FLY-FISHING FOR BUSINESS WELLBEING – A story of keeping physically and mentally fit in work and beyond

Our very own Mike Marshall has written another book on fly fishing and casting, though this time he has focused on the benefits of fly fishing to your wellbeing considering all the potential stressors that you experience day to day. It’s a really interesting memoir of Mike’s life with an autobiographical approach; interlacing his many enjoyable fishing antics with descriptions of his working experiences over a long career in engineering. Even in his retirement, Mike fully supports the BFCC and has written about the Club exploits in Chapter 16.

“We all know that we should keep physically fit and mentally sharp throughout life and with the achievement of these objectives one ends up having an enjoyable and stress-free leisure. It is likely that this will all take place in a very pleasant natural outdoor environment. However, it is true to say that many people expend much time, effort and money seeking these desirable outcomes, often without sufficient information to know if their project is viable or not, given their personal circumstances. Sports, such as ball games, are unsuitable due to being stressfully competitive and require running which, with age, we find increasingly difficult. Games, such as chess, exercise the mind well but do not require fast reactions and are also competitive. Then there is the ‘gym’, which is usually indoors and requires boring, comparatively slow repetitions or running on a treadmill.
So, having taught countless people to cast a fly and had their feedback, Mike Marshall would like to pass on his accumulated knowledge, mostly gathered in parallel with the demands of a senior management career in engineering. This is not a ‘detailed, how to do it’ book, but more a light-hearted anecdotal account of the various key factors leading to successful exploits in a wide range of fly-fishing situations. In this way he hopes to convey the fact that fly fishing, probably unexpectedly, contains all the elements required to create personal physical and mental wellbeing, but is free of the unwanted aspects mentioned earlier.”

The book trailer is available on YouTube. The book can be purchased for only £9.99 paperback (or £11.99 hardback) on the publisher’s website or Waterstones or on Amazon (where you can purchase it as an e-book for only £3.50). ISBN: 9781398403499

As reigning champion, Keiichiro Okamoto started the 2021 BFCC casting season off with the accuracy competition. The T38, S55 and T120 were then cast in the morning session followed by the #5, #7 and ST27 in the afternoon. The weather was a rather up and down 10mph northerly wind and bright sunshine all day. The wind was slightly odd in that the left handers were complaining it was blowing into their left arm, whilst the right handers were complaining it was blowing into their right – sometimes at the same time!

As a trial, entries into a virtual version of the competitions were also accepted – many thanks to those who entered!   If people are interested in entering any of the BFCC events virtually then please get in touch and we can develop the rules.  The full results in feet and inches are as follows:

#5 Trout Distance: Zhongxiang Zhu 131.00; James Evans 128.02; Mick Copeman 124.09; Tracy Thomas 113.06; Kei Okamoto 112.07; Mike Heritage 111.10; Howard Bishop 109.04; Tim Glass 63.10.

Virtual #5 Trout Distance: Lasse Karlsson 135.02; Jose Nieto 124.00; Silja Longhurst 107.03; Robyn Longhurst-Karlsson (aged 10) 48.06; Louis Longhurst-Karlsson (aged 8) 45.11.

#7 Trout Distance: James Evans 138.06; Zhongxiang Zhu 131.11; Kei Okamoto 124.04; Mick Copeman 121.00; Mike Heritage 119.08; Howard Bishop 117.11; Tracy Thomas 102.06; Tim Glass 88.04.

ST27 Sea Trout Distance: Kei Okamoto 155.04; James Evans 154.10; Zhongxiang Zhu 149.10; Mick Copeman 133.06; Howard Bishop 132.05; Mike Heritage 127.00; Tracy Thomas 125.00*

Virtual ST27: Lasse Karlsson 147.06; Silja Longhurst 133.00

* In a separate timed record attempt Tracy cast 140.03

S55 Salmon Overhead: James Evans 217.07; Kei Okamoto 193.05; Tracy Thomas 163.09; Zhongxiang Zhu 163.05; Howard Bishop 155.04.

Virtual S55 Salmon Overhead: Lasse Karlsson 190.03; Silja Longhurst 157.06.

T38: James Evans 179.00; Kei Okamoto 160.08; Howard Bishop 155.09; Tracy Thomas 153.00; Zhongxiang Zhu 148.03.

Virtual T38: Lasse Karlsson 172.03

T120: James Evans 215.09; Kei Okamoto 205.00; Mike Marshall 170.09; Howard Bishop 167.03; Zhongxiang Zhu 165.06; Tracy Thomas 157.10.

Accuracy (points): Kei Okamoto 47; Zhongxiang Zhu 39; Mike Heritage 32; James Evans 32; Tracy Thomas 21; Howard Bishop 15.

Overall placings: 1st James Evans 12, 2nd Kei Okamoto 16, 3rd Zhongxiang Zhu 22.

Records: In accuracy, Kei Okamoto beat the S50 and Mike Heritage claimed the vacant V70 records. In the #5 James Evans beat the S50 and Mick Copeman beat the V70. In ST27 Tracy Thomas extended her overall women’s record. In the S55 James Evans extended his overall record as well as beating the S50. In the T120 Mike Marshall extended his V80 record.  Well done all.