The Fishing Coach

Many thanks to those of you who have emailed to ask if the blog is still active - it is indeed, it’s just that I’m in the middle of a house move (yes, still!) but hope to be back up and running shortly with news of all the summer courses and some tips for the winter.

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I have just read this article in my local newspaper, the Staines Guardian.

“An illegal angler has been banned from fishing for two-and-a-half years.

Khan Marshall, 21, of Temple Dene Avenue, Staines, received the fishing ban when he appeared at Woking Magistrates’ Court last Friday.

He was also fined £200 for leaving a rod unattended and a further £200 for fishing with three rods but only holding a single licence and was ordered to pay £70 costs to the Environment Agency for both cases.
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Marshall was banned from fishing by the court from holding a rod licence after magistrates took into account a string of prosecutions dating back to 2002.

The court heard that on July 10 last year Marshall had left his rod unattended at Twynersh Fishing Complex in Chertsey, Surrey, contrary to a national bylaw.

A month later on August 13 Environment Agency enforcement officers discovered Marshall at the same fishery using three rods but with only a single rod licence which contravened the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.

Fisheries enforcement officer Graham Haynes, said: “Mr Marshall has a long history of floating the laws of fishing in this country.

From his first warning letter in 2002 he has appeared before magistrates three times for failing to hold a £24 rod licence and giving false names and addresses to officers, racking up a total of £650 in fines and costs.

“It is very rare for an angler to be banned from holding a rod licence, but this extreme measure was taken because of Mr Marshall’s persistent offending. If he is caught fishing within those two-and-a-half years he can not only expect his equipment to be confiscated but he will also find himself with another day in court.

“Those who fish without a licence are not only risking hefty fines, they are also cheating their fellow anglers and the future of angling. Fisheries laws are in place to protect the environment, so they must be adhered to.”

The Environment Agency puts all money raised from rod licences straight back into fisheries work, which helps to protect the environment.

Rod licences can be purchased from post offices around the country or for a small charge they can be bought over the phone 0870 166 2662 or from the Environment Agency’s website.”

Well done the Environment Agency for carrying out what must be a difficult and thankless job. I spent half my life in law enforcement as an officer in the Metropolitan Police Force/Service so I speak with some knowledge.

I would, however like to draw my readers’ attention to one particular paragraph.

“Those who fish without a licence are not only risking hefty fines, they are also cheating their fellow anglers and the future of angling. Fisheries laws are in place to protect the environment, so they must be adhered to.”

Angling is a sport and therefore is controlled by a code of rules that enables all anglers to enjoy their pastime on the same level playing field, the use of dynamite (not the bait manufcturers’ product but the explosive) would produce more fish but we operate within these rules to make it fair for other anglers and our quarry. You cannot choose which of these rules to obey, if you wish to be considered an angler and enjoy the benefits provided then you must obey them all.

I also enjoyed the following paragraph.

“Fisheries enforcement officer Graham Haynes, said: “Mr Marshall has a long history of floating the laws of fishing in this country.”

I hope than non anglers will appeciate this inadvertently appropriate typo!

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On Sunday some of the coaches from All Things Piscatorial met at Steve Gray’s fishery at Shepperton for a social/fish-in.

Dave and Annie Higham came down from Oham Lakes in Lincolnshire and stayed with me for the weekend. We know each other from various PAA functions, including the Urban Escapes weekend last June.

Richard Watson came all the way from Suffolk and Jim Rice made the journey from Southampton. Steve Rowland, Steve Gray and myself are all relatively local, but you can see the commitment that this site already generates. This should serve as a good example to other coaches on the site and more importantly to the various governing bodies in coaching.

Two of Steve’s bailiffs also turned up to give support and we were visited by angling journalist and TV presenter Nigel Botherway.

Since the event was first organised we heard that Angling Projects run by Les Webber had been the victim of a burglary and had lost most of their tackle. We all have a great deal of respect for the work done by Les and his colleagues and it was decided that we would all bring some bits of tackle to donate to this worthy cause. Les arrived to pick up our donations and got involved with the discussions that followed.

I won’t give too many details here of what was discussed but neither the PAA, NFA nor Fishcoach.org came out very well.

As for the fishing, it is just as well that none of our potential customers were present as all five of the coaches who actually fished blanked. To be fair the discussions were so interesting that no one really fished seriously and there had been a severe cold snap the night before. That’s my excuse anyway and already the forum on ATP is full of other versions.

Well he said there was fish in here.

Some of the coaches not local to this area were amazed by the wild green parakeets that are abundant in these parts and after I was seen putting some chicken drum sticks on the barbeque certain allegations were made that I strongly deny. I just hope that the RSPB don’t take them seriously…

All in all it was a really worthwhile day and it was great to be able to put faces to names. Much was discuseed and I am sure all who attended came away richer for the experience. Plans were made to hold another day in September organised by Jim Rice in Hampshire.

I think I can speak for all that attended when I thank Steve for organising the day and say that I am looking forward to the next one.

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I have just found a new website that provides loads of useful information for anglers in the South East of England

Take a look when you need details of a fishery, club or tackle shop in the area, it also has some good articles and a news section.

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Although I am not a typical carp fisherman and don’t do long sessions from behind a pair of matching rods with the associated electronics, I have always had a hankering after a radio controlled bait boat. Until last night at our monthly curry night when I heard the following story. I’m not sure if I got the exact details as it was being told at the other end of a noisy table but this is the jist of it.

A chap had just bought an expensive radio controlled bait boat and took it to his local carp lake to show it off to his fishing mates. He had carefully checked the club rules, there were many of them and they were strictly enforced by bailiffs and bait boats were allowed. He chose a swim opposite an island with over hanging trees and intending use his new boat to place his baits and some free offerings right under the branches. With a great flourish he launched his boat, loaded it with his baited rigs and drove it across the lake to the admiration of his mates.

He dropped his first rig at the open end of the island and then manoeuvered it along the island to the over hanging branches to drop off his other rig. He wanted to get his baited rig right under the branches and with some effort managed to do just that, giving a running commentry to his mates as he did so. When he tried to reverse his boat from underneath the branches he found that the aerial on top had caught in the branches and the boat was stuck fast.

This was a brand new boat and even the basic model can cost nearly £500 so he found himself in a dilemma, he donned his breast waders and tried to wade out to retieve the boat. He was soon shipping water over the top of the waders and to the ammusement of his pals he had to return to the bank in ignomy. The next move was to collect some wood and make a raft, this again caused great hilarity amongst his mates and against their advice he paddled of towards the island. The raft caught in some weeds and his frantic efforts to paddle free caused the break up of his handiwork and he slipped into the water. With his audience rolling about on the bank in fits of hilarity, he used the remains of the raft as a bouyancy aid to swim back to the bank. Did I tell you our boatman couldn’t swim?

Back on shore and soaked to the skin one of his mates volunteered to drive to the local camping shop and buy and inflatable dinghy, this he did and our hero was handed a bill for £58 on the delivery of the dinghy. It was duly inflated and the bait boat was recovered. The laughter had died down and the group was well into the self congratulation stage when the bailiff turned up and administerd a formal warning to our hero for swimming in the clubs waters (against the rules).

No, I don’t think I’ll get a bait boat.

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I just received this picture by email - just goes to show what you can do with a digital camera and some editing software! Tempted? Me? Nah.

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I’ve just had an email from Anglers Net about Labour’s new policy on angling.

I’m afraid I find it very difficult to have any interest in anything promised by this government. Even if they meant it now they would change their mind at the drop of a hat if they thought there were a few votes in it.

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I have just got back from a very tiring weekend at the NEC Go Fishing Show in Birmingham where I was on the PAA stand for the whole three days. The aim of the stand was to raise money to help in the running of the PAA and to pay the coaches who were out on Pendigo lake letting the visitors to the show have a go at catching some rainbow trout that had been stocked for the purpose.

The stand consisted of twenty four “pigeon holes” in the wall behind a front counter, on this counter was a random number generator operating between numbers one and twenty four. The idea was that the public paid two pounds for a number from the machine and got a prize from the appropriate pigeon hole, which was then replenished by the guys in the back. There were even some rods and reels being given away.

My job was at the front collecting the money, operating the machine and handing out the prizes. We had been squirreled away in an obscure corner and in order to attract customers I had to do my fairground barker’s act. This involved engaging the “punters” in suitable banter at the top of my voice to encourage them to pay two pounds and win a prize. The prizes were allocated by the number generator, as I mentioned, and although (as I repeatedly assured them they were all worth more than two pounds) the prizes were not necessarily suitable for their particular branch of the sport. In other words, just because the customer was a coarse fisherman or a game fishing enthusiast, did not mean that they would not end up with a couple of packets of huge sea hooks.

Most people realised that their prize was the result of the “luck of the draw” and were either content with what they got or tried to swap with other winners (although I tried to ensure that the kids got what they wanted). Knowing that the money was being raised for a good cause, some people handed back their unwanted prizes and I soon had a box of assorted gifts under the counter with which to keep the kids happy.

About an hour into the first day my shouting and cajoling had attracted quite a crowd and Andy Walker and I were quite busy. When I handed two packets of large sea hooks to a customer without thinking about it, I was amazed when he threw them back onto the counter saying “These are no bl**dy good, I don’t go sea fishing.” I replied, “Wait until we’re not so busy and I’ll try and sort something out.” He was very upset and said “Why are you giving away that rubbish, we’re miles from the sea, no one goes sea fishing round here” I was tempted to point out that there was in fact a large sea fishing section in the show but he didn’t give me a chance and stormed off muttering something I’m glad I didn’t hear clearly. Some people are not worth the effort and it took me a few minutes to get back into my role. This was helped by comments from other folk in the queue who were very supportive and restored some of my faither in the human race.

The highlight of the weekend was that instead of being put up in a hotel as usual, Graham Walker and I were house guests of Dr. Bruno Broughton and his anecdotes over dinner were well worth all the hard work the weekend entailed.

The show was well attended but I thought there were fewer people than last year. Tackle manufacturers were also thinner on the ground than before. It was good to meet all the other coaches and a chance to do some valuable networking. As a result of a chat with Ian Welch of RMC Angling, I hope to be fishing for catfish on Split Lakes at Yateley this summer.

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This month has seen the start of what I hope will be a regular monthly event. A group of my fishing mates and I have decided to meet on the first Tuesday of each month for a curry night in an Indian restaurant in Molesey (Surrey). Although we are all anglers, most of us have different backgrounds and professions resulting in a varied catalogue of conversation subjects. I am sure that many of the topics will be mentioned on this blog in the future. I hope that the initial group of eight or nine can be expanded to broaden the experience base of the forum and expand the topics discussed and the opinions expressed.

The first one was a great success and resulted in a decision to have a day’s fishing together on the river Itchen, the journey turned into a farce that the late Brian Rix would have been proud of.

Let me set the scene first. We were divided into two groups, one coming form the Wimbledon area and the second from the Walton area. I was driving the second group but I had had a terribly disturbed night’s sleep and was not at my best. In the car with me were Les and Roy. The second group were in two cars and only Bob and Brian from BB Angling had been to the venue before and they were in separate cars. A point I should have considered is that although they had both been to the Lower Itchen Fishery with me on a couple of occasions, I had been driving and knew the way, they had been early morning passengers and therefore not as conscious of their surroundings as they would normally be. So in my diminished state I made some incorrect assumptions of previous knowledge.

Bob with grayling on the river Itchen

The first priority for both groups was to get a “big boys breakfast” on the way and here the master plan started to unravel. I overslept and was half an hour late picking my team up. The boys from Wimbledon had decided to use their favourite local cafe and had planned to rendezvous with us on the way, we were going to find a place to eat first. Due to our delay, the rendezvous was arranged by mobile phone before we had eaten, so shortly after meeting I pulled into a cafe for a breakfast. This involved the others waiting for my team to finish our breakfast, now this might seem selfish of us but remember the cooked breakfast on route is an important part of the day.

At the curry night earlier that week we had discussed the route and the venue had been pinpointed on a map and involved following the M3 down to its junction with the M27 and taking the first junction off the east bound M27. So after breakfast we set of with me in the lead of the convoy with tempers already beginning to fray. After a while on the motorway the car I had thought was part of the convoy I was leading overtook us and I realised we had been split up. Here I made another mistake, I thought Brian and Bob both knew where to turn off, so I didn’t slow down as much as I should have done. After we passed the fist turn to Eastleigh I got a call from Bob saying that they had taken it. Not understanding the confusion (my excuse is that I was feeling guilty for being late, very tired from lack of sleep and keen to get to the fishery) I was a little less than diplomatic with Bob. I unfairly criticised him for making what I considered a silly mistake, instead of trying to say something constructive. Les took the phone from me with a diplomacy not normally associated with one of his previous calling (ex CID) and calmed things down. Brian driving the other car had followed Bob and both vehicles then got separated from each other and independently lost in the maze of ring roads, by-passes and motorways that is modern Southampton.

The next hour was spent in frantic and sometimes mildly threatening phone calls, with all three groups driving round Southampton, with which none of us were familiar, in different directions. All the time Les did a wonderful job of negotiator/peacemaker but I am dreading my phone bill - a suitable penance some would say. At one stage Les informed me that one vehicle was parked on Southampton docks next to the troubled luxury liner that had recently been in the news.

Eventually we all arrived at the fishery, I mumbled my apologies and slunk off to fish on my own for most of the day, in shame. Luckily everyone had a good day and friendships were still intact.

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[Archive post transferred: original date 21 May 2004]

Earlier this month I was fortunate to be given a tour of the new Jubilee Relief Channel by Alan Butterworth of the Environment Agency (EA). This has been designed to alleviate flooding on the river Thames around Windsor, Bray and Maidenhead. I know that there has been some controversy about the effect it has had on places downstream such as Chertsey during last year’s floods, but this has been discussed elsewhere by those more knowledgeable than me. I was impressed by the eco-friendly design of this waterway, it could so easily been a featureless concrete canal but it has been built to accommodate both the public and the environment and seems for that reason to be worth every penny that was spent on it. The land it was built on is in the process of being returned to the original owners and it is hoped that they and nature will see to the stocking of fish.

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[Archive post transferred: original date 30 April 2003]

What’s a middle-aged bloke with a beard doing on something as trendy as blogger? Good question. I’ll try and answer that.

I’m a retired copper and in order to retain what is left of my sanity I have qualified as a fishing coach. I’ve been fishing for over forty years so it’s great to be able to pass on all that knowledge and enthusiasm to a younger generation.

As coarse fishing is a very varied sport, I also coach more experienced anglers to help them broaden their experience. For example, someone might have been fishing for carp on stillwaters (lakes) all their lives. They are delighted to be introduced to the joys of float fishing on the Wasing Estate on the River Kennet in Berkshire.

I’ve been coaching for over three years now and always try and take photos for my clients. Some of these can be seen on my website and more will appear on the blog in future.

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