Bev Clifford: an avid angler, a force to be reckoned with and the founder of the Ladies Carp Academy. After being in the fishing industry for most of her life, Bev Clifford decided enough was enough, and that it was time to give the ladies some spotlight. Hence the start of The Ladies Carp Academy. Hosting events up and down the country, Bev and the team aim to give women the confidence to pick up a rod, teach them invaluable skills and form friendships along the way.
We were lucky enough to catch up with Bev whilst she was busy working away, preparing for the North Angling Show where she represented women in Carp fishing.
How did The Ladies Carp Academy Come About?
It was because of my friend Andy Loble. I met him through fishing charity events, and he was working with the angling trust at the time. He had approached them about setting a lady’s academy up, but they said no. So, he came to me and asked if I fancied having a go, and I was like “yeh definitely!!”. We met up with Mike Fletcher at Pool Bridge Farm Fishery where the plan was hatched. For the first two years, there was just the one event at Pool Bridge. We only had 12 ladies the first year, and the next we had 20. Andy’s circumstances changed so he was no longer involved, but there was so much demand, so I just rolled on adding more events and here we are.
Why Did You Feel The Need To Create A Women’s Group?
I worked publishing Carp Talk magazine with my Dad. We were having a massive push at trying to draw attention to any women that had catch reports in the magazine by utilising our social media to highlight it. The ladies carp team England had been born so we were trying to push that as well. Andy had come across female anglers working with angling trust and we had had conversations saying it was a confidence thing.
Women aren’t as confident being in a male environment as much as they would be if it was a women’s only environment. It’s like what you do with kids - you ideally put them together with similar ages so they’re on the same journey together. They’re more comfortable because they’re with a similar sort of person.
Why Do You Think That Fishing is so Male Dominated?
I mean, most sports were male dominated; it goes back years. Women stayed at home and looked after the kids, looked after the house and men went to work and had hobbies. Slowly, over the years we have been changing that.
Fishing has often come under the category of looking boring, and that wasn’t just to women, that was to kids, to outsiders looking in. You would say “fishing” to people, and they would think of two old blokes, sat on the riverbank eating their sandwiches out of their Tupperware.
The Angling industry has had to have a bit of a face lift, in terms of people like Alan Blair, showing people how cool it can be. It’s not just two people sat at a riverbank catching nothing, it’s fun. There’s the social side of it too, the camping, the exploration side, the adventure time.
Fisheries also lacked with their facilities, which wasn’t a comfortable environment for women and even some of the men. There were no toilets, and if there were, they weren’t very nice. They were often not secure and out in the middle of nowhere. Whereas now, a lot of the fisheries have got to be fenced for otters and preservation, which keeps them safe. A lot of them are enclosed, secure and with cameras. They have bailiffs on sight, security, cafes and a lot of decent facilities. A lot now even have ‘women only’ toilets.
What Other Improvements Have You Seen in The Industry?
I was at a tackle shop local to me recently and we were just chatting in general and the guy said he makes an effort to make sure that, if a woman comes into a shop, there isn’t just a group of guys standing together, because that can be intimidating; it would be for anyone. He makes sure they chat and that they aren’t demeaning or assuming that they don’t know what they’re talking about.
They’re trying to be aware that the sport is changing, and more and more women are coming into it. As long as more people start going fishing, no matter what their sex or background, the more growth we have.
Do You Ever Feel Judgement Being a Woman on The Bank?
Occasionally. There’s the odd venue which might be a little more old school than other venues - not a lot of women will go there so you might get the odd look like, “oh what’s she doing here?”. I wouldn’t say it’s judgement, maybe more of an old fashioned attitude, like men should look after women. They ask if I’m ok and if I need help. I’m like, “if I needed help, I would have brought someone with me".
I think the judgement has pretty much banished. In the very early days, there were silly little boys that made comments on Facebook like ‘women should stay at home, I go fishing to get away from the Mrs’. But for each idiot, there was 100 people telling them to shut up. I can’t even remember the last time I saw something like that now.
If we want to protect our sort, want out sport to survive, then we’ve got to do everything we can to make sure that there is something there for the younger generations to come through to.
How Did You Get Yourself into Fishing?
I didn’t go fishing until I was in my mid 20’s. I was already in the industry, so I knew angling inside out, but I’d never really gone. I was a young girl, partying, things like that, and realised I needed a hobby – I needed something to do at the weekend to get away from all that, and fishing was the obvious thing to turn to. I knew a lot of people in the industry, people to go with. I had two friends that spent a lot time with me and teaching me.
What Did You Do in The Industry?
My dad published fishing magazines and books. We did a weekly carp magazine that was running for 24 years, a pike magazine, a course fishing magazine as well as various books. I’ve been in the industry for as long as I can remember, and my Dad has always been an avid angler, so it was just something I was around. It was inevitable that I was going to get into it.
What Are Some of The Best Things to Come From Your Organised Events?
You see some women come in, and then they might not come back again, but you stay in touch with them, and you can see them go off and using their new skills. The thing they take away most is confidence; they already had the ability, but they just don’t believe in themselves. The best thing for us is when we see them go out fishing on their own – it’s always so good to see them going out on their own.
If reading this has struck something in you, and you want to have a go with a rod, or if you’ve been keen to have a go for a while, but not found the confidence, then get yourself on the list for the next event. You can check out the Ladies Carp Academy out here, or give them a follow on Instagram. As well, make sure to browse our Carp section on Fishing Republic for some inspiration.
