The cost of Match Fishing

[Line Clip]

So after we have bought all the gear, the Rod License, Club Card, paid the Match fee, bought the Bait, Ground bait, etc, etc.
We can now go and ( luck or skill ) win or frame in the Match and recuperate some, or even all, if not more of the money spent.
I consider my Club Match fishing as cheep, for what I get out of it, I enjoy the preparation ,the visit to the tackle shop every week to
see whats new on the shelves , check out the latest gear, etc , Framing comes as just a bonus when it happens, (every blue moon)
What amount of money would you need to win as a dedicated Match Angler to cover your costs, How many matches do you fish,
The Open Circuit angler wins more, but has more costs, and tougher opposition as apposed to the Club Angler who takes things a bit
less seriously but enjoys the win when it comes along just the same.
If you put the cost of travel into it, then the Open Circuit Match Angler must far out weigh the Club Angler, cost wise
So what bracket to you fall into, I suppose in both categories, its the usual names that pickup the wins, and take home the brown envelopes.
Do match fees differ, depending on what area you live, or maybe which Club match you fish. To enter our matches it can cost £12 - £15
with approx 18--20 anglers fishing the match, What is the average Club Match fee, what does it cost to fish the average Open Match ( entry )

 

[pies]

With what i spend on tackle id need to be winning fisho regularly. I enjoy the day a win is just fun. Be lucky to win £90 on a club match as we spread the money about. Wouldnt touch the sides of what ive bought this winter but hay ho no pockets on a coffin

 

[chris1967]

i'm happy if that over say a 3 mth period i break even on my pools .

 

[davylad]

You'll have to be framing regular to even get near to breaking even fishing opens I reckon, probably impossible for most. Club match anglers even if they win a lot, will find it almost impossible when you weigh up the full costs. It was nice when you got a brown envelope in an open match, it usually went on a new item of tackle, and the rest to the missus to keep her happy. The trouble was for me, there weren't enough of them unfortunately.

Oh pools alone, yes in club matches you could get well in front in good years, and maybe if you won a well attended open, it would pay for your entries for quite a while.

 

[robert d]

So after we have bought all the gear, the Rod License, Club Card, paid the Match fee, bought the Bait, Ground bait, etc, etc.
We can now go and ( luck or skill ) win or frame in the Match and recuperate some, or even all, if not more of the money spent.
I consider my Club Match fishing as cheep, for what I get out of it, I enjoy the preparation ,the visit to the tackle shop every week to
see whats new on the shelves , check out the latest gear, etc , Framing comes as just a bonus when it happens, (every blue moon)
What amount of money would you need to win as a dedicated Match Angler to cover your costs, How many matches do you fish,
The Open Circuit angler wins more, but has more costs, and tougher opposition as apposed to the Club Angler who takes things a bit
less seriously but enjoys the win when it comes along just the same.
If you put the cost of travel into it, then the Open Circuit Match Angler must far out weigh the Club Angler, cost wise
So what bracket to you fall into, I suppose in both categories, its the usual names that pickup the wins, and take home the brown envelopes.
Do match fees differ, depending on what area you live, or maybe which Club match you fish. To enter our matches it can cost £12 - £15
with approx 18--20 anglers fishing the match, What is the average Club Match fee, what does it cost to fish the average Open Match ( entry )

About £50 to £60 per club match fuel ,bait , and pools money , most of my venues are 45 miles plus away . I love it , used to frame regular ,not so much now as i need to go more , you can loose your edge if not going enough , im hopefully going to put that right this year .

 

[rudd]

Club matches on club waters = 100% pay out.

25 Anglers = £250

1. £90
2. £60
3. £35
4. £20
Then three sections of £15

Bait / travel - would have spent money on these any way to fish if not a match.

 

[NoCarpPlease]

I'm mainly fishing rivers, and only fish opens or team leagues
All in (entry and pools) is most often £20 .... but can range from 15 to 25
Bait varies - some matches I take a couple of pints of maggots, a pint of hemp and a few worms ... other matches a lot more.

As I wrote recently - I cover my entry, pools, bait and sundries from my winnings - but I win more than the average.
Capital purchases (rods, poles, boxes etc) are the cost of my hobby.
I don't want to think about petrol costs

 

[alsur]

£15 most matches I fish, don't get back much of that now probably about a third over season, I'm happy with that as I still enjoy them and I've fished with many of anglers for years.

When I fished opens regularly like Chris I was happy to cover my pools which I did with a bit extra but nowhere near enough to cover bait and petrol. I worked on theory that I would go fishing anyway so if I covered pools it wasn't costing me any extra, probably not true because I probably took more bait and traveled further match fishing.

 

[Maesknoll]

If it was about covering costs, not many would be in the black..... The tackle I buy is for my enjoyment, if I can recoup my bait and travel costs, with a bit left over, that’s a decent day, probably easier in winter when it’s possible to win using 1 slice of bread!

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

My way of looking at the money side of match fishing is that if I pick anything up then I am that much better off than I was at 10 that morning.

I probably don't spend anything different for a match as I do for a day's pleasure fishing apart from the entry fee and fuel (matches tend to be further away). My club match fee will be £20-22. The number of anglers paid out will depend on the number fishing, no sections as we only have 20 members so normally no more than 15 fishing.

I'm not so sure that you can draw a direct distinction between the amount spent by club and open match anglers. I know plenty of club anglers that use top of the range gear and spend big on bait. And then I enter some opens and am at the other end of the scale for expenditure.

 

[chefster]

I don’t even think about it

 

[robert d]

I don’t even think about it

Because your coming home with more than you spent ,bagger Gazza

 

[robert d]

Because your coming home with more than you spent ,bagger Gazza

 

[Total]

I don’t even think about it

^^ Ditto here too....

 

[robert d]

^^ Ditto here too....

And your very rich , daddy

 

[Northantslad]

If win then about break even all tolled at my level, a loss if lower down.
Still got to be the best value whole days entertainment there is though.

 

[tipitinmick]

I don’t even think about it

Me neither. It’s my hobby. It’s what I love doing. If I can I do. We’re not here long enough.

 

[chris1967]

I don’t even think about it

ditto .Think if you need to be winning to be able to carry on fishing matches then really you shouldn't be fishing them .you can go a while without winning anything then win two or three on the bounce

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Never an issue with me, which is just as well. If I win anything , it’s the icing on the cake to a days fishing.

 

[HawkerMan]

It's a hobby and your meant to enjoy it if you start to think about the money it takes the enjoyment out of it.
If you want more money go to work it pays a lot more than fishing.
Andy Bennett did it for 12 months after his accident full time, I think he won £27,000 and cleared about £12,000 after costs so us mere mortals have no chance.