Making an angling film wasn’t straightforward when we had to contend with the elements as well as fool the fish
THE J OY OF FISHING
THE BRIEF was to find a winter venue where tackle company Nash and I could film with a good chance of a bite – no matter what the weather!
That turned out to be a no-brainer, as the owner of Milton Abbas fishery, Wayne Little, kindly put it at our disposal. It offers wonderful year-round carp fishing but in winter it really excels, in fact they are often easier to catch in January than in July.
Being spring-fed, the lake benefits from a constant flow and steady temperature, which means that the carp don’t have to endure any extreme fluctuations. In turn, this means they’re happy to feed.
Nash produces some great angling films, and as a sponsored angler I’m glad to be a part of this set-up, but it brings with it an element of pressure, because I don’t want to fail on a shoot.
Even after all the years I’ve been involved with the industry, and having fished Milton plenty of times, I still needed to be as well prepared as possible, and that meant everything from tying rigs to arriving a day early so I could have a clear plan of action when the team arrived. Dan Yeomans would be fishing alongside me, and I was desperate for him to catch one of the stunning carp that Milton is famed for. There would be also be two videographers, plus a stills photographer in tow.
As I lay on my bedchair the night before their arrival the words ‘expense’ and ‘effort’ were uppermost in my mind.
The internet trolls couldn’t care less, but when you watch any of the major brands’ films for free on YouTube you should know that filming is hard and sometimes challenging work – the sole aim of the end product being to entertain and inspire.
Well before first light, a convoy of vans pulled up in the car park. Wind and rain weren’t what we wanted for the cameras, but given a dismal long-range forecast we’d just have to put up with it. If anything can be more fickle than fish, it’s the British weather, but we all needed to stay positive. Judging by all the smiling faces, a few storms weren’t going to get in our way. I’d also seen signs of feeding fish and, given that Dan is an excellent angler, the first bite looked possible on day one. That would be one hurdle to overcome. Before the trip I’d run through with him the tactics I had used previously.
As always, a basic stealthy approach was key.
Most of t
