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HARRY BILLING

AGE: 
63

Harry is top class! Living in Manchester for many years Harry helped Highfield win virtually all the major team titles possible in the late 90's. Now he concentrates on his individual fishing and loved Cornwall so much he retired down there for 10 years, winning 13 festivals and the Parkdean Masters twice. He is now back in the North West and really enjoying his fishing. A regular in the England vets team and has attended 4 world championships so far.

His crowning glory came when he was crowned Veterans World Champion in 2016, along with the team gold that year.

PROFESSION: 

RETIRED ENGINEER - Full time angler!

FAVOURITE VENUE: 

Porth Reservoir in Cornwall

Achievements: 

Individual Veterans World Champion 2016.

Team Veterans World Champion 2016.

2 x Parkdean Masters £25,000 Champion, 2002 and 2012.

13 x White Acres Festival winner.

Individual Veterans National Champion 2017 and 2018.

Stafford Moor Silvermaniac winner.

NFA Division 1 National team winner.

Winter League team winner.

3 x Super League team winner.

NFA Knockout team winner.

20 plus x Overall Winter/Summer league individual winner.

Top Tips: 

1. Preparation for a match is paramount, make sure you have plenty of rigs and hooks tied, time spent in the water means more fish in the net.

2. Don't be afraid to scale down your hook and line size, especially when you're up against hard fished for commercial carp, they really are educated.

3. I prefer to take the number ones out of my poles, this makes the pole even stiffer and allows the elastic to run more freely.

4. I like to use back shots, especially when its windy, as it makes control of the float infinitely better, there's nothing worse than a float being blown all over the place.

5. I like to re-plumb my peg sometimes, just to check that the feeding carp haven't disturbed the silt on the bottom, and altered the depth fractionally.

6. Always ask plenty of questions, most anglers are more than happy to divulge information.

7. Always be one step ahead of the fish, it's a rarity when you catch on the same method during a match, I normally have at least 4 pegs primed, ready for the switch, when it goes quiet.

8. Keep an eye on what's going on around you, it can be the key to improving your catch rate, just by a simple change in method.

9. Try and find out about your peg off any venue regulars, or the owner of the fishery, its amazing what a difference inside info can make.

10. Enjoy your fishing, its amazing how many people get on a downer for the smallest of reasons. 11. Watch out for changes in temperature and wind prior to the match and adjust your feeding accordingly, I've seen many a peg ruined by too much initial feed. Remember you are trying to coax the fish into feeding, its better to start off with small amounts and try and gauge the response

FAVOURITE METHOD: 

Long pole, short line for silver fish