CRAIG PARKES has already made some headway with tackle shops and other organisations and believes that continuing to work with these bodies is a benefit to all.
He has been a Joint Angling Governing Bodies Level Two coach and a member of the PAA for around 18 months now. He started out working for a children’s charity in Wolverhampton called Believe to Achieve and came up with the idea of bringing fishing into the schools/community where he was working.
Craig explained: “I researched a couple of angling-inclusion projects working with children and young people and, through lots of networking, I managed to link in with organisations such as British Waterways, the Environment Agency, local fisheries and tackle shops.
“The way I approached the tackle shops for help was to show them a development plan of what the project would be doing – both short term and long term – and how they would benefit.
“For the project to be able to run, it would initially need a large quantity of product (such as seatboxes, rods and reels), plus a constant supply of tackle (rigs, hooks, bait) which would be bought in their shop if they supported us with a discount or freebies for prizes.”
One of those which has helped out already is Bilston Angling Centre but Craig is hopeful that other shops in the area will be keen to follow suit, especially when they see the benefits.
Craig added: “Bilston AC has been a fantastic support to my coaching projects. In return I have helped by spending a good sum of project money there, introduced many new anglers to the shop and included it in any publicity I get. Hopefully, this has provided the shop with a long-term financial gain.”
He is no stranger to running angling projects. Among them are Family Learning Fishing, the Catfish Mentoring and Peer Coaching Scheme, Open Access Scheme and various taster sessions.
He mainly covers Wolverhampton but he has just taken a post at Bramford Primary School in Dudley and will be working in that area over the coming months.
