My story begins when my Dad, a dedicated angler of over forty years first introduced me to the sport of fishing after his Grandfather got him involved. So, I guess you could say fishing was something of a family tradition - yet neither my Mum nor my Sister enjoy it!

As children, Dad would take my sister and I fishing to a local river with our nets, where we would catch minnows (small fish). However, I think my first taster of fly-fishing was when I caught my first real trout- still my largest catch to date, 'the Biggie' at 8 1/2lb which I caught whilst fishing at a small fishery in Scotland. I was the first female and youngest person to fish the newly opened lake at the time.

Yet fishing is not all I do. I love the outdoors and going for long walks in the beautiful Northumbrian countryside. I enjoy going swimming and keeping fit and, like most girls my age, I love socialising with friends and going shopping!

I am a member of many fishing clubs & I write for various fishing magazines and websites around the world, including the "Reel Women" magazine in Australia and the Sky Sports "Tight Lines" website where I am currently the only female writer.

I like to donate time to non- profitable events and I annually take part in 'The Big Fish' - a yearly fishing competition held at venues all over the UK to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Patients and their families. Through my website I also donate 5% from every sale of Wellingtons to 'Casting for Recovery', a non profitable organisation which helps women who have and who have had breast cancer recover through using fishing as a form of therapy.

In April 2005 I travelled to Ireland to help with the "Jack Charlton Disabled Angling Competition" which was great fun! The competition involved getting disabled anglers from around the UK and Ireland together in a competition which was then followed by a presentation and dance. More information can be found in our news archive.

I enjoy taking part in conferences and events and in January 2005 I travelled to Nottingham to speak at a conference to encourage more women and girls to give fishing a go. The conference was a huge success and following it I helped found a girls fishing club at my school. The club was a huge success and It was funny the first time we took the girls out fishing when one girl announced that she thought in order to go fly fishing you needed to firstly catch the flies before attaching them to a hook to begin fishing! I have now left school but the girls are still fishing and I hope they continue to do so for many years to come.

More recently I spoke at a conference at the 'Stadium of Light' in Sunderland. 'The Big Boost' event incorporated 200 young people aged from 11-25 from around the region who were all 'Big Boost' award winners who have run community projects in the region which have helped and benefited other people.

In late 2006 I was nominated for the 'North East Business Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award' for 'Most Innovative Idea' and in 2007 I was nominated for 'Young Achiever of the Year Award' under the' Business and Enterprise category'.

Through my website I regularly organise ladies fishing events and in October 2007 I organised a ladies only fishing competition in partnership with 'Northumbrian Water' and the 'Environment Agency'. All money raised in the competition was donated to 'Casting for Recovery'. I am currently organising the second of these events to be held in September 2008.

As well as running www.fishingforeveryone.com I also work full-time within the fishing industry. Having worked for Orvis Incorporated, I now work for the world famous Hardy & Greys Ltd company as their Public Relations Coordinator. Working for these companies has given me even more of an understanding of the fishing industry as a whole as I get to meet some fantastic people!

As for fishingforeveryone.com it will never be far behind me in all I do. I am currently in the process of founding a Fishingforeveryone Ladies Fishing Club in the local area - the first of its kind to be founded in the North East of England. The Ladies Club currently has 40 members and we are having our first meeting in early 08.

Over the years fishing has made me some fantastic friends worldwide, and I've met some very talented and highly skilled anglers! The thing that I love most about fishing is the relaxation and therapy it brings. It has always been my belief that fishing is something anyone can do -no matter what your age, race, gender or ability and I hope that with my encouragement and countless others, fishing will soon become a main stream sport for females and prove once and for all that as many say, women often make the best anglers!

Lucy x