Des Westmore
Location: Isle of Wight, England
Website: Coming soon, but I’ve been saying that for a while!
I am 44 years old and have lived on the Isle of Wight all my life and am therefore a ‘Caulkhead’. I began shore fishing in 1976 with my father and fished club and local competitions, serving on club committees and also as Chairman of the Isle of Wight division of the NFSA for a while. In the mid-nineties I worked away from home and did not fish at all. When I started working at home again I returned to the sport, switching my attention to boat fishing. I contacted Jim Whippy when Boat Fishing Monthly was launched and have been a regular feature writer ever since. By day, I masquerade as an airframe design draughtsman for GKN Aerospace and am married with one daughter.
Personal bests/angling achievements
Not as many as I would like! A long time ago I got an NFSA gold medal for a shore caught stingray of 37lb 1 1/2oz and a certificate from the NFSA saying it was the heaviest one caught in the UK that year. Apart from that I have another NFSA bronze medal and Silver and Bronze Abu awards (for those who are old enough to remember them?).
Most memorable fishing event / trip / fish
Catching that stingray when I was only sixteen. More recently, catching my first boat caught bream over 5lb which was part of a double-hit with another 3 ½ pounder. This was on a rod I built myself based on a Conoflex “4lb Class Pollack” blank and those bream were quite a handful. Another memorable day was catching my first turbot (7 1/2lb) in the Channel Islands. I love flatfish but have never had consistent luck with them so just to hit the target species on my first day fishing for them was a superb feeling. The first time I took my wife wreck fishing also comes to mind as she totally trashed me from the first drop of the day and actually stopped fishing before the end of the trip to give me a chance to catch up!
Favourite angling type/style
Catching any species on balanced tackle is always good sport but I do love fishing for bream on the English Channel wrecks in the autumn. The bream run big and we always see at least a dozen other species caught throughout the day as well. I only fish for pleasure and don’t enter competitions any more.
Interests and hobbies away from fishing
Photography, be it landscape, action or studio work. Achieving the shot I want is just as much of a buzz as catching a fish. I also do a lot of photographic work with the RNLI and have huge respect for the crews of all their boats. I like to travel with my family whenever I get the chance and building a pictorial record of the trip is very important to me.
Angling hopes and ambitions
In the short term, to get my gear more organised and take less with me. In the long term, and possibly more realistically, just to keep on enjoying my fishing and catching fish. To this end, I would like to think that one day the UK waters will be a properly managed sustainable fishery, like Florida for instance but I’m not holding my breath. I would like to become a better cook as eating a proportion of the fish I catch is to me, very much part of “Sport Fishing”.
Best piece of advice or top tip
Listen well and keep an open mind as there is something to learn from everyone. Work hard at your sport but not to the point where you stop enjoying it; you can go to work to feel like that.
I bet you didn’t know
Until eleven years ago I suffered badly from sea sickness, despite trying all the latest pills and gadgets. When my wife was pregnant with our daughter, she was prescribed an old fashioned travel sickness pill to help her cope with her “all-day morning sickness”. I tried them too and have been cured ever since.
Angling media / tackle company involvement
I have had copy published by most of the angling press but I am a regular feature writer for Boat Fishing Monthly.
What would you sling in fishing’s room 101?
Boat rods with reel seats which incorporate a joint with locking collars; they are the ruination of many good rods, especially in the lighter line classes. Any reel with a ratchet that “ticks” when you turn the handle; reels should be seen and not heard. Boat rods lacking a grip below the reel seat; this current fashion may be ok for carp rods, but that’s where it should stay. Decorative metallic collars on rod joints and handles; it reminds me of cheap far eastern rods imported in the 70’s and 80’s.
Heroes & influences
In my days of shore fishing the writing of the late John Darling was a big influence. John Holden was also a great inspiration when it came to constantly looking for ways to improve everything about methods and tackle in a “keep it real” manner. I think the “Guinness Guide to Saltwater Angling” by Brian Harris was a ground breaking book when it was published in the 70’s and still like to look though it now. When it comes to boat fishing, Roger Bayzand was a great skipper, friend and mentor and I wish him all the best for his retirement in ‘Oz, though I do miss fishing with him. Photographically I admire the work of John Claridge, Don McCullin, Charlie Waite and Sebastião Salgado.
