Roger Standen - a true Brother of the Angle

[Vagabond]

It is with a very heavy heart that I have to tell you that a fishing mate with whom I have shared so many fantastic angling trips passed away on Monday.

Roger may be known personally to some of you, and as the Editor of the Freshwater Informer to many more.

One of the best coarse anglers I have ever had the privilege of fishing with, his untimely death will leave a great gap for his many friends. His family will of course have their own private grief, which I hope his friends will respect.

I first fished with Roger in the 1960s and over the years have enjoyed his company on the Romney Marsh, on trips to the Hampshire Avon and beyond, and more recently on many projects for the angling paper which he founded - The Freshwater Informer.

I can hardly believe I will hear his infectious laugh no more, nor share the banter which always accompanied our trips together.

All I have is the knowledge, that a few days before his death, which we both knew was inevitable, my account of a recent fishing trip made him laugh. I am glad too, that he achieved his ambition of a 2lb roach recently (and rubbed it in that I have yet to catch one) and that he completed his book "Always Fishing" last year.

That is a suitable epitaph for him - "Always Fishing" which is how I will always remember Roger.

[fishypaul]

a much admired man who will be sadly missed