Paul Gaskell

Paul Gaskell has fished at every opportunity since he was six. As an excuse to paddle around in rivers, he accidentally got a degree and a Ph.D (with subsequent professional academic research) in freshwater biology/practical conservation of trout-stream habitats. He has written for angling magazines in the UK and USA including Trout & Salmon, Total Fly Fisher, "Eat, Sleep, Fish", Tenkara Angler and - due in Autumn 2018 - Fly Culture magazine. As a long-term judo practitioner and dabbler in various martial arts such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a little boxing as well as an excursion as a competitor with the British Universities team to the World Shodokan Aikido Championships in Kyoto, Japan; Paul enjoys fighting with people (with their consent). Blogging regularly at fishingdiscoveries.com as well as presenting the YouTube magazine programmes "Fishing Discoveries" and "Tenkara in Focus" alongside John Pearson he became a regular visitor to the mountain rivers of Japan and Italy. He also hopes to pass on a love for wild rivers and their nature to his two young sons (Thomas and Theo). Paul is learning Japanese at a pitiful rate and is greatly indebted to his partner Jo who is a proper academic, frighteningly well-read and surprisingly tolerant of his excesses.