Who'd have thought it?

Yeah, who would have? I started this blog a couple of years ago. Initially I had no clue where it would go and to start off it was a bit of a diary for myself, to keep a tab and look back on when I was bored. Today my blog has evolved in to something I never expected, I have my own Youtube channel and a Facebook page dedicated to me and my fishing. This original part of it all, my blog, is just about to knock up 100,000 total views. 'Kin 'ell.

One of my very first blog, pike photos

My social media thingamybobs have gone a bit mental recently, I've created a monster. I now log on each day to find emails, private messages and all sorts. I've got Youtube comments to read, Facebook posts to check up on and a whole manner of things to get on with. Sometimes it makes me wonder how I'll ever find time for fishing. I enjoy dealing with all that and I hope I can keep replying to each and every comment I get. At the rate everything is growing right now though, I'm going to bloody struggle soon. I really do enjoy reading what people send my way, anything from "tight lines" to "help!!". I get people from young lads to reet old buggers asking me stuff and even folks from across the pond have asked for help or been inspired to go chuck a lure. I try not to come across as a know it all, but people often turn to me for help. I'm not the techiest or most experienced pike angler so I can only ever do my best to get the right answer, but I will get an answer.


The best bits of feedback though are the stories I often receive. People who have stared lure fishing after seeing something I wrote. Blokes who have sat behind a rod most of their life but after seeing something I chucked up, they decided to give the lures one more bash and discovered something fantastic. I know lure fishing can be real hard work sometimes, and if you start off on the end of a load of those hard sessions it's much easier to get back behind a bait rod again and stick with something you know. For those lucky enough, or stubborn enough to give it some more hard graft, the rewards can be spectacular. Messages just recently have included the joys of catching their very first fish on a lure after some help, and being totally chuffed to bits with it, so was I believe me. Another bloke has only gone and done a personal best clonking great big perch on a lure after swapping messages and tips. A young kid catching his first pike, and from a canal no one ever fishes, 2lb of esox that has him so hooked he's now starting to get a lure addiction too (sorry Ben lol). I've had loads of those kinds of stories over the last two years and these give me a massive big smile. I'm glad my pen to paper, and more recently my video creations have had that influence on people. Honestly when I get these messages, little pms or bloody great big stories sat in my inbox I have a stonking big smile.

Crazy. Crazy that I've had this much influence on people. I was just catching a few fish and for no apparent reason sticking some of my stuff on the web. I'm totally blown away at the support I get from you lot, thank you very much. I know this blog has taken a bit of a back seat recently with not much going up. That wasn't intentional at all and for all you lot that love a good read I'll try to get my story telling hat back on soon. I've had a bit of writers block if I'm honest but part of it has also come from being so busy that by the time I have a spare five minutes, I can't be arsed to type a blog up. Youtube is going to be a big focus as loads of people just keep asking me for more and more. Obviously all the blokes are coming for the fishing, but there's just loads of women who enjoy looking at me and hearing me speak........Feck off the lot of you, my mam thinks I'm bonny as hell.

So once more, after all that, a big thank you to everyone. Thanks for reading, watching and liking everything. Thanks for the comments and ideas, thanks for the words of encouragement and all the stories of success you send my way. I have plans to keep this lot going for a good time yet so I know that will please plenty. Loads of ideas of stuff to do without just doing it for the sake of it and hopefully it'll still be interesting, inspiring and helpful.

I just need to find some frigging fish though, having a shocker at the minute! Anybody know any banker swims?