CREEL PODCAST
In this episode Joff talks to Phil Jackson from The Tenchfishers.
Along the way we get visits from Hugh Tempest Sheringham. Mr Crabtree and Peter, Izaak Walton and The Rev William Houghton.
Phil tells us where the fishing bug started for him. How he thought he may have been 'a bit of an annoying little prat' in Ted Oliver's shop Olivers of Knebworth. He was at school with Dick Walker's sons and to this day regrets failing to take up the offer of a visit to Dick's house to get some cutting edge carp fishing advice.
He discusses the formation of The Tenchfishers, it's demise, and its resurrection in the late sixties.
Phil remembers well his first visit to The Tenchfishers AGM where he got to waggle a rod with Len Head.
Other names from the world of tench fishing get a mention too - Pete Jackson. Barrie Rickards, John Ellis, Harry Green, Les Millington, Tony Marris, Dai Gribble, Jack Walpole, Kenny Parsons, and Pete Davis. The Tenchfishers book TINCA TINCA (pictured and illustrated by David Miller www.davidmillerart.co.uk) gets discussed as does Tenchfishers TV which along with the website is a shop front for the group.
We discuss the bulletin, The National Tench Heritage Alliance, and Sywell Resevoir.
Many thanks to Phil for taking time out to discuss his fishing life and the group.
To find out more go to www.tenchfishers.com
In this episode of Creel Podcast Joff talks to Fennel Hudson of The Wild Carp Trust. At an early age Fennel was invited to join the prestigeous group of anglers The Golden Scale Club and soon found himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bernard Venables, Richard Walker, Maurice Ingham, Peter Stone, Mike Winters, and Peter Wheat.
The discussion covers a range of subjects including 'on being a traditional angler' - The inception of The Wild Carp Trust - Breeding wild carp - What are wild carp? - Creating a wild carp 'ark' - The surprising challenges of collecting fry - The perils of a hot summer - Everything you need to know about the trust.
Other anglers get a mention too - Rafe Gabriel of Piscators Journal. Steven Murgatroyd former guest on this podcast. John Bailey President of the trust, and Chris Yates who first invited Fennel into the Golden Scale Club.
Izaak Walton is persuaded to pop in to the studio and gives his recipe for producing your own boilies (you'll need some flesh of a cat or a rabbit) and offers instructions on making what must have been the worlds first shelf-life boilie.
Rev. William Houghton offers his thoughts on the history of carp in the UK.
Fennel is put on the spot and gives his ideal rod and reel if only restricted to one of each.
If your float has wavered or you interest been piqued go to www.wildcarptrust.org
Fennel can be found at Fennels Priory here.
Did you know Efgeeco have a Facebook page here.
My guest in this episode is Steven Murgatroyd. We connected on a zoom call to discuss his book THE LAST CHANCE FISHING CLUB profits of which he is donating to The Wild Carp Trust.
Stephen has been a fanatical fisherman for over fifty years and these days he fishes almost exclusively with the fly rod; eagerly pursuing game, coarse and saltwater species. He also enjoys listening to music and documenting his various piscine escapades, resulting in his first book.
His writing has been featured in a variety of well-known fishing-related print and digital publications, having won various awards including first prize in the Balvenie ‘Story to Tell’ competition, the Grayling Society Righyni Roose Award for excellence in the written word, and first place in the Fish and Fly writing competition.
He is a trustee of The Wild Carp Trust and a life member of The Wild Trout Trust.
In this first episode of CREEL podcast Joff heads down to Essex where lifelong angler Steve Chambers has taken it upon himself to start a collection. Not just any collection, but one that takes centre stage in the development and history of UK carp fishing. Steve’s collection is one built on pure passion and a love of angling during the period from the late 1940’s and into the 50’s. His aim is to bring together tackle, writing, rods, reels, and other memorabilia from the single species study group The Carp Catchers Club. Other iconic angling items join the show. For a collection that was started just a few years ago Steve has already made impressive inroads in putting together what will in future be a very important collection.
We talk about Dick Walker, Gerry Berth-Jones, May Berth-Jones, Bernard Venables, Maurice Ingham, Chris Yates, and lots more.
Joff gets his filthy mitts on some historic carp rods. He has a waggle with Bernard Venables' landing net - the very net that graces the cover of Mr Crabtree Goes Fishing. He has a pick through Bernard's tackle box, as well as donning the very hat that Chris Yates wore when he caught the record 'Bishop' from Redmire Pool. Some of the earliest electronic bite alams are also discussed. Too many exciting and interesting things to mention here. Sit down in front of the fire, make a cup of tea (with an added splash if you prefer) and and enjoy a perfect hour of angling history.
In this second episode of the podcast Joff talks to author Peter Wise a writer from north London in the UK. Via his publishers Cranthorpe Millner Peter has just released his first book Disturbing THE Water - thirteen original ghost stories concerning fish, fishing, and fishy places. With reviews in Country Life and Anglers Mail already this book is sure to be in everyone's bivvy for Christmas. A new genre of reading for us at Efgeeco HQ we found each chapter had the hairs rising on our arms chapter after chapter. Peter's knowledge and interest of the past shines through with his accurate portrayal and description of historical periods such as WorldWar II, The Great Patriotic War, and Ukraine. Though based around fish and fishing the stories will appeal to anglers and non anglers alike - rigs and methods aren't described but locations whether real or imagined lead the reader into a believable world that will have them excitably turning the pages and trying to consume all thirteen chapters in a single sitting.
Most anglers will know of the River Severn. A water well known for its barbel, chub, salmon, and roach fishing. It's a river with a rich history dating back centuries, and it's played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of England and Wales. Stretching approximately 220 miles, it stands as the longest river in the United Kingdom. A year ago I collaborated with Gloucestershire based poet JLM Morton and musician Oonagh Davies to work as field recordist and audio editor for Juliettes epic reimagining of the story of Hafren/Severn/or Sabrina first told in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (1136) which recounts how one of the first Kings of the Britons, Locrinus, fell in love with Estrildis, a Hun prisoner of war. He kept her underground in a cave and after seven years of their affair, Estrildis gave birth to a daughter she called 'Habren,' another name for Severn. Discovering her husband's adultery, Locrinus's wife - Gwendolen - raised an army, killed her husband and drowned Habren and Estrildis in the river in revenge.