Kevin Tapper

I caught my qualifier back in August 1992 on my second sharking trip and was addicted to sharking from that point on.

I have been sea angling since the age of eight, joining a local club a few years later and I enjoyed fishing with likeminded people.

In 1990 I joined the committee of that club and shortly after got involved at a regional level and am still there today. I am the Devon representative of sea anglers to the Angling Trust, a post I have held for fourteen years from the days of the old NFSA.

I have taken local sea angling issues to meetings, whether to do with access, conservation, or bait collecting problems and helped try to get them addressed. What I am trying to say is that my heart is in fishing, I am not a blow in blow out sort of guy.

As a member of the SACGB I have drifted for days waiting for my float to dive and my reel to scream. Through the days of hoping for just one run and now enjoying the amazing comeback of the large numbers of sharks to our coast. I have fished out of several ports and travelled abroad in search of that buzz only a shark run can give you.

I have always been excited to see my capture but even more relieved to see it swim away,
even more so today that I am catching more. I am in favour of using barbless hooks, quick release links and always being aware of not keeping a shark out of the water too long,  things I am keen to promote.

I was co-opted onto the SACGB committee in March 2018 when a space became free.

I hope I have made a bit of an impact with new ideas.  Currently I am looking into options for a conference call type setup, so members living outside of the area can be on the committee, opening the club to a new pool of its members who want to be involved.

This is the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain , so it needs input from different parts of the country.

Johnmac has made us all realise what a fantastic club we are members of, with a proud history, I would love to be a part of the committee that takes this club to another level.