Chad, we may see things differently on some subjects, but differences can, if managed properly, lead to consensus. I applaud you for your letter. When secretary of the Pania club I put much of what you have written about the silence of the NZACA in a personal address to the AGM of the association held in Stratford some thirty-eight years ago. I wasted my breath then, exactly, as I fear, you may be wasting your time now.

Fishing is one of the largest participant sports in New Zealand, and it continues growing, which suggests a healthy, secure future. I fear the association waste so much time on things they will never change, they forget the ordinary angler.

The basic question must be why are there so many people taking a rod and line and going fishing, and yet so few are interested in joining either clubs or the NZACA? I have long held the theory, the association and clubs were so tied up in politics, the very subject most people go fishing to get away from.

I could continue on this line of thought with information I have gleaned over a lifetime of fishing. There are subjects that arrive on this message board I find distressing. To a new comer to the sport they could be forgiven for wondering why they bother. There is still the overriding portrayal the only fish that matter are snapper and Kingfish. Neither are frequent visitors to local beaches, sadly most of the other fish that are caught are almost portrayed as vermin or rubbish.

To the complete novice, the person who has just bought his or her first combo surfcasting outfit for the princely sum of $90.00, the first red cod, barracuda or yellow eyed mullet is a success story, and could be the making of a future club member. Have you any idea how elitist it reads when that novice reads the fish he of she was so proud of, falls into the categories listed above.

Everything you have written about promoting our wonderful sport is correct, however, I suggest an urgent need to look a little closer to home to make a start on promoting clubs and the NZACA. A snapper or kingie will always be viewed as a special fish, how about starting off by viewing all catches as fish and cut out the impression given that certain fish are little more than rubbish with nothing more than nuisance value?

I know on many anglers who enjoy a trip to the beach with their surfcasters, who are also very happy with their beach deployed long line. You mention in your letter the need for sponsorship; and where better to start than local sports shops. Well please accept this advice in the spirit it is given. Many sports shops are getting totally pi**ed off with the moans they are continually hearing emanating from senior members of this website. Long line gear makes up a fair portion of their sales that keeps them in business, Tackle Tactics, the owners of this site, feature long line equipment in their webpages. I suggest that to continue with these seemingly never ending line of moans and continual whingeing and sponsorship you seek is very likely to dry up.