The Country Gent Podcast: Fishing, Shooting, Whisky, Style, History, Wealth & Rural Affairs (The Yorkshire Gent)

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is riverfly guru Stuart Crofts where we discuss entomology for anglers.

In episode 26 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Andrew Gilruth of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust who tells us all about the Trust's new book The Knowledge: Every Gun's Guide to Conservation.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Tom Adams, Managing Director of the British Game Alliance. We also taste an award winning yet budget whisky and Alan tells us more about the Vikings.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, we welcome back the legend that is Simon Whitehead. Simon tells us about the challenges he faces as somebody who makes a living from controlling rabbits and why he's having to diversify to survive. We also talk about his DNA Film Festival win last year and his plans for this year plus we discuss the issues currently affecting hares in the UK.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Liam Stokes - Head of Campaigns at The Countryside Alliance.

In this episode, our guest is Jim Stewart - MD of Longthorne Gunmakers. We also bring you our regular whisky and history features.

Part 2 of episode 70.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is the fascinating James McKay. James is a zoologist, an author, a ferreter, falconer, animal nut and out and out countryman.

Also on the show, we bring you another two whisky tastings and the next part of the latest history feature.

In episode 36 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is fieldsports photographer and author Matt Limb OBE.

In episode 40 of The Country Gent Podcast, we bring you a game shooting special with the legend that is Dave Carrie. We also taste a game bird themed whisky and have a great prize courtesy of the Shooting Times.

In part 2 of episode 71, Rob talks about his latest purchase and how it's highly to make him the epitome of cool, Nick shares some of his favourite game cookery books, and we try a nice but very expensive Scotch whisky.

In episode 68 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Dr Robert Thomas, a Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University whose work centres around conservation and land use. It's safe to say that Rob is not pro-shooting but is keen to ensure that the issue of raptor persecution is solved and puts forward some ideas of how that can be achieved.

In episode 59 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Alan Johnson of Danum Blades.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, we welcome back Robert Everitt of Hull Cartridge for a Q&A session. We also taste the Lagavulin 16 Scotch whisky and learn about Simon de Montford in the history feature.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is animal welfare consultant Jim Barrington.

In episode 61 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is salmon angler Lucinda Ewin. Also on the show, we hear about Nick's recent trip stalking stags in Scotland and we try an 11 year old single malt whisky.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, we speak with the British Game Alliance and a Yorkshire based gamekeeper to find out about the impact of COVID-19 on the 2020/21 game shooting season.

Also on the show, we try another fantastic whisky from the Infrequent Flyers range.

In episode 63 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest Shaun Porter talks to us about gear and shares some ideas for Black Friday and Christmas.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Peter Arfield of Bakewell Fly Fishing. Also on the show, we taste a Welsh single malt and bring you the next part of the latest history feature with Alan.

In episode 71 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Sam Thompson, a head keeper on a Scottish Highland sporting estate. We discuss how an estate like he works on operates, red deer as a species, and his views on rewilding.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Diggory Hadoke - big game hunter and vintage gun expert.

In episode 57 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Steve Caple who tells us all about his life as a rural pest controller and gives us some insight into the methods used by the poachers of yesteryear.

In this episode, our guest is fly tyer and Semperfli pro team member Phillipa Hake. With some lockdown easing on the horizon, we discuss our plans for the coming week and we also taste the Benromach 15.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Shaun Porter of Global Outdoors. Shaun tells us all about his adventures in Africa, Australia, Alaska and his epic trip to the American deep south.

Also on the show, we try the Balvenie 14 Year Old Carribbean Cask and Rob's muntjac stalk has finally happened - was he successful?

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Carlos from Jackal's Old Country Blood where we discuss working dogs and in particular different types of terrier and bull breed.

Also on the show, we tase another fantastic Scotch whisky from Islay.

In episode 56 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guests are Robbie Kröger of Blood Origins and Shaun Porter of Global Outdoors. Robbie and Shaun recently collaborated on a project so we learn all about that plus we find out more about the background of Blood Origins and how Robbie is trying to help the hunting community with its messaging.

Also on the show, we cover the latest news in fieldsports including what looks to be the end of wildfowling on the Humber and we try a Gordon & MacPhail bottling of a 2005 sherry cask finish Macallan.

In episode 70 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is professional dog trainer and gundog enthusiast Georgia Selby. Georgia shares some great information about training dogs and shares some great tales from her days in the field when out beating.

You can learn more about Georgia's training methods and services at the following places:

https://trailsfortailsdogtraining.com/

https://northandsouthgundogs.newzenler.com/

In episode 65 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Jeff Spitler, the first American guest we've had on the show who educates us on all things hunting in the US.

In episode 45 of The Country Gent Podcast, we welcome back Shaun Porter for part 2.

In episode 60 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Nigel 'Fennel' Hudson. We discuss his background in angling, his deep passion for the countryside and how the Wild Carp Trust came to exist.

Angling for wild strains of carp that are much closer genetically to the old strains that existed centuries ago is probably an arm of the sport that many carp anglers aren't aware of. All is revealed though in this hugely insightful episode.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Robert Everitt of Hull Cartridge. We also bring you two whisky tastings and a history feature.

In episode 57 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Liam Stokes, Chief Exec of the British Game Alliance.

Liam tells us all about the reasons why he took on the role, what his plans are for it and also gives us some insight into his time at DEFRA.

Also on the show, we cover the latest news in fieldsports and try a 20 year old single malt from an undisclosed Orkney distillery.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Justin Nicholson. Born in the UK, Justin now lives in Denmark and is the France country manager for Deerhunter. We chat about his hunting in both Denmark and France and the merits of a European style hunting license.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Steven McGonigal - professional rabbit catcher and longnetter in Ireland.

In episode 62 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is gun fit and grouse shooting expert Adam Calvert.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Matt Cross - freelance fieldsports journalist and Shooting Times contributor.

In episode 66 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Simon Grace who tells us all about what he's doing to defend fieldsports to ensure that it has a future.

In episode 64 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is the one and only Tim Maddams.

In episode 69 of The Country Gent Podcast, Rob aims to put right the blank he suffered on the river three years ago when recording an 'on the bank' feature for the podcast. Does he succeed? Listen now to find out.

In episode 58 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Garry Doolan of BASC.

Also on the show, we try a sherried 15 year old Speyside whisky and get a bit of help doing so.

Oh and potatoes? All will be revealed...

For the 50th episode of the podcast we bring you a bumper edition with two guests. The first is Joe Clark, Whisky Director of Spirit of Yorkshire distillery who tells us all about the first single malt whisky to be produced on Yorkshire soil (of course, we get to taste it!) The second is the guest who kicked the podcast off in 2017, Gareth Dockerty from BASC. It was very fitting to have Gareth back for the 50th episode and to try Yorkshire’s first whisky. Also on the show, Rob and Nick announce something big…

Links mentioned in the episode:

Red Stag Media | Spirit of Yorkshire | George Monbiot’s article

In episode 46 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guests are The Somerset Hunters. We discuss their life in fieldsports, how they got into it and what it looks like now, their Instagram account and the thought process behind it plus some of the challenges facing the shooting community.

Also on the show, we cover some of the latest news and try the Laphroaig Four Oak.

In episode 55 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is former multiple British & European Smallbore side by side champion and Head of Operations at Holts Auctioneers, Simon Reinhold. We discuss steel shot, old English side by sides and modern game shooting.

Also on the show, we welcome back Tim Roberts of Whisky Online to taste with us another fantastic whisky from Alistair Walkers Infrequent Flyers range.

In episode 51 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is David Thompson of Driven Sporting who tells us all about life in the gun trade. Also on the show we taste an amazing whisky from an undisclosed distillery in Speyside and we give our views on the recently announced lead ban for game shooting.

In episode 35 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Yorkshire based fly fishing guide and Hardy ProTeam member Stuart Minnikin. We also bring you two whisky tastings along with the regular history feature.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Sam Griffin who tells us all about pigeon shooting and decoying.

We also bring you the first part of a new feature called a history of the British Isles.

In this episode (recorded at The Northern Shooting Show), our guest is Duncan Thomas of BASC - the British Association for Shooting and Conservation. Duncan gives us an update on the general license situation plus we hear all about his background and how he ended up in his role at BASC. We also bring you the regular whisky and history features.

In episode 47 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is carp fishing legend Julian Cundiff. Jules tells us all about the early days of his carp fishing career, the story of his monster PB and what his fishing looks like now that he’s retired.

In episode 42 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Yorkshire based shoot owner and wildfowler Richard Bays. Also on the show, we taste an English whisky and bring you more British history with Alan.

In episode 52 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Pete Tyjas of the brilliant Fly Culture Magazine. Pete tells us about his life in fly fishing, the background to starting the magazine and what it takes to put such a high quality publication together.

Also on the show, Rob and Nick share their top lockdown tips, we do our first remote whisky tasting and we cover the latest news in fieldsports.

In episode 49 of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Jason Doyle, the face of YouTube programme Fieldsports Ireland. We discuss his background and how he got into fieldsports, what the scene looks like in Ireland, his move to Yorkshire and how the planning and filming process works for the channel.

Also on the show, we try our first Irish whisky, the Connemara Peated Single Malt.

  In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast we interview Chris and Abbie, the founders of Cooper King Distillery. Their story is really inspiring. Both had good, professional jobs but quickly realised that the daily grind wasn’t for them so they booked one way tickets to Australia. Whilst travelling, they spent some time in Tazmania where there are a number of small distilleries. They visited them all and by doing this, realised that whisky could be produced on a small scale and the idea of building their own craft distillery back home was born. Before returning to the UK, […]

The post Ep5: Cooper King Distillery – Craft Distilling, English Whisky, Yorkshire Gin, Travelling in Tazmania appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast we interview Tina of NYMMO – the North York Moors Moorland Organisation who’s aim is to promote the positive aspects of shooting estates and moorland management. We discuss why and how the organisation was started, what’s involved in the running of it and some of the initiatives that are currently ongoing. Tina also tells us about some of the conservation benefits that come with moorland management and proud the gamekeepers are of the red listed species that are doing well on the moors because of the predator control and habitat management work […]

The post Ep6: NYMMO – Upland Gamekeepers, Shooting Estates, Moorland Management, Countryfile Live appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast we speak with Glen Pointon and David Wood who run fly fishing trips to the Hebridean island of Islay. If remote and completely wild fishing for brown trout and sea trout sounds like the ultimate escape, this is the episode for you. The guys were actually on Islay when we did the phone interview back in April and they’d had a fantastic week fishing with their 4 guests. We discussed with them: Why Islay is such a special place What makes the fishing so good there The strain of trout they’re […]

The post Ep7: Fly Fish Islay – Trout Fishing on Lochs, Sea Trout, Fly Fishing for Salmon & Life in the Hebrides appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, we talk to Simon and Kate of Stoneycairn Gundogs. As full time gundog trainers and pickers up, they give us an insight into what life is like living and breathing all things gundogs. They were both very generous with their time and knowledge so we managed to cover an awful lot including How to select a gundog puppy and what to look for in the advert When you should start training The pros and cons of the different gundog breeds How the training should be tailored to the dog’s personality How […]

The post Ep8: Stoneycairn Gundogs – Gundog Training, Field Trialing, Working Dogs appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, we chat with Paul Gaskell and John Pearson of Discover Tenkara. Tenkara is a Japanese form of fly fishing and their mission is to share with the western world the authentic skills and knowledge they have learnt from their regular visits to Japan. Because they are both expert fly fishers, they are able to interpret what they learn from the Japanese masters for their audience. In the interview we cover: What tenkara is The history of the technique and how it’s historically been applied in Japan The equipment used and how […]

The post Ep9: Discover Tenkara – Japanese Fly Fishing, Kebari, Mountain Streams & Fly Casting appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast we chat with Victoria Knowles-Lacks, the founder of The Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club. 6 years ago, Victoria decided to quit her day job and go full time with her quest to get more women into shooting. To date, her organisation The Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club has introduced over 10,000 women to shooting sports. With around 1,000 members, the S&CBC run clay and game shooting events across the country, host an annual conference and also run the Ladies National Shooting Day. We discuss her background, what the triggers were for starting the club, […]

The post Ep10: The Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club – Getting Ladies into Clay & Game Shooting, Pheasant Hunting in the US appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, we chat with Dr Paul Gaskell of the Wild Trout Trust. The WTT are a conservation charity that focuses on practical work to improve habitat for trout across the UK and Ireland. Paul’s background is in aquatic ecotoxicology and his career choices have always centred around water and rivers. Being an angler for over 30 years, Paul describes how his work with the trust helps his river fly fishing. In the interview, we discuss the state of UK rivers, how a wild trout habitat improvement project gets off the ground, the challenges […]

The post Ep11: Wild Trout Trust – Trout Habitat, River Ecology, Aquatic Ecosystems, Fish Stocking appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast we chat with Simon Whitehead of Pakefield Ferrets. Simon is probably the most well known ferreter in the UK. He writes a monthly piece for Shooting Times, runs a great YouTube channel, runs demonstrations at a lot of the major country shows and has appeared on TV a number of times to talk about rabbits and ferreting. In the interview, we discuss: How Simon got into ferreting How he became so well known in his industry His approach to ferreting and why he’s at the top of his game Keeping ferrets […]

The post Ep12: Simon Whitehead – Ferreting for Rabbits, Keeping Ferrets, Rabbiting for the Table appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, we chat with Greg Dillon of GreatDrams about his new book The Great Drams of Scotland. Regular listeners will know Greg from the Malt of the Month series but in this episode, he’s the main feature! Over the past 13 or so years, Greg has worked with many whisky brands on branding and brand strategy. His new book takes the reader on a journey through different Scottish distilleries with many laughs and fun stories along the way – one includes a bit of a rubbish cat! To celebrate the launch of […]

The post Ep13: Greg Dillon of GreatDrams – Distillery Stories, Scotch Whisky History & Living in the Hebrides appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, we chat with Amanda Anderson of the Moorland Association. We find out about the work they do to represent moorland owners and how their sporting interest is crucial to funding the conservation work carried out to protect our precious heather moorland and all the different species that the habitat supports. In the interview we cover: Amanda’s background An overview of the association – it’s purpose, what it stands for and who it represents The conservation of our heather moorland and how the sporting interests of moorland owners is crucial to that conservation […]

The post Ep14: Amanda Anderson of the Moorland Association – Heather Moorland, Shooting & Conservation, Upland Habitat Management appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guests are the Byron and Darryl Pace AKA the Pace Brothers, founders of Pace Productions and the brilliant Into the Wilderness podcast. We chat about their background, the podcast, their production company and why they founded the UK’s first hunting film festival. They also share some tips on how to get started in deer stalking – rifles, equipment and finding opportunities to go stalking. We also discuss: The current public perception of fieldsports in the UK How the shooting and hunting community can get smarter at telling people what they do […]

The post Ep15: The Pace Brothers of the Into the Wilderness Podcast – Deer Stalking in Scotland, Hunting in Africa and Europe & Hunting Filmmaking appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Matthew Eastham of the brilliant North Country Angler blog. This is the video we shot on the day of recording the podcast: To learn more about The Yorkshire Fly-Fishers’ Club visit their website: http://www.yorkshireflyfishers.co.uk/

The post Ep16: Matthew Eastham AKA North Country Angler – River Fly Fishing, Fly Tying & North Country Spiders appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is Jose Souto – game chef, lecturer, falconer, deer stalker and author. Jose tells us how a boy growing up in Kensington, London developed a love for the countryside and how he accidentally became a chef. We learn all about his work as a lecturer at London Kingsway College and how he incorporates his love of game into his work. For those who shoot, he also shares some fantastic information on preparing and cooking both venison and game birds. To learn more about Jose, follow him on Twitter. His book, […]

The post Ep17: Jose Souto – Game Chef: Preparing and Cooking Game, Falconry, Food Sustainability and Provenance appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

Show notes coming soon! To learn more about Charlotte and CJ’s Birds of Prey visit their website: http://cjsbirdsofprey.co.uk/

The post Ep18: Charlotte Hill – Falconry: Keeping and Hunting with Birds of Prey appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

SHOW NOTES COMING SOON! To learn more about Rob and his work, visit his blog here: http://theslidingstream.net/ His (highly recommended) book can be bought from Amazon.

The post Ep19: Rob Smith, Author of The North Country Fly: Yorkshire’s Soft Hackle Tradition. A History of Spiders and How to Tie and Fish Them appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

SHOW NOTES COMING SOON!!

The post Ep20: The Yorkshire Gent Goes Fly Fishing in the Yorkshire Dales appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast, our guest is female hunter, Rachel Carrie. In our hour long conversation, we cover: How Rachel developed a love for hunting from an early age Why she didn’t pickup a shotgun until she was in her 20’s What her domestic and international hunting looks like now The challenges and opportunities associated with building the following she has Cooking with game Her experience of producing a TV show with Jodie Marsh Her views on how the fieldsports community should get out to the world what we do and why we do it If […]

The post Ep21: Rachel Carrie – Being a Female Hunter, Making a Programme with Jodie Marsh, Hunting Across the Globe & Much More appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this introductory episode, we tell you all about what you can expect from The Country Gent podcast in the coming months. No show notes required for this one!

The post Ep0: Introduction appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent podcast, we talk to Gareth Dockerty of BASC – British Association for Shooting and Conservation. Gareth is a Northern Regional Officer and we were keen to find out about some of his day-to-day responsibilities and initiatives he’s involved in. With a background in conservation, Gareth joined BASC 8 months ago after working for Natural Resources Wales as a Reserve Manager and more recently the North York Moors National Park. Gareth grew up on the family farm in North Yorkshire so has always been involved with syndicate shoots and vermin control. He went […]

The post Ep1: Gareth Dockerty of BASC – British Association for Shooting & Conservation. Pheasant Shooting, Driven Grouse Shooting, Wildfowling, Where Meat Comes From appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent podcast, we talk to Richard Stokoe, one of the founders of the Northern Shooting Show. The first show last year was a massive success and the second year is going to be even better with more exhibitors drawing an expected larger crowd. Richard tells us how the show came to exist and why it went down well but also discusses some of the challenges associated with putting on an event of this size. As always we ask about Richard’s own shooting and discuss the image problem thats shooting sometimes can have. Advance tickets for […]

The post Ep2: Northern Shooting Show – Deer Stalking, Hunting, Clay Shooting, Airguns appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent podcast, we talk to the hugely talented sporting artist Coral Rose. Growing up in Doncaster, Coral knew nothing about the countryside or fieldsports until she met her fiancé 8 years ago. Since then she’s immersed herself in it and is now a professional sporting artist. We talk to Coral about some of her work, what life is like as a professional artist and what makes the countryside and fieldsports such interesting subjects. We also chat about her first impressions of game shooting and her own shooting. For those who aren’t familiar with […]

The post Ep3: Coral Rose, Sporting Artist – Collecting Art, Country Life, Rural Yorkshire appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.

  In this episode of The Country Gent Podcast we interview Sarah Read of the National Gamekeepers Organisation. We find out about some of the responsibilities of a gamekeeper and what the future holds for the industry. We also discuss: Sarah’s background and how she ended up working with the NGO The background to the organisation, how/when it was formed, what is stands for and how it represents it’s members The differences between lowland and upland keepers The benefits of gamekeeping and game shooting to the rural economy How managing the land for game shooting is having a massively positive impact […]

The post Ep4: Sarah Read – Gamekeeping, Land Management, Predator Control, Moorland Conservation appeared first on The Yorkshire Gent.