Charles Jardine to bring his infectious love of fishing to the North West Angling Fair

Hall of Fame Angler Charles Jardine has been fishing for over seven decades but he has the same enthusiasm and excitement for the sport as he did when he made his first catch as a wide eyed child in Kent back in the 1950s.

The world renowned fisherman, author, illustrator and conservationist will be a special guest at the North West Angling Fair at the Melvin Sports Complex in Strabane on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th of March. 

The event will feature many of the UK and Ireland’s leading fly dressers, casters and angling specialists and Charles will be meeting with angling enthusiasts at the Countryside Alliance Ireland / Fishing For Schools stand in the Melvin’s Main Hall.

“My earliest recollection of angling was at the age of 3 or 4,” he recalls. “Taken by my father, I was immediately transfixed and bewitched by water, looking into that seeming endless abyss, was, from that moment, what I knew I wanted to do.

“The poor tiny Perch that I caught and was spirited from the water was the spell that enchanted and has bewitched me ever since.

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“It’s just the fish have become a little bigger and different since.” 

The first British angler to enter the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame, Charles has gone on to share his passion and knowledge for the sport through his work as a casting instructor and industry consultant, as a writer of best selling guides and books including Sotheby’s Guide to Fly Fishing and as an angling columnist for several major UK publications.

While working in the angling world has been a labour of love he sounded a word of caution for anyone considering turning their passion for fishing into a career.

“First bit of advice: don’t do it,” he laughed. “The Angling world is tough, I have had to bring just about every element of previous lives together in one strand: writing, journalism, art, photography and teaching.

“Like I said, it’s hard, having a mainstream role in organisation has definitely helped and offered the support to enjoy the areas of angling I have wanted to pursue.

“Getting into this madness, was pure ‘happenstance’ - I was invited at the age of 24 to become one of only two Guides on the Rivers Test and Itchen by a well know British fly fisher, Dermot Wilson.

“For years I guided luminaries of the sport , both from the UK, USA and many other countries, from that world of guiding, I was asked, by John Wilshaw, the then editor of Trout Fisherman Magazine to write my first article and the rest as I say is history…”

In his later career Charles has began to give back to the sport that has given so much to him by founding the Fishing for Schools project which he will exhibit in Strabane.

The pioneering initiative uses angling to engage with children with learning difficulties and those in underprivileged areas.
“Teaching defines me, to have been able to create Fishing for Schools has been a dream come true,” he admits.

“To then have that wonderful programme delivered to thousands of young people, giving them an opportunity to learn and immerse themselves into a sport I love, has been sheer joy.

“Even more so, now that we have created the first ever bone fide qualification for young people: Angling and the Countryside is the absolute icing on the cake.

“I can rest easier.”

After over 70 years in the sport, Charles still loves connecting and sharing ideas and stories with fellow fishing enthusiasts at events and the butterflies he had in his stomach when he caught that tiny Perch all those years ago are still there when he takes to the water.

“I fished yesterday - the same nerves, the same excitement, the same wide eyed wonder and joy I had when I started all those years ago.

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“It is a sport that never dims or dulls and just keeps giving, layer upon layer, adventure upon adventure.

“I love meeting anglers, especially those I have not met yet, I always learn from them, always!

“Naturally, being ever the angling evangelist, I want to show the craft and the joy of what we do to as many folk as possible.

“I hope to see as many of the wonderful folk of Northern Ireland as possible in Strabane and to have fun, have them ask questions, put me on the spot and bring their smiling faces and a readiness to laugh.

“It is, after all, only fishing but what a sport it truly is!”

The North West Angling Fair is organised by Derry City and Strabane District Council with support from the Loughs Agency and takes place from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, March 28 and 9.00am to 4.00pm on Sunday, March 29.

The Countryside Alliance / Fishing For Schools stand that Charles will exhibit at and his Casting Demonstrations on the Mourne are part of a comprehensive line-up for the Fair, to see the full programme visit www.derrystrabane.com/anglingfair and follow Northwestangling on facebook for updates.