december sea angler

How does this sound.....
If you know nothing about fishing you buy the mag and read everything.
If you know a bit about fishing you read most of it.
If you know a lot you read a little bit until.
If you know enough it's not worth buying it.

Within that there's the sub plot - I remember Gogs being the subject of a report by Steve Souter up Arbroath way and catching a 10lber. No mention of the mark, only the bait - crab and mackerel I think - so what have you learned? That crab and mackerel catch 10lbers? All the time? Hardly.
What you've got is a snapshot of an evenings fishing and an interesting and entertaining spread that is or is not worth £3 or whatever.
I have caught a lot of fish on Tynemouth Sands but the number caught on ragworm you can count on one hand - but one of that handful was a 12lber - does that mean that the best fish are caught on rag (stinking at that) No of course not. So even the catch reports need to be put into context and those that can fish do not run to, say, King Edwards Bay, just because there's a daft 6lber caught off the prom (which might be a month ago by the time the mags printed), even though it's a lovely fish.

The better you become at fishing the more you rely on your own judgement and less on the printed word is, I think, what I'm saying.

ARE YOU LISTENING ROD !!!!!!!!!! hahahah
 
subscribe to a years issues, when they arrive, read it, put it in an envelope, mark the month on it and put to one side

next year find 'this month's' envelope, write your name and address on it and stick it in the post, 2 days later you'll recieve that months copy of sea angler, and you'll never know the difference


with the money you've saved you could buy some paint to put on your shed and watch dry in case the magazine feels a bit 'samey'
 
Neither of them or any good really - if you wanted to fish any part of the Northern Ireland coastline (which is part of the UK) you will be hard pushed to get ANY tips ,never mind any local info - i am transfering my subscribtion back to salmon and trout - and reading the above in supermarkets like like Al said earlier
 
Wel i enjoy reading both,not always great stuff every month but it is about differing views and ideas.
Always welcome in my book.
Much prefer these then some boring rubbish on football which does seem to be all the same drivel.
But at the end of the day as i feel sure has been said before,don't want it don't buy it.
Or do what many of the people who moan about it do,read it in Asda while getting in my way.
 
maybe I was a bit harsh in my previous post. I only started fishing last summer, and due to commitments, I spend more time reading about it than practicing it.
I bought 2 books (new) for about £7. Between these, I have a permanent reference of every knot and rig I could ever want and a few I won't, how to identify fish, a basic guide to tides and general mark types (beach / rock / pier etc).
I pay about £3 a month for the Sea Angler which did help with rig dimensions (I've always tied my own and only ever bought feathers pre-tied) but has generally provided just a couple of nice stories and a catalogue of tackle adverts. I work as an accountant in the media industry, and must disagree with the 'purchase price barely covering printing costs' comment. I suspect from the editorial standards (have you seen how many typo's there are?!) and the non-advertising features that costs are strictly budgeted and that the mag makes a healthy profit for the publisher.
Apologies for the rant, but when an 'advertisement feature' is listed as a cover story, that takes the biscuit. (See Rapala lures - SA Nov)
The type of content I would like to see is more along the lines of learning how to read the sea state, fish behaviour patterns etc.
So many 'rookies' like myself are deluded into thinking that they need top notch gear and a 250yd cast to catch fish, I'd guess that it detracts from the uptake of the sport. Of course, state of the art gear benefits those who have the ability to take advantage of it, and it is often advised that casting tuition should be sought, but surely it would be of more commercial benefit to get more people fishing (responsibly etc) and increase the political clout of anglers to benefit the sport in the long-term.
I could go on about this for ages (indeed I have!) but I hope I've brought up some valid points and stirred some thoughts.
 
Got to agree with you on the articles that would be handy there Lemmy! Also what about advice on fishing etiquette i.e. taking ur rubbish home, interviews with the RNLI and HM Coastguard on safety at sea, just something a bit different than the same old.
 
I was at the Sea Angler office on Monday....and Cliff Brown, Deputy Ed, showed me the biggest pile of letters you have ever seen.....people asking the mag how to tie a shockleader!
What you have to remember is this, people all over the country are new to the sport of sea angling, not everyone is as knowledgable as you are. What exactly would you like to see the magazine cover?

Not you Paul lol (only kidding mate)
 
£30 kit from Argos?

Sorry mate but dont take this personal, if you fish anywhere other than the river marks or roker pier then your kit will let you down.

Fish some of the marks between roker pier and South Shields and your kit will not be as good as the more expensive rods and reels.

Getting bqck to the magazine, as TC has pointed out it will be repetetive as are gardening mags and others. But it doesnt and will never stop people having their moan (we are all human afterall) i would go as far to say the sea angler and tsf have more repeats than the BBC.

Cant wait until they show us how to peel a crab!
 
how to peel a crab

how to peel a crab

far best i rush down and buy a copy then.count how many pages of articles and how many pages of adverts,ive never bought it for years cos its the biggest croc of sh@@ on the market
 
Good point, In honesty I would probably have agreed with the first post, re same old same old. I had september and octobers issues still in their wrappers till last week. But that has as much to do with other things taking priority as thinking it will be the same old stuff. As you say Jim, we dont think of folk asking simple questons.
I emaild Alan Yates yesterday, re Cannylinks. He replied straight away asking for a sample, and intends to review them in the whats new swction of S.A.
Mind you, I had that promise 18 months ago from TSF, still waiting.

Tight lines Fellas.
 
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