Xlayer Originals

They are out there John, they are out there. Believe you me it's part of life as a professional angling person to have to listen to angling nonsense in many ways.

I'd say he cops a lot of flak Jim. Shame, he has an excellent blog, clearly loves to fish and doesn't ever set himself out to be an 'expert'. Too easy to criticise hiding behind a computer screen these days.

I reckon he doesn't get much grief at all and is well thought of by the majority. I have met him a few times and he comes across as a nice guy, obsessed with fishing, especially bass fishing (Sounds familiar ). I've no doubt he has his own agenda and plans etc...as we all have.
I don't read many blogs. I read Henrys from time to time and it strikes me as being typical in terms of new gear, rod reviews etc. You will not read a bad review. I do not often slate products in Irish Angler. If I am given something crap then I just do not write about it. If my review is good or I recommend something then it must be good!

Check out Henrys review of the Graphiteleader Argento Nuovo lure rod on his blog. He's getting a bit of stick for his style of reviewing.

I'd say he cops a lot of flak Jim. Shame, he has an excellent blog, clearly loves to fish and doesn't ever set himself out to be an 'expert'. Too easy to criticise hiding behind a computer screen these days.

Steve
Firstly if I had wanted to hide behind a computer screen I wouldnt have used my real name. With a name as unusual as mine from the Wexford coast its not hard to identify who I am.

Secondly if you read my original post in his blog you would see the points I was making. I never criticized his love if fishing or enthusiasm for the sport. It was the manner in which he used his blog as a marketing tool to the benefit of his friends whose businesses he constantly linked as he reviewed items ONLY they sell.

I still believe he has a hidden agenda and I stand over my comments.

Whoa! I did not realise there were comments on that blog post! In fairness Crevan you cannot be accused of hiding behind the keyboard!

I must say I would be cranky if somebody accused me of manipulating my photos too! But I think that just took from your original points.
I've no doubt that Henry has an agenda, I think everybody that blogs or writes for magazines or posts on forums does (I have myself).
Ultimately it is his decision who or what he writes about on his blog - it is after all, his blog. I would think that the companies are happy out with the coverage!

I think at the end of the day the point to remember is: This is the Internet!

Never confuse any blogpost with reality !

The man makes a living fishing for bass amongst other things fishing related, show me one person on this forum who wouldnt love to be able to do same. God knows it cant be easy. I read every scrap of info I can get my hands on regarding bass fishing and if Im lucky enough to speak to someone I regard as a bass fisherman then even better. I then take from it what I want and apply it to my own fishing. Im not going to criticise anyone for their opinion etc, you can learn something new every day. I read his blog amongst others for that very reson. Seems a nice guy, always liked his programs on the TV. The world is full of haters, its a sad fact.



* Eoghan has not been paid a gratuity for this comment or any comments prior to the above. No bass were hurt in the making of this comment.

All of which has nothing to do with x-slayers and everything to do with HG -mission accomplished!

In fairness Crevan, I wasn't referring to you and hadn't even read your comments on his blog, just the blog entry itself.

Fair enough Steve.

Back to the thread and Xlayers;
last time I was in Hayes in Wexford he had the old type Xlayer in stock(that was a while back now) Not sure about Ayu colour but he did have Advacado and Silver- the Ayu but without the green bit. Works just as well really.

give me the number for Hayes quick, i want to put my name on all of them before GH finds out about them

[Divisadero]

I have no particular probs with Henry and he has been helpful to me in the past (unsolicited by me I might add). Perhaps his writing style which is filled with hyperoble makes his reviews sound even more ott than some. However I like his writing style as he conveys passion and excitement unlike some of the angling writing out there. I know nothing about photography but his pics seem fantastic to me.

So rant alert! I do have an issue with angling mags in general these days in that most (especially the larger players) have just become glorified marketing publications for the tackle industry. In fact in spite of the internet being full of all sorts of rubbish and misleading info it's prob the only place you will find a negative tackle review these days.

Jim has said he doesn't do negative reviews and I think Henry had stated the same in the past. If the tackle is good they will write a positive review if not they just won't write about it at all. But isn't that a bit of a cop out? I mean if a reviewer thinks an item is poor don't we as anglers and consumers deserve to know that too so we can avoid wasting our money on it. It's akin to a film or theatre critic only writing about productions they like and keeping quiet about the rubbish.

I'm not an angling journalist but I bet if I was and I started writing negative reviews the editor would pull it as the main mags rely so heavily on advertising revenue from Pure Fishing, Dennett Outdoor, Shimano or whoever. That may be a fact of life today but that doesn't make it right. No more than what happened with the bailouts here or in Cyprus was right.

Finally! I wish that writers who are sponsored or in some way involved with tackle companies would make that clear and declare their interest when promoting their products in mags or online. When I lived in the UK and had to resort to carp angling one of the UK carp mags would state if a writer was sponsored by a particular tackle or bait company so the readers would know. In my opinion when a writer constantly plugs products from one company/distributor and ignores most or all others than the alarm bells should start ringing. At least Henry spreads the love amongst different tackle companies.

Walter

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Last edited by Divisadero on Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.

All of which has nothing to do with x-slayers and everything to do with HG -mission accomplished!

Sorry Jim, topic had already strayed and I was just giving my 5 cents on it.

Talking of the hart absolut worms, I've had a fair bit of success when usin them for good sized pollock.

I have no particular probs with Henry and he has been helpful to me in the past (unsolicited by me I might add). Perhaps his writing style which is filled with hyperoble makes his reviews sound even more ott than some. However I like his writing style as he conveys passion and excitement unlike some of the angling writing out there. I know nothing about photography but his pics seem fantastic to me.

So rant alert! I do have an issue with angling mags in general these days in that most (especially the larger players) have just become glorified marketing publications for the tackle industry. In fact in spite of the internet being full of all sorts of rubbish and misleading info it's prob the only place you will find a negative tackle review these days.

Jim has said he doesn't do negative reviews and I think Henry had stated the same in the past. If the tackle is good they will write a positive review if not they just won't write about it at all. But isn't that a bit of a cop out? I mean if a reviewer thinks an item is poor don't we as anglers and consumers deserve to know that too so we can avoid wasting our money on it. It's akin to a film or theatre critic only writing about productions they like and keeping quiet about the rubbish.

I'm not an angling journalist but I bet if I was and I started writing negative reviews the editor would pull it as the main mags rely so heavily on advertising revenue from Pure Fishing, Dennett Outdoor, Shimano or whoever. That may be a fact of life today but that doesn't make it right. No more than what happened with the bailouts here or in Cyprus was right.

Finally! I wish that writers who are sponsored or in some way involved with tackle companies would make that clear and declare their interest when promoting their products in mags or online. When I lived in the UK and had to resort to carp angling one of the UK carp mags would state if a writer was sponsored by a particular tackle or bait company so the readers would know. In my opinion when a writer constantly plugs products from one company/distributor and ignores most or all others than the alarm bells should start ringing. At least Henry spreads the love amongst different tackle companies.

Walter

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Walter,

Magazines have always had ads. Without ads there would be no magazines! I find some ads informative and it is nice to get an idea of the current prices. Obviously magazines must strike a decent balance.

When I say I do not do negative reviews it is because if something is crap or doesn't suit me then I will stop using it and therefore the review process stops (my process anyway). I have done negative reviews occasionally. In fairness to the editor of Irish Angler he had no problem publishing those reviews. He never has put pressure in any way about gear - advertisers or not. That time it was a review of the Diawa Kensaki boat rod - the first of them had crap eyes that fell off or got loose on the blank. Subsequent rods were perfect and Diawa sent rods for another review. I tried some braid last year - I could not manage it.... Wind knots etc. I do not know if it was the braid or the reel or a combination of both and me. I did not bother writing about it but went back to my old reliable braid and wrote about that again. I suppose it is nicer to be writing about positive things rather than negative.
I don't get that many rods to test. Therefore I am selective in what I use and tend to use it long term hence I tend not to get strange/unsuitable stuff to test.
"Normal" boat rods are one thing but modern lure rods are another. Manufacturers ratings are really only guides and rods need to be felt and used. One mans pole is another mans wand! I can only declare my opinion of what suits me - that said anybody who has bought the P&M Gunki Hayashai SW tend to be delighted, same with the Surecatch Powerbraid 7'. I use 7 foot rods, being primarily a boat angler,and these are not everybody's cup of tea ( until they use them )
I go on ad nauseum about Hart soft plastics, Illex soft plastics, articulated jig heads, black minnows....D'tails D'fins... Etc. etc.

I am not sponsored by any tackle manufacturer by the way!

Jim I look forward to some more negative reviews. Then we can work on Sea Angler.

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