An apology.
I've needed to say this for a while now. Just never get the time to do it. I owe a few people who visit this website/bait section an apology. Over the past few years if I have bitten at you for what you would feel is no reason at all... I am sorry.
We all have our faults, I know mine better than anyone. It's very hard to deal with personally when you see spiteful & underhand people playing very nasty games in the background. I can take criticism, when it's real, from real customers. The problem for me has been, as carp fishing as a whole has slowly discovered about the hook baits, other men want a piece of that pie for themselves. Over & over again. The upshot of that is, in a format like this one, people can easily play very nasty games. It's very hard to take, when you read underhand comments over a long period of time, about something very close/personal to you.... Then when you eventually find out that the people making those comments, are not just normal everyday anglers who have an opinion on the products that you produce... But they are in fact men who have desperately tried to replicate what you do for your work, but it absolutely failed for them. It's quite savage when they then want to direct their venom about that, back at yourself. When that happens once, it hits a spot. When it starts to happen over & over again, it starts to make you a bit paranoid. It starts to make you bite in situations where you should not bite. It starts to make innocent banter, into something else. No one is ever going to admit, “I don't like him”, “because in reality I want what he has”. “I had a go myself, but it never worked for me”. “So now I'm just a little bit obsessed with him online”.
That's why I bite sometimes. If I have bitten at you, when that above had nothing to do with you, then I am truly sorry. For a long time I have had an invisible guard up on here. When people from within the bait industry start trying to interact with me, I shut down instantly. The reasons why are detailed above. That has not happened once. That has happened many numerous times over a very long period of time. Some of those people have been just driven by sheer jealousy... Some of them driven by real life severe mental illness. That makes them become VERY obsessive indeed. Learning to accept that all this comes with the territory has been the hardest thing for me to deal with after SHB started. I was obsessed myself, with carp fishing, for my whole life. Learning to accept that this will always happen if things are going great for you, is the biggest lesson I have learned personally as a man. People will only start to target you, when they want what you have. They only want what you have, when things are going well for you. It's human nature unfortunately. The internet magnifies that massively. It gives men who would not say boo to a Goose in real life, the opportunity to be something else online, which they are not in the real world. I understand perfectly that during my frustrations at all of the above, I have bitten at so many people who had zero to do with any of that. That just makes enemies, for absolutely zero reason.
I just had to learn to deal with the fact that it all comes with the territory. All of the above... It's actually a wonderful, very beautiful thing. Not something to get stressed about. There will be many people who I owe an apology too. If you read this and think “yeah you dick, you bit at me for no reason at all”, then I really am sorry.
I've needed to say this for a while now. Just never get the time to do it. I owe a few people who visit this website/bait section an apology. Over the past few years if I have bitten at you for what you would feel is no reason at all... I am sorry.
We all have our faults, I know mine better than anyone. It's very hard to deal with personally when you see spiteful & underhand people playing very nasty games in the background. I can take criticism, when it's real, from real customers. The problem for me has been, as carp fishing as a whole has slowly discovered about the hook baits, other men want a piece of that pie for themselves. Over & over again. The upshot of that is, in a format like this one, people can easily play very nasty games. It's very hard to take, when you read underhand comments over a long period of time, about something very close/personal to you.... Then when you eventually find out that the people making those comments, are not just normal everyday anglers who have an opinion on the products that you produce... But they are in fact men who have desperately tried to replicate what you do for your work, but it absolutely failed for them. It's quite savage when they then want to direct their venom about that, back at yourself. When that happens once, it hits a spot. When it starts to happen over & over again, it starts to make you a bit paranoid. It starts to make you bite in situations where you should not bite. It starts to make innocent banter, into something else. No one is ever going to admit, “I don't like him”, “because in reality I want what he has”. “I had a go myself, but it never worked for me”. “So now I'm just a little bit obsessed with him online”.
That's why I bite sometimes. If I have bitten at you, when that above had nothing to do with you, then I am truly sorry. For a long time I have had an invisible guard up on here. When people from within the bait industry start trying to interact with me, I shut down instantly. The reasons why are detailed above. That has not happened once. That has happened many numerous times over a very long period of time. Some of those people have been just driven by sheer jealousy... Some of them driven by real life severe mental illness. That makes them become VERY obsessive indeed. Learning to accept that all this comes with the territory has been the hardest thing for me to deal with after SHB started. I was obsessed myself, with carp fishing, for my whole life. Learning to accept that this will always happen if things are going great for you, is the biggest lesson I have learned personally as a man. People will only start to target you, when they want what you have. They only want what you have, when things are going well for you. It's human nature unfortunately. The internet magnifies that massively. It gives men who would not say boo to a Goose in real life, the opportunity to be something else online, which they are not in the real world. I understand perfectly that during my frustrations at all of the above, I have bitten at so many people who had zero to do with any of that. That just makes enemies, for absolutely zero reason.
I just had to learn to deal with the fact that it all comes with the territory. All of the above... It's actually a wonderful, very beautiful thing. Not something to get stressed about. There will be many people who I owe an apology too. If you read this and think “yeah you dick, you bit at me for no reason at all”, then I really am sorry.
In reply to Post #2
In reply to Post #1
well said Mark
well said Mark
Fair play Mark.. positivity all round I hope.. 
In reply to Post #1
Fair play....
Fair play....
In reply to Post #1
From the outside commercial bait seems a mad old game. Looks like you are making peace with what sometimes goes along with it and its good vibes onwards
From the outside commercial bait seems a mad old game. Looks like you are making peace with what sometimes goes along with it and its good vibes onwards
In reply to Post #7
It's madder than any of you lot could EVER imagine Andy. You don't hear the half of it.
I have just learned to accept it, that's all.
It's madder than any of you lot could EVER imagine Andy. You don't hear the half of it.
I have just learned to accept it, that's all.
In reply to Post #1
"Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't after you"!!
"Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't after you"!!
In reply to Post #9
I hope for your sake, that your real life angling skill is substantially better than your efforts on here
I hope for your sake, that your real life angling skill is substantially better than your efforts on here
In reply to Post #10
Not really, but I catch a few thanks to your hookbaits
Not really, but I catch a few thanks to your hookbaits
Ah, Mr Clare I presume? I hope you're still doing well with them
In reply to Post #12
No, Mr Bale!
Not been out after carp at all this year, only had time for a couple of fly fishing trips and will hopefully get after some seabass this summer on the lures on holiday.
Need to get back into carping in the autumn, but I can basically only do work overnighters, takes some motivation...
Hookbaits work well though, in particular, big commons seem to love those white S2s - you heard that before?
PS : what I meant by the Catch 22 quote is that you can come accross as a bit paranoid, but then you tell some of the stories of what goes on and it becomes more understandable!
No, Mr Bale!
Not been out after carp at all this year, only had time for a couple of fly fishing trips and will hopefully get after some seabass this summer on the lures on holiday.
Need to get back into carping in the autumn, but I can basically only do work overnighters, takes some motivation...
Hookbaits work well though, in particular, big commons seem to love those white S2s - you heard that before?
PS : what I meant by the Catch 22 quote is that you can come accross as a bit paranoid, but then you tell some of the stories of what goes on and it becomes more understandable!
In reply to Post #1
Its good to have you here mate. Thanks for your input
Its good to have you here mate. Thanks for your input
In reply to Post #13
Ah sorry, there is more than one Sam who has stuff sent to France. Thought you were Mr Clare.
I understand your quote now. I'm not paranoid, however it might seem. As mentioned below, you lot really do not even hear the half of it. Speaking about the negative things of the bait trade all of the time makes Mark a very dull man. If you bring something great to market, everyone else wants a piece of that action. That's carp fishing. Look around at all of the hook bait companies claiming to be 'curing' on their websites. There is only one person that they are all looking at. That's a fact.
Yes I get told all of the time that big commons love it Sam. Get told all of the time that big mirrors love it too. As long as that is always the case, we will be okay. Carp fishing is not the be all and end all. Sounds bliss, the Sea Bass. I'm currently abroad, I spend more time fishing abroad in the sea now than I do for UK carp. When I am in the UK, I work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for a month to 6 weeks straight. No exceptions. Been doing that for years.
People like you are our base customers. Anglers who sit festering on the bank stinking of piss day after day have no money to buy anything. They just ponce, to keep an easy life going.
Ah sorry, there is more than one Sam who has stuff sent to France. Thought you were Mr Clare.
I understand your quote now. I'm not paranoid, however it might seem. As mentioned below, you lot really do not even hear the half of it. Speaking about the negative things of the bait trade all of the time makes Mark a very dull man. If you bring something great to market, everyone else wants a piece of that action. That's carp fishing. Look around at all of the hook bait companies claiming to be 'curing' on their websites. There is only one person that they are all looking at. That's a fact.
Yes I get told all of the time that big commons love it Sam. Get told all of the time that big mirrors love it too. As long as that is always the case, we will be okay. Carp fishing is not the be all and end all. Sounds bliss, the Sea Bass. I'm currently abroad, I spend more time fishing abroad in the sea now than I do for UK carp. When I am in the UK, I work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for a month to 6 weeks straight. No exceptions. Been doing that for years.
People like you are our base customers. Anglers who sit festering on the bank stinking of piss day after day have no money to buy anything. They just ponce, to keep an easy life going.