Experience Counts

 

Now approaching 50 years of wonderful angling experiences.  I was introduced to the sport of angling by my father Sydney before I could walk, (being a Piscean may have had something to do with this).  At the ripe old age of five I won my first competitive fishing match catching coalfish from Saltburn pier in Cleveland on the North East Coast of England.

Since then I have learned my skills by joining local angling clubs and fishing open competitions on the rugged North East coastline and then nationally, fishing beaches, rocks, piers and estuaries but more importantly learning from my fellow angling peers.

From my late teens to mid twenties I moved into boat angling running a charter boat with my father out of Teesmouth and Redcar at weekends. This experience added another dimension to my armoury adapting the quirky techniques of shore fishing to deep water fishing which proved even more successful when applied in the boat.

The lure of accolades in open competition soon had me returning to competitive shore angling and through the next two decades I achieved over 100 open competition wins, numerous individual club championships and national team achievements with Redcar Raiders.

I was lucky to have been part of what was recognised as the best Shore angling team in the World during the mid 1990’s through to the early 2000’s and have been able to share the memories of these great achievements with sea angling icons Chris Clark, Steve Allmark, Ian Golds and Alan Yates, not forgetting Peter Owen, who was a great thinking angler and in my opinion retired from the international scene prematurely.

My success culminated in being selected to represent Team England at both World and Home International and events. In 1994 I was honoured to accept the call-up to the England Home International Shore Angling Team and in 1996 was selected to represent England on the World International stage. Being chosen to represent England on 13 occasions from 1994 to 2007 and winning three gold, one silver and one bronze World team medals with an individual World bronze medal has been a truly humbling experience.

 

Now that I have retired from the day job, I am concentrating on living and sharing the dream I have had for this infectious sport with you, recalling experiences covering 30 years of worldwide fishing adventures and combining 14 years of apprenticeship, fishing The Gambia.
I am still very competitive today which should ensure the very best fishing possible for all future clients and visitors and the very best of care and attention to detail.

My angling experience adapts to all types of fishing methods and includes coarse, river, reservoir, fly and game, particularly specialising in sea fishing techniques for both shore and boat angling.