About Me!

     Welcome to my page and hopefully the start of your journey into the fascinating world of Fly Fishing.     

Dear all,

                   Now is the time if you are interested in taking up fly fishing for trout as a complete beginner or if you want to improve your skills. The weather is getting warmer and the insect activity has stimulated the trout with the start of the buzzer hatches.

          The beauty of fly fishing is that there is no need to burden yourself with loads of tackle as everything can be fitted into the pockets of a waistcoat or a small shoulder bag and then you are free to roam the banks and find where the fish are active.

          Fly fishing is acknowledged to be therapeutic to relax the mind and body and is even being prescribed to some people. It is also acknowledged by the medical profession as a good exercise for certain conditions which have necessitated surgery to the chest especially for ladies.

        Unlike other forms of angling, fly fishing is also a sport that requires thought to be successful – what flies to use, what depth, what type of retrieve, where to fish, the relevance of wind, wave action, temperature and air pressure and other factor.

      On Thursday last week I won a competition at Grafham Water but only because I changed location, method and flies after catching just two fish in the first 5 hours as did my boat partner. We moved to the other end of the reservoir, I changed methods, depth and flies and ended up catching 9 fish in 75 minutes whereas my boat partner kept plugging away with a method that was not working and caught just 3 more fish compared to my nine.

     Do consider taking up fly fishing, not just because I teach it but it can relieve stress, makes your brain more active and is just so much fun. If you want to take a fish to eat that’s fine or you can release what you catch and I can show you how to do so without damaging the fish.   

     So, why take up Fly Fishing? Not only is it such a rewarding hobby/sport/pass-time but it has benefits to health as well. If you have watched the recent programmes by Robson Green & Jim fishing in Iceland they wax lyrical about the personal therapy that fly fishing can have because it is so completely engrossing enabling you to lose yourself in fishing escaping everything else save the fishing and surroundings. The benefits of fly fishing are now apparently recognised by the NHS and it is being trialled on prescription for treating anxiety and depression. It is also a useful therapy for persons recovering from mastectomy operations because of the gentle exercise of the muscles around that part of the body.
 

     I am a licenced instructor for Game Fishing and have been a fly fisherman for over 58 years on both Rivers and Stillwater’s. I hold a L2 CCA  Certificate for Game Angling, Licenced by the Angling Trust/ Sport UK as an Angling Lead Coach to instruct all age groups. Licence No. 1274 and I am currently a Community First Responder with East of England Ambulance Service. 

   I have had a reasonable couple of years being selected to represent England again in the PSUK River Fly Fishing Home Internationals on the Welsh River Dee in June 2022 this time as captain  I was also selected for the EPFFA representing the Eastern Region in the GB PSUK Still Water Championships on the Lake of Menteith in Scotland also in June 2022 and am now the Chairman of the EPRFFA (River Fly Fishing) and this year (2024) qualified to represent my Region at the PSUK Nationals in Scotland on the Lake of Menteith in 2025. Although I did not qualify for the EPFFA England squad at the International this year on the River Tummel in Scotland I did fish the "Officials" match on the River Tay and River Bran in Scotland which I won.

     I was a Police Officer for over 38 years, and currently run my force fly fishing section. I won the EPFFA England National Rivers Championships in 2013 and in 2015. I captained our England team at the PSUK Home Internationals in Scotland in 2014 and regularly represent EPFFA England at European, International and National level competitions in both River and Still Water Trout Fishing. I am the Chairman of the English Police River Fly Fishing Assoc.

 
     During my working life, I have been an instructor in law, firearms, First Aid and Child Protection and after retiring I thought why not use the skills learned at work and my passionate hobby to become qualified to instruct professionally, attended a course run by the Angling Trust under Sport UK and the Angling Development Board at Moulton Agricultural College in Northampton and qualified as a Game Angling Instructor in November 2014.

 
Over the years I have taught many people the art of fly fishing and regularly assist with the Fishing for Heroes Charity for ex-servicemen/women suffering from PTSD and the Masonic Fly-Fishing Charity helping disabled and disadvantaged children and adults.

     I hope I miight have the privilage of introducing you or your friends or relaitions to this engrossing sport or hobby but beware it can become all absorbing. 

     I did read an amusing saying recently - "Give a man a fish and he's fed for a few hours but teach a man to fish and you can get rid of him for the whole day." This seems rather sexist in our current political correct societs because many of my clients are women and they are very good at learning the skills of the gentle art, perhaps because strength means nothing when casting a fly.