WELCOME to our Friday blog. Every Friday we hand over to Carl and Alex Smith – known online as simply Carl & Alex. 
These super keen youngsters have a passion for making a variety of fishing videos. Read their tips each week in Angler’s Mail magazine’s unbeatable All The Answers section.
We hope you enjoy the blog, written by Alex. Share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the icons above.
WORKING LIFE BECKONS!
I HAVE finally managed to escape the wrath of college, starting full-time work next week and making a rather large change in my life. I know for sure it will be hard work, saying goodbye to long holidays and replacing them with early mornings, busy trains to London and a lot of time and dedication.
A job within the fishing industry was something I had never really considered, but when Online Fishing TV asked me to be an editor and camera man for them, I could not say no. I would love to spend my week days enjoying time on the bank with friends but in reality, money is what keeps you dry, warm and fed so a job is a necessity!
Having been given the opportunity to edit and film fishing videos has made me think seriously about the future of angling media. Will there be a day when everyone buys digital issues of fishing magazines? Or will everyone simply browse the web to find videos, photos and tips online? Perhaps (like me) people will never want to lose the feeling of a magazine or newspaper in their hands and printed content will continue to be the future of angling media.
Carl’s fishing time will be a bit limited now he’s entered the world of full-time work in the angling industry.
In recent years I have noticed a rise in the number of popular fishing YouTube Channels, mostly due to cameras becoming cheaper and editing software becoming more user-friendly, allowing your average angler to make quality content to post online.
The major problem with YouTube is that there is no quality control to ensure facts are correct or to stop dreadful quality videos being posted. You find a real mix and you can’t always trust what you see on there! The other problem is that no one will put huge amounts of time and money into producing high quality content for YouTube because it is very hard to earn back that investment.
YouTube has decided to enable revenue sharing so that popular YouTubers can earn money from adverts placed on their videos, but this money is minimal and will never fund the cameramen, editors and presenters required to create top quality content.
These days companies such as Fox, Korda, Free Spirit and Nash have created large followings on their YouTube channels where the public can watch well-made videos for free. The only drawback being that the video’s main purpose is to sell products, so the information will ALWAYS be biased towards that companies views.
Fox, sponsors of the Angler’s Mail Carp Cup, are one of the firms with a strong YouTube presence.
Other content creators include the magazines and newspapers and although this content has low budget it is normally respectable and reliable. Lastly, you have the general public’s video content, films made by kids who have a passion for fishing, adults who enjoy film making in their spare time and also retired people who want to put something back into the sport.
Alex and I fit into this category and our main aim is to document our adventures in a way that entertains others; our content may not be of the highest quality but with a minute budget we do try out best!
As for written media, most magazines are bringing out digital issues for iPad, desktop computers and mobiles. These modern versions do not seem to be replacing print but could possibly be the future, especially as the ‘computer generation’ become the main target audience.
Angler’s Mail is now as seen here for iPad, and also for Kindle Fire and Nook, in their stores.
The problem is that most people would rather hold the actual pages in their hands than read off a screen and without a digital issue, containing extra content (video or interactive media), it is just another version of the same thing.
Perhaps in the future the magazines and papers will evolve into broad websites with a subscription cost to access a range of angling information. In reality though, no one really knows what will happen. Time will tell though and I’m almost certain the demand for online content will continue to rise, even if it does not pay back too well.
In the meantime, here are some excellent websites and YouTube channels where you can get free content, but don’t forget that for the most reliable information, best fishing tips and all the news, Angler’s Mail Magazine is THE ONE!
Some good angling websites:
Maggotdrowning.com: http://www.maggotdrowning.com
Angler’s Mail YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ANGLERSMAILTV
Free Spirit YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/freespiritfishing
Angling Trust: http://www.anglingtrust.net/ Nash TV: https://www.youtube.com/user/NashTVchannel
Environment Agency River and Sea Levels: https://environmentagency.co.uk
FromTheWatersEdge YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/FromTheWatersEdgeTV
Fishing With Rod YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/fishingwithrod
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