It’s a golden age of fishing on tv! - Rob Hughes

IT’S GREAT that angling is getting so much extra media coverage at the moment. 

Over the past month I’ve seen loads of high-profile stars supporting fishing. I even saw a hero of mine, Linford Christie, getting out on the bank. I didn’t even know he was an angler, but he absolutely loves it! Sports stars. Film stars. Celebrities. Loads of them want to be seen, and photographed, with a rod in their hands.

The awareness of angling and the angling environment is being seen more in newspapers, on TV and as part of online newsfeeds. This is not only good for the image of our sport, but also beneficial for tackling the issues that affect it, such as pollution and litter. 

Speaking of the telly, the big cheeses at the top of the main channels are reaping the benefit of broadcasting more angling. My weekly programme On The Bank is being shown more often on BT Sport and is getting some great figures. Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse are back on the Beeb very soon and are incredibly popular among anglers and non-anglers alike. Ali, Spoons and Dovey are back on ITV4 with another series of Monster Carp too.

S4C is bringing out a Welsh angling programme with Julian Lewis Jones at the helm, and I’ve also heard BBC Scotland is planning a show. There’s never been so much angling on the telly, and with such a diverse mix on offer there’s something for everyone, whatever their level or the species they fish for. Long may it continue.

Mortimer and Whitehouse are popular with anglers and non-anglers alike.