Peter May Interview

Hi Peter, thank you so much for agreeing to answer my questions;

I’ve just finished reading your book, ‘End Peg’ and I have to say I loved it, can you tell us a little bit about how you came to have a book published about fishing?

Mostly due to good fortune.  I’ve been writing books on and off since 1996.  However until I wrote End Peg all of my books were about horseracing.  My last racing book, A Day At The Races, examined the history of the sport and was published by Merlin Unwin Books a publisher that covers countryside, horseracing and fishing books.  Under the terms of my contract, the publisher had first refusal on the next book which happened to be End Peg.  Fortunately they liked it and agreed to take a risk and publish it for me.  And it was a great risk because I had no track record with respect to fishing books, so without their support and willingness to gamble I do not think it would have ever been published.

Was this your first book and are there any plans for ‘Another End Peg’? I for one would love to read more about your exploits with PAC.

I think End Peg is book 14, so not my first book.  At the moment there are no plans for a follow up even though anglers keep giving me stories and saying “that’s for your next book”.  While I am not completely ruling out Another End Peg (thanks for the title idea!) I would need to find an alternative structure to differentiate the two fishing books before I committed to it.

All the royalties went to Alzheimer’s Research UK which is a fantastic cause and one close to my heart, was there a personal reason for you choosing this charity?

Yes.  My Grandfather taught me how to fish and sadly he died of dementia.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you first got into fishing and the first fish you caught?

I started fishing at a very young age, so by now I really should be much better than I am.  Although I have been involved with several other sports, angling has always been my number one choice.  As for my first fish, I expect it was a bleak given the number of these fish in the Thames which is where I first cast a line.

What’s your favourite style of fishing?

Float fishing.  I did have a spell back in the late 1970s where I would use the feeder rod all the time, but legering is now a last resort for me.  While I can watch a float tip all day, staring at a quiver tip is just not the same.

Your favourite venue?

The Thames for coarse fishing and Weymouth Stone Pier for sea fishing, the latter being a wonderful place to introduce children to the sport.

Favourite species?

Roach – it’s such an elegant fish.

From reading your book, you obviously love your club match fishing but do you ever fish opens or have any plans to?

I’m not good enough for opens so I’ll just stick to local Club matches for now.

Have you any angling heroes or anyone who has inspired you?

All the match anglers I fish against – I seem to learn something from them every time we fish together and that inspires me to return to the bank and try to emulate their achievements.

What’s your biggest fish in the UK?

My biggest fish would be a common carp in the low twenties (see photo) – I’m very much a small fish angler.

The average age of anglers these days seems to be a little on the high side, how do we get more youngsters into fishing or do we just accept our numbers are dwindling?

I think the sport should target families, not just youngsters.  A few years ago I fished a match in which three generations of a single family were also fishing.  Amazingly, they all drew next to each other: grandfather, father, mother and two children.  If angling can create environments where families can fish together it would be a huge step in the right direction.  Commercials are already doing this to a certain extent, but I recently fished Clawford Lakes in Devon and it was encouraging to see so many families fishing – not just the father with the son.  All necessary fishing equipment was provided free of charge.  More venues like that would help the sport immensely, especially if the owners could form an agreement with the EA to make the venue rod licence exempt.  Not having to purchase a rod licence would simplify the process for those new to the sport who are maybe only going to fish for a day or so while on holiday, or fish just a couple of hours each day.

If you had a time machine is there one moment in fishing you wish you could go back and change? i.e. a dream fish coming off at the net or a decision in a match that’s cost you a title?

That’s an easy one to answer.  While on holiday in East Anglia in 2011 I caught my best roach late one evening.  The fish weighed 3lbs 10oz. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera and I don’t use a mobile phone.  I should have secured the fish in the net and returned to the hotel where I’m sure my wife would have been happy to leave her bath and walk down to the lake to take a photo.  However, I convinced myself that catching the fish was enough, that I would never forget it, and didn’t need a photo to remind me.  The very second I released the roach back into the lake I knew that was utter nonsense and I have regretted ever since not making more of an effort to record its image.  At least I had a couple of witnesses to the capture, one of whom couldn’t understand why I was so pleased with “such a small fish” when there were much bigger carp in the lake.

Have you got a favourite match win? And is there a trophy/match you would dearly love to win but so far has eluded you?

I wanted to win the Roach Cup with Tadpole Angling Club who fish the Thames at Rushey.  In this season’s match I managed to draw the best roach peg on the stretch and luckily caught 96 roach, the heaviest total weight of roach on the day, and that secured me the trophy.

Have you got one piece of advice that will help the readers put more fish in their nets?

When trotting on a river, slow the pace the float moves through the water until you find the speed at which the fish are most likely to take the bait.

What’s the one item in your tackle box that you couldn’t live without?

Plummet.

Well thank you for giving up your time but before I let you go, here’s a few more quick-fire questions,

What’s your favourite drink?

Tea

Favourite meal?

Sirloin steak, chips and green salad.

Favourite film?

If the Laurel and Hardy short films count, then definitely one of those, otherwise The Strawberry Blonde starring James Cagney or Harvey with James Stewart (I like black and white films).

TV show?

The Curse of Oak Island.

What music do you listen to?

The Blues.

Many thanks again Peter, from Against Men and Fish