Who is your unsung angling hero?

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Lord Paul

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Forget all the big names and well know anglers, who inspired you locally in your fishing or who does a lot of work for angling without expecting anything back but is an unsung hero?

Mine would be a bloke known as Ossie Bennet, for some reason all Bennets in the area where I live where known as "Ossie" at that time.

My father was a very occasional angler and consequently could pass very little knowledge on to me, so it was Ossie that taught me the basics. Ossie was a work mate of my fathers had the patience to sort out my frequent birds nests, explain the best way to feed and pass on a few bits and bobs to me.

Also Ossie caught the largest fish I'd ever seen at that time a bronze bream all of 5 or 6 lb - to me at the time it was a monster.
 
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Simon Vicos

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My older brother Andrew still remains my angling hero. He taught me from age 9 when he showed me how to present a float to catch minnows. He was there when I caught my first fish that needed netting (Tench of 1lb which looked a giant when i was 11).

He has been there recently when I broke my Rudd and Roach pbs and although we don't get to fish as much together as we once did he is a very good angler that would get a bite in a glass of water.

Usuallysits it out for big fish of many species and very rarely fails to deliver, top man
 
Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC)

Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC)

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Cyril - the old bailiff for Maidstone Victory Anglers - lots of information, never got fed up with a pushy 11 year old asking questions none stop and could winkle a specimen dace out of the Medway at the drop of a hat - used a beat-up old Apollo Taperflash and an Abu501 but his control of a float was stunning...and something I only began to appreciate much much later.

(I wonder if there are any big dace in the Medway between Teston and Barming anymore? I also gather they aren't ask common as they were in the Kentish Stour at Canterbury /forum/smilies/sad_smiley.gif)
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA)

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I will never know the full name of my angling hero but he was called Wilf.

Old Wilf frequented the Chesterfield canal near a village called Shireoaks in the 1950s. He caught huge roach by using big lobworms and huge fat wadges of breadflake on size 10 model perfect eyed hooks tied direct to 3 lb line. He had an ancient Wallis Avon rod and a Aerial reel with a few quill floats and shots.

The only groundbait he used was mashed up sloppy bread or chopped up lobworms. He looked with disdain at the many Sheffield anglers who used to arrive on the train on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He called their obsession with tiny fish - "pimping".

Old Wilf only ever fished the canal under his own bank or across the other side, and he fished at least 6 inches overdepth with the bait laying on the bottom.

He also fished at a local quarry pond, and had big roach from there too. He taught me much about big roach. I will never forget seeing him with a keepnet full of the most wonderful fish, most of them being between 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 lbs. And remember that the average size of the fish caught then from this canal would only be about 2 oz.

Graham can also tell of a similar character when he was young. He tells the story in his book: "Advanced Coarse Fishing". The first time I read this chapter I realised how my Wilf was similar to Graham's Henry.

I remember watching Wilf one day down the canal. In the saddle bag of my bike, Wilf spotted Angling Times. He told me to read everything that **** Walker wrote.

He was right.
 
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MarkTheSpark

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Old teacher at my old school, Peter Rolfe. He took my brother fishing and, one day, I went. He was a complete inspiration, hauling out fat roach from the Dorset Stour at Cutt Mill.
 
slime monster

slime monster

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Torquay .....with my reputation??
The guywho went out of his way to ask me a struggling novice angler if he could help improve my fishing,having watched him catch a lot of fish i gladly accepted his offer. He sat on my box reeled in my line and took off the reel and replaced it with one of his having set the rod up with a float and new hook again from his tackle he cast into the so far barren water , seconds past before he whipped out a fish ,satisfied he said son you can do that and passed the rod to me i caught more fish that day than i had caught in months of trying and never forgot the lesson. Apart from improving my skills it gave me a life long philosophy that no matter who or how good you are in fishing you were once that duffer sat across the lake with no hope of success without guidence and if i can help i will at least ask if they will let me.
 
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Ray Daywalker Clarke

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My two brothers, took me all over the place when I was a kid. my older Brother sadly died in a car crash when on his way fishing to what is now known as Adams Mill, that was in 1968. that was the year I started fishing there, Those two used to take the Ouse apart, and passed on some great tips.I took my best chub catch of 22 fish from there.

My other brother lives in Oz now, but he carried on taking me fishing, Kingsweir, North Met, River Ouse and River Lea, great great days. Two bloody great Anglers also.
 
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Cakey

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yep.............................still know more than you with two heads /forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif
 
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Sean Meeghan

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Eric the Hemp and Caster man. I never knew his surname, but he showed me and my mate Pete the way to catch big still water roach from the pits and flashes of the industrial North West. Eric showed us how the right bait and careful presentation could tempt roach of a size we never dreamed of.He worked shifts at 'Pilks' and spent much of his spare time at the Leg o' Mutton dam. He's probably dead now, but we still talk about him and his mate Billy.
 
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Dave Slater

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Without doubt my friend Bill Neal. Bill is the best chub angler I know and is always thinking. I have learnt a lot from Bill over the years, things that can't be learnt from books. Bill also fishes places where he believes big fish to be rather than where others catch them, as I like to do, but also fishes busy waters at times with an equal amount of success. Some of Bill's ideas are very unconventional and even off the wall at times, but they work. Enjoyment is more important than results for Bill but the results are incredible at times and very consistent. Bill takes great pleasure in catching when conditions are unfavourable and usually comes up with the goods.
 
Rickrod

Rickrod

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my first two seasons were spent catching tiny perch and roach.Then one day at doe park res in denholme bradford. An old boy called Horace taylor who i'd seen catching tench set my rod up for me and told me what to do and a hour or so later bang had my first tench about 3 pound. I remember him been really happy for me a few weeks later we went to the river calder on the bus where he caught loads of roach i did'nt get much myself but i was happy to see fish been caught. I think he was just happy to have a bit of company he must of been in his late 60's then and thats knocking on thirty years ago I wonder if any one on here remembers him. He lived on the belldean concil estate bradford and did a bit of match fishing on the bradford city club book.
 
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Clive Moore 2

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i have fished myself since i started.......i dont think you need someone to "teach" you, you will soon learn from things you see and read about and if you are thinking about your fishing then ideas and solutions are quite easy to find and understand.....it probably helps though, to have someone show you
 
chub angler

chub angler

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Ive had to teach my self their very secretive where I fish. very true slime.
 
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