[Hamish Young]

I almost forgot about this ..... Who's going this weekend?

Well I am............. 

[James Laraway]

i would love to go but i seem to be away every weekend at the moment so could really do with putting my feet up at home for a change....

not sure being too tired is a good excuse 

[Rob Brownfield]

Not I.

Only so many casting demonstrations, terrier races and tugs of war can be seen in one lifetime 

[Mike Barrio]

An enjoyable day at the Game Fair yesterday

[Rob Brownfield]

Out of interest, how big was Fisherman's Row this year?

[Hamish Young]

Not huge, but very well attended.

[Hamish Young]

I meant to post a more lengthy 'feedback' on my first visit to Scone for some years - so here it is.

Now as it happened it didn't cost me to gain entry to the event for three days as I attended in a sort of 'local fixer' capacity for Orvis who were supporting the instructors with outfits and thus they provided me with 'staff' tickets - more on the entry costs later.

I will say this now.... I have previously been 'underwhelmed' by the quality of some of the instruction at Scone.
Not so this year.
Although I have no intention of becoming a GAIA instructor their instruction team, marshalled by Brian McGlashan, did a stand out job. Between them the instructors did over three hundred 20 minute sessions with clients at the Scottish Game Fair. In simply brutally hot conditions, they were unquestionably the hardest working volunteers on site; I applaud their magnificent efforts

So the nitty gritty.... was the angling section any good Well, not great.... but better. It wasn't huge and the Fly Fishing & Fly Tying marquee wasn't what I hoped for. Somers were the principal retailers plus the usual bargain basement offerings - more interestingly Scott Mackenzie was there with his team on their own stand and by all accounts they did very well ; which is good for Scott and good for the event.
The Peake brothers were there along with some familiar faces from the River Dee 'collective'.  I saw Mark Bilsby, now with the Atlantic Salmon Trust, but sadly no chance to have a chat with him.
Saw a few forum members and caught up with loads of folk I've not seen for years and years.

I enjoyed the event..... but the angling section needs work yet and I believe Brian McGlashan has the job of bringing it all up to date. 2019 will see some changes to casting competitions which might bring me out of my self-imposed retirement.

So angling.... let's make it a generous 6/10

The rest of the event was bang on, loads of good stands and the craft and food fair section was excellent, a deserved 9/10.

But it's an expensive day (and you can't hope to do the whole event justice in one day) and a very expensive two days. As a punter I would baulk at the cost, but then again it is only one weekend a year.......
Oh and for the £4 car parking charge. Ferk off.

I suppose the key thing is I would pay to go next year. For one day 

H

[Charlie Murray]

I think they're going  overboard with the prices, £20 entrance fee plus £4 to park in a field. when I first started going it was £5 entrance and no parking fee. I went on the sunday it was red hot so I had one glass of lager in a plastic container I think it held just less than a pint £4.50, then I had a pasty £4 who makes up the prices. finally what happened to fishermans row, there used to be tent after tent full of fishing gear,this year I think there was half a dozen at most. also at one time there was a bargain to be had now they wouldn't give a blind hen a worm

[Rob Brownfield]

I think they're going  overboard with the prices, £20 entrance fee plus £4 to park in a field. when I first started going it was £5 entrance and no parking fee. I went on the sunday it was red hot so I had one glass of lager in a plastic container I think it held just less than a pint £4.50, then I had a pasty £4 who makes up the prices. finally what happened to fishermans row, there used to be tent after tent full of fishing gear,this year I think there was half a dozen at most. also at one time there was a bargain to be had now they wouldn't give a blind hen a worm

I think you have pretty much hit the nail on the head.  If you walk down Gunmakers Row you have at least a dozen of the major retailers, then double that in manufacturers. Some of the manufacturers come over from Europe to be there.

We can't even get a manufacturer from Alnwick to have a stall. They used to.

Some of the Carp Shows in England attract over 100 exhibitors and 10,000 visitors and all the main companies are there, and even Daiwa comes down from Scotland..so why cant they drive 2 hours to Perth?

[James Laraway]

I think you have pretty much hit the nail on the head.  If you walk down Gunmakers Row you have at least a dozen of the major retailers, then double that in manufacturers. Some of the manufacturers come over from Europe to be there.

We can't even get a manufacturer from Alnwick to have a stall. They used to.

Some of the Carp Shows in England attract over 100 exhibitors and 10,000 visitors and all the main companies are there, and even Daiwa comes down from Scotland..so why cant they drive 2 hours to Perth?

i think its because its a game fair, rather than a fishing show.

a bit like garden centres are now cafes with a small plant section, game fairs are now food and drink stalls with a few fishing rods thrown in for good measure. Not to mention you cant have enough Dubarry boot stalls for the Sloan Rangers... 

[Brian McGlashan]

I meant to post a more lengthy 'feedback' on my first visit to Scone for some years - so here it is.

Now as it happened it didn't cost me to gain entry to the event for three days as I attended in a sort of 'local fixer' capacity for Orvis who were supporting the instructors with outfits and thus they provided me with 'staff' tickets - more on the entry costs later.

I will say this now.... I have previously been 'underwhelmed' by the quality of some of the instruction at Scone.
Not so this year.
Although I have no intention of becoming a GAIA instructor their instruction team, marshalled by Brian McGlashan, did a stand out job. Between them the instructors did over three hundred 20 minute sessions with clients at the Scottish Game Fair. In simply brutally hot conditions, they were unquestionably the hardest working volunteers on site; I applaud their magnificent efforts

So the nitty gritty.... was the angling section any good Well, not great.... but better. It wasn't huge and the Fly Fishing & Fly Tying marquee wasn't what I hoped for. Somers were the principal retailers plus the usual bargain basement offerings - more interestingly Scott Mackenzie was there with his team on their own stand and by all accounts they did very well ; which is good for Scott and good for the event.
The Peake brothers were there along with some familiar faces from the River Dee 'collective'.  I saw Mark Bilsby, now with the Atlantic Salmon Trust, but sadly no chance to have a chat with him.
Saw a few forum members and caught up with loads of folk I've not seen for years and years.

I enjoyed the event..... but the angling section needs work yet and I believe Brian McGlashan has the job of bringing it all up to date. 2019 will see some changes to casting competitions which might bring me out of my self-imposed retirement.

So angling.... let's make it a generous 6/10

The rest of the event was bang on, loads of good stands and the craft and food fair section was excellent, a deserved 9/10.

But it's an expensive day (and you can't hope to do the whole event justice in one day) and a very expensive two days. As a punter I would baulk at the cost, but then again it is only one weekend a year.......
Oh and for the £4 car parking charge. Ferk off.

I suppose the key thing is I would pay to go next year. For one day 

H

Thanks very Much for the feedback re the Instructors  Hamish.and Thanks to Orvis for a loan of the kit.. The Instructors  do a great Job.Jamie Murray and I have Been using the same core group for years and they give their all. Peter MCcallum usually heads up the FlyTying section but because of a mix up he couldn't attend.Hopefully he will be back next year.

All of your other points are valid and if you don't mind I will Include them in my Feedback(preparing now) to give the main organizer, who I will be meeting soon.Anyone with any other ideas  please feel free and I will include them in my report.

I think one of the success stories this year was the "Junior Mcnab". In an effort to get more Kids active in the Countryside pursuits, the Organizers had set up a trio of tasks to complete which were Shooting,Fishing and Archery.We had scores of happy kids filling in their score cards to win a daily prize.We also had some flys from Simplyflies.com and Boxes from Orvis ,these we handed out randomly to some unsuspecting kids.All in all a very successful venture. Next year it will be bigger and better.

 Regards
Brian McGlashan

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Brian

Seems to me that this is not just a Scottish Game Fair problem, all Game Fairs appear to have lost interest from both the tackle trade and the fishing public? I'm not sure what the answer is to be honest.

But your team certainly looked busy down at the river ..... well done

Best wishes
Mike

[Hamish Young]

As I'm down in Hampshire at the moment I've spoken with folk who attended the Ragley Hall Game Fair... by all accounts you're on the money Mike. Anglers row was very poorly attended indeed 

[Rob Brownfield]

.....yet "Angling Shows" are hugely attended.

The likes of The Big One have 15,000 visitors from all over Europe to see around 200 exhibitors under one roof, most of which are leading names in angling. Entrance fee is charge £7 .

Along with that, they have many of the really big names in angling, they have demonstrations, casting clinics, competitions, discounts and talks.

Maybe its a chicken and egg situation...no big manufactures therefore folk are not interested. Get them back and maybe the folk will come back.

They also need to get a grip of the entry fees. Seems that if you put "game" in the title, prices double. (And that includes pies at the butchers lol)