Filming is hectic and the boys were with the crew on another part of the lake, leaving me the time and quiet to get everything ready for blast off. Paul is a truly superb angler, unlike some other celebs I know, and didn’t need telling how to go about the job. Within half an hour the fish was landed and the film was in the can. Job done. Happy faces all round.
I do think that is the key to the show. All feedback suggests that viewers love the fact the episodes are genuine. Sometimes the boys catch and other times they don’t. That is fishing and that is how the vast majority of angling sessions are for everybody. In a recent survey anglers put actual catching bottom of their list of objectives. Getting away from it all, fishing with a friend, communing with nature and having a fun, stress free time were all rated more important. Most of us don’t catch monsters in far off climes. Most of us are content with 5 pound carp from lakes in Essex.
I say “content”. In fact Paul and Bob especially were over the moon happy with that fish.
That is another thing audience’s love: the genuine joy with which every capture and happy moment is greeted with.
Paul is very much a tactile, mobile angler. He loves his game fishing. But he loves his coarse sessions with a fierce passion- providing he can fish the way he wants.
And that means hands on, close in, active and eye ball to eyeball with the fish. That’s why he uses his Piscario whenever he can. It’s just a gem he says and he knows exactly why. Remember both Paul and I am of an age. We grew up using pins that were almost impossible fish with, often made of Bakelite and costing no more than 50 pence or so.
Perfection in titanium eh? Beyond our wildest dreams as kids and still something we pinch ourselves over to this day!
Enjoy the rest of the series and, please, spread the word to all your angling mates-though non anglers are hooked as well it seems!