A Passion For Angling - The Complete Series

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HUGH MILES: “We knew there was a monster fish in there, so it was very exciting, more so perhaps than Redmire. Redmire was a known quantity, if you like. There might’ve been a huge fish in there, but there didn’t seem to be any record of anyone having seen any big ones. When Chris was there with Rod Hutchinson though, they did see some really big fish and of course, some were caught that later became records.” A Passion for Angling’ and ‘Catching the Impossible’ are still capturing big audiences, for they describe the magic of being by the waterside with a rod and line like no others.

I mention the perch last as Martin had already caught twenty-three perch of that size and we thought it would be easy to achieve. Wrong! The challenge nearly broke our resolve but in the end we didn’t just hit the target, Martin actually caught a perch of five pounds four ounces. The Angling Times informed us that it was the biggest perch ever caught from a river, [not any more], but at the time we were blown away by it’s size – and we still are!Chris Yates is an angler, photographer, broadcaster, tea connoisseur and author born on 19 April 1948. He is a former holder of the record for the heaviest-recorded British carp, a 51.5lb specimen captured from Redmire pool in 1980. [1] Yates is a former co-editor (with Jon Ward-Allen) of Waterlog magazine, [2] and is a regular contributor to The Idler. Amazing really, for twenty one years after ‘Passion’ was first aired on BBC2 [Sept 1993] it is still going strong. Most TV programmes are dead in the water after a year or three but thanks to the fact that many of you still think these films are the best series of fishing programmes ever made, Bob and Chris and their adventures live on. We started filming in 1989 so as my wife Sue says ‘everything is a long time ago’! Most experiences are more enjoyable when shared with close friends and a May visit to Skomer Island with Robin, who I've known since childhood was particularly memorable, with puffins and flowers covering the island. Sharing the roach fishing with Trevor at Sway was always enjoyable and on two summer days I managed to catch sixteen two pound roach up to 2lbs 12oz, though the angling press ignored this story in favour of yet more carp stories - a sad reflection on their judgement of 'priorities' in angling. Just two weeks ago I was fishing with Chris on the River Wye and he caught his first ever Wye barbel … only 7+lbs but a beautiful fish in a glorious corner of our countryside. The series of six one hour films was first shown on BBC2 in September 1993, and it is amazing that it is still showing on Discovery Channel after all these years. Few programmes can match “Passion” for television longevity, and considering all the changes that have taken place in the world and in angling these past sixteen years…not all for the good!...it is heartening that our portrait of the joys of angling can still pull the right emotional strings.

fulfil my need to be creative. It also partially replaces the loss of my travels round the world making keen to join the readers of my ramblings on gardening, angling, wildlife and conservation then please

Health & Wellbeing

This is a series that follows the adventures of Martin Bowler as he attempts to catch some of the biggest fish in Britain, the targets for the many species being of a size that might attract the impossible tag. Of course, nothing is ‘impossible’ and I hoped that Martin would prove this to be true! He is accompanied by narrator and ace angler Bernard Cribbins … when Bernard had the time to spare from his hectic schedule, especially when filming Dr.Who… and as they say, “didn’t they do well’! Hugh Miles, Angling Trust Ambassador and film maker, said Bernard was a creative genius – and a very good angler. A Passion for Angling (with Rodger McPhail), BBC Books/Merlin Unwin Books 1993 ( ISBN 978-0563367413) Bernard has been described as a creative genius and none of us could ever doubt that. His extraordinary variety of talents means he will be missed by us all and having had the privilege of sharing a tiny portion of his life, his passing brings a tear to my eyes. HUGH MILES:“We did see Harry once when they were up the tree and I was on the scaffold with the camera. There was a place where Harry (Teesdale) said that he’d seen him the previous week in the deep hole. That’s where he was and we just saw him poke his head out from underneath a patch of weed.