Last week I talked about the innovation that had galvanised the angling scene hereabouts through the 1970 - as the 80s progressed, much of this began to bear fruit, especially in the big fish scene.

Nowhere was this more apparent than in the lift-off in big pike captures, most notably when the river Thurne and its associated Broads became revitalised as the born-again pike paradise.

1985: Derrick Amies 42lb 2oz. 1983: Derrick Amies 41lb 8oz. 1985: Neville Fickling 41lb 6oz. On and on this extraordinary procession of huge pike from the Thurne, Horsey, Hickling and Martham Broads continued in blistering fashion. Away from the Broads themselves, the Norfolk Flyfishers Lake at Lyng produced two pike at 39lb 8oz in the decade as well as my own fish of 36lb 6oz (not 36lb 4oz as some authorities would have it). It really was a remarkable time to be a predator angler, a time when the fish were there and when techniques became ever more advanced - witness my own fish caught on one of the first drifter floats ever bought from a Norwich tackle shop.

Perch, too, were making a comeback after the ravages of the Perch Disease in the mid-70s and the experiments that decade with the maggot feeder attack became a full-blown particle bait revolution from 1980. When sweetcorn was first 'discovered' it took tench waters apart, but now big fish anglers were moving towards hemp, nuts, casters, seeds of all sorts and tench, bream, rudd even, had no defences. Estate lakes were still, some of them, on fire and fish were slowly beginning to get bigger, a phenomenon we have witnessed to the present day of course.

On the rivers, exciting events too were taking place. Chub were by now firmly established and, again, getting larger. It had taken John Wilson years to catch his first 'five'. Now we were all thinking 'sixes' and hoping for even bigger… Moby Dick, a great, almost white chub that hung around the Wensum at Costessey must have been over 'eight'. 

Barbel, too, were entering their first, magnificent decade. Through these years, double figure fish were almost commonplace. This is when Bo (named after Bo Derek in the film 10, get it?) was the barbel pin-up girl, sought by all of us and eventually topping 13lb, huge for those days. Above all, though, those splendiferous river roach of the 70s had now reached gigantic proportions. Whilst I had struggled for years to catch my first 'three', I landed nine more in a couple of seasons in the mid-80s. In part, the fish were at last there, but quivertip rods had advanced to the stage they could be used on shy biting monsters with devastating results.

These years saw fly fishing take off exponentially. There were close to a score of commercial fly lakes all doing big business and the eternally praiseworthy Flyfishers Club provided top class sport for 300 members. Trout on the fly became a pursuit for every angler at this time as a great deal of the sniffiness and shibboleth of previous years began to disappear. There were still cod around our shores that new carbon fibre rods allowed us to reach and match fishing was in its pomp. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, as you might expect, in the eyes of this old curmudgeon, plenty! This was the decade when our rivers began to collapse. The effects of years of disastrous deep dredging were taking their toll and pollution from a dozen sources was emerging. As the carp scene grew like topsy, the species began to dominate all coarse thinking and freshly-stocked carp were beginning to prove the downfall of many tench and crucian carp populations.

In addition, the stereotyped boilie/bolt rig/bivvie mentality began its slow progress towards the complete dominance we see today. Little by little, the decade saw a reliance on artificially-stocked fish of every species replacing the old natural, wild ones that had previously given generations of Norfolk anglers such pleasure. Estate lakes began to suffer from carp introductions, pollution and predation. At the same time we entered an angling era of secrecy, cliques, snide rumours and dirty lies whilst old style, much-beloved tackle shops started just to give way to modern emporiums. I could go on…

The past is gone. How do I see angling’s future? Will anglers forsake carp and learn to float fish again? Will our rivers run pure again? Will we deal with predation, abstraction and 100 forms of pollution? Will we learn to walk to far swims again and fish wild and free, rather than behind fences? Will children ever be given freedom and the right to roam again or will they forever be chained to the side of an adult? In short, will angling ever be again the sport beloved since the 17th century and beyond? What do you think?