My fishing background

Born in 1962 I have spent all of my life in the Sedgley area, which is in the region known as the Black Country and traditionally part of Staffordshire. One of the unique things about Sedgley, which is high on the watershed of England, is that it doesn't have any bodies of water beyond springs. Coupled with the fact I didn't come from an angling family, it's amazing that I even considered fishing.

In fact I can't remember any defining moment in my life or even why I decided to give angling a go. My very earliest memories are of buying the Angling Times every week and owning and reading two books so much that I can still recall much of their content now all these years later - 'Mr Crabtree goes fishing' and 'A Ladybird book about coarse fishing'.

Limited to wherever I could walk or cycle, in those pre-internet days I was starved of information and literally fumbled along. I didn't even know how to tie a proper fishing knot and ended up a twisted mass of nylon that was bigger than the hook. I had no idea of balanced tackle and it was no surprise that I struggled fish-less for a long time. But I persevered and eventually I caught my first fish.

I can still remember it now, a tiny gudgeon from the Bratch on Staffs/Worcs Canal near Wombourne. Other places I fished included a small pond at Baggeridge now sadly filled in and Penn Common duckpond where sticklebacks were the quarry. My tackle shops, like the Baggeridge pond are also distant memories. There was an old shop in Sedgley High Street that has long since gone, although I can picture everything so clearly in my mind as if I were there right now, and the Winfield brand at Woolworths.

As a non-car family we always went to Rhyl for vacation. With the train station more than convenient and access good from where we lived, that's where I and my fishing tackle went every year for what we used to call the industrial fortnight. With improvisation as my middle name I fished the Clwyd harbour area and caught small flatfish on coarse tackle. Even now all these years later, whenever we talk about holidays I say to my wife that I don't care where we go just as long as there's water.

Back to the pool at Baggeridge though, because that's where I really served my apprenticeship. A tiny pond it contained perch, roach, gudgeon and crucian carp. I would get up at the crack of dawn and make my way there by foot. A different era when kids had much more freedom than today, although I can remember getting stopped by the police once walking along the road before the sun had started to break through.

I really loved that pond and although I would take every opportunity I could to fish elsewhere, I spent so much time there. My big breakthrough came though aged 17 when I started driving lessons, passed first time and had a Morris Marina. This was my gateway to the world and venues like the River Severn that had previously been occasional now became a regular feature in my diary. And I can still recall being stopped and breathalysed by the police in the early hours somewhere in Worcester returning from a fishing trip.

There's so much more I could write about but I want this to be a few paragraphs of my early life not a book. Match fishing with Hurst Hill and Bilston Labour Clubs in the pre-commercial fishery days, Mitchell 324 reels, joining the BAA when even a casual glance at the venue list had you drooling, my first all-nighter. I could go on and on and on.

Random things about me in a bullet point

I have been married to Debby since 1987

The only foods I don't eat are parsnips, turnips and swedes

My favourite breed of dog is a Bedlington Terrier and I have one called Twinkle

I have two girls, Rebekah (born 1988) and Miriam (born 1993)

I became a Christian in 1985

I am a Wolverhampton Wanderers season ticket holder

I went to my first Wolves game in 1963 when Stan Cullis was the manager

My favourite book is The Bible

I am an ordained minister, so officially a Rev

I have more than a soft spot for Leeds United