Catch 'em young

6:01am Tuesday 20th February 2007

Since it began in the North-East seven years ago, the Get Hooked On Fishing scheme has helped thousands of youngsters turn their lives around. Lindsay Jennings meets its founder.

CLUTCHING a huge 42lb carp, the joy and pride on the face of the teenage angler is clear to see. Standing beside a lake, the sun picks out the incandescent glow of the comatose fish.

"That one was taken in France," says Mick Watson, founder of the pioneering Get Hooked on Fishing Scheme.

"That one was in Suffolk," he adds, pointing to another lad wearing a Sunderland shirt and a baseball cap and equally delighted at the fishy friend he is holding up in the picture. These are just a few of the images on the walls at the scheme's base at Witton Park, near Bishop Auckland.

It is here where the contemplative pastime of fishing gives disaffected youths self-esteem, social skills and the comfort of belonging to something. There is no stuffy classroom atmosphere or lectures to be had. Here, they take ownership of the scheme, with older teenagers acting as mentors to the newer recruits.

"Everyone has this image that young people are loud and brash, and they are when they are in groups, but you get them on their own, and the majority have low self-esteem and poor communication skills," says Mick, 42.

"But if you can give them a sense of belief then they can achieve more than what they ever thought they would do."

Mick was a police officer working in Barnard Castle when he first came up with the idea for Get Hooked. He and his colleagues would inevitably end up moving gangs of young people around from one street to another following complaints from local people.

"I talked to some of the kids in Barney and it was all the same - there was nothing for them to do, nowhere for them to go. Then I thought what did I do when I was younger and I thought, fishing. I used to go to school on a Monday morning with one goal in mind - to get to Friday because I knew I would be going to get my maggots for fishing on Saturday."

Mick asked the youngsters if they would be interested in learning how to fish if they had the equipment provided. They gave him a resounding 'yes'.

Get Hooked On Fishing was born with the backing of Durham Agency Against Crime, a partnership between Durham Constabulary and the local business community.

Mick enlisted the help of Philip Farley, then a teenage angler who fished at Witton Park and now a teacher.

"He liked everything about the idea except for one thing, that I wasn't going to do the teaching, he was," says Mick. "He said it should be about young people teaching each other, role models creating role models."

Philip's idea has no doubt been central to the scheme's success. Last year 2,208 young people took part in the scheme across the country - a quarter of them young women - and around 80 per cent showed improvements in truancy levels.

Within six months of starting Get Hooked, Mick found he didn't have enough time to do his other police work. The Government heard about it and loved it. He met Labour MP Kate Hoey, then a minister for sport, who asked him to roll it out across the country.

Today, kids are referred from schools, their parents, youth offending teams or government initiatives. Those on the scheme are aged between ten and 16.

"Quite a few are a handful at school and they can be not very nice at home," says Mick.

"Under the main Get Hooked scheme, the first time they come down involves 12 hours of lessons, usually over two days. Then they get offered the mentoring scheme which lasts for 12 months. Then it's up to them.

"If they contact us they can get involved in module two - six lessons which usually include 24 hour residential and night fishing. Then it's on to module three where we go to other parts of the country fishing."

Not everyone makes it to module three however, only around a quarter.

"They understand there's a line drawn and it's explained that they're ambassadors for the project," explains Mick. "We don't expect them to be saints, but as close to it as they can."

One of the scheme's participants is Antony Shaw, 14, who comes one day a week and at weekends. He's known to everyone at Witton Park as 'Mucka' and even has his own diary spot on the whiteboard in the office. Under February 13 it says: Northern Echo, Feature.

"There are only two Muckas in the country and he's Mucka number one," says Mick proudly. "It's a term of endearment given to those who are so invaluable to the project.

"Antony was here before me this morning. He opened the gate, hoovered in here and put little stakes before the saplings he's been planting.

"When I first met him two years ago he was very shy and untrusting of adults. The biggest difference about him is that he smiles now. He'll work in the shop and serve people. He says 'yes, what can I get for you?' instead of 'waddaya want?'."

Get Hooked on Fishing became a charitable trust in February 2004, which led to Anne Moyle joining as chief executive - and sharing some of the considerable workload with Mick.

Last August, the trust bought facilities, including three fishing lakes at Witton Park, near Bishop Auckland, from Bishop Auckland Angling Club and the premises are open to the general public.

It's a peaceful, calming environment. The birds are singing today and a crisp wind blows across the lakes. For some of the young people, it is the first time they have been in touch with the countryside.

The trust also runs a holiday company, Tag Carp Tours, which allows the youngsters to go to the Champagne region of France for a week of fishing. Every detail of their trip is left to them, from planning what to eat for the week to what tackle to take.

Since it began seven years ago, Get Hooked has been taken up across the country including in Birmingham, Liverpool, West Sussex, Kent, Dumfries and Galloway. It is about to be expanded to Wansbeck, Hull, Southampton and Teesside.

"It's very flexible," says Mick. "You can take the Get Hooked brand then adapt it to whatever part of the UK you're in. Some areas have different social issues."

He's keen to point out that there's plenty of fun to be had too. They often play pranks on one another, he says, and his eyes twinkle as he talks about the water bomb launcher they have.

In the office, there is a big photograph on the wall of a youngster being thrown into a lake.

"That's what happens when you catch a 30 pounder," he laughs, as Antony wanders into the building.

He appears a bit reluctant to have the media spotlight on him but says he loves coming here. He started when he was 12.

"They don't just come here to fish, they become part of what's now a family," says Mick.

In the end, he adds, it's about giving them hope. And perhaps for himself too.

"I'm doing something I never dreamed I would do and that's down to my wife and the police force. They allowed me to use my imagination," he says. "I'm more tired and more stressed - but I love every day of my life."

* From Good Friday to Easter Monday, the Get Hooked premises at Witton Park will be available free to anyone who wants to enjoy fishing. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer with Get Hooked can contact Mick or Anne on 01388-664789.