Friday, 5 December 2014

A Journey 2004 - 2014

 

Bass fishing with Jim Hendrick

Using various strategies to get your business and services ‘visible’ is beyond doubt essential. In todays world that definitely means using social media tools, websites, mobile friendly accessibility, and a strong reputable and credible online presence.

The use of ‘Feature’ articles in angling publications is one of those strategies that I adopted early in 2003 through the advice of David Byrne. The first International ‘Feature’ that effectively portrayed the potential of South Eastern Irelands bass fishing appeared in VoyagesdePeche in 2004 (here). Nico Jamin was the chief Journalist working with the magazine at the time and his photos feature in the article.

Julien La Journade the editor in chief of the magazine has a close and highly developed relationship with Irish angling promotion. A constant champion of many guides and services in this country Julien has done me many small promotional ‘unprompted favours’ over the past ten years. Subtle in context, a paragraph here a photograph there, just enough to keep things ticking over.

I have been very lucky with the journalists I have had the opportunity to work with over the past ten years. When I want to work with somebody I’ve already made the decision on the basis that I know that their objectives are based simply in carefully promoting the angling, the local support services and of course the guiding as provided by Jim Hendrick. Here’s the kicker though, many angling journalists are interested in promoting themselves and their angling prowess in preference to either the fish the environment or the services. This is often achieved by being facilitated into positions of angling opportunities that they could have never ever dreamed of experiencing!

bass fishing in IrelandI have been careful and lucky too.

But I’m guessing now that this is always the case, there’s always a little bit of quid pro quo, and that’s fine until you find their friends are casually ‘guiding’ on places where you have worked for years to develop. Somehow the quid and the quo are not the same.

The something special about Julien LaJournade is probably in his passion, his depth of understanding of both what it means to be a genuine fishing guide whilst being aware of the impacts of local recreational angling and the associated risks of over development of any fishery in many environments. I have learned to believe that these are some of the characteristics of quality angling journalism.

My personal strategy with magazine features was to use many different International publications across many countries over time. Coupling this to reporters who viewed Wexford in the same way as Guinea Bissau, Gabon or Norway and that in these places were unique fishing possibilities available to you if you used a local fishing guide – simple, this is their job. I know how to do mine.

Julien returned to Ireland this year and we worked on an article for his magazine. We had an incredible week. Both tough and at times awe inspiring. I find it appropriate now as I change my life and my angling, again, that the magazine I started with in 2004 (as above), the first of its kind to visit South East Ireland and particularly Wexford,  is the one I close with for the time being.

Bass fishing

So much has changed since then. The magic of technology and photography has moved so much that these photos here were taken on my mobile phone, unheard of in 2003! Some of these and more feature in the latest edition of  Voyagesdepeche.

Julien has completed 9 pages of an article about his latest experiences of Irish bass fishing on the wild coast of Ireland guided by Jim Hendrick.

Julien is a balanced writer, a great lure fisherman and someone who has inspired me never to get engaged in the online bullshit of expertise that’s so prevalent around bass fishing.

I believe that not everyone has agreed with what I did as a guide, I tried to do my job as best as I could and with as many like minded people as I could find. I’ve had incredible bass angling experiences and I have been lucky to have shared some of those times with great angling journalists. Journalists who have done bass fishing and Ireland proud.

Thanks to you all – Jim Hendrick

New Website

The beginning AND the end…

Forwarded to - The Irish Bass Policy Group (David McInerny, John Quinlan, Shane O Reilly, Mike Hennessy, Dr William Roche, Dr Nial O'Ma...