My job is taking anglers drift fishing in the North Sea, mainly over wrecks, and mostly targeting cod.

Mine is a job just the same as yours. Those of you who are self-employed or own a small business will know that you only get out of something what you put into it. Occasionally you get lucky, but more often than not your achievement is relative to the amount of work and effort you put in. I believe that 5% of your customers you’ll always please, 5% of your customers you’ll never please, and you’ve got to fight for the other 90%. I achieve this by putting the needs of my anglers ahead of my own pleasure.

Being a charter skipper is not a hobby to me. I do not have a boat for my own personal fishing pleasure and then take paying customers to subsidise that lifestyle. Consequently, that is why you will rarely, if ever, see me fishing on board the Chieftain. I am not like some other skippers who take their pleasure fishing alongside their customers, as enjoyable as that would be. If I were out on deck fishing with you, instead of doing my job properly, clearly I would take home more fish than I do. But you, of course, would take home much less!

My wheelhouse is full of state-of-the-art navigational and fish-finding gear, probably of more value than the total value of the average charter boat. I have a full-time job in the wheelhouse, which I take very seriously. I employ a full-time crew member to clear tangles, to gaff, unhook and gut fish and generally look after the anglers on my behalf. This leaves me free to concentrate on accurately positioning the boat over wrecks that are in some cases smaller than the 'Chieftain' itself. I am sure you would appreciate the difficulties and responsibilities of one man correctly managing and manoeuvring a vessel of approximately 150 tons.

Angling these days is not ‘dip and fill’, the way it used to be. There is no longer a carpet of fish covering the sea bed. It is a completely different job now, even compared to just seven years ago. In order to maximise your fish catch, a conscientious skipper’s job has become considerably more complex and challenging.

Timing is critical. Your lures must go down at exactly the right time, as well as in the right place, at the start of your drift on the wreck. I must constantly consider the angle of your lines in relationship to the wreck, and have to know what part of the wreck your lure will touch when it hits the bottom. I am continuously calculating the variation between tidal strength and direction and wind strength and direction. Every drift is slightly different. A minute change in wind strength or direction can alter the whole aspect and position of your lure on the bottom. In many cases I can counteract this by a quick tweak of the controls - a few revolutions of the propeller, a few spokes on the wheel. In addition to operating the boat, I am taking notice of how many fish are coming aboard, what part of the wreck they are coming from, what they are being caught on, and who is catching them.

I must keep the Chieftain positioned over a wreck in such a way that every angler on board gets a good chance of catching. When your lure has passed over the wreck and no cod has been located on the leeside of the wreck, it’s no use wasting time drifting long distances away. So I need to know exactly when to call, "Lines up!"

During a fishing trip, because of the large size of the Chieftain, you may not see a lot of me, apart from when I leap out to gaff a fish for, or otherwise assist, an angler close to my wheelhouse door. I know that socialising is part of the job, but I believe I can serve you better by trying my hardest to fill your fish boxes. The only time I have available to chat with my anglers is when we are moving to and from fishing grounds or travelling between wrecks.

Please be assured that when you are not fishing you are always welcome into my wheelhouse if you wish to see how the equipment works, or to talk about fishing, or just generally to socialise.

I have spent many years learning this job, but I’m not finished learning yet. I believe that you should always be learning. I learn by my mistakes, I learn by watching others, I learn by taking notice of conditions, I learn through experience. I learn from you!

After reading this, you may understand why I run what many consider to be the most popular and successful charter boat in the United Kingdom.