Before I go into the report of the Fish In I thought I would give you an idea of what goes on behind the scenes for this event. Often I see people posting on how to start a charity event, so maybe this will give you an idea of where to start and what you have in store.
Once again it was time to begin getting things ready for the 2006 Fish In. It always amazes me just how quick time goes by between each event. Just when you get one event over the next seems to pop up all too soon. Although the event would be held in early March, for me and others things begin at the start of October when I contact lake owner Jerry Hammond to confirm a suitable date when all the lakes and river can be set aside for the Fish In. As ever Jerry is always happy to help out with providing the lakes and river free of charge which is a god send for this type of event. Especially when you consider one of the lakes used is the Syndicate Lake.
Once the dates are decided, Allan Stone is then advised and takes on the role in co-ordinating entry places and acting as banker for the money sent in. Having handled large sums of money from previous Fish In.'s I can say that it’s a painful job keeping tally of whose paid what and gets even worse once you start involving sponsorship and donations alike. So thankfully Allan and Stoney & Friends have for the last couple of years taken over this role which allows me time to organise other matters.
From November we begin the task of advertising the event on a number of websites and magazines and at this point I must thank CEMEX angling, Fishing Warehouse, Carp forum and Fat Carp for allowing the event to be posted up, cheers all.
Allan and I confirm on a weekly basis the bookings and how many places have been taken. This year for some reason we had a feeling that we should keep the river places low just in case the weather should get the better of us, something which you will later see was a wise choice.
One of the main events over the Fish In is the BBQ and raffle that’s held on the Saturday. Those that have attended will tell you it’s a good laugh with some awesome prizes to be won. Before Christmas I begin my main task which is contacting companies and individuals to see if they are able to help out with donating prizes towards the event. Companies such as Fox International, The tackle Box, Nash Tackle, Dynamite and Dave Walsh (DK Fisheries France) Heathrow bait Service, Chris Woodrow (Essex tackle) and Jim Shelley have from the very first event helped me out, and I am considerably grateful for their support year on year which simply takes one email or phone call.
Normally I will email out perhaps fifty or more requests to companies to see if they can help out, each year the response gets better and better with new companies coming onboard with a donation, some totally out of the blue. This year saw new companies, shops and individuals such as Pallatrax, Fishing Republic, JRC, Trakker , Epping tackle and Fosters of Birmingham, Mainline & Carp-Tech all donate some great prizes along with those mentioned at the bottom of this piece, all those that donate prizes do so off their own backs and know that I can promise nothing in return for their help. I also realise they probably receive hundreds of requests like mine each year. One other nice surprise was that I received a phone call from David Carlile from DC Art Work who said he would like to donate some limited edition prints to the event. A trip down to Essex to meet Dave over a cuppa resulted in him handing over four framed-signed prints, which have a print run over only 250 and would be a cracking prize for people. Now up until this point I never knew Dave. Other then seeing some of his commissioned work on his web site, (take a look at his web site if you're interested in getting yourself a portrait with your prized fish). But I have to admit that after a good chat over all things fishy I know we will keep in touch. It's this kind of thing that brings a smile to your face when organising such an event.
As the prizes started to arrive I had to organise workdays off for me and my partner Tracey to be at home to take receipt of them. Sounds simple but you soon run out of space in the house when the boxes start to arrive. Again as the event came nearer Allan allowed me a trip over to his house to hold some of the prizes before I was totally swamped.
Arrangements also had to be made to get hold of a BBQ and marquees for the event. A good mate Garry "Artois" from the syndicate arranged and paid for a BBQ so cheers for that mate and a new marquee was purchased which could be used for the raffle event. By the start of February with only a few places left due to people who had to pull out of the event, we were almost ready. A few last minute raffle deliveries including Dave Wiles from the Bait Feed Company turning up the evening before the event with boxes of goodies and we were ready. A week before the event I was scanning various weather sites to see what conditions would be like for the Fish In. Things did not look to good with expected conditions of up to minus seven night-time temperatures. Sods law I thought, this is the one thing that none of us could control. Despite pleading with Jerry to sort out some sort of Lake Central Heating system I knew we would be looking at frozen lakes if the weather was as the experts said. After hundreds of phone calls, emails, and private messages via forums it was now time for the Fish In to take place...
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