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Will commercial fisheries prove the future of our sport?
“Commercial fisheries prove a double edged sword - as they allow young anglers to become very proficient very quickly – but only at a very limited number of methods. This is undoubtedly why they prove so popular, catching fish is relatively easy, and an angler can go from being a novice to being a winner in just a few short months.

The problem is, commercial fisheries also produce a lot of short term anglers, by that I mean anglers who take up the sport, but then lose interest – because this kind of sport simply doesn’t prove as captivating as fishing diverse venues with a variety of species.” This was the verdict of England skipper Mark Downes, when asked his thoughts on young anglers entering the sport.

He went on: “Today's best young anglers may start on commercial fisheries, but they soon diversify their skills by joining a club or team that allows them to take in other varieties of fishing.

One of the best young anglers that I have ever seen was Andy May, he had an unbelievable natural talent.  Adept on all float fishing methods, he was a great all-rounder brought up on venues like the River Weaver and the North West canal Circuit.

Sadly, the lure of commercial fisheries proved too attractive for him. Had he taken to team fishing, I have little doubt that he would now be a fully fledged member of the England squad.

From the anglers that I have seen over recent years, Matt Godfrey is one of the best. He has an unbelievable appetite for all disciplines of the sport, and is an exceptional natural talent. Lots of anglers can be good technicians but few are natural tacticians and this is what separates the very best anglers from the rest.

To become a "great" you need the ability to think for yourself, and come up with methods based on the conditions that you are faced with, more quickly than your opposition, Will Raison is a great example of this.. These skills can only really be acquired by building experience on a wide range of venues.”

Over recent years, Maver Midlands has enjoyed numerous successes – and team captain, Wayne Mellings puts this down to investing in youth.

He explained: “If you look at the thousands of commercial open matches being fished up and down the country every weekend, each with a few young anglers fishing, there is no shortage of young talent out there on the bank. The difficult thing is encouraging these young anglers to leave the venues that they are fishing – and often doing well at - and try and fish elsewhere. In the current economic climate, money is tight for a lot of young people, and the saying that you pay to learn is very true.

There are a couple of young anglers in my team – namely Craig Goldstraw and Jordan Hall, who started off their angling career as venue specialists before joining us. By travelling around, and fishing alongside anglers such as Jamie Hughes, Stu Ballard and
Jon Arthur they have been able to broaden their skills, and now form a key part of the the team. Fortunately, we have a very generous sponsorship package from Maver, which gives them a relatively cheap and easy way to get kitted out with good fishing tackle.

I know of several other teams who have recruited such anglers and developed their skills in this way, and the truth of the matter is, there is no end of talented young anglers out there. It is just a matter of team captains finding them, and helping them to develop their skills.”