After a 20 year break from competitive angling Labour's Parliamentary Spokesman for Angling Martin Salter MP will be returning to match fishing in order to help raise funds for the Anglers' Conservation Association (ACA). Mr Salter will be fishing for the Thames 21 Team at the ACA Celebrity Masters event at Mallory Park Fisheries in Leicester on Saturday 18th August.
Martin Salter used to fish for Uxbridge Rovers in the West Middlesex Winter League and for Thatcham AA in the Reading and District Kennet Championships in the 1980s.
The Thames 21 Team also is captained by Grant Fear, Angling Development Co-ordinator for the Thames 21 Environment Charity which works on the restoration of fisheries in the tidal Thames area and on promoting angling opportunities. The other team members are well known match angling brothers Mick and Dave Vincent, Matt Carter from the Environment Agency West Region and Colin Bartlett, owner of Lake John Fishery. Around 100 anglers are participating in the match.
Martin Salter said:
“I simply do not have the time to keep up with all the methods and techniques necessary to compete in today's world of match fishing so my inclusion in the Thames 21 Team may well prove to be a liability. However, the ACA Masters is more about raising funds for a good cause than it is about who catches the most fish. Nevertheless, I will try my hardest not to let the team down.”
Grant Fear, Angling Development Co-ordinator for Thames 21 said:
“I'm delighted to have been given the opportunity to put together a diverse team of people representing different areas of the angling world. The ACA does fantastic work in protecting the waterside environment and the whole team are enthusiastic supporters of the organisation.”
