Go Fish! With Will Millard

Fishing fanatic Will Millard heads to the beautiful valleys of West Wales in pursuit of an iconic Welsh fish, the sewin. The region’s rivers are revered by anglers from all over the world, but it will take every ounce of Will’s experience and ability to catch one of their precious fish. He begins his mission at the remote Teifi Pools in the Cambrian Mountains. Here he hopes that a lesson with a local fly-fishing champion will provide the casting skills he’ll need to succeed in the fast flowing rivers in the valley below. But it is not going to be easy. Sewin are wild fish, traditionally caught during the night. Furthermore, it has been one of the hottest summers on record and fish numbers are critically low. Thankfully, a guide who works on a prolific stretch of the River Tywi at Llandeilo has offered to help Will navigate the water in the darkness. Understanding how important fishing is to the heritage of the region will help Will to appreciate the nature of his challenge. He meets an 81-year-old trout fishing legend from Pembrokeshire to learn about the ancient art of fly-tying and hears how the rivers have changed during her lifetime. Before his final attempt at catching a sewin, Will visits a local fishing club in Llandysul for some inspiration. They have been educating the next generation of anglers on the importance of looking after our rivers and the creatures that rely on them.

Fishing fanatic Will Millard explores the controversial world of shark fishing in Wales. After posting a photograph of a huge thresher shark on social media, Will receives a backlash from his followers and quickly realises that he has hit upon a very divisive subject. After such an unexpected reaction online, he decides to delve deeper and explore what it is really like to catch the ultimate underwater predator. Milford Haven is fast becoming the shark fishing capital of Europe. Hoping to discover what has attracted so many anglers to this craze, Will joins a group of novices on a boat heading out into the Celtic Deep on the hunt for the blue shark. But shark fishing isn’t purely a sport. He joins a group of conservationists and marine biologists who are working with local fishing communities to try and get to the bottom of the mystery of a lost Welsh species. These anglers care deeply for the oceans and its creatures, and believe that encouraging people to interact with the natural world, through outdoor activities such as fishing, is key to the protection of vulnerable species. Will joins them on a trip off the coast of Anglesey, where a ‘shark tagger’ works with the fishermen to monitor the sharks. Will must make up his own mind about the merits of this type of fishing, but there is no doubt the Welsh coasts are abundant with unexpected marine life and large numbers of sharks, and this is something to be cherished.

Fishing fanatic Will Millard immerses himself in the strange and secret world of carp fishing. It is an obsessive sport and a profitable industry. Anglers spend days on end, guarding their rods on the side of ponds that have been heavily stocked with fish, ready to be caught time and time again. It is a world away from the river fishing Will learnt with his Grandad as a boy. But it is fast becoming the most popular form of fishing, drawing in youngsters and women to the sport, and Will wants to find out why. He heads straight to the water known to have the biggest carp in Wales, but this is no ordinary fishing spot. Carp anglers are willing to visit the strangest of places in order to catch an enormous fish. They sleep in tents by city centre ponds, medieval castles and industrial docks - anywhere they can to get the monster carp they crave. Will must join the ranks and throw himself fully into nights at the bank if he has any chance of beating his personal best. He begins to learn that for these anglers, carp fishing is providing more than just a bit catch. Will meets a 16-year-old angler in Caerphilly who believes that carp fishing has helped him keep him out of trouble, and attends a fishing competition that has brought together an unlikely set of compatriots – the Welsh ladies team and the English army. Will can’t help but me drawn into this world – but will he manage to break his personal best?

Fishing fanatic Will Millard explores the forgotten industrial waters of South Wales in search of freshwater predator, the pike. He has been chasing these prehistoric fish ever since he was a boy and has caught hundreds in his time. But now he wants a new challenge, to catch a monster specimen from a truly unexpected location. He heads to the Rhondda on a tip off about an enormous pike lurking within a mysterious valley lake. Pike anglers are notoriously secretive and rumours usually come to nothing, but Will is determined to hunt out the catch of a lifetime. Taking a break from his mission, Will heads to Port Talbot, where a group of local anglers have invited him to join them for his first ever pike competition. The town’s docks seem like an unlikely fishing spot, but Will discovers that here industry and nature have formed an unusual friendship. Will is still struggling to catch anything, let alone a monster. At a reservoir nestled in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons National Park an expert pike angler offers to give him some much needed guidance. He has been catching pike in South Wales for thirty years and teaches Will the importance of appreciating the experience, as much as the catch. Enthused by his trip to the Beacons, and armed with new tactics, Will returns to the Rhondda to hunt out the maiden of the lake. He is desperate for the water to reveal its secrets, but this time, he is also determined to embrace the journey.