My friend Mike Martin a sad loss.......

 I was going to fish the River Kenn today but woke up at 07:00 looked out the window, saw the snow and went back to bed. 

Just after 09:00 I had a message from Nigel Evans asking me to give him a call. I sort of knew what he was going to say ....... "he's gone Ivan", Mike had passed away. I had also been speaking to Clive (Branson).  I had only messaged Mike at 14:50 the previous day asking how he was, his reply was "hanging in there".  So given that message I was hopeful he would pull through.

I spoke to Mike on a regular basis about all things fishing and our Team, Sensas Nomads. When I done a blog about my day on the River Axe the 3rd January I said it would be the last of my ramblings for a while due to Lock Down 3. Mike replied saying "good you can talk to me". I sensed something was up so phoned him on 4th January only to find he was in the Royal Gwent Hospital with a COVID infection.

He was always very careful and was adamant he caught it while visiting a Supermarket and went into hospital at the end of December. He was on oxygen but not on a ventilator. I spoke to him a couple of times a week and he appeared to recover as they let him home last week. It didn't take long before he was re-admitted with a lung infection. I spoke to him early last week in and he asked me to put up a post on the Nomads FB Page requesting people to use text or messenger if they wanted to contact him which I did.

The last contact I had with him was yesterday afternoon as described above.

I have only known Mike for 5 years or so after a few of us joined Nomads when our teams Maver sponsorship ended. We got on really well as we both were of a similar age and retired roundabout the same time.

Mike was basically the Team Secretary and Manager as well as ordering supplies from Sensas M5 Angling who we have a deal with. Mike did not really fish a lot of team matches but co-ordinated our entry to leagues and other team events such as Evesham. He fished a lot of high profile individual matches up in the Midlands as well as Riverfest and Tidefest on the Thames winning the latter 3 times.

In the last few years he has been the "bank runner" for us on the Gloucester Canal Spring League. On two occasions during the matches it was very hot. Mike went and got us all choc ice lollies. The first time I was on peg 64 and he pitched up with the lolly took the paper off it and handed it to me. I took one bite out of it and the tip went around so I'm holding the rod high and bent over trying to reel in with a ice cold lolly in my mouth, quickly handed the lolly back to Mike and landed a 4lb bream. On another match in the same series it was hot again. Mike went and got the ice lollies again but when he got to me, nothing, it was so hot he said he had to eat 3 before he got to the lads including me. He did look refreshed.

Mike didn't dislike the Gloucester Canal but he didn't like it either....he always said "if it don't flow I don't go". Well he did, but pleasure fishing with me on a Wednesday during April and May when the Rivers were closed. Our favourite spot was Castle Down although we fished Hempstead as well. We used to meet at McDonalds in Hardwick for breakfast and then spend a leisurely day catching bream and putting the world to right.

I introduced him to the Bristol Feeder Canal which he loved due to the easy access and being able to park behind your peg, oh, and it flowed. He loved Kellys Cafe even more and went for the extra large breakfast each time, he enjoyed his grub and always left a clean plate.

Together we fished the Avon Individual League in the winter which was held around Melksham, Chippenham and Bradford on Avon. He loved those waters and on one match just beat me into first place on a flooded river at Barton Farm. It wasn't the fact that HE had won it that delighted him it was because a Nomads angler was 1st and 2nd.

Mike also introduced me to Evesham last year and I fished the Team qualifying match in February. I done OK and that lead me to fishing Evesham quite a bit more. Mike was always helpful and maintained a spreadsheet showing what had been caught off each peg over a period of time and the conditions on the day which he shared.

Prior to winning the Thames Tidefest match for the third time he phoned me up telling me he was the "Cover Boy" for the poster promoting the competition, can't tell you what else he said....

I shall sorely miss his company. 

Rest in peace my "Celtic Cousin" and don't buy too many Diawa 125m close faced reels from that great big ebay above us.