“I was 28 and Sales & Marketing Director for Pirelli Tyres. One day I just walked into the office and decided that I’d had enough. Shimano had offered me a consultancy contract and this, coupled with some video work and marketing work for companies in the industry enabled me to launch my career in fishing – I’ve never looked back.”

“I won specimen fishing’s top prize, the Drennan Cup in ’98 and then dropped out of serious big fish angling to rediscover pleasure fishing. I still like to catch big fish but for me, what really counts is experiencing fishing in all of its forms. I came to realize that measuring success in pounds and ounces is a road to nowhere and these days I seek out fishing adventures wherever I can find them.”

“The places I fish, the people I fish with and the mastery of so many different styles of fishing are my driving forces – I just love the big, wild places and the wild, uncaught fish. To me, the magic of fishing is mystery and uncertainty. I’ve been so lucky to fish in some of the greatest places in the world and the best part is that there are so many more blank pages in the fishing diary to fill… I have written a column in Angling Times for almost ten years and starred in every issue of Improve Your Coarse Fishing since issue 3.”

Other magazines I have contributed to include:

Trout Fisherman

Trout and Salmon

Blinker (Germany)

Beet (Holland)

Fiske for Alle (Sweden)

Alt omFIske (Norway)

T.V work:
Fish Tales (Sky Sports), Total Fishing (Discovery), Mainstream (Discovery), Wet Nets (Discovery), Buena Vista Fishing Club (Discovery), Great Rod Race (Discovery), Greater Rod Race (Discovery), Lake Escapes (Discovery), Record breaking Fish (Discovery), Total Fishing 2000 (Discovery), Matt Hayes’ Greatest Catches, Wild Fisherman (Yet to be released)

Outstanding fishing ambitions:
To catch a broadbill swordfish, a forty pound pike, a forty pound Gaula Salmon,  and an eight pound chub.

Born:
Born 24 November 1961 in Smethwick near Birmingham.

Lives:
Shropshire

Education:
Law Degree Wolverhampton University

Family: my wife, Anne Marit is Norwegian. I have two fantastic kids, Danny and Jess. They are grown up now and have become my best friends. My youngest son, Josh was born in 2009.

Idols: my dad, my grandad, George Best, Ryan Giggs.

Favourite food:
Cheese and onion sandwiches.

Favourite countries:
Norway 

Favourite Hotel:
Cragwood House Hotel, Windermere and Winsnes Fly Fishing Lodge (we own it!).

Vehicle:
Mitsubishi L200 Pick-Up.

Boat: Warrior 165

Camera: Canon Eos 1ds Mk 3, 5DMk 2

Favourite Music:
Led Zeppelin, Counting Crows, Goo Goo Dolls

Favourite Track:
‘Ramble On’ – Led Zeppelin.

Favourite Football Team:
Man United.

Other Hobbies: Fly Tying, film making on a DSLR and photography

Favourite Fishing:
I love it all but believe it or not, after all the places I have fished and all the fish I have caught I still look forward to a good day’s chub fishing on a small river in winter more than anything else. In the summer we live in Norway where we run a Salmon Fishing Lodge. I love the Norwegian summers and the 24 hour daylight.