Research:

The question "why does angling education work" is often asked and hard to answer without reverting to the phrase "IT JUST DOES!"... In order to rectify this situation GHOF and Substance has commenced a research project that will last 3 years. Dr Natalie Djohari will head up the research for Substance COOP a leading research agency. Energize will be watching progress carefully and disseminating information on this page...

Database Entries

From our own perspective:

we have found the work on FLOW by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi very helpful....

We have repeatedly observed the paradox that a child who cannot sit still in a classroom for a few minutes can sit on the bank of a river or lake for 6 hours, focussing and strategising on how to succeed against often unpredictable natural variables.

FLOW is "the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity."

FLOW is: "... A deep and uniquely human motivation to excel, exceed, and triumph over limitation"....

Csíkszentmihályi identifies the following as accompanying an experience of flow:

1. Clear goals - expectations and rules are discernible and goals are attainable and align appropriately with one's skill set and abilities.
2. Concentrating and focusing a high degree of concentration on a limited field of attention (a person engaged in the activity will have the opportunity to focus and to delve deeply into it).
3. A loss of the feeling of self consciousness - the merging of action and awareness.
4. A distorted sense of time - one's subjective experience of time is altered such that hours lakeside can fly by
5. Direct and immediate feedback - successes and failures in the course of the activity are apparent, so that behavior can be adjusted as needed).
6. Balance between ability level and challenge - the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult.
7. A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.
8. The activity is intrinsically rewarding - so there is an effortlessness of action.
9. People become absorbed in their activity and focus of awareness is narrowed down to the activity itself, action awareness merging.

We have observed participants in our courses experience many of these characteristics even from day one of the course.

SO WHY DO FISHING AND PHOTOGRAPHY COMPLEMENT EACHOTHER SO WELL?

“There are definite similarities between angling and photography, especially when photographing wildlife. In each activity, the student develops:

• Patience and tenacity

• Respect, knowledge and appreciation of the natural environment

• An ability to anticipate and pre-empt the next moves of the - mostly unpredictable - chosen target

• The skill of strategising how best to capture the chosen subject

• The reflexes to strike at the right moment, whether with camera or with rod and reel.

Both fishing and photography combine similar skills to help achieve tangible results, encourage personal growth and secure an affinity with the natural environment for the future.”

Terry Richardson, A4S Photography Tutor

On a very basic level, whenever a student is no longer engaging with the angling, photography provides an opportunity to stretch the legs, look around the lakes and take in all the flora and fauna that a lakeside setting provides.