Later in life, as an adult, I would watch fishing programmes with Sue, my wife. Neither of us were anglers, but we enjoyed watching well-presented fishing programmes as entertainment in their own right. John Wilson's Go Fishing was one such programme. Like many others, we were captivated by John Wilson's genuine enthusiasm for the hobby. It mattered not that we were not interested in having a go ourselves, we soaked up the material on offer for the sixteen years that the programme aired on Channel 4 and then again as repeats on the digital channels in recent years. John Wilson's programmes had (and probably still do) an appeal, way beyond the angling community.
Today, 13 November 2018, I learned that John has died, this morning in Thailand, after suffering a stroke on Sunday. He had moved there a few years ago to retire to the sun, but in recent months he had decided to return home to spend more time with family. Sadly this was not to be. Although I have never met him, I felt like I had lost a friend. When I took up fishing late in life, just four years ago, the first book I bought was a copy of his Course Fishing Method Manual. Now long out of print, being first published over twenty years ago, I managed to secure a second-hand copy.
The book was obviously well loved before I became the custodian of the volume. The original owner had scribed a declaration on the inside of the cover, stating that the book belonged to him. He had also added his undying love for his girlfriend! Even now, the book is full of the basic information a novice like me needs to further my fishing adventures. I am sure there is many an angler out there today who has learned a lot, and like me, are still learning from the words of John Wilson.
John Wilson was voted the 'greatest angler of all time' by the Angling Times readers and was awarded an MBE in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours, For services to Angling.
R.I.P John Dennis Wilson, MBE.
Ralph.
