ARTHUR’S ARCHIVES A Passion for Angling

Keith Arthur looks back to the release of ‘A Passion for Angling’, the TV show that rewrote the rules for fishing programmes

“They made it seem possible for anyone to emulate them”

OVER the past 70 years there have been a select band of books and TV shows that have significantly influenced the way generations approached – and enjoyed – their angling.

One of the first was the book Mr Crabtree Goes Fishing. Although originally published in 1949, tenets from the book have reverberated down the years thanks to being passed on through friends and families.

The second was the hallowed TV series A Passion for Angling, now over 25 years old. Because the skills and techniques employed by the two anglers featured, Bob James and Chris Yates, were largely traditional they have stood the test of time.

They made it seem possible for anyone to emulate them, making this most cherished of series both inspirational and aspirational at the same time.

Having some experience of television and video I can tell you that the on-screen magic is all in the production, and for that the brilliant Hugh Miles is responsible. ‘Passion’ took four years to film. Imagine, 30 years ago, being trusted with best part of half a million quid to make a show about fishing. BBC2 had some history in the area, having provided a few series of ‘Hooked!’, which was a fishing knockout programme, but ‘Passion’ broke new ground.

The beauty of the images recorded by Hugh are incredible. Take the catch of huge roach that Bob made on the Hampshire Avon. A glass wall was built into the river and an ideal roach habitat created in front of it. They then waited for the roach to show up before Bob had the task of catching them.

Could such a programme ever be made again? It would need a multi-millionaire to fund it because most fishing you see broadcast these days is provided free to the TV companies.

In the meantime, we still have ‘Passion’. It can be watched and re-watched and continues to inspire and entertain.