Mark Pitchers: Life Before The Challenge

YouTube phenomenon, incredible carp-catcher, ex England Youth Match team member, and the guy who started the ‘carpy’ hashtag… it would appear Mark Pitchers is one special guy. Here, Alex Grice sits down and quizzes him about his life before his hit YouTube show, ‘The Challenge’

After months of trying to pin him down, a date had finally been set to meet and chat all things post-Challenge during the height of the Christmas season. Mark was due to pick up some fish for his recently renovated lake that evening, so it made sense to meet en route to his destination a few hours south of his North East hometown. After battling locals for a place to park, we found an old pub (dating back over 700 years) and retreated from the bleak December rain. After a steak sandwich, we found a quiet corner, sat down and enjoyed a (decaf) coffee in front of the fire and spoke about Mark’s past, present and future.

Looking back, did you ever imagine you would be in the position you are in today?
“No, I never did. I always wanted to be, ever since I was a young kid. I used to watch John Wilson on TV (cringes). I was only about seven-years-old and I just remember seeing him and wanting to be that person, but, I never thought for one minute that would actually be a reality.”

Looking through old times

When did all the media work come to the forefront?
“Well, I have actually been involved in the trade from actually quite an early age. I suppose my break, so to speak, was when I fished for the English youth team. When I was fishing matches for the team, that then got me into writing for magazines. I was 16 at the time and I used to spend all the time I had fishing matches at club level and although I carp-fished as well, the matches took priority at the weekend. I won money in these matches and that actually funded purchase of my carp fishing gear.”

So how did you balance both the carp and match fishing?
“The matches took place at the weekend and in any spare time I had during the week, I went carp fishing. Even if it was just for a short morning or evening session, my mum used to drop me off on my own and I would go about trying to catch them. I loved it! Carp fishing was what I wanted the most, but my match fishing funded it.”

Did you build up to match fishing?
“Yeah, I started general coarse fishing from the age of seven, when I actually started going fishing regularly. I caught my first carp by design when I was 10. I don’t actually know how the fishing instinct really evolved, as my parents were never into it. I tried to get friends into fishing so I would have someone to go with, but no-one took to it in the way I did.”

What was it then, that sparked you to take the carp route?
“Well, we had a family holiday to Lake Bled in what was then, Yugoslavia, when I was 10-years-old; 1988 was the year. We didn’t take any fishing gear, but our hotel was on the banks of the lake and I was mad keen at the time. We got talking to a guy on a coach trip; he told me he had actually gone there to fish. This guy, called Martin, said that when he left I could have all of his gear, a rod, floats and bits of terminal tackle. He said I could have it as long as I posted his reel back to him. I was really grateful and you can imagine as a kid, how excited I was to get fishing. I caught roach and other silvers that trip, but just couldn’t land the carp I hooked. When we got back from holiday, I posted the reel back to him and we kept in touch for a number of years.”

Did hooking those carp make you want to pursue them even more?
“Yes, basically we got back from holiday in May and by late June I had amassed a small amount of carp gear: a buzzer, rod and a few bits. We went to Grafton Mere, near Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire and all day I had been float fishing in the edge with bits of corn and hadn’t managed to land anything. In the afternoon, I cast out a cube of meat into the middle and not long after, I heard a shriek from the alarm! I just had the handle on backwind and it was spinning so fast I didn’t dare pick it up. I turned out to be 6lb exactly and was my first carp. I remember it so vividly and I actually went on to catch another three or four carp that day.”

As a kid you must have been overwhelmed with excitement?
“Yeah, you know what it’s like, those memories are just always with you.”

When did the England match fishing come into your life then?
“When I was 15, I went to an angling school with Ian Heaps; he was a former world champion and when he saw me fish, he suggested that I should have a trial for the England youth team. He put my name forward for a trial the following year and I made the squad, and from there I sold my carp gear to focus on match fishing. It would have been too much of a distraction while competing. When I came out of the England youth squad a few years later, I just didn’t feel I would make the senior team because of where I lived. I sold my match tackle and went straight back into carp fishing.”

1995, one of the last carp I caught before selling my carp gear (temporarily) to allow me to concentrate on my match fishing

Has that style of angling benefitted your approach today?
“I think it has; you certainly think differently coming from a match background. You are more driven to make things happen instead of just sitting back and waiting. I am always looking to create opportunities, similar to the situation you would be in if you were given a peg and had to work it. Casting is also a big area I feel it helped me master. I think location is the most important factor, then casting. If you have the ability to cast onto showing fish or ‘fizzers’ first time, you are putting yourself in the best possible position. Over the years, the number of fish I’ve caught within minutes of casting out just proves to me how important that is.”

Are those skills lost in carp fishing today?
“They are if you come into carp fishing with no background in general angling, which teaches you those important factors: the finesse and eye for getting it right. When I look back to fishing the canals, we were casting feeders tight to the far bank in matches and we weren’t using the clip, just casting freestyle. My mum used to drop me off at the small streams near where we lived and they were small and overgrown; to get the bites, you had to flick your bait tight in branches and holes on the far bank.”

Do you feel growing up now it would be difficult to pursue a carp path around your hometown of Middlesbrough?
“Yeah, there just simply aren’t the number of carp venues around my neck of the woods like there were previously. Mainly otters and fish-kills have been to blame and this has made way for more match-style commercial venues in the area. There are a few venues coming through again and that is down to well-managed waters, where having an understanding of potential threats are more considered these days.”

Growing up, who inspired you in the carp fishing side of things?
“Julian Cundiff was the main man from my neck of the woods and a fantastic angler. Tim Paisley; he was a great writer, and then probably Terry Hearn.”

Speaking about venues, you went on to study fisheries management am I right in saying; is that the path you wanted to take?
“Correct, when I was 16 I went to study at Brooksby College in Melton. That year, Dad and I had dug a small pond that we were planning on opening as a coarse fishery. I just thought that doing the course would help bring forward some important factors in learning how to run it. I think at one point, that was the line of work I wanted to go down.”

By the sounds of it, you were just obsessed with anything fish- and fishing- related?
“Yeah, as a teenager I was! People used to say to me, “It will all change when you get a girlfriend.” It never changed; I am today what I was over 20 years ago. Even when I used to start going out, I would be in town on the Friday then fish on the Saturday without fail.”

Even after all these years, what keeps driving you to want to go again and again?
“I don’t know really. It can only be passion can’t it? I can’t imagine not going to be honest; it is all I have ever wanted to do. If you enjoy something in life, why wouldn’t you strive to do it as much as you can? If it makes you feel good and feel happy, then just go out there and make the most of it.”

1999, and a few days before opening the Northeast’s first specialist carp tackle shop

Has working full-time in fishing affected your outlook on angling?
“No, not at all, even though I am on the bank four or five days a week and I have the weekends off to spend with my family, not once have I moaned about getting up early to get out again. It is strange really, when I look on social media and see all the negativity surrounding angling, I just don’t get that. If you love going and love what you do, why should there be any negativity? The people who bring negativity into angling are those who bring it from the outside, other frustrations in life and their own problems.”

You have a heavy involvement in social media; do you let what you see on there affect you?
“Definitely not. I love my own fishing and I have the ability to see through that. So many anglers now seemed to become despondent in their own angling because of what they see and hear; that shouldn’t be the case. You just have to go out there and enjoy it for what it means to you.”

Small lake complete. The lake was extended in 2000

Do you get a buzz from the work you do now in angling?
“Without a doubt! I get more of a buzz now seeing other people gaining knowledge and adding to their own angling. I get so much enjoyment from seeing other people’s enjoyment now, even the smallest things that you take for granted, will make a huge difference to someone else angling in the years to come. That’s what it’s about for me now.”

The work you do now with tutorials has only been fairly recent; you had a tackle shop at one time am I right in saying?
“I left college in ’98 and at the time, there wasn’t a huge number of jobs in fishery management, especially in the North East. At the time, there was nowhere to buy carp gear in the area, so the decision was made to set-up a tackle shop called Carp Crazy just outside of Middlesbrough in a place called Stokesley. It was always a gamble as it was purely carp fishing, but it was a success over many years.”

My weekends are spent spending quality time with my family

How has the carp scene progressed in the North East; are there a lot more carp anglers up there today?
“Carp fishing in general has grown in popularity; consequently it has grown in the North East. There are still very few venues, just as there were back when I was young, to catch specimen-sized fish. There was one venue I fished back in the day, an old estate lake at a place called Guisborough, in the grounds of a monastery and the fish were doing well; unfortunately it suffered from a fish-kill. It does make me sad as those old venues are few and far between nowadays and the fish are just irreplaceable. It always had a reputation of being tricky, with the fish being unique in their own way.”

I get a massive buzz from seeing the people achieve their goals, and most of my time is spent doing tutorials these days

I guess back then a 20lb fish for that area was an achievement?
“For sure, there was a small farm pond close to my home where I caught my first, and even at its peak, that only contained a small number of 20lb-plus fish. Most of the venues were small club lakes for example, where one fish had shot through and maybe exceeded the weight of the majority of the stock. There were never any numbers of big fish back then.”

Have you always lived in the North East out of choice? Has it ever crossed your mind to live closer to the hubs of fishing, such as Cambridge and Northants?
“At one point I did consider it, but as I’ve got older, the more I appreciate where I live. It is a beautiful area of the country and now I have kids who’ve settled into school, it just wouldn’t be fair. The driving doesn’t bother me; it is what I have been used to from a young age and some of my fishing has taken me as far as Kent. Wherever I have been fishing in the country, I have always looked forward to going home; I was brought up there and those kind of things in life stay close to you.”

Did the pressures of fishing syndicate waters such as the Essex Manor ever take its toll on you, living so far away?
“Running a tackle shop at the time restricted me to two, forty-eight-hour sessions a month, purely because I was too tight to employ anyone else. When I had that kind of time on my hands, I just had to make the most of it while at the lake. Working harder to find them and get on them, the results still came about. The shop was so time-consuming. I had a family on the way and with my angling, it just wasn’t feasible in the end.”

Coming from the North East, do you feel there is a misconception when it comes to carp sizes?
“A 30lb carp from the North East is, in my eyes, equivalent to a 50lb fish from the South. I can count on one hand the number of 30lb-plus fish swimming around in the North East. Personally, with so many big fish around nowadays, I feel you have to take into consideration all the factors that lead to a capture: the lake, the history, and the effort that went in to the capture etc.”

Releasing a 38lber caught during the filming of the C.A.R.P.Y Challenge, summer 2014

As you’ve got older, have you found the need to travel more to access the fish you want to catch?
“I’ve actually found I travel less. Back in my younger days I would do 650-mile round trips, but for me, that’s a little too excessive these days. Back then I was only doing two sessions a month, so I didn’t mind the extra distance. I just couldn’t do that every week now.”

What do you seek in your own angling today?
“Although I’m on the bank a lot, it is primarily for work, meaning my own personal angling time is very limited. I’m still fishing when I work, so I still get my fix every week and in general and they are on places I would happily fish myself. I actually feel like my own angling has improved since doing the tutorials, I work hard to ensure that those I tutor catch, so technically I am still angling but through them.”

Brew time, something that has become a ritual in my angling

So, do you actually have chance to just nip off and do 48hrs on your own?
“No. There just isn’t enough time, at the moment…”

You must miss having that time on your own, without the pressure to just go out and fish on your own terms?
“I do. As much as I love doing the work, I miss targeting individual fish. You know, seeing a carp in the magazines and setting out to catch that fish, that was what I loved doing. Although these days, targets would certainly be more realistic with the time I have to play with. With the travelling involved, you’re always going to be one step behind the locals.”

In the past you have fished some busy waters for big fish; would the type of venue have an influence on where you would want to go now?
“Now, I would happily sacrifice size of fish for somewhere that was that little bit quieter. On the really busy venues, it becomes more about you against the anglers, and I did this for a number of years. It certainly keeps you on your toes, but it would be nice to just go somewhere now where it would be me and the fish, but they are so few and far between.”

Sneaking around the banks of a truly majestic venue, while filming for CC Moore

You do love your floater fishing in the summer; is your style of angling quite reactive to what you see?
“In the summer months my rods are out of the water way more than they are actually in. I just can’t sit there hour after hour if I know something might be happening elsewhere. Generally, the rods are only out on the bottom when it is dark, then I’m up first light again looking for that opportunity.”

You must feel lucky to have made a living from what you love doing?
“Very lucky! It is something I will never take for granted. When I first started I certainly wasn’t good in front of the camera, in fact, I was crap! But I had the drive and motivation to want to get better at it.”

Are your family supportive of what you do?
“Kinda. The kids just miss me when I am away and the missus doesn’t really see it as a job; she just asks, “Are you fishing again next week?” I guess it is hard for a lot of people to relate to it as actually being a job.”

Summer magic

What would you say to a 16-year-old today if they asked you about making a career from angling?
“It is a little different nowadays, back then I did well at school. I always enjoyed writing and was committed, besides going fishing. Things have changed now with the presence of social media and YouTube, I think people can bring lots of different qualities to the table. You genuinely need to have a true passion, which will always carry you a long way in any career in life. I had the greatest love for angling, years before I came about doing what I am doing now. But year after year, I have always had that drive to go.”

What would you be doing now if you didn’t have your fishing there?
“I honestly do not know. My dad used to go mad at me, he used to always say, “You can’t just go fishing all of the time; you need to get a job.” I just didn’t know what to do, it’s terrible really, but I just love it. It is a big gamble, no doubt. I did briefly at one point help out as a window cleaner!”

No office job then?
“No! That’s my worst nightmare! I just hate being stuck indoors. I can spend days on end, on my own, down my lake doing work.”

A lot of people would say “you’ve got it easy”…
“Despite doing what I love doing, it isn’t easy by any means. It’s incredibly time-consuming and I’m away all week most of the time during the summer months. To do that kind of work, you do have to make sacrifices, especially when bringing up two young girls. The work I do is by no means difficult, manual or mentally challenging; but at times I do feel pressure to make my clients’ time worthwhile.”

Do you feel pressure from your sponsors?
“Not really, I have a good relationship with the people I work with closely. I like to think I do my fair share of hard work to promote them, so there is no reason to stress.”

The filming of In Pursuit of Carpiness was a trip of a lifetime

This term that you seemed to have developed, ‘carpy’, where did that begin, because, in reality, you’re not actually carpy are you?
“No, well that’s the thing; the whole carpy business came about as a Micky-take. It was during one of the Challenges and I was taking a photo of my kettle steaming or something and Harry was like, “What are you doing?” I was just like, “Well, it’s carpy isn’t it, and from then on it has just stuck (laughing).”

So then, who is actually carpy out there?
“Well, really there is only Terry Hearn. I can’t think of anyone else…”

You have been through some ‘carpy’ eras; what period in your angling career has been your favourite?
“I do look back fondly at the early days, when the excitement of something new was always there; every time you went you just didn’t know what you were going to achieve. They were magical times.”

Reliable components, something I place great emphasis on in my angling day-to-day

What’s your opinion of the cult carpers of today…
“Cult? I didn’t even know there was such a thing… what are they? (Explains)
“I just look at your reels, Alex, and think that you’re trying way too hard, they’re not even good reels! Why do it to yourself? I was victim to all of that back in the day!” (Laughing).

Let’s talk about the Challenge; that really was, what spurred you into the mainstream media?
“Well, after we’d shot the first episode I remember Lewis (Porter) getting back to me and he wasn’t happy. He thought it was just two lads having a joke, I often forgot at times Harry was filming, so I would just end up chatting nonsense to the camera.”
But that’s kinda what makes the challenge…

“Aha! Well, Lewis would just keep coming out with us every time, trying to get it shot how he wanted and we just ended up doing it our own way. In the end, he just left us to it. But it works and they are great to film because we have such a laugh every time. You know, it just comes across exactly how it was on the bank. They are going to be changing slightly in the future, but we can’t talk about that just yet…”

What are your goals for the coming years in personal terms?
“A new PB would be great; it has stood for the past 14 years, but I would only want to break it if it was a special fish. I would also like to get my fishery so it is out there; my original aim was to grow a 30lber and I grew on 15. Now I would love to be able to grow a 40lber, the North East’s first, that would be an ambition of mine.”

You don’t seem to do a great deal of winter carp fishing, why is that?
“I do, but not in recent years. As I’ve got older and wiser, I have become better at picking my times to go and making the most of good conditions. This year I really want to try and catch a snow carp again, something I did many moons ago.”

Have you started to sway towards other species in the winter?
“For a number of years I’ve solely targeted carp, but more recently I’ve seen just how impressive other species, such as big perch, pike and zander are, alongside the fact they are much more catchable during the colder months. I also think mixing it up a bit actually adds to your ability; just being out there and thinking, even though they’re not carp, you still get your fix!”

On another note, why decaf these days? For years you’ve gone on about tea and energy drinks…
“It was a lifestyle change for me that just had to happen. I’d been suffering with some health gripes for a while and been suffering with insomnia alongside some blackouts. I was out for the day with the family and passed out, which resulted in a call for an ambulance. I stayed in hospital overnight and quickly came back round. After speaking to a lad on a tutorial, he recommended cutting out caffeine and that made a difference to my own wellbeing.”

Let’s finish up on your adventure abroad; what was that all about?
“That came about when Harry and I were in Gran Canaria and Lewis mentioned it would be a good idea to just do it, as now would be a good-a-time as ever. It was a road trip: two mates travelling across Europe and the US and the memories created were just amazing. We fished at some crazy locations and met some mental locals, but just fishing in a completely different environment was so refreshing.”