The PAC30 ConventionWords: Dicky Fisk, Photos: Pikey PaulThe Night Before…
One thing was immediately apparent; these PAC chaps really know how to party. By the time we arrived (fashionably late) the bar was already stuffed with visiting pikers immersed in a blur of booze, predatory banter and fishy anecdotes. Dave and Bish had obviously got the best seats in the joint (6ft to a refill) so we introduced ourselves and snuck more chairs around their table. A couple of hours later, we were on our third pint (at least) and Paul and I were thoroughly absorbed with Dave’s encyclopaedic knowledge of his beloved Fens, when my very patient girlfriend gently reminded us that she had to work early the following day…a diplomatic code I suspect for ‘that’s all the pike talk I can take this evening’.
A Very Big Day…The next morning we met up again with Chris outside the Conference Centre well before the official birthday kick-off time. From his tales of the night-before, it soon became apparent that we had got off very lightly leaving when we did; the PAC merry-making had continued a long, long way into the early hours when any self-respecting piker should have been tucked up in a bivvy.From the moment PAC30 opened it doors, it was clear that this was a special event. There was a real buzz about the place and it was absolutely rammed with merry pred-heads (according to the club’s stats, 500 plus). Pikey and I squeezed through the throng into the main trade hall on the ground floor and went shopping crazy before the programme of talks began in the lecture theatre. Over on the Fox stall some big bloke called Dave helped Paul to some killer lures and I went questing for my current tackle holy grail. I have had all kinds of problems and arguments recently trying to buy a suitable piece of kit to transport livebaits (legally on the same water). Finally, thanks to a very helpful assistant at a great little stall called The Tackle Shop, I am finally the proud owner of a Wychwood livebait bag. Thanks for the quality advice Nev! The Good, The Bad and the PikeyThere was a feeling of Glastonbury in the air when the main stage opened and the crowd surged upstairs to hear their heroes. The PAC committee really excelled themselves for this important anniversary conference and the line-up of piking luminaries was second-to-none with legends present literally left, right and centre. At one point Eddy Turner, Neville Fickling, Gord Burton, Mick Brown and Jason Davis all took the floor together; it was like watching some sort of predatory super-group (Esox Quo?)!
Jason’s Big DayAs most of you will already know (unless you have been living under a very big rock on the bank for the past week), one of the major highlights of the conference was mild-mannered Norfolk-based piking super-hero Jason Davis. From my notes here are the stats on his catch. They might not be 100% accurate to the ounce but you get the gist and to be honest like everyone else in the auditorium, I was too busy gasping at the slides to play the numbers game!
Either way as a famous poet once said, ‘Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ He was granted four days access to a secret lake and in the course of a week, he caught… Day 1 Day 2 Two days off to study for important police law exams, followed by… Day 3 Last day
Back at the Party…It was mid-afternoon by the time Paul and I finally bumped into FM’s own Gary Knowles and his fishing mate (Ivan?) in the centre’s restaurant, Gary was already totally overcome by the excitement of the day’s proceedings and who could blame him? It had all been very emotional…He had spent six fruitless hours searching for a bar to prop up (having volunteered to police the official FishingMagic beer quotas) and disappointment was reigning all over following the discovery that the ‘pub’ was in fact a small refrigerator in a Little Chef-style canteen with only a couple of rusty cans of cider for comfort (DB and Jeff would have been in their element!) Happy Birthday PAC
I became a member of the PAC for the first time in early spring this year and I can honestly say that it is incredibly reassuring to know that the sport I love is in safe campaigning hands. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview Mick Brown on the day and as he points out you don’t have to be involved in angling politics to make a difference, “The idea of the Pike Anglers Club is to look after the interests of the pike itself plus the anglers who fish for them and the PAC is the only body that does that, so it’s only right that I should support them in any way I can. I’m not really a political, committee-type person myself, I don’t think I’m capable of doing the valuable work that some of these guys do, you know dealing with the organisation, handling all the issues as they come up…That’s not what I’m good at, so I think ‘stick to what you know’, maybe just lead by example, doing the right things and trying to encourage others to do the same”. If you love pike, join the PAC. Info at www.pacgb.com
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