Have been very lucky in the last 20 yrs.
Have run, managed and developed a beautiful lake in Sussex for the last 19yrs, big bankside barby planned for the 20th. Good grief, would take a book to tell the story of the frustrations, elation, up's and downs over the years. The management of the syndicate, the balance between raising enough money and keeping subs low enough to allow us to control the ethos of the Syndicate. Removing bad apples and losing good friends (both fish and people!). Learning on the hoof and professional advice. You know, this winter, I might put pen to paper.
Wow, if you have the skills, determination and don't mind compromising fishing time to deal with the management, when somebody catches a pb, the first 2lb Roach, first 10lb, 20lb, 30lb Carp, 3lb Perch, big Pike etc, is the next best thing to catching them yourself.
Also, I have 80yrds of river at the bottom of my garden, have caught 1lb Roach, 4lb Chub and some reasonable Bream from the little sluice pool at the top end of my stretch. However, I only own one bank, I would never take on a river again unless I controlled both banks. The Local Authority have the other side, they look at my managed wilderness, I look at their unregulated rubbish tip (unless I clear it up regularly) laughingly called a picnic area.
Stu