Website helps anglers find best spot to fish

A new mobile-friendly interactive website has been launched today to help anglers, and would-be anglers, find the best spot to fish.

Fishinginfo.co.uk provides everything needed for a fishing trip, from searching for fishing spots to what the weather is doing and live water levels to information on buying a rod licence and where to buy kit.

Produced by the Angling Trust in partnership with the Environment Agency, Met Office and Post Office, Fishinginfo.co.uk is part of a major nationwide drive to increase participation in angling.

To promote the launch on 9 June 2015, Fishinginfo.co.uk teamed up with the popular comic actor Paul Whitehouse to produce a film starring Paul as the ‘Brilliant Kid’. Paul is an Angling Trust Ambassador and was very keen to reprise the ‘Brilliant Kid’ character made famous by the hugely successful BBC comedy series ‘The Fast Show’.

Paul Whitehouse said: "It was a pleasure to get involved and put something back into a sport that I have loved since I was a kid. I enjoyed playing ‘Brilliant Kid’ again in what will probably be his last hurrah. I hope that anglers and fans of the ‘Fast Show’ will enjoy the film. If we can encourage any more people to take up fishing then it will have been worth it."

Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust, said: "We are delighted to be launching Fishinginfo.co.uk. This new website will really make a difference for anglers looking to find new places to fish or getting back into fishing after taking some time out due to the pressures of family life.

"We urge all anglers, clubs and fisheries to use the update feature on the site to ensure that information is correct. We also want to make buying a rod licence as quick and simple as possible so our direct link to the Post Office website should help with that.

Sarah Chare, Head of Fisheries at the Environment Agency, said: "The Fishinginfo website is a fantastic new resource for all anglers and those wanting to get started. We are really pleased to have contributed to this initiative – another great example of how rod licence money goes back to benefit those who go fishing.

"Fishing is an excellent way to enjoy the outdoors, has great health, welfare and educational benefits and it is important to our economy."

A coarse and trout rod licence is only £27 for the year and it is easy to buy online from the Post Office website which can be also be accessed through www.Fishinginfo.co.uk.