Barlow
Fisheries of Dronfield again hosted free angling tasters sessions
to mark the start of National Fishing Week 2005.
This years' event was a little bigger than last years - with more
angling coaches, more fly-casting instructors and more trade stands.
The event was opened by (and to give him his correct title) -The Chair
of North Derbyshire District Council – Cllr. George Antcliff
and his wife Pat. It's certainly great to see local dignitaries showing
an interest and getting involved with angling.
Inside information led us to believe that Cllr Antcliff and his wife
didn't really know what they were in for...a few 'flat caps' sitting
around a little pond maybe?
They were certainly surprised how beautiful Barlow really is and how
well organised it is for the visiting angler. They took delight in
talking to all the trade stands and exhibitors, with Mrs Antcliff
having a go on all the competitions. They were particularly impressed
with the fisheries facilities and how the owner Rex Ward, has catered
for the disabled angler and accommodates special needs youngsters.
In all, the pair stayed for nearly four hours - and even had a go
at fishing - both coarse and fly!
National Fishing Week events were held throughout the UK - the idea
being to introduce newcomers or lapsed anglers back into the world
of angling. At Barlow, a total of 79 'wannabe' anglers tried their
hand at fishing, a few of them ‘doubled up' and tried fly-fishing
as well, taking the numbers to nearly 90. The event was a great success
and hopefully introduced some newcomers into the special world of
angling.
Everyone who participated in the event was given a superb goodie bag,
courtesy of the 
Environment
Agency, the National Fishing Week organisers, AnglersTimes.co.uk,
Anglers Mail and the NFA.
All the bait for the event was supplied by angling superstore –
Climax Tackle, of Dronfield.
Junior World Champion
Junior world champion Matt Godfrey, right, gave live demonstrations
and answered questions on how he won the under 16's world championship
title at the World Junior Angling Championships held in Serbia. He
also won a team gold medal as England claimed the world team prize
on a match fished on a tributary of the River Danube. The two medals
for Matt, of Wales, Nr Worksop, now sit alongside the two golds he
won at national level earlier this summer.
If you get chance to see Matt in action, you'll certainly understand
why he's the world champion, his concentration is phenomenal. He's
well on his way to becoming the senior world champion!
The NFA Coaches
These
guys travel around the country giving demonstrations and helping to
introduce people into angling. All experts in their own right, the
coaches Glyn Williams, Ken Stevenson, Dave Dorning, Carl Bamford,
David Frost, 
David
Charlton, Peter Turner and AnglingTimes editor - Kevin Miles, gave
advice and information to all the participants.
Pictured left is Ken Stevenson senior angling coach with one of the
youngsters trying his hand at pole fishing.
Pictured right: A family watch as Dave Frost
instructs a youngster with a rod and line.
Fly
Casting Instructors
Bernie Maher – National Fly Fishing Champion, who is recovering
from a recent knee operation kindly gave his time to chat to the crowds
and instruct people in the art of casting a fly. It's not everyone
who can say they've been taught by the National Champion! Bernie's
a great chap - look him up at Press Manor Fisheries in Wingerworth.
Rob Clarke, Steve Newsome, Martin Introna, Phil White and the Barlow
bailiffs were all on hand to demonstrate 'fluff chucking' and fly-tying.
Everyone was given the chance to cast a fly and all the participants
found it's not as easy as it looks! These guys make fly-casting an
art form!
Rob Clark, right, giving fly-casting instruction. Notice the 100%
concentration on his face.
Each and every coach volunteered their help – it was great to
see so many people ‘putting something back' into the sport. Credit
due - as they say.
Anglers Times Team
It's
not very often they all get together - but Dave Williams, Andrew Kennedy,
John Neville and Kevin Miles surround The Chair of N.D.D.C. George
Antcliff. I don't know who looks more worried Dave or Andrew!
Dave manned the East Midland Carp Study Group stand while Andrew and
John sat in the Ask The Experts stand.
The Sponsors
The
main sponsors of the event were the Environment Agency, National Fishing
Week and AnglersTimes.co.uk. Pictured below are the E.A. team who
gave up their Saturday to demonstrate what the E.A. gets up to. They
brought along a powerful microscope so everyone could see the insects
living in the bottom of our ponds and rivers. It's really scary when
you see some of the 'monsters' from the depths! The amount of work
the E.A. does for angling is staggering. Check out their website for
more information.
Special thanks must go to Rex and Oenone Ward, owners of Barlow Fisheries,
for their help and support, without them the event just wouldn’t
have happened.
For information on events that happened in your area, click to the
National Fishing Week web site.
Barlow Fisheries can be contacted on tel: 01142 890543.
You can learn more about the traders/exhibitors who supported the
event by clicking to...
Carrilon - www.carrilon.com
Cookequip - www.cookequip.co.uk
Press Manor Fisheries - www.pressmanorfishery.inuk.com
East Midland Carp Study Group - www.emcsg.co.uk
The NFA - www.nfadirect.com
The Environment Agency - www.environment-agency.gov.uk/fish