Eric Hodson – A Giant of the Angling World

Eric Hodson – RIP

Eric with a nice pike

At 1 pm 11th July 2008, Gordon Eric Hodson, one of the most influential anglers of the last century, died in Chesterfield Derbyshire from Alzheimer’s Disease. Eric was born in 1924 in Chorley – Lancashire, son of a police officer. He grew up in Woolston near Warrington and moved to Sheffield in 1960.

I first met Eric at the home of well known Sheffield angler and writer Tag Barnes on a freezing cold night in December 1962. I invited him to become a member of my newly formed Northern Specimen Hunter’s Group. At a later stage and at another meeting, Eric became our secretary.

It would be impossible here to list all of Eric’s achievements; suffice to say that they were considerable. The most important of the many tasks Eric set himself was the organization of The National Association of Specimen Groups, which became a reality in the April of 1965. The influence that this organization had on the Specialist Angling World cannot be overestimated. As a result of the existence of the NASG, the world of specimen hunting grew from about seven groups in 1965 to about 70 in 1967!

SAA meeting with Eric (centre)

The foundations of the organized specimen hunting movement began in part with the creation of the Carp Catcher’s Club, a group of dedicated carp anglers who got together as the result of an idea by Denys Watkins-Pitchford (BB). Dick Walker was a leading member of this group and through his writings and fame at catching the 44lb record carp he inspired many anglers to pursue big fish. The concept of the Specimen Hunters Group was extremely attractive, especially to young anglers. This meant they could pool resources and fish for big fish, something that in many cases had previously been beyond their reach.

Then along came Eric Hodson with the idea that specimen hunting could become a national movement. Many thought that organizing such an operation would be next to impossible, but Eric didn’t, as can be seen in his article on FishingMagic.

The enthusiasm, dedication and zeal that Eric applied in the furtherance of the NASG were truly remarkable. It was certainly the NASG that was responsible for the rapid expansion in the pursuit of big fish. Looking back, I hate to think of the costs in terms of telephone calls, miles travelled, correspondence, printing and a whole host of other expenses that Eric paid out of his own pocket. Eric wrote many articles for the angling press and never requested a fee. If a fee was paid the money was sent to the ACA.

And Eric did not stop with the NASG. He formed the Pike Society, which later became the Pike Angler’s Club of Great Britain out of the need to protect the species. He formed the British Carp Study Group with Peter Mohan.

Eric Hodson’s legacy that can be seen all around us today is considerable. All the single species groups that exist today can trace their roots back to the NASG. The Specialist Anglers Alliance is deeply rooted in the old NASG.

The enormous amount of specialist tackle and bait that is available today is a wonder to behold. Virtually all the leaders of the UK and world specialist bait and tackle industries were members of an English specimen group in the 60s and 70s. And so were many of the big names, personalities and writers too.

During the 60s, I fished with Eric a great deal. He was the very best angling companion you could have. Boy, did we talk up a storm in those days. When I left the UK in 1967, I kept in close contact with Eric. He even made me a honorary member of the BCSG through the auspices of which I was able to detail how we fished for carp in South Africa.

When I returned to the UK in 1994 I renewed my friendship with Eric. We fished for all sorts of species together including pike where we caught many 20 pound fish, and Trent barbel when you hardly ever saw a fellow angler on this great river. For a short period Eric seemed as enthusiastic for fishing as he was in the 60s. I also went to several National Association of Specialist Anglers conferences with him too.

I look back with fondness and thanks at the times I spent with Eric. I hope those of you who read this obituary and are specialist anglers will understand when you look at a bivvy, a rod pod, a spod, a helicopter rig, modern carbon carp and pike rods, and a whole host of accessories that we take for granted today, who made it all possible.

The modern angling big fish scene is due to many, starting with Dick Walker who provided the inspiration. But without the organizational skills of Eric Hodson, it would never have happened.