All Things Piscatorial

How long have you been angling & how did you start? 

I have been fishing for 37 years. I started at the early age of 5, encouraged by my mother, she would set me up with a garden bamboo cane with some fishing line attached to the end of it. The float was a matchstick & the hook was a pin carefully bent into a hook shape with a pair of long nosed pliers.

My Mother would then take my brother & I down to the river mole & there we  would use bread or worms to catch loads of Minnows & that’s where it all started.

How long have you been an angling coach?

I have been an angling coach since February 2007  but I had been teaching on and    off nearly a year before that.

Why do you coach angling?

I mainly coach in the south- south east & London, but I have & do travel to the midlands & down the south west to fish when I decided I needed a change of scenery.

What area of the country do you fish & coach?

After 13 years of competition angling, fishing summer leagues & winter leagues, I decided that I wanted to put something back into my favourite sport by giving people of all ages a chance to enjoy what I have for many years.

What is your favourite fishery & why?

My favourite fishery has to be the Basingstoke Canal, mainly because when I was

a match angler the Basy was very kind to me, I did well on a lot of the matches I fished. I also think its one of the most picturesque canals I’ve had the pleasure to fish.

What is your favourite species & why?

My favourite species of fish is most definitely a Roach. Roach move around a lot and you need to be quick to change your depth, length that you are fishing at or the amount your feeding to stay in touch with them.

Get it right on the day & a good bag of quality Roach could be on the cards.

What is your favourite method & why?

Because I love fishing canals, my favourite method is the pole. The pole is very accurate you can use a small feed cup to deposit bait in the same place every time.      The pole is also useful for working the float, something which is harder to do with a rod & line.

What local angling club do you recommend & why?

Any angling club which has a junior section or a qualified coach or preferably both would be worth looking into further. I belong to Ockley angling society which also has a junior section. The club has 3 very good lakes & the members are friendly & advice is never a problem when asked for.

The club has a website: www.ockleyanglingsociety.org.uk.

I don’t have a favourite angling web site, but forums like totalfishing.com could come in use for information when needed.