Yes I am still here! Admittedly I have been lurking in the shadows trying to avoid the carp scene but we all knew deep down that it wasn’t going to last for long and I think going cold turkey two months ago was a good call – although an expensive one!

If anybody followed my “Chasing Myths Blog” they would have noticed that my final write up was more like a rant than my normal blog piece, and I have to admit it was – I was so fired up about a few issues I felt were infecting the carp scene it was only a matter of time before I exploded.

My main gripe was the in your face advertising, now I know that companies need to advertise,it is the way of the world in every industry on the face of the planet – but what got me so fired up was the dvd’s and rags which pretty much told you that you need this ”wonder product” to catch, yet when you break the item down it is no different to another companys offering, in some cases a more expensive copy because it has a name pushing it.

Somebody rightly pointed out “well you were happy to be sponsored” and they were correct, I was indeed sponsored by a bait company for a couple of years, I started off as a field tester getting bait at discounted rate before being offered a consultants deal.

However at no point did I get free bait or paid to push a product, I was given an allowence of bait for every article I wrote….If I didn’t write/do photographs then I wouldn’t get bait it was a simple as that.

At no point did I ever tell somebody in an article that the bait I used was the best thing since sliced bread and they had to use it or advertise a gimmick, I have always prided myself that I would never use something or write about something that I wouldn’t normally go out and buy myself.

All of my articles were either blog related (same format as Chasing Myths) or technical pieces – I simply wrote about what I was doing and using.

It’s quite funny really, all these people telling you that you have to use this and that, yet when they leave the company and move on to pastures new and say the same about their similar products – yet if the original company’s products were that good and the best out there surely they would carry on using them regardless of having to pay for them or not??

The other major gripe I have within the industry is people turning up next to a lake/river, putting up their 27 man bivvy then proceeding to empy a couple of crates of lager, a few ounces of drugs then having a rave on the bank – in my opinion, if you want to party hard you do it in a night club not next to a lake where people go to enjoy the tranquility and most importantly you are not in a fit state to safely land and handle a fish, I hear the “I can drink 20 cans of Stella and be fine mate” but you are talking complete tripe, grow up or go elsewhere – I am all up for have a couple of cans or a glass of wine on the bank to relax after a hard week at work but there are limits, people need to think about others and the fish they are catching – along with their personal safety.

Right, I am going to stop there as I have gone off on a tangent again – so what have I been up to I hear you ask for those of you that are still reading and not fallen asleep….

Well, after what I have written above got to me so much I took the bold decision to sell all of my gear including the van and just get a small barbel set up for a few hours relaxtion down on the river.

I will be honest, it has been rather slow on the Ouse as expected – the great river seems to be a mere shadow of its former self which is very sad to see, I am sure otters are to blame and I know there is one resident on my local stretch as I heard it “Bark” last week.

I have however been fortunate to land a few nice barbel whilst fishing the River Nene, I have really enjoyed these sessions – and my god I forgot how hard those Barbel fight!

So where is this going?

Basically, whilst on a Barbel session after work only last week with a good friend and life long angling companion talk turned to my campaign chasing a Big Common towards the end of Spring which I was fortunate to land very early on – this was it for me, I hadn’t thought about Hippo’s for a couple of months,the bug had gone completely and I was happy, then in that converstation it all came back and hit my like a train!

I returned home late that night, crashed on the sofa with a big huff – the wife asked what was wrong and if I was ok which I replied “No, I need to get my gear back!” we then had a long conversation about why I sold it all in the first place, she agreed with my reasons and also when I said I have absolutely no intention to ever be sponsored again, just me and the fish – no pressure.

Those last few words are very improtant “I have absolutely no intention to ever be sponsored again, just me and the fish – no pressure” – I only really have ever told close friends about this but whilst I was “sponsored” I was told that I was sh%$t and read nasty comments about my angling ability or lack of it, I will hold my hands up and say now I am rubbish, there you go I have admitted it myself – I have never said I was good, in fact any of my friends will tell you that I regularly knock my own ability.

So what are my plans?

Well, with Winter just round the corner I am looking forward to sampling some Chub fishing, having been one track minded for many years I have missed out on an awful lot!

However during the Winter I will start replacing all of my Carp gear ready for an early Spring start, the Water I have in mind is very quiet and suits short early morning sessions – down the lake for 03:30am and off the lake by 10am so a mobile approach is going to be required.

As I said further above I won’t be sponsered I am simply not interested in it anymore, the Chasing Myths Blog has been deleted along with my Big Twitter account – the only thing I do intend on doing is writing a quartely piece for Catch & Release if they will have me, not because I am a good angler but because I enjoy writing.

Have a great winter and I hope your water stays ice free,

See you in the Spring!

Smithy