Short Interview with Paul Arden!

After the event we made short interview with Paul Arden, I hope you will enoy his answers!

 How did you start fly fishing, when, who was your first mentor, etc?

I started fly fishing at the age of 10 after being given a fly rod. Before this I drowned worms and maggots and before that fished with a small net! I never had a mentor but I started fishing on a large trout reservoir in the UK so there were lots of anglers around to teach me.

What was the trigger to go and master the fly casting? Especially the competition casting?

At the age or 16 I started work on this stillwater because a) the opportunity arose and b) 16 yr olds had to pay adult fishing prices! When I was 24, I started teaching and so went down the casting route. I got into the casting competition side of things later after giving a lesson to Jon Allen, who was one of the few serious distance casters in the UK at that point. He beat me after the lesson and so things became competitive and we became firm friends from then on.

What do you enjoy the most in fly casting and in fly fishing?

I've always had a love of fish. I've been putting fishing first for so long now I can't imagine anything else. I suppose it's all about moments really. Spotting the fish, the take, the strike, the release. It takes me all over the world and gives me purpose. All of my friends fish. I love the camping and living outdoors... I suppose it's a form of freedom.

But maybe the greatest thing of all is that you are always learning. Even when you think you have the pieces figured out all you need do is change the fish species or the environment and you are (almost) a complete beginner again. 

 What is your favorite fishing location? What is your favorite fish?

Right now, Malaysia. I live on a small aluminium boat in a jungle in Northern Malaysia fishing predominantly for Giant Snakehead, but also Gourami and Jungle Perch. Snakehead have gotten under my skin, I dream of them! This is a completely amazing fish, incredibly difficult to catch on fly and even harder to land! I'm camping in a jungle, with elephants, snakes, monkeys... even tigers! It's the oldest rainforest in the world and an amazing place. This year I'll spend 8 months fishing there and I'll just be scratching the surface of what it holds.

I also like tropical saltwater flyfishing; Exmouth, West Australia is a favourite of mine. I fished New Zealand for almost twenty years and I've always loved brown trout. And I still enjoy stillwater trout fishing, especially if it's wild. I tend to get absorbed by a species/environment for 15 years and then change the challenge.

  Fly fishing – escape from girlfriends/wifes or make them fly fishers? What are the challenges?

I always teach them. I spent a long time looking for a woman who flyfishes and loves to travel. All of my relationships with women have failed because I put fly fishing first, "Women come and go, but the fish always remain." Anyway now I have a girlfriend in Malaysia and I'm teaching her to fly fish. You have to remember I fish well over 300 days/year, everything I do is flyfishing, my work, my friends and I travel for 10 months of the year, living outdoors. Any girlfriend of mine must fish, travel and... well, be mad :)

 When you see people to get to intermediate fly casting level, what are the major problems to advance to the higher level?

There are none. The problems are to get people to intermediate level. To become an intermediate level caster you need to enjoy practising with a purpose. As soon as you find that love for casting, then there are no limits. I know a lot of the world's great casters. All of them practise when not fishing. All of them love to cast. I climb on top of mountains and go casting. I have a rod set up wherever I am, so I can go for a cast when I want. Going casting is a form of release. It releases you from stress. 

I don't own a TV and haven't watched one in 25 years. Instead I go casting.

 What are the biggest problems in casting with people who are self-taught to fly cast? (using books, youtube, etc)?

I'm originally self-taught, as are the vast majority of anglers. The usual problems are tracking, poor loop control, inefficient use of force, an ineffective double haul and of course a narrow repertoire of casts. I mostly teach such people, maybe with 20 years or more of fishing experience. It's rare for me to teach complete beginners.

I  I am using your mobile application Sexyloops, what are the plans for the future regarding app?

I'm going to integrate the App into the Sexyloops site. After every lesson, there will come up a option to visit a Sexyloops dedicated page to that lesson. That will contain key points, maybe some slow motion footage and links around  the site for further information. Finally it will encourage you to ask a question on the Sexyloops Board so we can a) help and b) improve the application.

Tell us little about your life in Hungary, how did you finish there and what do you think about food, woman, rivers there?

I haven't finished here! The short answer is that I'd been travelling since the age of 20 and at the age of 37 I was wondering if I would still be happy sleeping in a car in my 50s or 60s. This planted the seed that I should have a log cabin somewhere. I gave a casting course in Hungary, met a girl, fell in love, bought some land, built a cabin, split up from the girl and still own the cabin! I spend a few months per year here. 

I like the fishing on the Drava for Asp - I can see the Drava from my house, and I enjoy fishing ex-Yugoslavia. The irony is, of course, that I'm back to travelling and sleeping outdoors. Still it's a nice project, I love living in Hungary, I have a small vineyard and some really excellent friends here. It's about as close to living in a city that I'll ever get.

What are you plans for fishing trips in the future?

This year I'm back to Malaysia. I need to start spending some serious amounts of time fishing there. I'm thinking 8 months/year for the foreseeable future. I also have to get back to North America because I have lots of friends there, they have some remarkable fishing and scenery and it's a big market for me. At some point in the next decade, I'm going to change direction, buy a sailing boat and sail and fish my way around the world for ten years. 

How did you spend your weekend with us in Ogulin? How was the seminar, people, level of casting, etc?

I had a great weekend, thank you!!! It's always a pleasure making new friends and I always make very good friends in Croatia. The hospitality, as always, was fantastic. I had an excellent time, as did my two Malaysian friends who were joining me. The level of casting was OK :) , I'm sure it can become very high, quite quickly. Of course it's not all about casting; it's all about fishing, but good casting makes things better! Hopefully I'll be around for the next one!

Cheers, Paul