FISHING FOR SCOTLAND  
- by George Glen

I am often asked, 'How do I get to fish for Scotland' and 'What is it like if I do!'. I could fill a book with some of the answers but I'll try to give a brief insight here to try and save me having to explain too often!

Firstly I must say that, as in any other walk of life, to represent your country is a great honour. To anyone with a passion for Scotland like me, success for the team fills you with lasting pride, bad results are heartbreaking!

If your dream is to represent Scotland at match fishing then I have some good news for you. Since Scotland has a relatively low match fishing population, forcing your way into contention is obviously not as difficult as in bigger sports. Though as manager this means that my choice is unfortunately limited, this does mean that anyone with the talent, experience, dedication and the right attitude has over time a great chance of coming to the manager's attention.

I mentioned 4 things there that you need for possible selection -

Talent - well you need some of this but how much? Some anglers have an apparent abundance but this alone is not enough. Some do not appear so naturally talented but make up for this in other ways - Bob Nudd is perhaps the shining example of someone who is perhaps not as natural as others but has worked his way to be the best through years of dedication.

Dedication - you must want it badly. From my point of view I hate having to overlook talented, experienced anglers who to me don't want it enough and would let me down. If you want it show it by practising hard, put your name forward in nominations and never let your team mates down when you get the call up.

Experience - can't be bought and this is the bad news; anglers in the Scotland squad are in the main the more experienced anglers and they have the advantage over you of fishing in internationals, the best way to learn. Experience of fishing various methods is also an advantage, don't get stuck on pole fishing only, take every opportunity to fish the waggler which is very important in internationals. You can only get experience through time and effort, but if you have the right attitude you can do other things to help learn faster.

Attitude - be open minded and look to learn from the top anglers. Give them the respect that they deserve and listen to advice you are given. Be realistic in assessing your own abilities, it's easy to kid yourself when the fishing in Scotland is poor.

Watch matches if you can, particularly international matches, and watch the best anglers closely. For the best combination of the above ingredients in Scotland watch Rab Crossan on fish, say on the Park in summer, and ask him questions after!

You need genuine results over a few years to impress the team manager but if you have some of the 4 ingredients above the results will come and you do have a chance. If you want to know how I think you are doing and what you need to do, ask me. I'm always looking for committed anglers with potential. But if you are afraid of constructive criticism, don't ask, I won't mince words!

If you are selected then you probably can't imagine the time and effort that squad members put in. Ask George Eldridge Jnr who was astonished after his call up this year. Team meetings and practice sessions take place throughout the year in Scotland. While away on duty the routine can be - up at 6am, early or no breakfast, on the bank very early, two hard practice sessions takes you past 7pm, last call for a bar snack, team talk, tie hooks and rigs to the small hours, bed then do it all over again! Day after day can take it out of you, not a holiday at all. It can be very hard work but team spirit is very good and the rewards are great. Your fishing will also improve greatly.

So if you believe you have it in you, my last words of advice are -if you want it, go for it!