence
We’ve had heaps of correspondence about last months issue, some agreeing, and some disagreeing with some of the topics brought up. It’s good to air your views! Keep them coming...
The angling Trade is on its arse Where do I start? I left a well-paid job and career to follow my dreams of owning my own fishing tackle shop. Who wouldn’t? However the reality is finally kicking in and we are far from “living the dream”. We operate in the North West of England and business is tough. Although footfall is falling it shouldn’t cause as many problems as it does. Recently in 2018 we are coming out of the worse downturn of recent years. The impact of the Internet, retail, Brexit and any other excuse you wish to wave are finally taking their tolls. Fishing tackle is on its proverbial bottom! The influx of the garage generation selling bait to the masses on a budget, the generation of “field tester” positions which we all know are disguised as direct selling, companies chasing increased profits to satisfy the Stock Exchange rather than their customers and where does that leave us? On our arse that’s where and I am sure we are not alone. When will this industry wake up and look at the bigger picture? Stock orders taken in October are delivered and spread throughout the opening
So what’s preventing lapsed anglers returning?
The responsibility for recruiting new anglers should be with angling clubs and commercial fisheries.
The are also a large number of anglers who would like to return to angling but need a little encouragement. The potential is huge, how do I know this? I talk to the general public. I coach at a game and country show twenty four days a year, that is twelve weekends on average and when I am not at a show I am coaching youngsters for my club but not only the youngsters their parents are also encouraged to have a go. You cannot recruit new or ex anglers in tackle shops because those using tackle shops are already anglers. Recruitment needs to done at places like game and country shows or agriculture events anywhere that have a countryside element. These events would welcome an angling display but are reluctant to pay the coaches their expenses.
36 | Tackle & Guns | June 2018
months of the year. Great I hear you ask. This year we have had snow in March and April, nobody is going fishing, everybody knows this. However the bean counting divisions still want their pound of flesh. They do not care. No human interaction will take place between none payment and putting the account on hold. Reading Steve Collett’s article in May’s Tackle & Guns just goes some way to proving that we are hitting the self-destruct button ourselves. We have now sent all of our Nash products back as they have taken on far too many “field testers” from our area and we cannot sell their portfolio. Steve has only just come across the Shimano problem which we got rid of last year. Guru is next on the horizon as Partridge Lakes are now sponsored by them and have all the products, footfall and incentives we cannot compete with. Where will it end? Has Steve not come across the latest scam which is to advertise a reduced price of a product which is out of stock? We have just had a customer with the aid of his phone ask can we price match Angling Direct on a Fox product. The pod should
My experience is attempts to involve the tackle trade, bait manufactures and magazine publishers have had a negative response if any at all. Just one company has given its support with a donation of rods. I know that company has been repaid many times over by returning anglers and current anglers using those rods and the positive comments received about them. The winner at the end of the day will be the tackle industry. The question is how do we set about getting ex anglers back into fishing and what is preventing them from returning. One thing is the ability to set up and cast, they do not want to look foolish on the bank. I do not have the time at shows to teach everything so with me they can learn the hard bit, how to cast, this takes between five to ten minutes, water is not required just a target and a grass area will do. Secondly where do they go for further tuition, that is down to the local clubs and they need to be at the event to explain
be £170 but they have advertised on their website for £120, however as per their website it is marked as out of stock! The company doesn’t even have it in stock but they knocking the arse out it. The customer now thinks that the product is only worth £120 and thinks we are ripping him off, by selling it for SSP! I would be very interested in the retail association which Steve is championing, what have I got to lose? Things cannot get any worse!
Ricky Keating Warrington Angling Centre
Editor: Thank you for this Ricky. I have passed on your details to Steve Collett. The issue of advertising product at rock- bottom price when it’s out of stock is a thorny one, but sadly legal provided that they sell at that price when it comes in. What does appear to be increasingly problematic is the fact that unscrupulous dealers are linking up with manufacturers ‘live feeds’ of stock so that they know what is and is not in stock, marking the problem even more prevalent.
what they have to offer, or there are some excellent weekly and monthly magazines full well explained tuition.
So how can the tackle trade help, with support, not sponsorship, these events only work if you make a show, banners, flags, literature, back issues of magazines all to entice the public to your area, anything that will re kindle that dormant interest in angling and if the companies would like to display its products so much the better. It may not be the Big One, the gate would not be fifty thousand but even if it was a rep talking to a members of the public for eight hours spending five minutes with each person would only speak to ninety six people. The returns are not immediate but you are investing in your future.
Rodney Bracey
Editor: Thank you for this Rodney, you are correct in every way. Unfortunately there is no magic wand for this.
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