Why I Started Before You Cast
After 15 years away from angling, I found myself getting back into the sport. Working full time meant I couldn’t get onto the bank as often as I’d have liked, so when I did get a day or night away, I wanted to know I was making the right choice.
I wanted to properly research venues, understand what they offered and find somewhere that actually suited the kind of session I was looking for.
The problem was finding reliable information. Many venues had very few photos, poor-quality images or videos that were years out of date. It was difficult to know what the pegs were really like, what was happening at the venue or what I could realistically expect when I arrived.
With more venues also restricting visits and walk-arounds before fishing, researching from home became even more important.
So I searched everywhere I could — Google reviews, Reddit, YouTube, forums and social media — trying to build a genuine picture of what venues were actually like.
Coming back after 15 years, I also found that fishing can sometimes feel like a closed community. I wanted somewhere I could enjoy my fishing, have a bit of space, find a quieter peg and still have a genuine chance of catching.
Finding that information wasn’t easy.
That experience became the idea behind Before You Cast. I wanted to create the kind of information I had been looking for myself.
That’s the version I’d use next to the carp image. It keeps the reason, the problem, what you did about it, and the origin of Before You Cast, without making the reader wade through the full story.
What Before You Cast Is About
The idea behind Before You Cast is simple: give anglers the information they need to make a more informed decision before they turn up at a venue.
VENUES
Know what you’re walking into.
Real venue information, facilities, access and the things you need to know before booking.
PEGS
Find the right place to fish.
Understand the differences between pegs, including privacy, features and what makes each one worth considering.
EQUIPMENT
Use what actually works.
Straightforward information about tackle and equipment based on real experience.
Our reviews will look beyond simply telling you whether a fishery is good or bad. We’ll look at the things that actually matter when you’re planning a session, what the pegs are like, which areas are quieter, the chance of catching, facilities, access, rules and what the venue has to offer.
We’ll also look at the equipment and approach that we’ve used along the way. Not because we think there’s one perfect setup, but because returning to angling meant figuring a lot of that out for myself too.
I’m not a professional angler, and I’m certainly not here to pretend I know everything. I’m simply someone who enjoys being on the bank, has spent plenty of time figuring things out for myself and wants to share what I’ve learned. If something works for me, I’ll tell you. If it doesn’t, I’ll tell you that too.
No Hype. Just Honest Experience
One thing I quickly noticed when getting back into angling was just how much of the fishing world revolves around selling you something.
Watch enough videos from professional anglers and you’ll soon be told that you need a particular rod, reel, hook, lead, bait or rig to fish properly. The recommendations can change almost as quickly as the products do, and it can be difficult to work out what you actually need and what you are simply being encouraged to buy. I’m not interested in doing that.
The equipment I use has been chosen because it works for me and suits the way I fish. I’ll share what I’ve used, what I’ve settled on and, just as importantly, what hasn’t worked for me. You won’t be told that you need the latest piece of tackle to enjoy your fishing.
There is enough information out there telling anglers what they should buy. Before You Cast is about helping you work out what you actually need.
Real Experiences. Clearly Marked.
Before You Cast will have its own official venue reviews, based on our own experiences and the time we spend researching and fishing each venue.
But we don’t want that to be the only voice on the site.
Anglers will be able to share their own reviews and experiences, giving others the opportunity to see what different people have found at the same venue. Fisheries will also have the opportunity to contribute information and respond with their own perspective.
The important thing is that you’ll always know where the information has come from. Our own reviews will be clearly identified as Before You Cast Reviews, while contributions from anglers and fisheries will be clearly marked as User Reviews and Venue Reviews.
That way, you can hear from different perspectives while still being able to tell the difference between an independent experience, an angler’s personal experience and information provided directly by the venue.
Our Aim
Ultimately, Before You Cast is about giving anglers a little more confidence before they arrive at the bank.
You should be able to look at a venue, understand what you’re getting yourself into, find the pegs that suit what you’re looking for and arrive feeling prepared — rather than wondering whether you’ve made the right choice.
I’m not here to tell you how to fish, and I’m certainly not claiming to have all the answers. I’m just an angler who came back to the sport after 15 years, found there was a lack of useful information and decided to try and do something about it.
Hopefully, the information we provide helps you make better choices, enjoy your time on the bank and, ultimately, catch a few more fish.
Before You Cast — know where you’re going, know what you’re getting, and fish with confidence.