Competitive Streak...

Angling is for relaxation and sharing an experience, right?
Must have been in 1976 when a school visit to a Countryside Show at Kenilworth in the Midlands was arranged, and ever keen to find excuses to duck out of school, me and a few of my 11 year old mates put our names down for the not exactly Rock 'n' Roll field trip. Armed with a pack up and a couple of bob pocket money the coach was boarded and set off. We arrived after a typical kids coach journey, with all its attendant mischief, to an almost mediaeval scene...marquees, livestock and country folk, all manner of agricultural vehicles and equipment, mud, farmyard smells and so on. Someone had managed to snag a programme and the 70's chart topping band "The Wurzels" were due to give a performance. Anyone remember them? We thought they were pretty good...anyway whilst wandering round after this I found a British Field Sports Society booth and stepped in to see what that was all about. The chap inside gave me a leaflet and a sticker and when I explained I was an angler, said there was a display taking place later that day. It turned out some match fisherman was going to demonstrate his prowess, but as it wasn't proper fishing i.e. fluff chucking, our pal in the tent wasn't that interested. My mate Jeff and I made a beeline to find a familiar looking bloke giving a casting demo, casually flicking a waggler into distant hula hoops on a large pond. We got a bit closer...was it? No, course not...now he started hoiking Bream out, one after the other whilst smoking an endless cigarette, cracking jokes and generally entertaining anyone close by...it was! Only Ivan Marks, one of the most famous Anglers of the day, and an early angling Hero to yours truly! So for the next hour or so, I was spellbound, watching everything the Great Man did, today truly was a schoolday but not in the way I'd ever have imagined! Eventually, time was called, rods put down and a line formed for autographs. My turn came, and as I gave him my bit of paper I must've burbled some secret code because  he said to pop over to his stall...he and Ray Marlow (of Marks & Marlow) had a Tackle stand there too...how did we miss that?!! So later on, I plucked up the courage to visit and was greeted again by Ivan himself, and ended up after a good chat walking away with loads of advice and a gift, a "Pacemaker" float, which I still treasure to this day. Sadly, Ivan is no longer with us, but I think he had a profound influence on my generation of anglers as well as being a great champion.
So for the time being at least, the die had been cast. Much to my old man's - I'm not sure whether amusement or despair, my tackle was reconfigured and replaced with a series of the latest match gear, a stiff, tippy Shakespeare rod, pan shaped micromesh (as used by Ian Heaps) landing net, and the crowning glory an ABU 506 closed face reel. My eyes were pretty good in those days too, and I started to tie my own hooks, my favourite being size 24 barbless to 8oz line. Dad was almost beside himself by this point railing at the new fangled nonsense, but undeterred I remained true to the cause, and the new ideas paid almost instant dividends. With a little practice I even became quite adept at tempting fish from the toughest of swims, where my pals were still struggling! Matches were contested and fought well, several times unseating grown ups who naturally cried foul which made it all the more fun!
By the Summer of 1977 me and my mates had found a lovely little pit a few miles away, with loads of Roach and Rudd, Gudgeon and so on, even some mythical Carp but no-one had had any of them. We'd strap everything to our bikes and set off at sun up, full of excitement and anticipation. Until finally caught by the Bailiff and turfed out with respective fleas tingling our ears! After some investigation I found a tackle shop that put me in touch with the membership secretary, got my pocket money and actually bought a years ticket for the following season. June 16th 1978 arrived, and I spent hours trying out new swims, methods and so on, all the time gaining confidence and ability, so that one morning after I'd identified an area no one hitherto bothered with but that I just knew to be full of promise, set up and flicked a bait tight to the reeds...the float settled, trembled and slid away in a matter of seconds. A better fish and surely  no silver, a tussle ensued and mindful of the ultra light tackle I used in those days, played the fish with caution. My reward was a plump Crucian Carp, who was admired and slipped into the large keep net already deployed. No sooner had I flicked out another bait than the float dipped again, this time a good sized Roach. And so on it went, resulting in my largest haul to that date, 187 Roach and Rudd, 10 Crucian Carp and a solitary Perch of about a pound. Sadly I had no camera or scales in those days, would've been quite a picture! Naturally, a small boy heaving a netful like that out got some attention from the old blokes (who must've been at least 25 years old) on the opposite bank, who had been intently watching fish after fish come out of the usually empty corner swim. For some reason I can't recall, I couldn't get over to fish for a week, I think I may have been helping my Dad and earning some pocket money, but when I did, I was greeted in MY swim by one of the anglers that had been on the other side camped for the first time in the corner swim; He said something like "I saw some kid  catching dozens of fish over there last week", pointing at totally the wrong swim at the other end..."still, shouldn't believe all you hear, apparently he said he had a Perch as well and I know for a fact there's not a single Perch in here!" That had been my first real Red Letter day, and also my first taste of the dodgy tricks, mistrust and chicanery to be found among some in angling. At that age, I could see it for exactly what it was, pure envy and a Competitive Streak.
Fast forward to the present day, and I find myself representing at least on a Regional Level one of if not the largest single-species groups in the country, the Pike Anglers Club GB. It is well known in Pike Angling circles if not all branches of angling, that Hot Spots and locations of big fish captures are very closely guarded secrets. The usual reasons given for this are often dressed up as high minded conservation driven acts of altruism, but I for one am of the firm belief the reason most won't  let on  where their latest lump came from is that they likely see it as a bit of personal property, like a Pirates Treasure Trove, hard fought for and won and damned if it's going to be given away for free! Inevitably word does get out when a good fish falls to someone wanting a picture in the angling press, and there's nothing wrong with that, but the circus will immediately descend upon said location wanting the fish so badly for themselves that the poor thing gets caught over and over until it dies of bad handling or stress and eventually no-one can catch it. So am I right in my view that competition and envy rather than conservation and altruism drive the secrecy? Perhaps ultimately it's a little of both...I'll leave you to decide, just don't expect me to tell you where I'll be baiting up ready for the New Season... :-)
Tight lines for the glorious 16th!!!

Sydders