Five minutes... Swimmer James Guy
Olympic swimmer James Guy explains why match angling is his second sporting love
A NGLING has some surprising advocates among top-flight sportsmen – think Paul Gascoigne and Ian Botham to name just two.
Few, though, dip their toes into the world of competitive match fishing when they’re away from training. But that’s exactly what Olympic swimmer and multiple world champion James Guy loves.
The 22-year-old has just returned from a highly successful European Championships with a clutch of medals – and with a four-week hiatus away from the pool, he’s back on the match trail at his local Bait-Tech Viaduct Fishery.
It makes sense when you think about it – a highly competitive sportsman will find plenty in common with match angling’s mix of pressure, working against the clock and competing against fish and fellow anglers. Those are just the boxes that it ticks for James.
After first swimming for Great Britain in 2013, Bath-based James, who hails from Bury in Lancashire and swims freestyle and butterfly, has since won medals at the Olympics, World Champs, Euro Champs and Commonwealth Games, racking up 22 in total with the hope of plenty more to come. He’s met the Queen and raced against some of swimming’s global stars, but walk past him or talk to him on the bank and you’d hardly give him a second glance.
“When I’m fishing I’d like to think I’m no different from anyone else – I swear when things go wrong, like a laugh with the boys and tangle rigs with the best of them,” James said as he fished on the bank of Bait-Tech Viaduct Fishery’s Cary Lake.
“I’m also looking forward to this article as it’ll be talking about something other than swimming. In fact I feel a bit nervous about catching a fish for the cameras!”
Gearing up with a Daiwa Airity XLS pole and a Preston Innovations Absolute Station seatbox, match fishing is obviously something James invests in and takes seriously – and his knowledge of the sport and passion shines through after just a few minutes talking to him.
Fishing it seems, is not just a hobby away from the pool...
Q So how did you get into fishing in the first place? JG: I first went when I was seven years old for a ‘show-and-tell’ piece at school. I went with my dad and his mate to Meadow View Fisheries near Lymm and caught two carp on meat. That was it – I was hooked, if you pardon the pun! I then hassled dad constantly to go again, and I was a dead-keen pleasure angler until I attended Millfield School, next door to Viaduct in Somerset, for my swimming. I asked around about fishing in the area and was told about Viaduct when I was 13 or 14. The fishing was brilliant, the owners and anglers were great and I had no reason to go anywhere else. I still don’t!
Q Why did you decide you wanted to go match fishing? JG: It’s the competition and excitement. Pleasure fishing is okay but I didn’t think that I was achieving anything and it got a bit boring to be honest, catching lots of fish but with no real point.
In a match you are against the other anglers, the fish, the conditions and the clock. There’s pressure on you too and that’s what I love, plus there’s the chat and buzz at the draw, during the match and at the weigh-in. As a kid I remember watching a Winning Pegs DVD with Andy Findlay over and over and over again and thinking ‘I’d love to be as good as him at match fishing’. I’m still working on it!
Q How often can you get out fishing these days? JG: Not as much as I’d like! I go as often as I can and have my kit stored in Steve Long’s garage at Viaduct, so it’s ready to go. Often I am away at a training camp or a meet, or I’m just too tired to go, but when I’ve got the time and energy I’ll go to a match at Viaduct
or elsewhere. I’ve been to White Acres a few times, Stafford Moor and Todber Manor as well. They’re brilliant fisheries. I don’t fish in winter, though. It’s hard, a bit of a waste of time and money, and I don’t want to make myself ill with a cold or flu and miss out on training, especially if there’s a big competition coming up.
Q Looking at your kit and how you fish, you obviously know your stuff. How do you improve as an angler so you’re able to compete with so little time to go fishing? JG: I’m lucky in that I’ve made a lot of mates at Viaduct such as Ben Hagg, Dan Squires, Dan White and Paul Greenwood. They’ve told me everything that I need to know and put me right on lots of things, from feeding and the rigs I should be using to elastics and so on – little things that I wouldn’t have the time to play about with. My life is 24/7 swimming, so to have their help and advice is greatly received!
Q What’s your biggest match weight, then? JG: That would be 201lb from Viaduct, and I’ve had 180lb 10 times... 250lb is the next target.
Q What’s your training schedule for swimming like? JG: My training in a week involves two two-hour sessions a day midweek in the pool and gym, typically 8am until 10am and then 2.30pm or 3.30pm until 4.30pm or 5.30pm, plus one Saturday morning session from 8am until 10am. This is full-on stuff.
Q Back to the fishing – what’s your favourite method? JG: Well, I’m a summer angler
so I’d say fishing shallow, either pinging, slapping or swinging a rig around mugging. It’s a busy way of fishing and you’re always on the go. Second to that would be the pole and meat short, waiting to clunk into a ‘unit’ and watch the elastic roar off.
Q Do you ever get the chance to sneak a rod in and fish when competing? JG: Sadly not. I did buy some kit when I was training in Australia once and went beach fishing using prawns as bait. That was good. I’d love to go deep sea fishing for tuna too. I tried it once but I was seasick all day! There is free time at meets and championships – at the Olympics, for example, the swimming is over after the first week so you have time, but I get immersed in watching other sports like boxing so there are always things to fill your day.
Q Have you ever had to go swimming to retrieve a pole or a rod? JG: Not mine, no, but I said I’d go in for a bloke’s pole section at Viaduct once if he gave me £20! He did, so I went in and got it. It only took me about 20 seconds and I think he was surprised how little time it took…
Q What happens when you pack in the swimming? JG: More fishing, definitely! I don’t know, to be honest. I don’t know whether I’ll stay in swimming or do something else. Swimming has a short career span so I’m saving all the money I can and looking at investing in property. It’ll be nice to have time free from training!