Gone Fishing

By Steve Sharp

 

Fishing is, by a distance, the biggest participation sport in the UK with over 1.5 million taking part each year.

I am no fisherman but have enjoyed a fishing trip three times in the last three years when on holiday.

On our latest encounter we caught snapper, kingfish and something called kahawai. There were seven of us sharing the trip with an exuberant skipper who kindly filleted and divided up the catch for us share.

Sea fishing in New Zealand

The snapper was delicious pan fried, not so keen on the kahawai though which probably explains why you don’t see it on menus anywhere.

Best of all was the kingfish, eaten raw as sashimi and ceviche. Now there is something I could not have imagined eating as a youngster. Raw fish!

Fishing’s popularity as a hobby has certainly increased since Paul Whitehouse decided to teach Bob Mortimer how to fish on their hugely popular TV show. An idea born when Bob had a triple heart bypass and Paul decided it would be good for his pal to undertake a heart healthy activity providing fresh air, exercise, mental wellbeing ….and lunch! 

Mortimer enjoyed it, describing it later he said, “I’ve never felt anything like it”. “There comes a moment when you realise you have said nothing for an hour and a half. I haven’t thought about anything else. I haven’t worried about the past, or the future.”

The two of them decided there might be a chance to make a humorous and informative programme that was beyond “two old blokes going fishing”

Whitehouse described the pitch for the show as combining the real-life jeopardy of their medical conditions, two old friends who had had a reprieve, and the timeless wonder of the British countryside.

Paul Whiteouse and Bob Mortimer fishing

The idea has proved to be a big hit with viewers, with Bob Mortimer going on give his subsequent autobiography the title “And Away…” his catchphrase from the show. This has then led to a new love of writing and story telling with his debut novel The Satsuma Complex making him a number one bestselling author.

This is a man who was close to retiring from everything, rejuvenated by a friend …….and fishing.

 

Steve


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