“There was a lake nearby so we took my kit there and I ended up banking a roach. It was only around 3oz”
one of the big competitions such as Fish O’Mania?
Jimmy: “It’s something I’ve thought about and one year I’d like to have a go. I currently fish against many of the lads that regularly enter such matches, and that’s the kind of level I’m near, but I go fishing simply to enjoy it. I don’t like to put too much pressure on myself.”
AT: Who are your angling heroes? Jimmy: “Like most my age, John Wilson was my favourite as a kid because of his Go Fishing show, but once match fishing took over, Bob Nudd and Jan Porter became my new idols (mostly because I had a mullet like Jan!) I learned so much from both of them.
“When I moved to Surrey I got to know Will Raison and Steve Gardener well, and I look up to them both so much, but there’s a host of other lads on the Daiwa Dorking team who I could include, such as Andy Bennett and Paul Holland.”
AT: What’s your favourite-ever catch?
Jimmy: “I’ve had a few great days on the bank but my best has to be the 65lb bag of roach I had from Willinghurst Fishery two winters ago. They were all taken on the top five of my pole with casters, and I had a fish a bung. It was magical. I also had a mental 270lb bag of carp last November by dobbing bread up to a reedbed!”
AT: You were well known for being a practical joker in football – has that carried over into your fishing?
Jimmy: “I must drive the match boys mad. We have a little match circuit where I live and I get the impression that I’m too much for them at 8am! But when that whistle blows, it’s all change, I’m in the zone and that joker personality disappears. By the end of the match I’m like a caged animal. I’ve just spent six hours being quiet, so I need to release some energy and often do a round of the lake and take the mick out of the lads!”
AT: If you could fish for just one species for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Jimmy: “Roach. It was the first fish I ever caught and no matter how hard your session is, you can always rely on them to pull the float under. I’ve got John Wilson to thank for that. There was an episode of Go Fishing where he was trotting down the Wensum and every cast seemed to produce a 2lb-plus roach. He pulled his keepnet out at the end and he had about 10 of them in there!”
AT: Who would be in your ultimate 5-a-side fishing team? Jimmy: “I’d have Tiger Woods – I know he’s not an angler but he’d keep our team focused! I’d also have Will Raison and Jan Porter to
handle the bagging side of things, while John Wilson and Chris Yates would catch me the big ’uns!”
AT: Any funny moments while out on the bank that you’d like to share with us?
Jimmy: “Where do I start? I’ve fallen head-first into the lake while putting a rod rest in the bank, been bitten by a pike and somehow got a spinner stuck in my top lip. I’m pretty sure I’m the only person to have caught a turtle while shark fishing too…”