Former two-time British record holder joins Angling Trust Board

A former holder of two British predator records has joined the Board of the Angling Trust, the body representing anglers in England.

Norfolk’s Neville Fickling (above) hit the headlines in 1970 when he set a new zander record while still a schoolboy. He went on to break it a second time and in 1985 he landed the then record pike of 41lb 6oz. Now a tackle shop owner in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, he celebrates 60 years of fishing in 2021, having caught his first fish at the age of eight.

A former Chairman of the Pike Anglers’ Club (PAC), he campaigned for the banning of gaffs and supported the movement for returning pike and zander to the water. He also helped convince stillwater trout fisheries that pike could exist in these waters and provide valuable income.

Also joining the Angling Trust Board is John Ellis, National Fisheries and Angling Manager for the Canal and River Trust, which controls around 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, plus a number of reservoirs. He works with more than 250 angling clubs through events at commercial fisheries and directs the Let’s Fish participation campaign, part of the National Angling Strategy. He also managed the USA national coarse fishing team at the 1998 World Championships.

Both Ellis and Fickling were elected to the Trust Board as non-executive directors.