The best medicine of all

A South Yorkshire nurse who turned to fly fishing to wind-down is now national champion. Karenza Morton meets Elaine Sherry.

Ask Elaine Sherry if 20 years ago she could ever have imagined herself being a fly fishing champion and an England international, her response is pretty resounding.

"Never! A friend who I went to school with found me on Facebook and saw

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one of my interests as fly fishing and they sent me a message that just said, 'Fly fishing? You?'"

But Elaine has the English Ladies National Fly Fishing champion trophy to prove it. And now this sparky South Yorkshire staff nurse can't imagine things any other way.

Elaine grew up in Rotherham and has been based in Doncaster for 20 years. But it was only five years ago she truly discovered the sport that transformed her life. Elaine was watching her brother Peter fly fishing one day at Clumber Park in North Nottinghamshire and she was captivated by the grace and skill it took to even cast the line, let alone land a fish.

"The way he held the line in the air, it was like a whip, so fluid and precise and the length of line that came out was perfect. I was just fascinated," she recalls. She knew immediately she wanted to be able to do the same.

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For fly fishing the usual targets are trout or salmon. They are caught using artificial flies – tying hair, fur, feathers or other materials onto a hook and casting them with a fly rod and a fly line. The

flies are tied in sizes, colours and patterns to match local insects which are the fish's food.

To start with Elaine borrowed her brother's kit before he invested in some cheap gear for her from eBay, on the premise that if she didn't take to the sport then she had lost nothing. She was not at first a natural. "I was throwing the line all over the place and thrashing about with this rod. But determination got me through. The first fish I ever caught was only a small trout, but it felt like a 6lb trout swimming 90mph down the lake. The adrenaline was going, my heart was pounding and I still get that same feeling to this day. It is why I love it so much; it's just a battle between you and the fish all the time."

Elaine entered her first competition in 2007, the National Championships at Rutland Water. Despite the nerves and apprehension she finished sixth and was promptly invited to join the England women's team for 2008. She made her England debut in a Home Countries international at Lake of Menteith in the heart of the Trossachs in Scotland.

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Her finest hour, however, came at Carsington Water in Derbyshire last August when she landed her first National title. She describes it as a day when meticulous planning came together perfectly. It was only four years from the day she had been spellbound by the sight of her brother casting.

It may not sound like the sexiest way for an attractive forty-something single mum-of-two to spend her weekends. And finding the time to hone her talents is an achievement in itself.

She is a staff nurse on the wards at Doncaster Royal Infirmary and works shifts. So she relies on the goodwill and support of the hospital to arrange her rotas to enable her to compete. She is as passionate about her nursing as she is her pastime and says her fishing exploits actually provide a great talking point for people on the ward.

"You get groups of men on the wards who keep themselves to themselves and don't really talk to one another. But mention the fishing and it's amazing how many of them are fishermen themselves and once they start talking about it that's it. Of course they give me a bit of banter because I'm a woman, but it's all good natured and most of them are really interested in what we do and the fish we catch." Her medical background also came in handy when she managed to hook a barbed fly through the top of her ear while fishing one particularly breezy day.

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"I'd cast out but couldn't see where the fly had gone and then I felt it. I asked my friend to get the fly out of my ear and he nearly fainted. I told him to get some pliers, shove the barb down and pull it out. I've got friends in A&E and I'd have never lived it down if I'd ended up there with a fly stuck in my ear."

Fishing is Britain's most popular participation sport, it's a multi-million pound industry and is entirely male-dominated. Has she experienced any difficulties in this man's world? Has she? The anecdotes start dripping off her tongue. A passing river warden snidely suggested she would only catch anything if she knew what she was doing. She promptly landed a decent-sized trout and a couple of others before taking great pleasure in showing him her catch and adding that she must have known what she was doing after all.

A petite figure, she sometimes gets offered "Dad and lad" entry to a lake. And her presence can prove awkward when, in mid-competition, a male competitor needs to make a call of nature.

"You do feel a bit sorry for the blokes sometimes. I'm only 5ft 2ins and you have a big cap and all your big fishing gear on, especially in the winter, so it can be difficult to tell. I just unzip my coat and then they are all very apologetic.

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"It is a man's world but we can still be part of it and enjoy it. Generally the men are so helpful, which is great because I'll take advice from anyone. You never stop learning and even now I don't always get everything right.

"It can take years to really master the sport completely. You just get better at getting it right more often."

Her playground is some of Britain's most stunning waterways, which are an antidote to day-in, day-out routine of the ward. Nursing is a stressful job and escaping to the tranquillity of places such as Bolton Abbey in the Dales and Rutland Water ( two or her favourite places to fish) is part of the beauty of fly fishing.

She talks about kingfishers buzzing past as she fishes and the time she watched a majestic osprey in full flow pluck a fish from the water and in one motion re-position the fish in its beak so it could fly more comfortably. She can't think why anyone wouldn't wish to do the same. The next ambition is to fish abroad. Salmon fishing in Norway and tackling some of Cuba's bonefish and marlin are high on her wish list. She concedes that if it ever happens, her diminutive stature means she would probably have to be strapped to the seat, or she could end up ski-ing across the water.

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Elaine's next goal is to perform well for England at the Home Countries International at Llandegfedd, South Wales on June 18. Then she will turn her attention to retaining her National title

in August.

There's excitement in her voice as she relishes the challenge. "Now I've got it I want it again. I'm the National Champion, the number one in England."

She is also eager to give something back to the sport that has given her by encouraging more women to have a go.

"We need more women to come out and have fun. I see girls fishing recreationally sometimes and I'll go over and see if they want a bit of help, or just offer them encouragement.

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"I don't want them thinking I'm being forward but I want them to know if they love the sport there are the opportunities for them to take it on.

"It's not just about competing for me, it's simply a passion for getting a trout on that hook, feeling that tug and your heart beginning to race. I can't explain it and I don't think I'll ever lose it."

Anyone interested in sponsoring Elaine can contact: [email protected]

YP MAG 24/4/10