Ads Palmer Interview

Hi Ads, thank you so much for agreeing to do an interview;

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, how you got into fishing and the first fish you caught?

My dad was definitely responsible for getting me into fishing. When I was 4 or 5 he used to take me with him tench fishing and would set me up with a rod catching roach and rudd at the local ponds. I was mesmerised by it and never looked back!

Ads and his dad

When did you realise you wanted to compete in fishing?

Being more competitive than my dad I wanted more which I suppose naturally led me into match fishing. I started with the Bridgwater Juniors before fishing with Somerset Angling alongside Steve Kedge and Tony Goodland, back in the days of 156 peg Winter Leagues. Around that time Mike Stone won the Kamasan Matchman of the year and he travelled with my match angling hero, Nicky Collins. Such was my urge to improve, I used to travel with them every Saturday and study them and ask questions and and then fish matches on Sundays. I soon found myself fishing for Avon Bait as a teenager alongside a lot of the south west legends such as Kevin Rowles, Robbie Kepner, Nick Ewers, Steve Jackson, Liam Braddell; it was an amazing time.

You fish for Daiwa Gordon League (DGL) now. How did that come about?

Mark Treasure was originally in DGL and left to join the Avon Bait team the same time as me. When Avon Bait dissolved he re-joined DGL and is now the Captain. A few years ago he kind of overhauled and recruited into the team to grow it and essentially create a bigger squad that could compete more broadly. He asked me to join as DGL were competing in the South West Super league with a lot of matches on the River Huntspill, which I used to do well on. In fact, the first super league match I ever fished for them I won with 45lb of bream!

What’s your favourite style of fishing?

Do you know what I’m not sure I have one. I’ve had a lot of success on the feeder and really enjoy that, but I do like watching a float going under whether that’s on running line or a pole. I’ve had a lot of success fishing for silverfish during the colder months on commercials and really enjoy the winter campaign. I think actually my favourite style of fishing would be casters on a short pole. You catch everything and never know what you’re gonna hook next!

Your favourite venue?

Tamar 100%

33kg at Tamar

Favourite species?

Big roach!

You served in the Royal Marines for a long time, could you tell us a bit about your career, countries visited etc and would you recommend it?

Oh blimey, how long have you got?! I joined up in 1999 when I was 22. Served for 24.5 years, leaving in early 2024. I visited probably 40 countries, completed six operational tours of Sierra Leone (twice) Northern Ireland, Afghanistan (twice) and Iraq. More formally I spent much of my career as a very operationally focused soldier and physical training instructor. In 2018, I became a commissioned officer and spent the last six years of my career in very busy administrative roles, managing a workforce of 100+ people before finally leaving on medical grounds having achieved the rank of Acting Major.

I suppose it’s obvious but one definite piece of advice I would give is if you wanna be a successful match angler don’t join the Royal Marines!!! To be even a little bit successful in match fishing you need to be very committed and time on the bank is crucial. A life in the forces, particularly the Royal Marines who are very operationally focused, is not the career path to pursue if you want to win matches!

All of that being said, I wouldn’t change a thing and if I had my time again, I would make the same decisions (well most of them!). The armed forces in general isn’t what it once was however, I’d recommend it to any young person. Even if only serving the minimum term of 4 or 5 years, you can’t fail to grow and improve as a human being, the armed forces is full of great people with good ethics and strong morals. It would stand anyone in good stead for future employment, not to mention the life skills it provides.

Adam in Afghanistan

After leaving, was it difficult to adjust to life in ‘civvy street’?

A bit. The people are what make the armed forces so good and I really miss those people. Civvy Street is far more relaxed and fluid and there are no repercussions for poor performance as there are in the military where people are held to account for their actions. I would be lying if I said I don’t get frustrated at times! Hahaha!

You now work for M5 Angling, what does a typical day entail?

I only work part time (2 days a week) at M5 but I’m self employed so I’m afforded time off pretty much when I want, within reason! Generally Wednesdays are spent working with Steve Chant phoning customers, picking orders and tidying up Matt’s mess! Thursdays were fairly similar for most of last year but this year I’ve been driving the south coast run which is quite enjoyable. Also I get to meet customers and talk fishing although it’s quite a busy run so I only get a few minutes at each shop!!!

Being involved with Sensas and M5 Angling now what are your favourite groundbait mixes?

I’m in a really privileged position being supported by Matt and Ian Parsons, and although I used Sensas groundbait before I joined the brand I can honestly say I’ve been blown away by the quality and array of mixes. I mean just look at every World Champs event, Sensas are the choice of the majority of countries including England. Magic and Black Lake are probably the two I use most frequently, although the Garlic Green mix that John Harvey helped create takes some beating, especially in Winter on Commercials, I used it with Sweet Fishmeal Magic in the Winter Classic Final and honestly don’t think I’d of won without it. I think that’ll take off this winter.

Have you any angling heroes or anyone who has inspired you?

Nicky Collins and Mike Stone are my angling heroes. They taught me so much and really opened up to me. I still see and speak to them regularly. My best friend Martin Yardley keeps me motivated and I’m lucky enough to share a lot of my fishing ventures with him. Jack Harness has also been a great friend in recent years. His generosity, enthusiasm and willingness to share information (tell me what to do on flyers!) has definitely led me to win more than I would have without his help.

What’s your biggest fish in the UK? And abroad?

A 24lb carp in the UK. I’ve not fished much abroad. I’ve caught some pretty big barracuda although freshwater it would probably be a big Dutch bream.

24lb carp

The average age of anglers these days seems to be a little on the high side, how do we get more youngsters into fishing or do we just accept our numbers are dwindling?

I don’t think we should accept it. I think the talent pathways demonstrated by the likes of Matt Godfrey and the Guru boys are definitely what’s needed. But that takes time and volunteers and in a world which is moving at a million miles an hour, something needs to change.

If you had a time machine is there one moment in fishing you wish you could go back and change? i.e. a dream fish coming off at the net or a decision in a match that’s cost you a title?

Not that it’s cost me a title but this year in the World Club Champs a couple of better decisions cost me 3^rd in the 25 peg zone, when I finished 8th. It’s such small margins at that level. To be honest I tend to move on from matches quite quickly. If you dwell on bad decisions you’d go round the twist!

Ads at the World Club Champs

And where do you see match angling going? Do you think there’s been a shift away from massive weight venues? Has the carp bubble burst and are anglers going back to silvers?

I honestly think that we’re going full circle. Whilst I don’t mind a bit of carp fishing on occasions, we’ve seen a surge in the amount of winter silverfish events. The natural water events seem to be on the rise with the success of Riverfest, as does team fishing, but I think nationals are on the slide big time, access and funding being the biggest issues. I’d like to see super leagues return. These were great events not only for the anglers but for the local clubs who hosted the matches; the matches brought revenue and support which has been lacking in recent years. I mean look at the state of the Huntspill. Once a match fishing mecca, now you can’t fish hardly any of it due to access and weed.

Similarly, you have a long list of match wins to your name, are there are any big competitions you would dearly love to win?

Having won the D4k and the 2-day festival at Durleigh Reservoir I’d love to win the 4-day festival. It’s not a massive event, but has been running for a number of years and is right on my doorstep. I’ve framed many times finishing runner-up twice, third twice and I really would like to win that one…please!

More broadly, after winning the Winter Classic last year at Meadowlands and finishing runner up in the first year at Coopers Lake, I’d love to win one like that again, the Angling Trust Silver Fish or Fish South would be nice! I used to fish the Whiteacres festivals pretty regularly and came 3^rd in the Parkdean final a few years ago but I’m not really driven to that currently. After fishing the World Club Championship in Inniscarra this year, I’d love to have the chance to win some festivals out there! I don’t want much but you can’t fish everything!

Third in the Park Dean Final

Winter Classic winner

Have you got one piece of advice that will help the readers put more fish in their nets?

From a match fishing perspective, It’s all about the 1%’s and the attention to detail. Get that right and couple it with time on the bank in the right company and you will reap the rewards. If you’re happy doing what you do then that’s great but if you want to continually improve, you need to change this up – if you do what you’ve always done you’ll get what you’ve always got. Taking yourself out of your comfort zone and getting a good battering from some superior opposition always motivates me and I always view it as a lesson, not a loss. I would also say to budding match anglers not to beat yourself up over results. It’s only fishing! If you’re over scrutinising things and dwelling on what could’ve been you’re probably not enjoying it as you should.

What’s the one item in your tackle box that you couldn’t live without?

Two things. First is a small candle which I rub on pole joints. I use a Daiwa pole and they have a slight tendency to separate especially if you’re shipping fast. Secondly is a feature finder plummet. I used to get them off my old mate Mark Charnell but now Sensas make them so I use them. They’re great for finding the gravel at Tamar. Check out the Sensas website.