John Harvey

John Harvey

I was very lucky as a child as I only lived a stones throw away from a local canal so my introduction to fishing came naturally.

I learnt so much about watercraft and natural waters in those early years, and luckily had some great coaches to steer me in the right path. This has put me in a great position for my fishing in later life.

At the age of 12 I started fishing local junior matches on local lakes, canals and commercial ponds. I was very successful as a junior angler, winning regular junior leagues and matches over the next 4 years. I then progressed onto the senior matches on canals and local commercials and before long I was winning and framing on a regular basis.

As time passed I had a thirst to compete on a bigger stage, I wanted to compete against the best and push myself to my limits. Being from Wales is not easy and involves a lot of travelling, time and effort but the rewards are there for the taking, which keeps me going.

I started fishing matches in England on a variety of venues such as Woodlands View, Larford, the river Wye and the Bristol Avon to name a few. After getting to grips with them I started getting results and it wasn't long before I was winning and framing on most of the venues I was visiting.

After all of this hard work I was rewarded with a call up to the Welsh International team and shortly after that I joined the very successful Innovations Thatchers team. I had reached two of my main angling ambitions in a two month spell.

This rocketed my knowledge and experience massively learning from some of the best anglers in the world.

I have continued pushing my fishing ever since recent successes which included fishing for Wales in the 2015 World Championships and qualifying for the Fish'O'Mania final which has always been a major goal of mine. I also fished the Fish'O'Mania International Challenge on the same weekend, becoming the only angler to have fished both days in the competitions history.

I have several goals that I want to accomplish in my fishing but the main one is to continue winning and improving as much as I can in the future.

I feel very humbled and privileged being involved with such a big company as Innovations. I personally couldn't think of a better brand to be associated and move forward with, the product innovation and design are second to none.

They offer me everything that I need to compete on a wide range of venues. From International events to bagging on commercials there is literally something for everything that I could possibly need. It's a massive confidence boost to know that there gear won't let me down.

I am thoroughly looking forward to working with this fantastic brand and pushing both myself and forward.

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