[Allan Liddle]

Hi All

Angling section of the Scottish Game Fair has had a bit of a revamp this year from the declining and tired section it had become.

Good increase on the number of trade stands with an increased sized Anglers Mall as well as a mini Fly Tying Fair with two tying sections and a cracking number of quality tyers on hand to demonstrate.

Will be a cracker of a weekend and the angling section alone enough to keep the visitor interested for most of the day, if not all.

Drop in past if you can make it.

[Mike Barrio]

Would be good to catch up with everybody - fingers crossed that I can nip down that weekend 

[Hamish Young]

More details about the fishermans row and the fly tyers taking part can be found here: https://www.scottishfair.com/attractions/fishing/

[Allan Liddle]

Not long now and really looking forward to this one.
Drop past and say hello if you make it down.

[Mike Barrio]

Anybody been?

What's it like this year?

[Hamish Young]

I typed a long answer to this - thought better of it - and have only this to say, the days of Anglers row are gone. Long live the anglers marquee - or that small tent, on the left, by the discount hats and Nick Nairns' restaurant.

H

[Hamish Young]

Was it busy with anglers, Hamish?

Not terribly busy, no  a good trickle, rather than anything more 'robust' such as a spate......

There weren’t many posts on social media about the fishing events/exhibitors, other than those by the fly tying crowd.

There were a lot of fly tyers.....

Most of the photos published online seemed to be folk of folk posing in tweed and Dubarrys.

I know.....

Personally I think I would have struggled to justify the cost of entry + petrol + parking + food, to see the same people as were displaying at Inchberry Hall a few months back.

For angling alone, wouldn't have made sense - like it once did - to attend. However, for all the other stuff Absolutely. Rest of the show was excellent.

Roll on the Moy Game Fair.

Indeed.

[James Laraway]

So its a real shame that is seems like the Scottish Game fair has 'done an Orvis' i.e. token effort on the fishing front and concentrate on expensive clothing, country living accessories,  dog beds and accessories etc etc ( the old Orvis that is)

Don't get me wrong, I like looking at the high end 'country living stuff' and shooting stuff but for me fishing as a 'country pursuit', and its one that everyone can afford to do - and is accessible to kids.

for the first time in years I'm not away on holiday at Moy Game Fair time, so I'll be there in my tweeds and Dubarry boots

I typed a long answer to this - thought better of it - and have only this to say, the days of Anglers row are gone. Long live the anglers marquee - or that small tent, on the left, by the discount hats and Nick Nairns' restaurant.

H

[Ivor Duffus]

The fishing stalls must be at a huge disadvantage compared to the gun dealers.

You would probably need to sell 50 expensive fly lines to generate the same cash as a gun dealer selling one old 2nd hand gun.

Not really a level playing field. Perhaps all the fishing stalls should be in one big tent like that food and drinks. That would make more sense to me.

I like the game fair. But I don’t go purely for the fishing, I go for a venison burger 🍔 

[Allan Liddle]

I certainly enjoyed it and had some great craic, in fact the weekend passed really quickly and although i wasn't 'swamped' i must admit to having a reasonable amount of interest.
Overall i feel it was a good effort by many to help raise the Anglers Row but sadly the organisers didn't do us any favours by sandwiching us in between Nick Nairn and clothing outlets.
Personally i'd have thought it better if the Anglers Village as it was called was facing the river and if the organisers were truly in favour of a robust angling presence.
That said the entry fee and the parking means that you are hit a significant amount before you even consider a burger and coffee so not a lot of spare cash to spend after this.

Footfall overall to the show was down and a lot of traders noted a drop in attendance, current cost of living certainly having an impact.
As for the amount of fly tyers, this wasn't planned to have two set tying areas, however it did create a bit of an atmosphere although the Mall benefitted from the trade stands but attendance was more a steady run rather than a deluge.

In the end it showed Scotland can support a tying event albeit one that's more modest than larger events further south, as for Moy reports of £20 per head entry and £10 parking (so i am told but could be wrong) will again have a negative impact on numbers i feel.

[Mike Barrio]

What about the Game Fair at Ragley Hall this weekend - Has anybody been?

[Hamish Young]

No, I didn't go.
I understand that angling and anglers row there is also a shadow of its former 'self'