Lymm Dam—this venue shaped my angling
PHOTOGRAPHY BILL COTTAM AND FRIENDS
I SPENT A GREAT DEAL of time on the wonderfully atmospheric Lymm Dam in Cheshire in the mid-eighties, and I have to say, the venue taught me an awful lot about all manner of things. The fish were not of a size that would interest many of you these days, of course, but for the time, it was great. From memory, my three mates from Sheffield and I caught over five hundred fish in two and a half seasons, up to about eighteen-pounds. I was fortunate enough to catch the lion’s share of them, but before you get the impression that I had finer-honed angling skills or anything like that, I should mention that I was guilty of spending considerably more time there than the other three. The ‘other three’ were Nick Elliott, who ran Bankside Tackle in Sheffield at the time; Arnold Bagshaw, who was married to Joan, the co-owner of Bankside; and my great mate, Gary Scott. It is with enormous sadness that I report that I am the only one of the four still with us!