Getting into wildfowling

[PPP]

16 minutes ago, Reabrook said:

If you honestly believe yourself and others have been mistreated by this Club then surely you should name it and save prospective members problems in the future?

 

Just do your due diligence before you join any club is all I will say in a public environment

[Richie10]

People have to remember that when joining a wildfowling club that you get out of it what you put in.  A few people expect to join and go out shooting and expect all the facilities while not helping out or getting to know the other members. Many times it's the same members that are there at the yearly events, work parties etc, the rest of the members are sitting back waiting for the season to come round. This doesn't put those members in a good light.

You aren't paying syndicate prices and the core/committee  members aren't getting paid either....

 

[Grandalf]

Richie10 your post is spot on.

Let me say at the start of this that I am an old man.   Been fowling for many a year.   Only still solo fowling on inland venues due age and the assistance of younger friends who 'look after' the old fellah when on more adventurous marshes.   I have been a member of very many clubs over the years.    You get out what you put in.   Sit back and wait for things to be done by others and you will always be treated as an outsider.   Get stuck in and meet all the doers and you will be treated with respect and given all the assistance you need.   Fowlers are basically friendly people.   No body else understands why we do what we do.   Many new fowlers start and finish their fowling careers in two or three years.   They don't have the dedication to rise at silly o'clock on a winters morning in the hope of a shot at a fleeting duck.   Those who stick at it build up a fantastic network of friends with similar 'madness' in their blood stream.

Joining a new club or taking up the sport needs a bit of research.   Talk to people before putting your money down.   Members rather than club officials if you can.   I have no doubt that there are clubs that are not so good - but the overwhelming number are run by a dedicated team of guys who put in a lot of time and effort to ensure fowling remains the cheap way to shoot that it has always been.   All good clubs have a mentoring system in place.

PPP, you say you live in North Essex - if you can't get sorted locally then look over the border into Suffolk and you will find good clubs on the Alde  and Deben rivers.   Go a little further north and you have very many more around the Broads area in Norfolk.   I have never been a member of an Essex club but I have had the pleasure of shooting down there, as a guest, on many occasions.   Do your research and I am sure you will get sorted out.    

Edited May 10, 2018 by Grandalf

[Fen tiger]

Richie 10 and Gandalf both good posts and of course the truth you get out of clubs what you put into them the membership is the club if you've got good members you've got a good Club it's not just about Marsh clear ups and work parties although important they are relatively easy involving just a day or so  when compared to the people stand up and be counted and actually get on the committees and run these organizations.

   Few if any of these men and women expect any kind of Praise for what they do they do it out of a desire to promote and uphold the club and in these difficult times the workloads can become quite considerable and in some cases it can be a thankless task the plain facts are you cannot please all the people all of the time and compromises have to be made in the running of anything. And oficials  must consider the greater good and sometimes  personal opinions have to be set aside for this.

  In a perfect world it's easy to be able to contribute to a club but nothing in life is simple personal opinions and attitudes get in the way and the clique PPP mentions in his post can take effect regardless of how much effort one puts in to try to fit in some times it wont hapen.

  The call to name and shame any such club is in itself a futile request as what is unacceptable for some people is totally acceptable for others and the opinions on these clubs will vary widely and those opinions after all everyone to entitled to them.

  I have been in a few wildfowling clubs over the years and a couple I did drift away from due to the attitudes of the clique that seem to exist within those clubs.

  Wildfow[ers by their very nature can be a strange breed sadly it is not all sweetness and light within the wildfowling community despite what people would like to suggest, it is not at all difficult even when you fit in in every way possible to quickly get out of step with the more influential members who are often the more vocal of the breed. Often you don't need to do very much at all the Mere fact that you exist and were there where they wanted to be, or  your indeed  successful where they were not this is enough to set the Cancer growing.

With success brings two things which sadly some Fowlers thankfully a minority feed off that is envy and jealousy, for those that feel this does not exist in wildfowling you are kidding yourself it's there ever present and it can induce back bitting and cause problems for some people in certain  wildfowling club scenes.

  Every individual handles situations differently, for example some can be friendly and accepted that way some may  stay quiet get their heads down and get on with it. some  loud it out and no doubt you could categorize other methods of fitting in,  but try as you might you won't be Mr popular with every single member and unfortunately it's the luck of the draw if  that member is in a position in popularity  to do you some credible  harm with in  the club.  Only you can decide what is acceptable to you the same as the other individuals wildfowling is like every other Walk of Life it has people in it and when you get people they will disagree if that affects how you interact  with in that club depends on the attitude of the members as a whole.

All we can do in a wildfowling  Club's is try your  level best to promote new membership and encourage and support new members and old a like it is a balancing act and human nature being what it is it will never be perfect regardless what some may say.

Edited May 10, 2018 by Fen tiger

[Reabrook]

Some great advice and thoughts in the three posts above. Most  of which I agree with. The one thing I can’t agree with is that naming the Club concerned is in anyway futile. I accept we all see things differently and that may be the case here but whilst that Club remains anonymous it remains subject to unfounded rumour without the right of reply or the chance to defend its actions. 

Roll on 1st September!

[motty]

10 hours ago, Richie10 said:

People have to remember that when joining a wildfowling club that you get out of it what you put in.  A few people expect to join and go out shooting and expect all the facilities while not helping out or getting to know the other members. Many times it's the same members that are there at the yearly events, work parties etc, the rest of the members are sitting back waiting for the season to come round. This doesn't put those members in a good light.

You aren't paying syndicate prices and the core/committee  members aren't getting paid either....

 

My experiences are that everyone can get exactly the same opportunities, regardless of how much you get involved in a club.

[Fen tiger]

2 hours ago, Reabrook said:

Some great advice and thoughts in the three posts above. Most  of which I agree with. The one thing I can’t agree with is that naming the Club concerned is in anyway futile. I accept we all see things differently and that may be the case here but whilst that Club remains anonymous it remains subject to unfounded rumour without the right of reply or the chance to defend its actions. 

Roll on 1st September!

Reabrook you made your thoughts on name and shame on the previous page of this thread, and my comment was with respect for your views and in no meant to belittle what you were  saying, just putting a different point of view that happens to be my point of view.

No club as far as i can understand was mentioned, put another way i am still oblivious to what club is involved and quite \frankly i am not interested because no club needs to defend itself, its simply a case that some dont gell in clubs when they join thats all.

 Clubs are evolving constantly changing or they all end up old men and simply fade away or get re incarnated out of pure necessity by some times unwilling individuals who get virtually pres ganged into office to keep them running.   Clubs need a health input of new blood preferably young blood either offspring of long term members or active new comers, now this although healthy is not always with out its complications. The mad keen newcomer can be greeted with acceptance initially but some times the keenness grows rapidly old with some members, and dependent on the individuals involved the rot sets in and in extreme cases school yard rifts do erupt.

I do not know why this happens in wild fowling clubs but it does in some, i have seen just such instances so many times not to whole heartedly believe this.

The above type of interaction i feel does not warrant name and shame, as membership changes cliques and ragemes alter and  the nature of the club changes sometimes for the better and what a member was not comfortable with a relatively short time ago given the different people or mindset changes things can be far more in line with that same disgruntled fowler ideas.

One more reason perspective members should not take much notice of the rumor mill on clubs or even individuals, is that some times its simply not true if enough **** is thrown some of it will stick or give a dog a bad name or no smoke without fire all these adages fit in here some where, but fact is take notice and you could just be missing out on a fantastic experience in that club or with these individuals. I think perspective members are best to go in open minded clear of any pre conceived prejudice they might have gleaned and draw their own conclusions based on the facts as they find them because wildfowling is just like real life only much more important LOL! and life is far too short to miss out on the opportunities a good club could offer .

[Reabrook]

14 minutes ago, Fen tiger said:

Reabrook you made your thoughts on name and shame on the previous page of this thread, and my comment was with respect for your views and in no meant to belittle what you were  saying, just putting a different point of view that happens to be my point of view.

Fen Tiger I never for a minute took it that way and apologise if I came across that way. I too was looking to put a different view based on my personal experiences. Already people are taking a guess on which Club this is and that can’t be good. In my opinion if your making such a statement on an open forum then you should be prepared to back it up with fact. It’s not about shaming anyone.

We’ll perhaps have to agree to disagree.

[Fen tiger]

1 hour ago, Reabrook said:

Fen Tiger I never for a minute took it that way and apologise if I came across that way. I too was looking to put a different view based on my personal experiences. Already people are taking a guess on which Club this is and that can’t be good. In my opinion if your making such a statement on an open forum then you should be prepared to back it up with fact. It’s not about shaming anyone.

We’ll perhaps have to agree to disagree.

 No need to apologies its all good,  as long as we both know both our comments were respectful of one another opinions , and lets face it the world would be a strange place if we all agreed on everything. But we can agree and take comfort that the season is  approaching we are over a third way to opening day right now that has to be a good thing.

[Richie10]

11 hours ago, motty said:

My experiences are that everyone can get exactly the same opportunities, regardless of how much you get involved in a club.

Everyone does have the same opportunities, of course. People can get to go shoot where and when they like after they have done the initial amount of trips to that particular marsh and whether they are safe, which is the norm in most clubs. They have to go out with the committee or an experienced member to get sign off in my particular club. If a person gets involved in the club and gets to know the members getting that sign off would be easier as they get invited out more often and in turn more experience more help and get more out of the club. Even though wildfowling is mainly a lone pursuit there is a social side to the club and if members get involved then they can benefit from that and more the members get on with each other the better for the club.

I have been a member of a couple of Wash clubs, one where I was let out on the marsh with no real experience and didn't really get to meet other members or go out with other members even though I tried many times to get out with the committee, if I had got up there more, made more of a nuisance of myself and got involved more I would have had a better experience. The other club was more welcoming and social and helped me learn routes and tide heights etc, that initial knowledge allows you to make judgements and I made the effort to get up there more and I had members come to my local marshes.

Not getting involved, not making those links in the club can make you feel an outsider for some members, as indicated on this thread, that can breed resentment and then you get people making these comments publically.