We hear from Angling Trust ambassador and Sportfish friend, Hywel Morgan, who casts his views on fishing and protecting our waters.
BORN TO FISH
Hywel is the son of Welsh fishing guru Moc Morgan and perhaps unsurprisingly he was introduced to the pleasures of fishing at an exceptionally early age. He first wet a line at just two and a half years of age and spent his early years fishing the Rivers Teifi and Ystwyth for wild brown trout and sea trout. Since then he has fished extensively throughout the UK, Europe, Australia and in the USA.
Having grown up in his father's shadow, Hywel decided to make a name for himself and started competing in casting competitions. He started at local country fairs, then progressed to the CLA Game Fair where for three successive years he won every event. As a result he was asked not to compete any more so that others could have a chance of winning... and all this before he was sixteen years old. He then turned to the British Casting Association and started to compete at British, European and World casting championships. During this time he amassed the following titles:
- World Games Accuracy Casting Champion
- European Distance Casting Champion
- European Silver Medallist (Accuracy)
- 14 British casting records
- 6 times All Round British Champion
- Over 100 British Individual titles
- World Record holder for multiple casting (66 rods cast simultaneously)
Suffice to say, Hywel knows how to cast a fly!
Having been successful in the casting scene, Hywel decided to return to fly fishing. He has since represented Wales on twelve occasions (and has been captain for his country three times). Six times were at home internationals, where he was Top Rod on three occasions. The other six were at World Championships, where he captained the Welsh team to a silver medal in Ireland in 1995.
HYWEL’S MESSAGE TO SPORTFISH CUSTOMERS
Our friends at The Angling Trust asked Hywel what keeps him passionate about fly fishing and what message he has for Sportfish customers. This is what he said…
“As anglers we love our rivers, our chalkstreams, our lakes and our oceans. Standing beside or standing in clean living water is at the core of our sport and the thing that makes it so special. For me, it’s the beautiful places that fishing takes us to, that makes angling so addictive. Catching fish is wonderful, the icing on the cake, but just being there, being part of our magnificent aquatic environment is what it’s really all about. I have been fishing for over 50 years and I’ve never lost my passion for fishing, never lost the joyful anticipation of planning a trip or the feeling of inner peace that being in wild places gives me. However, we have a problem, a big problem. Our rivers, streams and seas are suffering from many forms of pollution – from agricultural runoff to plastics, chemical pesticides to raw sewage – there are growing issues right across England and Wales and time is no longer on our side many of our rivers are in a critical state and we need to fight for a cleaner tomorrow for our environment, our fish and our sport.
From a personal point of view I have seen the effects of pollutions on rivers such as the upper Teifi where I fished as a child and will never return to its former glory. As custodians of the river we should be fighting to make sure that we secure a cleaner and better river system for future generations, rather than the slow, sad degradation of our rivers from chronic pollution problems, that reduce fly hatches, damage spawning gravels and lead to rivers that are a shadow of their former selves"
"The Angling Trust and Fish Legal have been at the forefront of the battle to keep our waters clean for many years, I’m proud to say that I am an Angling Trust Ambassador and the work they are currently doing as part of their Anglers Against Pollution Campaign is ground-breaking. Just over a year ago they began their Water Quality Monitoring Initiative for angling clubs. It started as a pilot scheme on the River Severn and has quickly spread across the country. At the time of writing there are now over 500 volunteers, from over 200 angling clubs carrying out monthly water quality sampling on over 120 rivers nationwide.
The growth has been staggering and the response from the media has been brilliant. This work to highlight pollution at local level and nationwide has been reported on by all the national newspapers and countless local press. It’s featured on primetime ITV and BBC news and already the data that has been collected is being used to put pressure on local MP’s, Water Companies and government to force change. The 'big yellow boxes' of monitoring equipment have become a common sight on our river banks and a badge of honour for every club involved."
"As anglers it’s time to stand up and be counted, time to fight for our waters and so I call on every man, woman and child who loves to fish to do at least one of the four actions from the list below:
1. Join The Angling Trust & Fish Legal today. Your membership contribution funds the work they do on our behalf
2. Encourage your club to sign up to the Water Quality Monitoring Network
3. Buy an Anglers Against Pollution Badge and sticker pack
4. Make a donation to the work of The Angling Trust
We all love our fishing, it’s time we all gave a bit of that love back to our rivers.”
