Why Nigel Sharp never gives up

I’ve seen it a lot over the years: during the boom time on the lake – mainly the springtime – when word gets out that fish are beginning to get caught, the lake will get rammed out, and although this can be frustrating, I know that slowly they will drop off and one-by-one they’ll disappear. As the summer gets into full swing, the weed comes up and the fishing’s get harder after the initial spring wake-up. On the lake I’m currently fishing, a lot of the known fish have done a capture or two and where we were getting multiple hits, now we’re scratching around to nick a bite. But where are all those super keen anglers now? Well, they’ve vanished like grey owls.

Coming back for this fish after my Burghfield campaign was the right thing to do

But for me, I’m still here. I’d say my enthusiasm is above average, so I can just keep going, even when it’s really tough going. I do sometimes back away from a particular water; I may have given it two or three springs or summers and it didn’t quite work out and I can feel myself getting into a rut, so in my mind it’s best to pull off for a year or two and then go back with a clear mind or maybe when I have a bit more confidence from fishing elsewhere. I’ve proved that before with Richmond Park; I went back after my Burghfield campaign, riding high on that success and I caught The Royal.

I consider this ‘never giving up’ attitude to be a massive edge, as would a lot of other successful anglers I guess.