Bob's trademark white cap became a beacon to attract spectators - Keith Arthur
Bob Nudd MBE came to match fishing quite late in life, but it didn’t take him long to reach the very top.
The quietly-spoken man from deepest Essex was the first Southerner to be picked by Dick Clegg for England’s World Championship squad. I’ll never forget sitting next to Dick on the way back from the Killyhevlin section of Lough Erne on the ill-fated 1985 Sealink Classic, telling him he’d picked the wrong man for the 1984 Championships and how Steve Gardener or Dave Vincent would have been better bets. This was despite the fact that in 1983 Bob was part of an Essex County team that won the World Club Championship in Italy – and that sort of thing doesn’t happen often. Shows what I know!
Bob soon became an integral member of a great squad and in 1990 won the first of four World Championship individual gold medals. His trademark white cap became a beacon to attract spectators and there was always a big gallery behind his zone.
The highlight of his England career was winning double gold, team and individual, at Nottingham’s Holme Pierrepont rowing course in 1994. Although Bob’s forte is pole fishing, I was there to witness his skills with a long-range slider float.
The highlight of his England career was winning double gold, team and individual, at Nottingham’s Holme Pierrepont rowing course in 1994.
I was also there for Bob’s final individual win in 1999 on a roasting-hot canal in Toledo, Spain. The wait for the final Spanish angler to weigh in on Bob’s section was one of the tensest moments in angling I’ve ever known.
Bob still competes at the highest open match level, preferring the natural waters of the Fens near his home, and is now back in the England fold at ‘veteran’ (a term he despises! level, so his hoard of gold may not yet be complete.
Always happy to talk to the crowds, and free with his advice and knowledge, Bob is a legend, and his impact on the sport will endure for many years to come.
His England team mates applaud Bob’s victory.