Any members wishing to have their name and/or contact details published on this web site will have to complete a brief consent form. A copy of these will be mailed to all members and made available at Member's Meetings. Please note that Junior member's names may be listed with parental consent but their contact details will not be listed.

Special thanks to Phil Kirk and Pete Haywood

Having recently taken over this region from Phil and Pete, we have a very difficult act to follow. These very experienced and highly respected anglers have been an asset to Region 26 and the PAC for many years and have both earned the respect of regional and national members alike. Phil and Pete continue to play active roles within the PAC and deserve the highest recognition for their work in regard to pike angling and their continued promotion of pike conservation.

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A little bit about the ROs

Alan

I first started fishing for pike at the age of 11 using an old Intrepid match reel loaded with 20lb mono, mounted onto the butt section of a rather heavy Marlborough fibreglass rod. Not ideal but it did the trick in a fashion on narrow local drains. Though with limited tackle and resourses I was soon hooked on the thrill of catching Esox. In those days my spoons really were spoons, with holes drilled in each end to receive the rather large line swivel and huge treble.

The pike wasn't too well respected in those days by most anglers, they were seen as the devil by the matchmen and the tackle available seemed to reflect this. Rather crude looking gags and long steel disgorgers were accepted as the norm and not a lot of thought went into the safe handling of the pike. Huge knotted landing nets welcomed the pike before the surgery began.

As the only dedicated pike fisherman in the family I turned to the PAC and Neville Fickling's books for guidance and knowledge. This educational combination increased my curiosity and strengthened my respect for this master predator and I was soon studying it's habits and life style to try and gain enough understanding to catch 'the big one'.

I spent many years as a bit of a secretive loner when it comes to fishing, prefering to fish the waters where no one else goes. The attraction being the challenge and mystery of the water. This would probably account for me never catching the 40 pounder we all dream of. To this day, the waters which I fished as a kid are still included in my list of favourite venues and my understanding has continued to grow and rewards appropriately increased.

30 yrs on and the tackle, techniques and technology have changed considerably but my enthusiasm for catching this magnificent creature has remained constant. The sport has served as a great escape (literally) from my career as a Prison Officer. Having recently started a trace manufacturing company, I am even more involved in the sport than ever before and strive to promote the industry, sport and conservation.

The PAC has long been the leading authority on the pike, pike fishing and conservation of our waters. It's therefore disappointing to know that there are many thousands of pike anglers out there and though a very successful organisation, this is not reflected in membership numbers. My personal belief is that anyone who fishes for pike should support the PAC through membership to help in the continued conservation efforts and protection of the species. We have a shared responsibility to promote the PAC in a bid to increase knowledge and recognition of the club and it's members. I believe that the way forward is the consolidation of the efforts of the many clubs, organisations and individuals nationally, who share the principles of the PAC.

Having spent many years promoting the safe handling of pike and the conservation of our water's ecology, I strongly believe that the future of our sport lies in the hands of the younger generation. Experience can't be bottled and sold on so it's down to us all to pass on our knowledge, understanding and experience. Most importantly to pass on the timeless enjoyment the sport has to offer. Alan Dudhill

Barry

I first started fishing for pike as a tenage schoolboy in the late 70's complete with a gag & dissgorger made in a school metalwork class. Caught my first pike on a small ABU Toby gold coloured lure, 1950's camo braid inherited from my dad and a 7 ft Milbro spinning rod. My reel was an old 'Ambidex' fixed spool made in the late 1950's. My first fish was a jack of about 4lb, I wasa thrilled to bits.

After a spell away from fishing, I made my return in the 1990's. This time I was better equipped, with 2 state of the art carp rods complete with Shimano baitrunners. I looked the part but soon lost interest due to poor results.

I finally returned to the sport properly a couple of years ago and dedicate as much time to it as possible. I'm still searching for my first 20.

Having been a member of the PAC, I decided to get more involved in the sport by ressurecting the Nottingham 26 region . . . lets see how it goes. Barry Smithson

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A little about the Members

 All members may e-mail us with an article about their fishing history, experiences, etc. All articles will be published here

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