Jim O'Donnell

Jim O’Donnell’s angling career started not sea fishing but coarse fishing. Born in Oxfordshire, at the age of five Jim was introduced to the sport in true ‘Isaac Walton’ fashion, catching Perch from a tributary of the Thames. Over the following years he progressed through Stillwater, Canal and River fishing but the highlights of his angling year were always family holidays to the south coast which is where he first got an appetite for saltwater angling.

In the early 90’s a move to Devon changed Jim’s angling career forever. Having been a competent coarse angler, Jim now swapped his efforts to sea angling, first beach, and then rock, and then boat angling which has now become his specialist area. Jim crewed on charter boats, qualified and became a renowned charter skipper, and then became famous for his exploits in his own series ‘Skippers Journal’ which featured monthly in TSF for many years. He has also featured in many other angling magazines and on TV.

Jim prides himself in being an all-round angler. He still fishes both boat and shore, at home and abroad, and he still fishes coarse, carp and predator almost weekly. His writing displays his overall love for our sport having regular features in both top sea and coarse fishing titles. Jim is a Yachmaster offshore qualified charter skipper, and a qualified angling guide/coach with the Professional Anglers Association.

With numerous big species like carp, pike, bass, cod, pollack, barbel, chub, conger and many tropical fish to his name, Jim doesn’t have a most memorable angling experience but says he has had many. Jim’s philosophy is that “it isn’t all about fish or about one type of angling, but about where you fish, how you fish and who you’re fishing with!” Jim is currently contributing editor to Boat Fishing Monthly magazine.