Accomplished salmon angler Jess England tells us what fishing means to her
Being a 19-year-old female, and therefore being very much out of the fishing goers stereotype, it is a regular occurrence for me to be asked why I go fishing. This conversation, in most cases, consists of the same old arguments suggesting that the sport is a “boring, tedious and dull” activity. An argument that most anglers have encountered, rather naively. Only anglers themselves can truly understand the enjoyment that surrounds fishing.
So, how did I get into such an unusual sport for someone like myself? I have been fishing for the majority of my life. I have always loved being outdoors having grown up on a farm, and have always had the influence of fishing from my father and grandfather. But my introduction began at the age of four as I watched my father and mother on the banks of the Lune in my native Lancashire. Later, around the age of six, my father would take me on regular trips to a local pond to catch small mirror carp. A few years later I was able to upscale to a larger pond for trout. It was at this point that I found my love of fishing, the excitement and intense hope that all anglers know when embarking on a trip.
However, for the past ten years I very much have considered my home to be the banks of the river Tweed in the Scottish borders fishing for salmon and sea trout, basing most of my time on Hendersyde and other beats close to Kelso.
Catching my first salmon at 11 and having fished on the beat for ten years now it is not just the love of fishing and the picturesque surroundings that draw me back but the sense of family I get there. The people who all contributed to teaching me how to fish and the appreciation that catching on any given day catching is far from a given.
Throughout the past few years I have had many opportunities that have taken me to the likes of the Tay and the Tyne, which continues to broaden my range of rivers around my current living situation in Mid Wales.
All anglers have their own reasons for their love of the sport, but after many conversations and stories, usually sat at a bar after a long day on the water, you learn that the majority of people's reasons are the same as your own. Whether it’s the relaxation and time to think.
The happiness after a good day’s catch or the anticipation for the elation we all relate to post take. Along with this there is also the numerous good, bad and funny stories shared over a Greggs and packets of chocolate digestives over lunch and of course, the ability to go through every season’s weather in the space of four hours.
Whatever combination of these, fishing always has the ability to draw me back every time. Throughout my time involved in the sport and the stories that have come along with it, it has never left my mind of how lucky I have been to have such an opportunity. Without my father’s introduction to the sport I do not think I would have ever become involved in the way that I have. I may in fact have succumbed to the same stereotype most non-anglers believe.
Due to this and having been one of only a few young anglers I’ve known, I have always wanted to try and introduce new young and female anglers to the sport in any way I can. In ways such as the recent catch and release film for the Atlantic Salmon Trust. My circumstances have therefore only made me more appreciative of the opportunities I was given and hope that many more can have the same.