David McKay’s ability, demeanour and enthusiasm are a credit to him amd adds a couple of fish to the team-total before even leaving the dock! I was most fortunate to have David as part of my engineering team as well as in my fishing team and saw him mature in both roles. We spent 4 very memorable years together in the RAF, mostly afloat and be it halibut, pacific salmon, rainbow, brown trout or Alaskan Moose; he always seems to attract the monsters. David is simply the most naturally gifted angler I have ever met.

As an RAF Fish-Hawk, I always had great respect for rival, Soldier Palmer and England International Angler Lindsay Simpson. During many years of adversity, I looked on and admired the likes of Lindsay inspire and develop the Soldier Palmers (Army Angling Federation) into what they are today; one of the leading and most feared teams on the competitive circuit. Since my retirement from the RAF, Lindsay and I have fished together for the Soldier Palmers and become firm friends. He is always on hand with appropriate, well-timed advice and we now both look forward to landing his first Scottish salmon, watch this space.

Ronnie Christie is a great friend, an excellent angler and a stalwart and ambassador for the Army Angling Federation. On the water, Ronnie is a very methodical thinker and his highly infectious enthusiasm is key to the team's success. I have to say that it’s a great pity that I didn’t get the opportunity to fish with/against Ronnie until my very last match for the RAF. We 'clicked' from the outset and decided very quickly that the timing might be right to fish together. I joined the Soldier Palmers and we had a very successfully season together, before Ronnie was commissioned and posted to Germany. I’m convinced that this was only the beginning and we will again team-up at some stage in the future.

Welsh International Angler Phil Thomas is one of the finest competitive game angler I have ever met. I had the great pleasure of fishing with Phil in the RAF Fish-Hawks team from 1992-2005 and no matter how the competition was going, I could rely on Phil with confidence to finish amongst the top individuals. Phil won the Hardy’s (Now AWAI) individual rod over 2 days in 2001 catching a truly remarkable 35 fish. Blank on day 1 at 2pm, Phil arrived at the weigh-in at 6pm with 20 fish, testament to his amazing ability on the water. We shared many trophies throughout our RAF fishing years, and as far as RAF competitions, Phil was always my fiercest rival yet best of friends.