The Anglers • The Stories • The Memories • The Music

The Story Behind the Legends

More than sixty years of angling. A lifetime of friendships, rivals, heroes and memories.

Why I Created Legends in My Lifetime

I have been fortunate to spend more than sixty years in the world of angling. During that time I have fished with, competed against, become friends with and admired some of the greatest anglers our sport has ever known.

Some became World Champions. Some transformed the way generations of anglers fished. Others were extraordinary characters whose knowledge, personality and passion left an unforgettable mark on the sport.

As the years passed, I began to realise something important. Many of the great names I remembered so clearly were becoming little more than names to younger anglers — and some risked being forgotten altogether.

That thought became the inspiration for Legends in My Lifetime.

Listen to my song “Walking With Legends”

From Young Angler to World Champion

My own journey began as a young angler fascinated by fishing and by the great competitors of the day. I watched them, learned from them and, eventually, found myself fishing alongside many of the very people who had once inspired me.

Match fishing took me around Britain and across Europe. There were great victories, disappointments, friendships, rivalries and countless stories along the way. In 1987, on the River Mondego in Portugal, that journey reached an extraordinary moment when I became Individual World Angling Champion.

But the medals and trophies tell only a small part of the story. What remains most vividly are the people — their humour, their characters, their generosity, their competitiveness and the things they taught me.

The People Behind the Names

These are not simply biographies of famous anglers. Many of the stories are personal.

There was Larry Powell, my early mentor, who taught me so much about winning fishing matches. Kevin Ashurst became my all-time angling hero. I competed on the international stage alongside men such as Denis “Fatha” White and Tommy Pickering, and crossed paths with many remarkable characters throughout the golden years of match fishing.

Others, such as Richard Walker, I admired from afar. His writing, ideas and understanding of fish and fishing influenced generations of anglers, including me.

Every legend has a different story. Together, they form part of the history of our sport.

Words • Music • Photographs • Film

The project began with my book Legends in My Lifetime, recording my memories of the anglers I have known, competed with or admired.

But I wanted to bring those stories to life in another way.

That led to the music. Each original song tells the story of an individual angler — their achievements, their personality and, where possible, my own memories of them.

The songs are now being combined with photographs and film to create individual musical tributes. Together, the book, music and films are becoming a living archive of an extraordinary period in angling history.

Keeping the Legends Alive

Some of these anglers are sadly no longer with us. Others are still fishing today. But every one of them has earned a place in angling history.

My hope is simple: that these stories introduce younger anglers to the great names of the past, while bringing back wonderful memories for those who were fortunate enough to see them fish.

The anglers. The stories. The memories. The music.

— Clive Branson