Andy Buckley

Born and bred on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border, my earliest angling memories are of casting cane rods for wild Brown Trout and Grayling on the river Dove, using traditional north country spider patterns and developing a total fascination for unkept rivers and wild fish.

Fast forward twenty years and the same fascination still remains. I've fished all over the UK for Trout and Grayling, embracing modern techniques such as Czech and French Nymphing, and I have worked on my own hatch matching fly patterns. I've also tackled Welsh sea trout, Irish salmon and all manner of coarse fish.

A year spent living out of the back of a car as a trout-bum in New Zealand opened my eyes to just how hard and how rewarding catching trout can be - not just the trophy ones but the most difficult ones too. The techniques I learned in New Zealand have transferred to my UK fishing and have helped me become a far more accomplished angler.

More recently I have taken to tackling our largest UK freshwater predator the Pike. These fascinating and infuriating fish represent a great challenge to the freshwater fly angler, and athough I have some success I hope that in the near future I can go and tackle the Northern Pike in Canada to extend my knowledge of Pike fly fishing.

I am currently studying for my FFF Casting Instructors qualification, having taught many friends to cast and to fish, and I take great pleasure in being able to assist fellow anglers of all abilities to get out there and catch a few more fish.