Review: Go Fishing 2008 N.E.C Birmingham

EMAP have been running the Go Fishing show at the N.E.C in Birmingham since around 2002. By around 2004 the show was really quite good. Ticket prices were reasonable and there was a very good mix of retail areas to demonstration stands. The show sported a number of film shows together with live tuition from a good number of well known angling 'faces'. Sadly, since that year there has been a steady decline. I last went in 2005 having been for three years in a row. The gloss had gotten slightly tarnished in that year with a noticeable imbalance of retail areas to purely educational. There were still some very memorable displays such as the cringe worthy rod tester. To put a rod costing nearly £200 into a machine to bend and ultimately destroy it has to be seen to be believed. That demonstration was repeated a few times each day, but not too often. It was interesting though as it showed just how much punishment a modern rod could take.

So, onto 2008 and a break of two years for me. I was given a complimentary ticket by a good friend of mine who happens to be a journalist but could not justify the time off to go himself. The journey to the N.E.C was nice and steady, as it usually is on the Friday morning. I can't comment on what the traffic is like over the weekend as I have never visited the show on those days. Parking was a bit hit and miss this time. It has been plain sailing in the past. Signage was not very clear and, to make matters slightly worse the N.E.C was hosting two other rather large shows at the same; the 'Wedding Show' and the 'Outdoor Show'. What I will say at this point is that the N.E.C put a very good coach service to and from the halls. I don't know the exact frequency as I always park on the disabled car park so I'm close to the main set up, they are quite regular though.

I reached the hall, a smaller one this year. "Hmmm, that's odd" I thought to myself. No queuing to get through, nice. I always find myself rather bewildered when I walk into a large show such as this and there was no exception this time round. So, I decided to turn left and wander around that way fully expecting to find the obligatory Angling Times stand with the free goodie bag; ok, so I'm a sucker for a free gift. Now, here's the start of the upset. Normally, in past years at any rate, the aforementioned stand has been quite close to the entrance. This means that show goers can flick through their free copy of the Angling Times and plan a route around the show to suit them. This time however, no stand. So I wandered around and....I was left feeling rather disappointed and not a little lost.

After my two years sojourn I had hoped that the organisers may have improved the set up. I've already mentioned the change of hall, well; it's a lot smaller with far fewer demonstrations going on but seemingly more sellers trying to offload cheaper - but pricier goods. On the positive side there was a guy doing some fly-casting demonstrations. Sadly this was seemingly pretty basic stuff and it even started to bore me (I cannot call myself a fly fisherman though I do own a tiny amount of tackle). My ears did prick up when there was mention of fly fishing for coarse fish; now that does interest me. What was he talking about? Using a fly set up to cast dog biscuits and other floaters for carp; the mention of carp was to become rather monotonous during the day. Maybe the fly fishing demonstrations improved later in the day? I don't know because I tend to switch off when I hear the word carp - much as I enjoy fishing for them.

There was an indoor pavilion with a film show that I would have loved to have watched as it was Martin Bowler's latest video with Hugh Miles. Hugh of course, being the genius documentary film maker, and accomplished angler himself, behind the 'Passion For Angling' TV series of a few years ago. Unfortunately there were too few seats and too many eager viewers.

I'll admit to being spellbound at one particular stand. Kruger

Boats. Mmm, nice in a Homer Simpson way of viewing doughnuts. One particular vessel caught my eye. At just under £12,000 there was an ex-demonstration boat up for grabs. if you have the money of course. Fitted out with what looked like a nice electronics package, an 80 horse power (if I recall correctly) outboard and decent enough looking cabin/cuddy this was a little cracker. Oh if only my dear wife could win the lottery.

I did find something of interest in my price range however. Browning have now entered the market of the artificial bait. I spotted their version of fake sweetcorn and decided to have a press on the packet. I'm not happy with the Enterprise stuff because it's really hard and feels unreal; unlike their other excellent products. The Browning stuff is far different. It is nice and soft and feels realistically juicy. I have had a big boost of confidence now ready for when I once again try for the elusive tench on a local water. This is, of course, in reference to my over 20 years blanking when it comes to catching tench.

I picked up some neat cage feeders (internal bomb weight) also with the tench in mind. Mashed corn, Dynamite Baits Frenzied Hemp groundbait with a few grains added and maybe a little fine crumb to top it off. One Browning sweetcorn to a 12 or 14 hook and I then I can sit back with anticipation.

I also picked up a very nice, short landing net handle to go with my

small collection of travelling kit hidden away in the boot of the car.

It's a Leeda, three piece, telescopic 'Power' handle. Light enough for perch and roach (hopefully one of those tench) but feeling powerful enough to handle carp into double figures. Hey, I can dream. Add to that little lot I also finally found a set of outrigger 'box' style arms for my Wychwood lightweight chair. Dragon Carp have put together four packages. One a straight out, fixed in position 'rod rest' while a second, similar rest is available that can be adjusted for angle so it can be set up beach caster style. The third kit is classed as an outrigger proper and is meant for adding a bait waiter of side tray. The fourth and final one is designed purely for holding a brolly; I have reservations about this with the sort of strong winds that we've been seeing lately. I bought the adjustable rod rest kit and the bait waiter outrigger. I shall no doubt use the outrigger as a rod rest as well. While I am very pleased to finally find this sort of leg/rod rest arrangement for a specialist chair - I can't justify dumping a perfectly good chair to buy a new Korum one - there is a downside. The fact that the finish quality of this kit is poor overall. Pieces of the aluminium arms and fixings are badly cleaned up - I will hesitate to say that there has been no effort made to tidy it all in some areas - with highly visible saw cuts on view. The edges are positively lethal and razor edged; first job is to take a file and emery cloth to them. These will be great additions to my kit but why is the customer supposed to finish off products. Black mark to Dragon Carp for accepting this sort of shoddy work from their suppliers.

Right, back to the show. Where were the big names? In years past we've been treated to the likes of Shimano, Browning, Leeda and Shakespeare to name a few all showcasing their latest and upcoming products. It was always good to see what would be available over the coming months. Sad to say that there was a distinct lack of manufacturers. With this in mind I finally found the Angling Times stand, right down the bottom end of the hall. I filled out the usual name and address card and accepted my eagerly awaited goodie bag. Ok, perhaps not that eagerly awaited but it's always interesting to see how many disgorgers they are giving away this year. I opened up my freebie copy of the Angling Times and immediately went to the show supplement. As always there was a clear plan of the show with all the stalls marked out. I'm not sure if I was disappointed or stunned at the fact that none of the big name fishing tackle manufacturers were represented. I can honestly say I scanned the plan again as I thought I must have missed something. No, it was more like looking at a detailed plan of an indoor market. The vast majority of boxes were from retailers. Of those I would say 95% were carp orientated. Fly fishing had a few stands representing guilds or associations but, from what I could see sea fishing was very poorly represented. Even Sea Angler magazine was tucked up a corner like a naughty boy.

The plus points to this show were that there were a few well known anglers dotted about. I couldn't help but smile at hearing John Wilson's crazy laugh; now there's a guy who always seems to be smiling at this show. Mentioning smiles Bob Nudd was doing his usual autographing session. I've always found Bob to be a pleasant guy and willing to offer advice, he's always great with kids too.

Oh, I nearly forgot. I did get to meet a rising star in the world of

angling both practical and written. Mark Barrett was seated quietly

at the PAC (Pike Angler's Club) stand. I like Mark's writing, it's

always easy to read, informative and it makes you want to get out there and wet a line. Mark himself came across as a very nice young man and was happy enough to sit chatting with me, cheers Mark.


That's about it really. What could be, and actually once was, a very

good show is slowly stagnating. How much longer are anglers going to be willing to pay out an ever increasing sum just to walk into an indoor tackle market? Having read a growing number of comments from other, equally disgruntled show visitors, my views are pretty much in line with the majority. One wag suggested renaming the show to the 'Go Carping Show'. I've also heard a rumour that the possible reason for a lack of support from manufacturers is purely down to cost. If it is true then who is to blame? Is this the N.E.C or EMAP? Whoever it is they are slowly killing the goose that did indeed lay some golden eggs.

Will I go again? Possibly. Will I go if I have to pay for a ticket rather than visit on a complimentary one? Absolutely not and I doubt many others will as the years progress. This show could so easily be a lot more.



Kevan Farmer

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