The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

No doubt he was a great angler - tho afforded a great many opportunities never available to mere anglers - however to rate him above Dick Walker or Bernard Venables is a travesty. Then there's Izaak Walton...

Seems worthy of a place on the bookshelf and a great reminder of so many good memories of his TV escapades.

I never saw a poll but he would certainly have had my vote.
In my opinion, he must have done more for fishing in this nation than anyone else in recent history.

The trouble with 'The Greatest'... votes is that 90% of the UK's public seem only to be aware of the last decade. Similar votes have been made for pop groups, films etc and, of course, the medium in which you vote and the audience that receives to vote in the first place will be voting for their own time. Hence the Beetles not being the best group and best movie likely to be something like Paddington.

John Wilson made a very successful career out of catching fish to camera as did Matt Hayes but Martin Bowler has caught far more notable fish than the two of them together. I doubt if any of them are the country's greatest angler and nor was Dick Wlker, certainly not Bernard Venables and definitely not Isaac Walton, I doubt if he ever 'ad a firty'.