The best things come in small packages…
Anglers are eternal optimists. Each cast is made more in hope than expectation. And every fish isn’t always a mythical ‘whopper’; small can be beautiful too…
Andy Ford
TV journalist, broadcaster and England international fly fisherman. Lucky enough to make programmes and write about my love of angling and the countryside.
Is stocking rivers with fish futile? A new scheme gives some hope.
Our rivers have been decimated by pollution from water companies, agricultural run-off and predation. Even so, the polluters seem to make huge profits. Could a new stocking operation on the famous Dorset Stour redress the balance?
Is this the new age of ‘rural terrorism?
Organised crime gangs running dogs, targeting farms and estates to fund drugs, people trafficking and crime are sweeping the countryside. The violence involved has even shocked police. It's the battle against a new phenomenon - Rural Terrorism.
Text messages signal the end for mink in the UK
The American mink is a vicious, invasive non-indigenous predator. They've decimated UK wildlife for almost a century. Now the UK is fighting back thanks to new technology, which could rid us of theres voracious creatures for good!
No Smoke Without Fire?
Is hunting in the UK finished? The anti brigade want us to think it is as the new government considers legislation - but can self regulation save it from being consigned to the history books? Here's the view of a non-hunter
Finding the Meaning of Life at the Saltwater Fly Fishing Festival
Fishing gives us so much - but sometimes it's easy to forget just how good it is at healing wounded souls. The Orvis Saltwater Fly Fishing Festival gives me a reminder of that, and so much more!
A Rum Diary - By Andrew T Ford
What does a country boy and angler do on holiday when he’s left his rods at home and is reading a book by Hunter S.Thompson? The answer is to reflect on really unimportant things in life, like why are cricket and fishing actually the same.
Gunpoint Awakening for Grandmother in a Nightdress
A typical Sunday morning took a terrifying turn when gundog trainer Helen Cadman found herself facing armed police officers on her rural property
We can be heroes...just for one day
Being a sports journalist has allowed me to meet sporting heroes from all walks of life. Competition angling has it's own unique breed of them too. But why don't they inspire more people to take up our brilliant sport as it struggles to grow?
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The Lynx Effect: Conservation, Rewilding, and Land Reform by Stealth
The latest plan to help Scotland get back in touch with its true wild self is to reintroduce lynx, a big cat and apex predator, to control deer numbers. But can Scotland follow Switzerland's lead? Or is this all just land reform by stealth?
I'm Back on the River, But It Is Bittersweet
It's been a difficult winter if you're an angler - but what happens now, when Spring brings with it the promise of new hope? Here's how I've been feeling these last months.
Legacy Lost: Demise of The Benham Estate Shoot
Tragic events three years ago have led the shoot where I go beating to close for good - the effect on the shoot's close-knit team is immeasurable