I’m a very lucky man! Not only do I spend my life making wildlife films around the world but I’m also an angler and that takes me even closer to nature because I actually get to touch it …assuming I’m not blanking of course!

As many of you know, so long as we don’t take the catching of fish too seriously, angling can transport us to another world, a place of peace and relaxation, of sparkling rivers and mist shrouded pools. And in this increasingly manic world, we sure do need the time and space that fishing gives us.

Some of the best days of my life have been spent just “being there”, out on the banks of some beautiful river or lake and during this past four years I’ve been particularly lucky because an awful lot of my time has been lived “out there”, creating a series of eight one hour films which attempt to celebrate angling and Britain’s freshwater world.

The series is called “Catching the Impossible”, a journey through angling, with specimen hunting at the heart of each film. Our story teller is that wonderful voice from “A Passion for Angling”, Bernard Cribbins, the difference being that this time he gets to fish, and with success and humour too.

Joining him is that ace angler Martin Bowler who I call the “Tiger Woods of angling” because when it comes to catching fish he gets so many “holes in one”. I set our seventeen targets for the films so high that I described them as “impossible” but Martin and Bernard, along with a galaxy of eccentric friends caught almost all of them.

Notable among them were: 15lb 7oz  barbel, 4lb 4oz crucian carp, 44lb 4oz common carp – on a float! a 5lb 4oz perch, a 32lb 6oz pike and from our local River Stour, Terry Lampard caught a 7lb 4oz chub and a 3lb 5oz roach, not just “impossible” but incredible!

One of the aspects of filming that I enjoyed most was our successful attempts to film underwater fish behaviour of all the major species. It was so exciting that I almost preferred filming fish to catching them, but not quite!

Anyway, we thought you might like to see some of the results of our filming on a big screen, so we’ve organized the first public showing of  programmes 1 & 2. It’s a sort of “world premiere”, with stars Bernard Cribbins and Martin Bowler present, but with red maggots instead of the red carpet! It’s a charity ‘do’ with all proceeds going to the ACA and the Wimborne Angling Club so please come and join us.

Programme 1 – “Searching for Gold”  Tuesday Nov 25th 8pm
Pragramme 2 – “Magic Circles”          Tuesday Dec 2nd  8pm

Tickets are just £5 from: Bob Simmons, 1, Cuthburga Rd. Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 1LH.

At the Barrington Theatre, in the centre of Ferndown [BH22 9TH] Tel. 01202 894858 close to the Tesco car parks. [ Please make cheques payable to Wild Wise Ltd. ]

The DVD of Programmes 1-3 of the series and the lovely book we wrote about our adventures is now on sale, so that should solve your Christmas present problems!
Last orders for Christmas – Dec 10th.

For further details of the films visit www.catchingtheimpossible.info. To order the book and the DVD of progs 1-3 visit www.calmproductions.com.