Neil Maidment
Moderator
Following on from the excellent "The Bracket Interview":The Bracket interview
Here's my attempt at something similar:
1. What age did you start fishing and where?
Probably around 5 or 6 years old, certainly in the late 1950’s. I had a recollection of watching two of my uncles salmon fishing on the Dorset Stour when they had at least 3 or 4 fish, one of which had Mick stripping off and jumping in the river to land it. That memory was confirmed a couple of years ago when chatting with my uncle shortly before he died. He disappeared to ransack a cupboard returning with several biscuit tins and boxes full of photos. He eventually produced one showing my dad, my two sisters and me sat behind Ron as he posed with a fresh salmon. He also had a photo of himself up to his neck in the Stour, rod in the air and laughing his head off! I’m pretty certain those events resulted in me becoming an angler.
2. Angling heroes?
See above! My dad didn’t fish but all his brothers and sister did. Mick and Ron were the two who influenced me the most and are my heroes.
3. First piece of tackle?
The first rod was a 12ft float rod made for me by Ron. The first two sections were cane with a spliced solid fibre glass top section. That was matched with one of Mick’s centrepins, an Allcock’s Match Special. I also had a very well used wicker basket. Sadly, I have no idea what happened to those pieces of gear.
4. First fish ever caught?
A flounder from the top of the tidal Stour whilst bouncing a bunch of lobworms under a bullet lead weight allegedly fishing for salmon!
5. Biggest fish ever caught?
For many years it was a 67lb Blue Shark but topped that one with a Tarpon estimated at 80lbs about 25 years ago. I’ve had a few carp to just under 30lbs but all caught by accident. A 24lbs+ salmon and 21lbs+ brown trout are the two most memorable big fish caught by design.
6. Favourite venue?
The Dorset Stour, specifically the lower reaches and tidal areas. The Hampshire Avon is a close second.
7. Favourite fish?
I have several, usually dependent on the river and the time of year I’m fishing. But the overall winner has to be a Dorset Stour Chub in prime winter condition caught whilst trotting a float.
8. Most memorable fish?
March 2016, my last session of that season on the Dorset Stour at Throop when I had the chub lined up in front of me. Can’t remember too much detail about those chub but I can recall every detail of the several minutes late in the afternoon which resulted in a 7lbs 11oz chub finally sliding into the landing net!
9. Do you have any nostalgia for old kit?
Not until recently. I inherited a lot of fishing gear when my two remaining uncles passed away in 2017 which has taken a lot of time to sort through. I’ve kept a fair bit, donated some to The Rod Room Museum at the Royalty Fishery, gifted a lot to some of my uncle’s long term mates and sold some with the proceeds going to charity. Of the stuff I’ve kept I regularly use the Normark rods and I’m still working my way through the centrepins! But it’s the small stuff that often gets to me, the floats in particular.
10. Fixed spool or centrepin?
Yes! I do have several fixed spool reels but many more centrepins. I use the centrepins just because I can regardless of whether they are the right tools for the job and conditions!
11. Commercials? Ever fished one?
Loads of times! After a break in the late 1980’s I took my kids to Gold Valley which led me to get back into fishing. It was there that I first came across the Hair Rig and a few other things totally new to me. About 10 years later I worked part time at Gold Valley and fished a number of their matches. For the most part I was well beaten but eventually worked a few things out. A few section wins and top five placings were fun but there was only so many 100lbs+ weights of carp I could manage before getting bored. But Gold Valley got me back into fishing and I learnt a lot.
12. Views on the carp scene, ever shown any interest in that?
Not a lot of interest in it really, other than the innovations (and rehashing of old ideas) which can be applied to my style of fishing. It’s a source of income for clubs which hopefully means the more forward thinking ones can maintain other styles of venues alongside the carp lakes. It’s also a main driver for the tackle trade which can only be a good thing for further developments and adaptations in gear applicable to all forms of fishing.
13. Do you own a pole?
I’ve had a few over the years but got rid of them because they typically sat in the cupboard unused. Then I inherited several from my uncles, two of which I’ve kept and use.
14. Float, lead or feeder?
Yes, yes and yes, they all have their place and uses. But, give me a float, particularly on running water, and I’m happy.
15. Lone fisherman, team man or social trips?
Used to fish a lot of matches both individual and team including winter leagues and nationals. Rarely with much success but enjoyed the competitive nature of those trips. Nowadays I’m more of a loner but increasingly enjoying social trips with good mates near and far.
16. Favourite bait?
Maggot or caster with bread in its many forms a close second. Meat, again in many forms, is my favourite barbel bait, but I do use pellets and boilies.
17. Angling on TV?
I was a big fan of Jack Hargreaves and Out of Town, definitely helped by the fact that I met him a couple of times. I really enjoyed John Wilson’s programs and more recently the Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing series has been very watchable.
18. What’s left to do?
Nowadays I just fish when I want to, often with mates. But, having had many conversations with my late uncle as he negotiated his terminal illness, it was clear, fishing wise, he had a couple of regrets. He particularly regretted not trying other specialities of our sport more often such as carp, barbel and sea. That led me to deliberately set out to try other things. A long weekend bivvied up specifically targeting Catfish, using medical leaches as bait, was completely out of my comfort zone, but enjoyable. I’ve booked on three wrecking trips out in the English Channel but have been weathered off each time, still work in progress. I’ve also got back into fly fishing a bit, for the third time, having inherited a whole lot of gear. I’m also into my second season of hosting a series of Barbel Teach-ins for one of my clubs (Farnham Angling Society). Four dates between July and October and they’ve all been fully booked and I have a waiting list!
Here's my attempt at something similar:
1. What age did you start fishing and where?
Probably around 5 or 6 years old, certainly in the late 1950’s. I had a recollection of watching two of my uncles salmon fishing on the Dorset Stour when they had at least 3 or 4 fish, one of which had Mick stripping off and jumping in the river to land it. That memory was confirmed a couple of years ago when chatting with my uncle shortly before he died. He disappeared to ransack a cupboard returning with several biscuit tins and boxes full of photos. He eventually produced one showing my dad, my two sisters and me sat behind Ron as he posed with a fresh salmon. He also had a photo of himself up to his neck in the Stour, rod in the air and laughing his head off! I’m pretty certain those events resulted in me becoming an angler.
2. Angling heroes?
See above! My dad didn’t fish but all his brothers and sister did. Mick and Ron were the two who influenced me the most and are my heroes.
3. First piece of tackle?
The first rod was a 12ft float rod made for me by Ron. The first two sections were cane with a spliced solid fibre glass top section. That was matched with one of Mick’s centrepins, an Allcock’s Match Special. I also had a very well used wicker basket. Sadly, I have no idea what happened to those pieces of gear.
4. First fish ever caught?
A flounder from the top of the tidal Stour whilst bouncing a bunch of lobworms under a bullet lead weight allegedly fishing for salmon!
5. Biggest fish ever caught?
For many years it was a 67lb Blue Shark but topped that one with a Tarpon estimated at 80lbs about 25 years ago. I’ve had a few carp to just under 30lbs but all caught by accident. A 24lbs+ salmon and 21lbs+ brown trout are the two most memorable big fish caught by design.
6. Favourite venue?
The Dorset Stour, specifically the lower reaches and tidal areas. The Hampshire Avon is a close second.
7. Favourite fish?
I have several, usually dependent on the river and the time of year I’m fishing. But the overall winner has to be a Dorset Stour Chub in prime winter condition caught whilst trotting a float.
8. Most memorable fish?
March 2016, my last session of that season on the Dorset Stour at Throop when I had the chub lined up in front of me. Can’t remember too much detail about those chub but I can recall every detail of the several minutes late in the afternoon which resulted in a 7lbs 11oz chub finally sliding into the landing net!
9. Do you have any nostalgia for old kit?
Not until recently. I inherited a lot of fishing gear when my two remaining uncles passed away in 2017 which has taken a lot of time to sort through. I’ve kept a fair bit, donated some to The Rod Room Museum at the Royalty Fishery, gifted a lot to some of my uncle’s long term mates and sold some with the proceeds going to charity. Of the stuff I’ve kept I regularly use the Normark rods and I’m still working my way through the centrepins! But it’s the small stuff that often gets to me, the floats in particular.
10. Fixed spool or centrepin?
Yes! I do have several fixed spool reels but many more centrepins. I use the centrepins just because I can regardless of whether they are the right tools for the job and conditions!
11. Commercials? Ever fished one?
Loads of times! After a break in the late 1980’s I took my kids to Gold Valley which led me to get back into fishing. It was there that I first came across the Hair Rig and a few other things totally new to me. About 10 years later I worked part time at Gold Valley and fished a number of their matches. For the most part I was well beaten but eventually worked a few things out. A few section wins and top five placings were fun but there was only so many 100lbs+ weights of carp I could manage before getting bored. But Gold Valley got me back into fishing and I learnt a lot.
12. Views on the carp scene, ever shown any interest in that?
Not a lot of interest in it really, other than the innovations (and rehashing of old ideas) which can be applied to my style of fishing. It’s a source of income for clubs which hopefully means the more forward thinking ones can maintain other styles of venues alongside the carp lakes. It’s also a main driver for the tackle trade which can only be a good thing for further developments and adaptations in gear applicable to all forms of fishing.
13. Do you own a pole?
I’ve had a few over the years but got rid of them because they typically sat in the cupboard unused. Then I inherited several from my uncles, two of which I’ve kept and use.
14. Float, lead or feeder?
Yes, yes and yes, they all have their place and uses. But, give me a float, particularly on running water, and I’m happy.
15. Lone fisherman, team man or social trips?
Used to fish a lot of matches both individual and team including winter leagues and nationals. Rarely with much success but enjoyed the competitive nature of those trips. Nowadays I’m more of a loner but increasingly enjoying social trips with good mates near and far.
16. Favourite bait?
Maggot or caster with bread in its many forms a close second. Meat, again in many forms, is my favourite barbel bait, but I do use pellets and boilies.
17. Angling on TV?
I was a big fan of Jack Hargreaves and Out of Town, definitely helped by the fact that I met him a couple of times. I really enjoyed John Wilson’s programs and more recently the Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing series has been very watchable.
18. What’s left to do?
Nowadays I just fish when I want to, often with mates. But, having had many conversations with my late uncle as he negotiated his terminal illness, it was clear, fishing wise, he had a couple of regrets. He particularly regretted not trying other specialities of our sport more often such as carp, barbel and sea. That led me to deliberately set out to try other things. A long weekend bivvied up specifically targeting Catfish, using medical leaches as bait, was completely out of my comfort zone, but enjoyable. I’ve booked on three wrecking trips out in the English Channel but have been weathered off each time, still work in progress. I’ve also got back into fly fishing a bit, for the third time, having inherited a whole lot of gear. I’m also into my second season of hosting a series of Barbel Teach-ins for one of my clubs (Farnham Angling Society). Four dates between July and October and they’ve all been fully booked and I have a waiting list!
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