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During the early to late eighties every canal and council lake were full of match/coarse anglers, I know, I was there fishing amongst the grumpy old gits who didn't have time for anyone younger than 150 years of age. All my mates went, and their dad's or uncles or more. Now, the local council lakes and canals just aren't the same, you might see a few over the weekends but nothing compared to back when I was coarse fishing. Yeah, I think carp fishing has a bit more appeal, and as a consequence a few more do it, maybe some of the coarse anglers have gone into carp fishing but you only have to look at the industry as a whole to see its only going in one direction. The industry has been saturated with tackle and bait companies, I just don't think the current situation is sustainable, take a look at ebay, I bet that in itself has done a lot of damage to sales. Simple fact is, money is a bit thin on the ground so new tackle just isn't being bought. I bet most of the particle we all buy isn't from any bait company it's all bought from animal feed shops, purely and simply because it saves us a bit of money. I genuinely just don't think a lot of kids want to go out in the cold and go fishing. Gaming has played it's role but social media has also had an affect.

thats about my thoughts as well !! its was just like this in the sixties and seventies as well as later. theres the issue of people generally wanting everything NOW and instant success ,being partly driven by imported fish and larger stocked weights, in the 70's/80's there were more naturally stocked fish and having to work harder for them created more of an achievement ! now it seems that possibly because of the easy dissemination of information via social media and the internet that achievements are much shorter lived and not worth as much ! " just my thoughts! there are also other thoughts lol" signed "grumpy old git" lol

Angling has been in decline for decades now , look back at the history of match fishing some open matches on the big canals would have a 1000 anglers with people turned away . The 70' and 80's where probably the peak in fishing numbers . Carp angling has grown massively in a short space of time with a lot of 'instant anglers' and as in many things these days a lot have just seen it as a money making exercise even to such an extent that kids can't nip to their local lake for a few hour FREE fishing . The sad thing is UK fishing is in decline , will it change probably not . When I've got more time I'll bore you all with my views .

Agreed. Back when I used to make my own bait I used Krill in the basemix at a rate of 1kg in 12kg of dry mix. I accidentally doubled the amount when mixing and the whole lot floated!🤣

Im with Yonny on this. Is fishing in Decline? No i dont think so, More people are just moving over from other forms of angling to carping, Its trendy, You dont see pictures all over social media/mags etc of roach, You see carp, From all corners of the globe. Bait companies pulling out of the UK...Well look at the amount of bait firms now, Look at the amount of knowledge at peoples finger tips enabling them to make thier own mixes with stuff in thier own kitchen, meaning they dont spend £4 on a small amount of groundbait. Obviously britexit plays its part. It terms of angling companies Angling Direct are pumping money into the trade at the moment opening stores and buying small stores out, Theres a huge market abroad for them to move into. Kids fish, I have friends who ask me to take them and show them how to fish, kids see carp being caught, They want a carp....You cant pick up a £10 rod and reel and turn up to a lake anymore. Its an expensive spot. Its a risk to buy all the kit they need and find they dont like it.

In my opinion UK fishing is not in decline. It's changing for sure, but you just need to go down to your local day ticket and try getting a decent swim to see it's as popular as ever. Tbh I'd be perfectly happy if it was in decline as getting access to fish for big fish on waters which aren't absolutely hammered is nigh on impossible these days.

I think angling reached it peak over ten years ago, you've only got to look outside the box to see angling is a declining sport. The EA have been pushing the initiative with getting kids into fishing for free, Country File has even promoted this on one of their programmes not so long back. Forums are shutting down one by one, there just isn't the interest out there anymore. I predict the bigger retailers like Angling Direct and Fishing Republic will start to close a few of their stores to try and thin out profit loses, I presume they'll end up scaling all the way down to their head offices and just working with online sales. The number of kids just aren't there anymore, the rise in online stuff has sealed that. One of the club's in the Cotswolds lost half of its waters a couple of years ago, you'd expect they'd find more but the decline in members has halted that idea. I think companies who already have their fingers in other pies will be ok, like ccmoore who also retail pet feeds. To many fingers in the tackle trade has had its affect, their all taking a slice of that ever decreasing pie, Nutrabaits, Kryston and others have suffered, mitchell, shakespeare, and the like have all been bought out by bigger conglomerates. Yes banks will be clearer, but gear will also be harder to purchase, nearly all the little independent shops are gone which just leaves the mail order only companies. I think it'll end up as it was 10 to 20 years ago, just a few tackle and bait retailers to hand.

Is fishing in decline........ not yet,but will be in 10/15years time almost definitely. Dont be fooled that the X Box generation is to blame,it isn’t. The home video game exploded in the early to mid 80,s the thing that changed the next generation to get off there backside and back fishing was commercials..... No more club ticket needed just pay ya fiver and catch plenty of 1-5lb carp all day. If said before where I grew up a small town in the N/W there was at least 5 places you could get maggots/tackle etc in the 80,s by the end of 2,000 there was one poorly stocked shop. I also disagree that fishing for other species is on the up...... if that was the case why are most tackle shops 80%. carp based 🤔probably because carp kit is the biggest seller. Fishing is cheap,very cheap. Gone are the days 30years ago when you was forking out £60 for a decent rod. For £100 you could rig your nipper with a half decent set up that will see them catching fish all day. On the few occasions I go a home match at Anfield I’m lucky if I’ve got much change out of £150....... that’s quite a few fishing trips !!!! When I was younger Our local pools was full of my mates and lads around my age as well as the grumpy older ones 😆😆 but as I fish my various waters in my club waters the youngster just ain’t there.... and it’s free fishing for anyone under 16 as long as there with an adult ! I think the main problem is this current generation the teenagers/early 20,s just aren’t interested in fishing as crazy as that sounds. Whether they just don’t ‘get’ it or there’s far more appealing things to do (and don’t give me the X Box excuse) because trust me I was rarely off my Atari/Spectrum at there age,the only time I wasn’t was when I was fishing !!!!! Gaming NEVER stopped me angling,I just truly believe that the youth of today just ain’t that interested in angling as much as we was at there age. Everything changes per generation...... footy changed,computing has changed everything has change,including fishing. Of course there will ALWAYS be Angler’s just not the numbers we’ve known for the last 50 years,which is sad really. Thats my two peneth anyway 😬

Whys that? i was fishing the old deep lake at willows farm or rather bowmans in hertfordshire as it was then 2 of them came round and as they came close i had a run and they said its ok we can wait. and thats the last time it was checked time before that i was over fairlands in stevenage and it was the old NRA ticket or whatever it was then i cant remember cant remember before that so lets say twice in 25 years but to be fair most of my fishing is on club waters so whether or not they actually can get on those i dont know

I respect your views Yonny but you can't compare modern carp fishing with the general all round fishing from the 70's , 80's even the 90's and say its not in decline . Fly fishing , sea fishing and coarse fishing are and have been in decline ask any tackle dealer or manufacturer and if answering honestly they will all say the same . Busy day ticket waters are probably more to do with a change in the way anglers are fishing , some would view the day ticket waters as the type the modern instant carper goes to . The types of water that you want to fish are still busy with waiting lists ,but these aren't fished by the majority .

Off to the secret lake this evening. Let's hope with this warmer weather I'll be able to see some of the rumoured biggies. Heard a rumour of somebody guesting 2 years ago that had a 40lb + out.

I have goodness knows how many rigs tied up in my rig bins, most on a simple knotless knotted hooklink with a line aligner, although there are some with a sliding ring on the hookshank. My pop-up rigs are on Ronnie, D-rigs or occasionally 360 rigs. I do not faff about with rigs, I use what works for me. As much as a knotless knot is good, there are times it needs a line aligner or kicker. What a lot of people don't realise is that by changing the hooklink material you can totally change a rigs behaviour and hooking ability. The other thing is that since the invention of the hair when it was originally tied around an inch long then being extended it has become shorter again, almost being shank mounted. Changing hair and rig length makes a difference! While Ronnie rigs are the current fashion, there will come a time when it stops being so effective, maybe because sucking and blowing by the carp means the bait becomes marked, or is simply unable to be sucked in with hook following.

The decline in license money is twofold: 1. They reduced the cost of it for us carp anglers. That’s £9 lost per 3 rod angler who since the change. 2. The lack of resource to actually check licenses means it’s easier than ever to get away with not having one. The impossible but best way to solve this is all fisheries are registered to an online system whereby to purchase a ticket (day, night, club book, syndicate) you have to use your license number. Fine the fisheries heavily if they don’t and they will bailiff it for you. But like I said, they can’t pay a 25k salary for a bailiff so how can they invest millions to create that system.

young people aren't taking up fishing like they did when I was younger ive got 9 nephews and took them all fishing but only 1 kept it up into their 20s where as when I was a kid everyone I knew went fishing and a lot still do in 1 form or another so as the old guard die off they aren't being replaced due to the amount of time nippers spend on internet games (fortnite for my grandson) your lucky to get them out the house never mind fishing imo theres way to much choice, just look at all the different rods reels and bivvies are out there with a bit of luck the tat will die off and the quality brands will remain

Had some vicious takes with 3.5 - 4 inch hooklinks on clean gravel this year, after taking on board what Yonny mentioned about a friend of his using shorter hooklinks…….. Think sometimes they are so used to 7-8 inch and can get away with it...…. I imagine that as soon as they suck in the shorter hooklink, the weight of the lead is engaged instantly , and , bang, they are hooked. Haven't had the confidence to try this on anything other than clean bottom though.....

I’ll be there all weekend. Feel free to bring me over coffee (or beer)!!!

I do fanny around occasionally but for the majority of the time my go to rig is uncoated, supple braid, knotless knotted through to the hair which gives plenty of separation and movement (was original Kryston but now on the old ESP Sinklink) of around 8”, longish shrink tube line aligner to a sharpened beak point hook (loving the ESP cryogens). Preference is for a balanced bottom bait, Tiger, Brazil or snowman if using boilie hookbaits. If I can still reach the distance, I’ll always have a pva mesh bag/stringer attached. Its not really changed since the early ‘90’s and has caught all my bigest fish from silty Cheshire & Shropshire meres, to estate lakes in Warwickshire and Herefordshire and gravel pits in Northamptonshire and Berkshire. Occasionaly, I’ll go on single flouro pop ups/wafters and I’ll use a coated braid but hook and line aligner are the same, just add an appropriate sized shot.

It's just the whole c'mon get in the net thing that he shouts and the dodgy heavy breathing,not normal