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The History Of... Total Sea Fishing
It was the arrival of Mr Whippy that sparked the launch of a new DHP magazine, back in 1998. No, we're not talking about an ice cream manufacturer here but a man called Jim Whippy, an England International boat fisherman and former carpet fitter. He had previously run a southern-based sea angling newspaper by himself in the laidback environs of Pevensey Bay in East Sussex.
Jim's experience of running an angling title of his own, albeit a news-based publication that was more of a hobby than a professional glossy magazine, was exactly what DHP was looking for. Such experience meant that he would bring with him a wealth of fishing knowledge and, more importantly, an inside view of the trade that few other potential editors would have.
Usually, DHP's philosophy when it comes to hiring editorial staff is to employ anglers who are experts in their field, rather than journalists. "It's easier to teach people to write than it is to turn them into accomplished anglers," as David Hall always says!
In Mr Whippy DHP felt that it had both cones covered. He was certainly an expert angler – you don't get to fish for England if you're not! This had one major bonus: it meant that Jim knew all the best writers and sea fishermen personally, and he reckoned he could get them writing for Total Sea Fishing (TSF).
Jim jumped at the chance of becoming the launch editor of TSF. A plan was formulated, the target readership assessed and, based on information gained as to what DHP felt the market wanted, articles were commissioned. DHP was confident that Mr Whippy would give the magazine a Neapolitan flavour.
Then, six weeks later, the first issue hit deadline. It was a typical DHP magazine launch! "Editor found equals magazine on the shelf within two months," we joked in the office. It was no joke, though. Not many publishing companies could realistically expect to do this successfully with no picture library and no features already in the bag.
From the start, Mr Whippy wanted TSF to be "the nuts." It was designed to be a magazine that would encompass all aspects of the sport: boat fishing, shore fishing, pier fishing, rock fishing and even sea match fishing would all be covered. The best anglers in each field featured heavily from the start, with articles aimed primarily at informing, inspiring and generally helping readers catch more fish.
Its success was instant and sales were good from the start, though Mr Whippy didn't quite have his rivals 'licked', because back in 1998 DHP didn't have the resources to fully compete with Emap. However, straightaway TSF became the second biggest sea-fishing title in the UK, a fact DHP was very pleased with. In fact, so successful was the launch that within a year DHP needed more staff to help make the magazine bigger and even better.
In 1999, accomplished angling journalist Dave Barham arrived from rival Emap to assist Jim at deputy editor level. Then, one day, Mr Whippy 'melted' and decided to leave in 2001 to pursue other career aims. As such, Dave took over the reins as editor.
Dave Barham's initial brief was to carry on what Jim Whippy had started – to produce a magazine for sea anglers written by sea anglers, with articles and features from the best, most knowledgeable guys in the business.
His main aim was simple. He wanted to pass on all the top tips he could, all the secrets from the UK's best sea anglers that would help the readers gain an edge and catch more. Dave wanted to get out there himself, fish with the top guys and take the readers on that journey with him. If he could learn off them, so could the readers – whether they were general anglers or beginners who wanted to improve.
It wasn't easy, though, because the magazine had to cater for so many disciplines within sea angling – from boat fishing, shore fishing and match fishing – as well as providing news pages, tournament casting reports and even a bit of foreign coverage.
Dave's reign ended in early 2006 and we were once again looking for a new editor. It was then that, after a few reshuffles, Barney Wright took over the helm. Barney is a quality sea angler and England International tournament caster who, up until this point, had been a retained freelancer. He had been testing rods, reels and other sea fishing equipment on an honest, ‘no holds barred’ approach. This earned him much respect with the readers and trade, which meant that he was the obvious choice to continue TSF’s journey forward.
Barney took on well-known sea angler and fellow England caster Roger Mortimore as his deputy. Roger has brought a wealth of expertise and knowledge to the party, which can only help to enhance the magazine.
Barney has successfully taken charge for over two years now and, with a shake-up of the editorial content and with a redesign to try and create the most forward-thinking sea fishing magazine the UK has seen, TSF is now looking better than ever! A key core of top-level contributors has been formed, including former World Shore Fishing Champion Steve Allmark, current England gold medallist boat angler Glenn Milligan and all-round expert and TV star Mike Thrussell. Also on board: ‘Welsh Wizard’ Terry Thomas, top northeast sea angler Gary Pye, up-and-coming sea angler Shaun Cummings, celebrity chef Frances Kitchin, England International Dave Chidzoy and several more anglers of notoriety.
Today the magazine is holding its own in the market and the future looks bright. It deserves to be considered the best sea-angling magazine on the market and DHP has that coveted No1 position in its sights.
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