Tracy&James | Thursday, 1 November 2018
It’s a sad day when another good friend and angler passes away. Scott Simmonds was a funny guy who always made me laugh. Scott was always ready to support fly fairs and BFCC Meetings and had recently re-joined the Club, joking with me that if he waited a few months he’d get it half-price as a ‘Senior’.
He entered the WCs as one of the UK Veterans and was so excited that whenever we met he’d always ask me or James to cast with him and check his loops. He was always looking to improve even though he was an amazing caster and instructor. At Alconbury in July he was instrumental in running the competition and had a great time gathering people ready for the events. At the Ragley Hall Game Fair, even though the weather was terrible, Scott was ready to practice casting in preparation for the WCs. Perhaps we should have taken that as a sign about the weather for Haverigg.
The main thing I’ll always remember about Scott is when I was supporting him at the WCs, having to remind him to breathe and relax, as well as cast. He would be too busy providing me with a running commentary of his casts and telling jokes, many of which are not repeatable here, and I and the judges would be too busy laughing to concentrate on the event. Even with this joviality, he made the final in every event he entered.
One of his achievements was also to hold not just a BFCC record but hold the longest standing outright record for an immense cast with the T120 of 256’ 4” that he broke on 04/04/04 at Huntingdon in the early days of the BFCC.
We’ll both miss him. Our thoughts are with his loved ones.
With sadness
Tracy
