Sea-Juicer Portsmouth Article 1

Now 50, he still loves fishing just as much. A keen sea angler, he also takes people out on fishing trips aboard his 40ft charter boat Sea Juicer.

Rob, who lives at North End, says: 'I started off fishing in Portsmouth harbour, catching a few flounders with my dad. At 12 I already had my first boat - a dinghy with a pair of oars.

'You never get tired of it. Fishing is like a little community where everybody knows each other. We've all had boats since we were young and it's an interest you just don't lose.'

He adds: 'The beauty is you never know what you're going to catch. Wherever you fish, you can't tell what will come along. Fishing a lake is different as you know what is in there. But in the sea you don't. It's a new adventure every day. Once you are hooked, so to speak, you never go back.'

Today his regular fishing trips into the Solent and further afield to mid-Channel might bring a haul of bass, plaice, conger eels or cod.

Rob says: 'Most of the fishing is by the Nab Tower, about 15 miles out. We get a good variety offish there.'

He loves getting away from it all, explaining: 'You just chill out. In the summer it's particularly nice if the weather is good. Sea fishing is very relaxing - it's just a pity about mobile phones.'

The sport attracts all sorts, with anglers coming from as far afield as Leicester and Birmingham to fish with Rob.

He reveals: 'People who come out with me range from local herberts to lawyers and footballers. There is a real diversity with people from all walks of life.'

Rob was a project manager with IBM, but got out of the rat race. Now fishing is his livelihood as well as his hobby.

He smiles: 'All I have to worry about is the weather.'

But he is still a regular match fisher. Club champion for nine out of the past 10 years, he says: 'The first Sunday of every month I have a day off and go fishing. It's a busman's holiday really.'

His biggest catch was a 1701b tuna in Mauritius, while locally he has landed conger eels of up to SOlbs.'They can put up a good fight,' he says.

Rob reckons there's no magic about fishing.

'You need a bit of luck, but fresh bait and some local knowledge helps. And don't think you have to spend a lot of money on equipment. You can start out quite cheaply.

'If you're on a boat and dangling a bit of bait over the side, the fish don't know if it's on the end of a £10 rod or something much more expensive.'