Fishing: Not as Expensive as You Think!

Fishing is one of those sports that people assume is expensive, but that doesn't always have to be the case.

So yes, you have to start with a fishing licence these can be as cheap as £3.75 for a 1 day licence, which is great for a taster session, or a 7 day and also your standard full year licence. Check out this guide on getting a licence which is right for you.

Next you are going to need some vital equipment, so either a rod & reel or a pole.

The best for a starter is going to be the pole or a whip, no knotted lines, tying on hooks, floats and all that complicated business. With Poles and whips, you just put them together attach your rig (line, shot, float and hook, all pre-tied), stick on a maggot or pellet and away you go!

So how much for an “unpack & fish" product? Let us introduce our underestimated little gem in the fishing range, this Avanti Electron Blue Elasticated Whip, comes with a rig for just £10! (No that’s not a typo, we did say £10)

So far we have sorted your licence and equipment, but unfortunately fish don’t just jump on the hook (if they do, please tell us your secrets!) For the next bit we need bait, nowadays there is a huge selection of baits available, but just for now lets stick with the good old trusty favourite!

Maggots! Believe it or not they come in a range of colours and sizes, they are sold in pints and you should expect to pay around £1.20 for half a pint and £2.40 for a full pint, (you can get maggots from local tackle stores or Dragon Carp’s Superstores dotted around the country). A mixed colour pint should do for a session, ask for a little extra maize to prevent them sweating as much (yes they sweat!) And try to collect them the day you go fishing to prevent them from dying or turning in casters. You can use maggots as both feed and hook bait, you may hear anglers saying you need to feed your swim, this just means chuck a few maggots in near were your fishing to tempt fish closer to your hooked maggot.

When hooking a maggot there is a technique, when you take a close look the pointy end is the head and the flat bit with 2 black dots is the bum, get your hook and hook its bum.

Finally you need somewhere to fish, try using dedicated websites like Fish on Friday, here you will find a huge number of fisheries with information on address, contacts, tactics and if you can fish on day tickets or if you need to be a member. Your standard day ticket will be around £5, some fisheries will offer half day or evening rates if your just going after work or taking the kids after school.

So we’ve done the leg work, provided an awesome deal and demystified fishing for those who like me when I started, just truly did not have a clue where to start. (Everyone’s been there!)

Like I said at the start, fishing doesn’t need to be expensive, we have stripped this down and made sure you will be fully equipped to venture into a new hobby for approximately *£29!

Why not take a look at the huge range right here and see what else is available for every level of angler!

Tight lines

See you on the bank soon!

(*£29 is an estimate value in July 2014, including current p&p)