A Just Reward

I am a very lucky man. After a very stressful career in the Metropolitan Police I have been able to turn my lifelong hobby into a business. I can now share my love of all types of coarse angling with both beginners and more experienced anglers as a full time job.

It all started about seven years ago as I was nearing retirement, tired of the stress and travelling caused by working as a police officer in London. I wanted to work at times that suited me and as I was due a pension I knew I did not need to work full time. It was suggested to me that I could earn some money by passing my fishing knowledge and skills onto others.

Little did I realise how rewarding this would become.

About this time I saw an advert for courses run by the then newly formed Professional Anglers Association. I applied and was accepted for the second course. In the summer of 1999 I started my first coaching course at Twynersh Fisheries near Chertsey and have been coaching regularly ever since.

My coaching has since evolved into three types of courses and on all these types of courses I supply all the bait, tackle and licences. I do not fish when I am coaching - if the student is paying for my time then they deserve my full attention.

The first courses I ran were for young beginners who were financed by their parents and often attended other types of activities in their spare time such as football, swimming other hobbies.

I designed a syllabus of six lesson for these young people, combining the teaching of both theory and practical skills. The children are often accompanied by their parents who also learn to fish at the same time. Many of my pupils have become capable anglers and all have learned at least a little about fishing and the environment.

The second type of course I run is for adults who either want to return to fishing after a long time away or are existing anglers who want to broaden their skills and/or try something different.

These usually involve a whole day and the syllabus and the type of venue is discussed with the client beforehand. The content of these courses varies according to the client's wishes and can be as diverse as pike handling, lure fishing, method feeder fishing or trotting a float on a river with a centrepin reel. I help those returning to  been taught to do by some of my younger pupils. My favourite subject in this field is fishing with a centrepin and I like to think I have given a few session carp anglers something else to think about. These courses have also been expanded to include groups for corporate day out purposes.

The third type of course is the most rewarding and also the most challenging. Shortly after I began coaching I ran into an old friend who had also retired from the police and was working for a local authority looking after disadvantaged children. We spoke about my coaching activities and he suggested that I run a couple of courses for the young people in his care. This was the beginning of what has become a major part of my coaching activities.

Some of the children I have since been teaching are on the verge of being excluded from school or have been in trouble with the police and have major behavioral problems. In my time with the police I have seen what becomes of these young people and it gives me great satisfaction to be able to give them another interest in life and at the same time a little guidance in the ways of the world. Many of these youngsters have very low self esteem and on my courses I am able to help them to achieve what is often the first success in their lives and I would like to think that most go away with a little more self confidence that they had at the start of the course.

A typical example was a lad I shall call Brian. He was very disruptive at school, always had a lot to say for himself and showed little respect for anyone. My experience told me that his boisterous behaviour was only a shield for his low self esteem and once I set him a simple skills task this became evident. His first reaction was to question the need for the casting exercise, then once it was explained he admitted that he wouldn't be able to do it. He had probably been told all his short life that he was useless and he had come to believe it. With a little patience and encouragement I was able to teach him the technique required and he was soon casting as well as the rest. I feel that I had been able to give him something very special, a little self respect.

Another child was very interested in nature and the rest of the group was picking on him because he was "different". After the three day course I had introduced the rest of the group to the wonders of the environment and he was no longer an outcast but a bit of an authority on birds.

It is often the first time that an adult who is not part of the establishment has taken an interest in them and as I only deal with groups of four at a time I am able devote a little more time to them than a harrassed key worker or social worker juggling a large case load.

I get fantastic feedback from both teachers and keyworkers about the difference my courses make to these often very unhappy children. When I ran the first of these courses I was required to submit a twenty page proposal, risk assessments and safety plans each time but word soon spread, trust was gained and results began to speak for themselves - happily the paperwork is much reduced now!

One thing that I have learned from this latter type of course is the importance of the students being kept busy. Boredom is something all anglers have to deal with at some time or other but it is the worst enemy of the beginner, particularly if he or she has some behavioral problem. I have found it essential to choose the venue carefully, not only for security but for its ability to produce bites for even the most inept angler.

Once they have caught their first fish they are mine!

Tight Lines
Martin Porter