My Story – The Monk

We get to know each other on the forum to a great extent, and sometimes we meet at fish-ins, but how much do we really know about each other?

We have members from across the world, ranging from manual workers, office workers, solicitors, policemen, writers, editors, photographers, soldiers, actors, film producers, angling guides, technicians, medical people – you name it and we’ve got ’em in our ‘family’. Yet most often we don’t really know who it is we’re debating with or having a laugh with on the forum.

So now’s your chance to put that right. This is where FM members can tell the FishingMagic community all about themselves. Tell us who you are, what you do, what your fishing is all about and what it means to you, tell us what makes you tick, warts and all.

Stories can be anything from 1000 to 5000 words long, preferably, but not necessarily, with a selection of pictures. Email the words and pictures to me at graham@fishingmagic.com and I’ll do the rest.

The Monk, AKA Nick Melling

Nick, better known as The Monk, is a likeable 55 year old regular on the FM forum, an ex time bandit with a love for the mechanics and social side of angling. Although a successful all-rounder he’s a carp angler at heart and likes nothing better than to get stuck into the political side of angling, having been a member of most of the major organisations that influence fishing. Political Correctness is not his forte, especially when it comes to women, but his ready wit and sense of humour always leads to us, and his numerous wives, forgiving him.

My Story – The Monk

I’VE BEEN KNOWN for years as The Monk but my real name is Nick Melling.

I have been involved with angling from probably the time I could walk to the nearest water, indeed maybe before. I was born in September 1951, which was towards the backend of the golden age of angling, and a year to the day before Dick Walker caught Clarissa.

The Monk with ‘Lumpy’

My early exploits were on my local Rochdale Canal which was full of carp in those days, mainly the Koi varieties which apparently were stocked by the local textile industries in a bid to keep the filter systems free of algae (not sure if it worked but it made the fishing good and taught us how to stalk carp from a very early age).

My father bought me my first rod in 1957, a cane affair with a tin plate centre pin reel. About this time I started to be taken to the many local pits and ponds we had in the area around Chadderton (still called Lancashire in those days).

My first carp was taken in the early sixties, a black and amber Koi of around 1lb. Throughout the sixties I fished for all sorts with a leaning towards carp and pike.

The Monk and 39lb common

The end of the sixties and early seventies saw me fishing further afield, mainly in pursuit of Yorkshire barbel, tench, bream, trout, grayling and many other coarse fish.

Around 1973 the carp bug was taking hold, my first king variety coming in the early seventies. I remember taking 5lb and 8lb mirrors one morning from a local pit at Stakehill (a former prisoner of war camp).

Carp fishing however ruled my life for the next four decades and looking back I paid a dear price for it with lost jobs and broken marriages. At one point I became a full-time Time Bandit and lived on the banks for many years. I didn’t hit the overseas waters until the 90s and after struggling for many years on the UK waters was surprised just how easy it was to catch carp in the 30’s and 40s.

The Monk and a French carp

I’ve always had an interest in the mechanical side of the sport and what goes on behind the scenes, along with a love for the social side of the sport.

In the early 70s I was a bailiff for the GWWA, first regional organiser for the PAC, while I’ve also been involved with the NASG/NASA (regional Representative), SACG and SAA and in addition acted as Political Rep for the Carp Society, NAC, and Perchfishers.

The Monk and a French 30

On the occasion when I attempt to write I have been published in Carp World, some of the earlier David Hall magazines, Big Carp, Specialist Angler, The Angling Star, the French Carpe magazine and many I can’t remember. I’ve also written for many of the single species groups in house periodicals, such as The Perchfisher, Carp Fisher, The NAC Bulletin, Silurus, the early PAC magazines and The Carp Angler’s Association magazines (Peter Mohan published my first piece back in circa 1977).

The Monk and a ’16’ from Clifton

I am also founder and Chairman of the Manchester Carp Group that I formed on the banks of Pilsworth fisheries in 1976 and presently act as chairman for the European Eel Anglers Association. For a number of years I wrote my own angling column in The Guardian, (that’s the Middleton and North Manchester Guardian by the way). I’ve also been involved with radio and TV in relation to angling programmes. In 1992 I completed my book, an autobiographic works with a heavy slant towards humour (least I’d like to think so), all 60,000 words of it over 200 pages, but never bothered to get it published. Still, it was good fun!

Political influences include Keith Barker (whom I had the great privilege of sitting with on both the NASA committees and SACG). Other influences have been my old friend Tim Marks, Chris Burt and many, many others, including very close friend Eric Hodson who started the lot.

The Monk with a Birch Grove 26-pounder

Angling and writing influences have been my close friends of many years Ron Clay and Eric Hodson, others include, Mr Crabtree (who else?) Tim Paisley, Jim Gibbinson, Jack Hilton, Rob Maylin, Dr Terry Coulson, Brian Crawford, Peter Mohan, Barrie Rickards, Rod Hutchinson, Ken Townley, Leigh Moffatt, Phil Hackett, Graham Marsden, Peter Stone, Marsh Pratley, Kevin Stephenson, Martin James and many others who have helped and encouraged me over the years. Far too many to remember here and over the last number of years all the lads and gals of FishingMagic, many old friends and many new ones.

‘Chestnut’ from Lankey’s

One of my biggest influences in angling is my son Lee, who was born in 1983 and always seems to outfish me both in the UK and overseas.

To finish this little self indulgent piece I would like to apologise to my past wives (all of them): sorry girls but you would get involved with a carp angler, but thanks for the support while you lasted and I sincerely hope you have all found guys who you can chain to the house. Lots of luv XXXX.

You’ve got to have a laff!