In June 2019, Marina Gibson launched the Northern Fishing School at Swinton Estate in North Yorkshire. There, she teaches fly fishing while at the same time connecting as many people as possible to the great outdoors.
On this episode of Anchored, Marina and April chat about finding a home base, starting a career in fishing, and why working and fishing can be so exhausting. Stay tuned until the end to hear about Marina’s work with the Cancer & Pisces Trust.
Outline of This Episode
- [2:15] How she got into fishing
- [6:50] How can she love animals and fish?
- [9:53] When she started fishing on her own
- [19:30] Learned how to be a coach by taking the level 1 exam
- [25:40] It took 5 years to become successful in the fishing industry
- [29:30] Working and fishing can be exhausting
- [35:03] How Marina started the fishing school
- [45:01] Why is a career in fly fishing so exhausting?
- [51:25] A beginner’s tip for field casting
- [56:29] About the Cancer and Pisces charity
How Marina started fishing
Although Marina was born in London, she grew up in the English countryside in the Cotswolds. As a child, she spent most of her time outdoors since she was obsessed with her animals and loved caring for them. Growing up in a fishing family, she would spend weekends fishing for carp, salmon, and trout in Scotland and other parts of the UK.
When did she start fishing on her own?
Marina and her mother would fish together on the weekends throughout her teen years, but when she turned 21 she asked for rods of her own for her birthday. This gift led her to explore fishing on her own. She states that there is a bit of a learning curve after fishing with family your whole life. You have to learn to be more independent and do the little things for yourself.
As a young adult, Marina found that fishing filled a void in her life in London. Living in the city made it challenging to find fishing spots nearby. She ended up spending all of her free time fishing in the countryside. Although she loved her job and employer in London, she realized that she wasn’t in the right place.
How the Northern Fishing School was born
5 years ago, Marina decided to pursue a career in fishing and started that journey by becoming a certified fishing coach. She spent the first few years as a guide traveling around the UK coaching others on their home waters. After struggling with a life of constant travel, Marina began the search for a place nearby to set up a fishing base for her guiding business.
She found the right location at the Swinton Estate in North Yorkshire. There she launched the Northern Fishing School in June of 2019. Since then, she has grown her business to include 5 guides. Over the first 2 years, business built up slowly due to Covid, but this year the fishing school has grown by leaps and bounds.
Balancing work and free time as a fishing guide
Now Marina is learning to balance running a thriving business with her own free time. She laments that she doesn’t have time to fish for pleasure anymore. Running the business keeps her up until the wee hours of the morning.
Listen in to hear how Marina worked hard to fulfill her dream of becoming a fishing guide and what she is doing to balance her life outside of work. Marina also has great tips for beginning anglers to help with casting. Stick around until the end to hear her casting tips.
Resources mentioned on this episode
Connect with Marina Gibson
- Marina Gibson Fishing
- @MarinaGibsonFishing on Instagram
- 5 Ways to Improve Your Fishing Skills
- Cancer & Pisces Trust
Connect with Anchored
- AnchoredOutdoors.com
- On Instagram: @Anchored_Outdoors
- On Facebook: @AnchoredOutdoorsOfficial
- On YouTube: Anchored with April Vokey
- Subscribe to Anchored
