14 November 2008

Hi there and welcome to the all new Shimano (UK) 2009 website, I’ll be adding regular blogs, top tips and tackle for all of you out there who appreciate the finer and funnier things in and outside my angling world. I’ve been with the company now for almost a decade and a half. In this time lots have things have changed in the angling industry not least rod, reel and accessory development.

Working closely with the worlds leading reel & cycle components manufacturer came as a result of me starting to use their reels out of necessity and in truth desperation, in the late 1980’s. Nothing seemed to stand up to my heavy duty angling style.

Fed up with continual weekly servicing and “burning out” of my old inferior reels I need something much more powerful as well as reliable to keep me in touch with the top flight match angling scene. Long range feeder work on the Trent week in week out was a fast track to the scrap heap for all my previous reel purchases and there were plenty of them I can assure you,

An original pair of 4500GT Shimano baitrunners brought and end to my misery and quest for the ultimate in reel technology at that time and to date. Being formerly a Rolls Royce engineer by trade I immediately identified with these precision made instruments which instantly became my exciting new match angling tools of the highest order.

Two match 4010GT match reels followed these shortly after and then a couple of Ultegra 13’ FA float rods, and a year or so later I was approached by Shimano UK with a view to a working partnership. Obviously not much dialogue was required about the opportunity and in 1995 I agreed to join Shimano UK and was taken on board as a match angling consultant. It was a turning point in many ways and I’ve never looked back.

Having walked away from a couple of good offers before, from brands whose products I would never use at any price , I naturally jumped at the opportunity to align my hard earned profile and credibility with products that I was already sold on and already using by choice. It was a milestone in my angling career, which at this point took a sharp left hand turn as I’d already moved away from the domestic match scene into the specialist angling sector of our sport. Learning the ropes with some angling household names in the pike, carp and catfish department was both illuminating and rewarding.

It has been a journey of discovery and re invention in many ways but during all the time it took to develop these new skills I feel my Shimano rods, reels and accessories have helped me to achieve my best angling potential plus accounting for most of my PBs too. Today I’m proud and privileged to be Shimano (UKs) senior coarse angling consultant, I get to use great rods, reels and accessories on a daily basis if I want. Lucky me, you may say and you’d be right of course, it’s a great job make no mistake.

To be honest it was, and still remains the only tackle hardware brand I have ever been interested in being involved with, it has never let me down and in a relatively short space of time on the bigger fish scene I have caught some cracking fish that as a kid I could only ever dream of.

Well it seems like that sums things up, enjoy the website and thanks for popping along to check it out.

Good luck and great angling!