Jon "Shoes" Jones - Nash Off The Hook Podcast - S2 Episode 52

Explicit content warning

10/24/21 • 156 min

This week joining Hassan in the podcast studio is a real carp fishing character, Birmingham’s finest and a man who has carved out an incredible media career in the industry which started way back in the 1990’s, its none other than Jon “Shoes” Jones.
We all know carp fishing is full of characters and nothing goes to prove that more than this podcast. From his early years fishing the likes of Patshull Church Pool and Yateley Car Park Lake through to his modern day thoughts on media and rig safety, this podcast covers a huge spectrum of carp fishing and gives you a fascinating peak into the mind of “Shoes”.
Starting his angling based in the West Midlands which was and still is home for Jon, he instantly found a real affinity for catching carp. Early highlights included catching “The Pet” from Farlow’s the lakes biggest resident as well as capturing “The Baby Orange” from the iconic Yateley Car Park lake. Jon fondly recalls memories of sharing the banks with carp fishing legends such as Rob Maylin, Ritchie MacDonald and Terry Hearn. He also tells a number of tales about the “antics” which went on away from the lake including some seriously funny stories about a certain pub scene at the time.
Jon talks about his introduction to working in the carp fishing industry which came from Rob Hughes. He worked with Rob producing photography and video as well as appearing on tv with him. This time was an incredible time for growth in the industry and as Jon’s network grew his coverage and presence on the carp fishing scene was cemented. This led to him later talking up various freelance roles providing various forms of media content for leading companies in the industry. Jon recalls stories of his times away and at home fishing and working with the likes of Steve Briggs, Ian Russell and Simon Crow to name but a few. It’s a great look at how far he himself and the industry has come.
Always know for thinking outside the box Jon shares his thoughts on carp fishing including experimentation and rig thoughts. He talks a great deal about being a responsible angler and rig safety which he feels isn’t always of paramount importance in the modern scene. There’s a very interesting look at his use of washed out baits and how this led him to great success on the infamous Birchgrove.
Finally, Jon talks about modern day media and how the industry has changes especially for someone wanting to work within the industry. The podcast is an eye opening look at carp fishing from both inside and outside the industry. Whether you are after product development insight, baiting strategies or reminiscing about historic captures Jon packs it all in this podcast and all in his own quirky insightful manner.

Previous Episode

Kevin Nash Fisheries Special - Nash Off The Hook Podcast - S2 Episode 51

This week on the podcast the boss is back, Kevin Nash is in the podcast studio to talk about his history owning and developing his own fisheries both home and abroad.

Starting with his own lakes dug from scratch on the same sight as Nash HQ. Kev talks about his vision, struggles and triumph in creating both the famous Nash Copse and Church lakes. There’s an incredible insight into his fish selection and also how he selectively cultivated the flora and fauna around each lake to maximise the biodiversity and thus increase the overall natural bounty for the carp to reach their maximum potential (which they certainly did and still do to this day)

Kevin shares a very honest account of the fish kill on The Church Lake and the potential British Records that were unfortunately lost. He also recalls significant captures on the lake at the time the fish and fishing was at its peak.

Kevin talks about developing both lakes and his overall vision for the sight. He goes in depth about his success and failure as well as the various tests he’s faced. The Church currently really is the lake of dreams and has account for more PB’s then Kevin can keep track of. Kevin also shares a choice bit of information about The Copse and its further as well as his new very exclusive lake on sight.

In between the development of Nash Lakes in the UK Kevin also managed to own a fishery Lac Cavagnac in France. There’s some incredible tales about the difficulties of being a British citizen owning a French lake including a scrape or two with the French police, not to mention the madness of anglers fishing the lake week in week out with everything from near drownings to opening day dramas. Kevin talks through the fishing how the lake took shape and how eventually reached the decision to wrap it up.

As ever the podcast is colourful, humour filled but an incredible insight into an incredible man who has not only changed carp fishing but has created an equally incredible legacy with his own lakes.

Next Episode

Bev Clifford - Nash Tackle Off The Hook Podcast - S2 Episode 53

Joining Hassan in the podcast studio this week is our first solo female carp angler, Ladies Carp Team England Captain, former Carp Talk & CarpWorld editor its non-other than Bev Clifford.

Bev has achieved so much in her angling career from incredible carp captures both home and abroad, editing the iconic Carp Talk and CarpWorld magazines, captaining her country in international competition as well as being an all-round pioneer for female carp angling. In this podcast we delve into it all as well as get a real understand of the lady herself in terms of her mindset and ambition.

Starting with Carp Talk Bev shares stories about her father Kev Clifford (who founded the magazine which she later took over editorship) Simon Crow and various other “great and good” anglers that were part of this immensely popular weekly carp publication. She divulges the story behind the end of the magazine as well as various humorous stories about the carp scene at the time and her dealings working in a very male dominated world.

Bev then talks about her mindset and how she overcame her “party days” to find direction and meaning through running. She is frank about her time spent burning the candle at both ends working and partying hard and how drugs and alcohol were a part of this time for her. She now competes in ultra-marathons and has very much taken a huge positive step in her life with an incredible mindset for success and bettering herself. She talks about a recent SAS weekend and her continued quest to push herself to her very limits in whatever she chooses to do.

When it comes to fishing Bev is incredibly modest as she shares her success over the years fishing abroad on venues such as The Ebro and French public lakes. She also talks about a large variety of UK waters that she’s had success including RH fisheries Western park, Acton Burnell and our very own Church Lake.

Bev talks about the formation of the Ladies Carp Team England and how representing her country and captaining the first ever Ladies World Carp Cup in France two years ago was such an honour despite a disappointing bronze medal place finish. She is open about how the match didn’t go to plan and talks about the future of ladies’ international carp fishing.

Finally, Bev talks about the realities good and bad of being a lady involved in carp fishing. She talks about her work with the Ladies Carp Academy (which she founded and runs) getting more new female anglers into the sport as well as a fair few stories and options on how things can improve further in terms of women and carp fishing. This is a great insight from a leading female anglers’ perspective into how incredible carp angling is and how its appeal knows no boundaries, it’s really a sport for all.

If you are looking for a podcast that will not only fill you with admiration, humour and make you think a little deeper about the sport we love then look no further and a huge thanks to Bev for sharing all her wealth of information and stories with us.