Alan Scotthorne is the greatest ever match angler says Keith Arthur

In my near-50 years of match fishing I have never come across a greater match angler than Alan Scotthorne.

I have spent enough time in his company to know that he operates on a different level to most of the other top match anglers this country has produced. I don’t think he is as natural a fish-catcher as, for example, Will Raison or Steve Gardener but I think at the top international level, he is technically superior, a situation created by hard work and practice.

He has now won everything in angling that he’s fished for, the individual European title being the latest icing on an already smothered cake. Never forget that international match fishing is a team sport and on more than one occasion I’m certain that Alan has had to forego the chance of winning himself to ensure his points tally was right for the team result first.

He will readily admit that it is all about the team, that individual wins are coincidental to team success. What cannot be ignored is that the bloke delivers. England’s successful run at World and European championship events is down to the quality of the team, narrowly being beaten this time by host-nation Portugal on a venue where they were battered out of sight in 1993. The team has got better!

If only match anglers did what many carp anglers do, giving slide shows and presentations, anyone that didn’t understand just how he can be that good would be able to turn up and see for themselves.

He is, simply, a genius!