Full Time Anglers

I was reading a response(in a mag) from Jules Cundiff stating he wasnt a full time professional angler. I was quite amazed as I thought he was,but no he holds down a "proper" job as well.It just made me wonder how many 'pro' anglers there are out there apart from guys like Bob Nudd and John WIlson and one or two of the top match guys. Just how can an angler make a living out of fishing alone? Even Terry Eustace says it wouldnt pay his bills the amount he gets for written articles and he should know lol! Say your a 'pro' angler and rely a lot for income from match fishing and the weathers as it as been just lately and matches get abandoned ( yeah I used to match fish and its very rare). Or your a carper who as a bad spell and cant catch a cold.What do they do, go to the social and say they are pro anglers and cant earn a living as the weathers crap/or I cant catch a fish at the moment please give me some dosh lmao?(well actors get paid when their 'resting') I realise they get sponsorship and work as consultants but it must be very difficult to make a decent living out of it. It seems though there are a fair few 'pro' anglers out there. Any guesses what the average pro earns and how many hours a week he as to do to get it? I think its got to be hard work myself and it may(in my case) just take the shine off my fishing if I relied on it to make a crust.

Only two things prevented me from becoming a full time pro match angler..


1. I injured my casting finger in a freak 3 card brag accident.

2. I was crap.

I was talking to a carp angler on a local water recently who had a couple of sponsorship deals, one for his bait and another for some tackle. He reckoned you could count the number of anglers who are paid to fish on one had, the likes of Hearne, Shelly etc. That made me think, no surley there are loads more than that?

But when I thought about it there is a distinction between a professional angler, and someone who makes a living out of fishing. People like Wilson, Fickling, Hayes, Brown etc make a living out of fishing by owning tackle shops, writing articles, selling tackle and bait etc.

This guy fished minimum 3 nights a week and worked 2 days a week window cleaning. He had an RMC gold card for next year ?1000!!!!! Basically his whole life revolved around carp fishing and he only worked just enough to make ends meet. Most of his fishing was 150 miles away from where he lived as well, mental, it suited him but I could never do that. For me fishing is a distraction from real life. A stress free world of pleasure. Not actually my life.

You'll probabley find that most pro fishermen are connected to fly/game fishing. AND they can be EXPENSIVE though reputed to be worth while.

Think you summed my feelings up exactly Paul. If my fishing became a way of earning an income and one that I relied on to pay the bills it would spoil the 'pleasure principle' I often wonder how some of the anglers who represent their country make ends meet as they certainly dont get the same financial help that other sports get. This despite the English fishing teams being so much more of a success on the world scene than our atheletics or football teams.
Jan Porter is another one that comes to mind,he did actually go bankrupt a few years back but he seems to have bounced back with a new image(grizzly adams lol) and a satelite televison programme.Decent guy and he can still fish a bit too! Dont think the worry of angling for an income would do me any favours at all.

Point number 2 Beecy is as good a reason as any lol. I doubt its being crap that stops most anglers going 'pro,to make a living at the game one as to be'exceptional';natural fish cathcers like Nudd,Pickering,Heaps,Scothorne are few and far between. I reckon it must be even more difficult on the specimen scene. I wonder what someone like Benny or Kevin Ashurst could have made today? Both exceptional and innovative anglers and both way before their time in terms of match fishing excellence and thinking.I know Kevin Ashurst was sponsored by Shimano but have been out of touch with match fishing for a while myself now,he probably still runs the family bait business I imagine?

I thought he was dead? Or is that Benny?

Paul, Kevin is still alive, now lives in Ireland.

Don, I posted recently to a query by Swordsy re making a living from angling, I genuinely thought that Bob Roberts was a full-time angler, sponsorships, tackle consultancy, books, videos, DVDs, articles,but he posted that he could'nt live off his angling income and was also in full time employment away from angling.

Obviously fee's cannot amount to a great deal when you consider the input of these anglers.

Paul, i know Jim (Shelley) well and trust me he aint full time. He works outside fishing.

Benny (Kevins dad) is the famous Ashurst who is no longer with us as Merv said Kevins still here. Didnt know he was in Ireland though.

Have to admit Merv I thought Bob Roberts was a full timer myself.I wonder just how many of the people we assume are full timers actually are? I bet its not many. If thats the case and they dont get much for articles and sponsorship, then I truely take my hat off to them for making so free with their advice and written articles.
To throw another hat into the circle,so to speak,what about angling coaches? The reason I ask is that a few seasons back courses were being advertised that resulted in a recognised certificate being issued that would enable someone to make a living out of coaching newcomers. It seemed like one of those too good to be true kind of things to me,but then again I am a bit cynical thesedays lol.

If your reading this Kev sorry! Good choice with Ireland though, top country, top people.

I honestly thought Jim was full time, and I did Bob as well. Do these two make a living out of fishing then or do they both have totally separate jobs out of fishing? Its even less than I thought in that case!

Are you talking of the NFA coaches Don?
If you are, I know a few of them , and they all have full time jobs outside of fishing.
all the top known anglers seem to have more than one job on the go and their fingers in many pies to make a living out of it.

It depends what you mean by full time or professional angler. If you mean someone who earns their living from fishing then you would have to include people like me and other journalists who work for angling newspapers and magazines, or work in the tackle and bait trade.

A professional angler in the context meant though is someone who makes a living from actually going fishing and gets his income from writing fees and consultancy deals. There are none in this bracket that I know of who make a decent living except for very short periods when they are at their peak in popularity terms. There are a few who are prepared to live on little more (and often less) than they would get on the dole because they want the lifestyle. After all, you don't need a lot of income if you live most of your life in a bivvy, and fish with sponsored tackle and bait. Which is all part of the farce that perceives a great angler as being someone who catches a lot of big fish when his 'greatness' is simply a product of the amount of time he spends on the bank.

The vast majority of those who are perceived to be professional anglers have a full time job, with angling writing/consultancy deals as a hobby and supplemental income. There was no one more involved with angling than Walker and he ran a busy lawn mower manufacturing company.

Some of the most succesful angling writers end up with their own manufacturing/wholesale companies, or working for a decent salary somewhere in the trade. Others are professionals in other trades, earning far more money than they ever could from fishing.

Those who come closest to being full time anglers are the guides and one or two are making a reasonable living out of it, but I often wonder at what sacrifice to their own fishing, in that how do they find time to fish for pleasure if they're busy enough to make a living from fishing for money?

You are quite right as usual Graham, if someone makes their living out of fishing, like your good self, Matt Hayes, John Wilson etc. then I suppose they are professional fishermen in the literal interpretation of the word.

That is a whole different world from fishing for a living though, Alan Wilson was one of the elite members of that club but I can't think of any others off the top of my head.

Oh, I'm full time. Fish every day. Testing tackle, writing features, getting free gear!
I bloody wish! Been trying to pick the lock on the chains shackling me to my desk since I got here!
Let's face it, who would want to make a living out of fishing? That would be Hell! Having to go fishing! Having to catch for the camera! Having to attend numerous sponsor-related functions! That would be bad enough to make me take up golf!!!!
Or knitting!

Bob Nudd is a director of Van Den Eynde, incidentally. That's his full time occupation and he does have to work at it too even though he may spend more time on the bank than most of us get the chance to.

Thanks Graham M for putting things into perspective.As the Irish say "you have a way with words" and have explained it in a manner even a muppet such as I can understand lol.I would imagine even the fishing guides would find it tough. Maybe with trout and salmon they would get better paid for their services but I imagine the average coarse angler would not want to part with too much cash for a guide. After all those who dont know it all usually have a mate that does and he of course will guide you a lot cheaper lmao!
T'other Graham (W) was Alan that chap who looked a bit like the old grandad out of Only Fools and Horses who died in his peg/bivvy?
To finish I would have to agree with Chub King. My other passion is gardening and I have been very successful at it having won many prizes and accolades. Many people have said I should go into the gardening trade and design gardens or sell plants and I have said bluntly that it would spoil it for me.I guess a fine balance is what is required for the likes of Graham, Bob Roberts and Jules Holland and the rest of the guys to make some pocket money from angling and yet still enjoy it enough to come over as enthusiastic for the sport as they do. I dont think it is easy as there are more knockers in angling than any other sport and once you become high profile theres always someone wanting to have a go at you. The usual stuff one sees/hears are comments such as "I could catch if I had free bait and tackle" truth told neither comes free and the guy who is moaning couldnt do it even if it did!

I think, "jules Holland" does a bit on the Piano, on the side, too.

"I imagine the average coarse angler would not want to part with too much cash for a guide"

There's a lot of guides starting out now in carp fishing, charging around ?150 for a 24 hour session. I know as I paid up and caught my PB! Money well spent? The jury is still out from my point of view but the audience must be out there as there are more springing up all the time.

Must have more money than sense .......

I didnt class carpers as coarse anglers Robin, I associated carping as a different class of angling all on its own.Until you mentioned it that is and youre quite correct of course.?150 for 24 hours,I assume that was a 1 to 1 tuition/guidance? What price a personal best I ask myself as I suppose one could spend that easily enough lashing out on baits and stuff and catch nowt! ?150 doesnt buy a lot in a tackle emporium these days.